Lesorro: an alternate setting for Blades in the Dark

I've played a lot of Blades in the Dark at this point, so when I got the urge to run it again recently, I decided it was time to leave the default setting of Doskvol. This coincided with a desire to revisit a setting I devised about five years ago for a D&D 5e game. The result is the city-state of Lesorro, as imagined for Blades. 

Its chief inspiration is 15th century Iberia (you know, from real life), a period of prosperity at the expense of large swaths of the rest of the world - this was the heyday of colonialism. As far as fictional inspiration, I've looked to Perdido Street Station and The Lies of Locke Lamora, among other works.

In the campaign, I wanted to explore life under a colonialist power at the end of its prime through the lens of presumably disenfranchised criminals. This has worked even better seeing as all the player characters wound up being non-human foreigners. I have no interest in having the players be the colonizers, but they are still a part of that awful system. That tension is what interests me. We're still early in the campaign, and so far these themes have yet to be drawn out too much, but I'm excited to see where it goes.

Anyway, here is the brief setting guide that the players got during session 0.

LESORRO GAZETTEER

 

 

History
Lesorro has at last reached the decline of its greatest era, the Age of Exploration. After establishing many colonies and dominance over the oceans, the city-state has begun to stagnate and suffer under tensions between Church and Crown. Other nations are catching up in maritime endeavors, colonies struggles for independence, class divides grow, and the dragon empire of Rizalaa eyes Lesorro and its holdings hungrily.

Timeline of major events:

• -258 AE: Lesorro is founded by ancient Algrians in what is now Oldside district.
• -229 AE: A meteorite is discovered in what is now Meteor Gate.
• -212 AE: Lesorro repels Rizalani invaders in the Battle of Arrow Fields.
• -23 AE: The Graija dynasty rises to power following a war of succession.
• 1 AE: Lesorran explorers land on the Kelyor Isles.
• 13 AE: Lesorro establishes its first colonial outpost in Elak.
• 28 AE: The First Doctrine of Creed is written to justify colonial and inquisitorial efforts.
• 31 AE: Kukeran bars Lesorran merchants from many of its ports in response to the Doctrines of Creed, sparking war.
• 34 AE: Lesorro defeats Kukeran and installs a colonial government.
• 41 AE: The Academy of the Purple Seal is founded.
• 124 AE: Lourenzo II, current king of Lesorro, is born.
• 143 AE: The first homunculus is created.
• 146 AE: Civil war in Belzai prompts colonial subjects to emigrate to Lesorro.
• 165 AE: Present day.

 

 Species & Ethnicities

• Humans are native to most regions of the world. Algrian humans (the ethnicity of
  Lesorro and Setana) typically have dark, straight or curly hair and olive or pale skin.
  Rizalani humans tend to be paler, while Belzaese and Kelyori are darker-skinned.
  Belzaese humans have kinky, dark hair. The Kelyori sometimes have unusual hair colors
  like green or reddish-orange.
• Merfolk are native to the Solokan and Tolpas oceans, as well as Kelyor and Belzai. They are like humans from the waist up, but with the bodies of fish or other sea creatures below. Many merfolk consider humans “dryfolk”, their lesser, landlocked counterparts.
• Salamanders are native to Rizalaa, where they have been bred as a servitor race for
  centuries. They resemble squat, reptilian humanoids and have a very high tolerance for
  heatl. There are salamanders in far-off Arendaba that are much larger and stronger than
  their Rizalani counterparts.
• Moldywarps are native to Kukeran, Briria, and Belzai. The Kukeranian and Bririan
  moldywarps resemble humanoid star-nosed moles, while the Belzaese look more like
  (and are often called) shrews. They typically live in subterranean communities. In
  Lesorro, most moldywarps are nocturnal and thus have little contact with the city’s
  other species.
• Goblins are native to Belzai, Kelyor, Zannog, and Jhay, as well as Tunlassk. They are
  small and long-limbed. Goblins native to the continent of Ayu have green skin and are
  mostly hairless, while Tunlassk goblins are grey-skinned and hirsute across sexes.
  Goblins’ lifespans are about half that of humans.
• Homunculi are artificial people of clay, feather, bone, and other natural materials,
  created by alchemy. They are a relatively recent innovation so far contained by the
  Academy of the Purple Seal in Lesorro. They tend to have flaws in either their physique
  or minds, making many people uneasy around them.

The following species are sentient, but you can’t play as them:

• Trolls are native to the same areas as goblins and look much like them, but are much
  larger, up to two or three times the size of a human. They can regenerate from wounds
  but share goblins’ short lifespans. Tunlassk trolls are sometimes called hobgoblins. 
• Giants are native to Kukeran, Briria, Gafek, Roechaim, and Yarechaim (the latter two
  countries call them nephilim). They resemble humans but range from the size of trolls
  up to heights of fifteen to twenty feet. 
• Dragons are native to Rizalaa and Dremenley. They are massive, winged, reptiles, many of which can breathe fire or lightning. Rizalani dragons are exceptionally intelligent and long-lived, but Dremenlese dragons, or wyverns, as some call them, are merely
  possessed of animal intelligence.

 

Other nations & Regions
The following is a list of Lesorro’s most noteworthy neighbors.'

• Setana is Lesorro’s “sister city”, founded by the same ancient people, the Algrians. It is a theocracy that practices another denomination of Lesorro’s church
• Rizalaa is a sprawling empire ruled by a caste of domineering dragons
• The Kelyor Isles have long been colonized by Lesorrans. Its indigenous culture is
  known for elemental shamanism and taming monsters. 
• Korland is a kingdom known for ancient ruins, ghosts, and druidic magic. 
• Kukeran is a famously lawless and individualist nation that lost a war with Lesorro over
  a century ago. Since then, a colonial government has been established but has struggled to truly take charge.
• Briria was once part of Kukeran and shares much of its cultural makeup.
• Lharne is a kingdom spread across an island chain. Its various pirate warlords vie for
  power and harass nearby shores, including Lesorro in recent years. The Lharnish believe in the rule of the strong and put their faith in their own strength of arms and hearts over the distant power of gods.
• Belzai is an empire known for its tropical climate and strange flora. The Belzaese
  emperor is a troll with unparalleled regenerative abilities who has lived an exceptionally
  long time, and whose people believe he is destined to take over the world.
•  Elak is Lesorro’s colony in Belzai, and it has grown into a small nation under the sometimes tumultuous rulership of House Espartella.

 

Districts

• Arrow Fields is a middle-class district built on the site of an ancient battlefield. To this day, it is the hub of Militia activity.
• Butcher’s Bend is a lower-class district, and the poorest district in Lesorro. Many immigrants live here in squalor, lending it a downbeat cosmopolitan feel.
• Corroa Shore is an upper-class district and the seat of the Crown’s power. It contains the Golden Castle, where King Lourenzo II and his family live.
• Gold Crossing is a once-prosperous, now lower-class market district. Hit especially hard by the Age of Exploration’s decline, many of its poorer residents have turned to crime.
• Meteor Gate is a middle-class district home to many merchants, as well as city institutions such as brickpickers and the Heritage Council.Northwall is a middle-class district that contains the Academy of the Purple Seal. Most of the city’s reputable alchemists live here, exchanging theories.
• Oldside is a middle-class district that contains the original wall of the city. Many foreign imports enter through its docks. Many high-profile Songwrights have moved here from Saha Verdua.
• Saha Verdua is a lower-class docks district with a significant Church presence, especially from the Order of Charity. Saha Verdua is the birthplace of the renowned Songwright tradition.
• Saho Johanno is a beautiful upper-class district and the seat of the Church’s power. The archbishop’s palace is arguably a finer building even than the Golden Castle.
• Squidbridge is a lower-class district whose centralized location makes it a common point of blending between Church, Crown, nobility, merchantry, and crime.
• Turner Bazaar is a lower-class district with bustling commerce and crime in equal measure. It is notoriously underpoliced by the Goldsoles.
• The Surrouding Islands of Lesorro contain the villas of most of the noble houses of the city. Blue Beach is the main base of the Royal Armada, and Prowtower contains the main shipyards of the city.

 

 Factions 

• The Academy of the Purple Seal is a center of learning and study renowned throughout Ayu. 
• The Blacksoles are criminals who once belonged to the Goldsoles and the Militia. 
• Brickpickers are the builders and maintainers of city infrastructure. 
• The Broken Seal are criminal antiquarians and magic-users. 
• The Brotherhood of Churning Notions is an elemental-worshiping doomsday cult. 
• The Church is the largest single institution in the city, with immense power and
  influence. 
• The Cinderlings are salamanders who have forged their own community after fleeing
  from Rizalaa.
• The Citizenry of each district has its own resources, connections, and needs. 
• The Cointossers are brigands in the vein of Robin Hood. 
• The Colonial Ministry oversees the governance of Lesorro’s overseas colonies. 
• Couriers carry messages all around the city, and are sworn to secrecy, for whatever
  that’s worth. 
• The Crown, King Lourenzo II and the rest of House Graija, commands massive sway in
  the city. 
• The Dockers do some of Lesorro’s most important work, assisting all manner of sailors. 
• The Dream Walkers are a powerful secret order that can enter people’s dreams through
  extreme mystical training and exotic drugs. 
• The Entrophs are a gang of ex-brickpickers, allegedly all mad.
• Fire Brigadiers deal with a variety of emergencies that don’t fall under the Goldsoles’
  purview.
• The Goldsoles are the Crown’s protectors and serve as the city watch. 
• The Heritage Council are the Crown’s propagandists. 
• The Honeyed Words are criminal ex-Songwrights. 
• The House of Twenty Blades is a guild of mercenaries and adventurers. 
• Immigrants from Elak and Kelyor both have a significant presence in the city. 
• Indrey Lacknose is a vengeful smuggler who was gruesomely punished by the Church. 
• Lord Distagia is the reclusive head of a noble house. He is rumored to be a shapeshifting demon, and possesses great magical power in addition to the wealth of his family.
• The Merchantry is the core of the middle-class’ power
• The Militia is Lesorro’s army, formed from the combined troops of the nobility.
• The Nobility, consisting of Houses Distagia, Espartella, Fasson, Garazzo, Lorathoa,
  Pereios, and Viz have had money and influence since the founding of Lesorro.
• The Order of Charity is the Church arm that feeds, heals, and houses the poor. 
• The Order of Illumination is the Church arm for magic and religious study.
• The Order of Purity is the Church’s arm of lawyers and investigators
• The Order of the White Comet are Setani zealots who often attack those they consider
  heretics.
• The Penitent Few is the gang of a defrocked priest. 
• The Philosophers are renegade alchemists and physicians. 
• The Pilots are operators of boats, carriages, and other transportation in the city. 
• The Plankbreakers are a gang of former dockers.
• The Royal Armada is Lesorro’s navy, put to constant use around Ayu and its oceans.
• Seekers are private investigators from among the citizenry.
• Servants are privy to all manner of secrecy and salacious affairs.
• The Shipbuilders supply vessels to the Royal Armada, the Merchantry, and others.
• The Songwright’s Guild follows the city’s storied tradition of music, satire, and
  entertainment.
• The Squids are an organization of thieves and spies based out of Squidbridge.
• The Starburst and Scars is a private alchemist’s guild.
• Stargazers are the followers of an ancient, purportedly sentient magic orb.
• The Star Stackers are moldywarp bookmakers and gambling den operators.
• Stripebeard’s Fleet are notorious pirates originally from Lharne, led by a deposed
  Lharnish king.
• Talansey Pilgrims are an obsessed strain of fringe scholars who seek a mythical lost city.
• The Tridents are merfolk thugs who lurk in the Shining River and the city’s dock areas.
• The Unchained are Kelyori immigrants that breed monsters and run fights between
  them.
• The Weeping Eyes are secret criminal manipulators embedded in all kinds of powerful
  places and groups throughout the city.

 

Magic & Monsters

• “High” magic is the Church’s magic, sometimes dubbed “miracles”. It is mostly good
  for healing and divination, and requires material sacrifice
•  “Low” magic is more varied than high magic. It is studied at the Academy of the Purple
  Seal and is also tied to other spiritual practices. A prominent kind of low magic, learned
  from the Kelyori, is elemental control. 
• Alchemy is a quasi-scientific discipline, also studied at the Academy. It concerns the
  transformation of things into other things, with diverse, even unpredictable results.
  Homunculi are a product of alchemy, as are most modern potions, explosives, poison,
  drugs, and medicine. 
• Other planes intersect with reality in specific places, often only at specific times. There
  are the elemental planes of earth, water, fire, and air, as well as the dream realm and the Ether. The Ether is an echo of reality, where dead souls, as well as strong ideas and
  emotions, briefly linger before passing on to the unknown beyond (or, as the Church
  would have it, the realms of the Gods). Most magic originates on external planes. 
• Monsters are used in Lesorro as food, beasts of burden, and so on, but they run wild
  elsewhere in the world. From the great slimes of Belzai to the Kelyori perytons that
  serve as the symbol of House Garazzo, to the many krakens and serpents of the oceans
  and the Sea of Kings, monsters are a presence throughout Ayu.