The Ministry have purchased the deed to a gambling club, the Manticore, to provide you with a base of operations and a suitable cover for you to operate in the Silver Quarter. You are responsible for the operation of the club itself. The previous owner was a minister, but turned out to have such deep ties to Mesye So that continued partnership with him was impossible, and he was retired from service.

Located on the south side of the district, the Manticore was never famed for quality. It has been struggling to make ends meet since it opened, undergoing several changes of ownership and rebrands – to no avail. At present, it is a low-rate gambling hall (with six or so tables of cards operational at any one time) with an emphasis on offering avant-garde entertainment that allows it to punch above its weight. Many of the strangest and most exciting performance artists on the scene have played a stint in the Manticore at one point in their careers...

...The walls are covered in garish art from historic acts, some of whom even graced the stage with their presence at one point. The whole place is dimly-lit, with spireblack lanterns casting a grimy glow over faded red cushions and question-mark-curved wrought iron table legs.

None of the glasses match, and most of them are jars. You know the kind of place.

The Kings of Silver campaign frame of the Spire features an HQ for the characters' operations. It is both a natural hub for an open-table game and an upgradable base when the Safehouse rules from the Magister's Guide are used.

The module provides optional - and so useful - NPCs that form the Casino's staff. All interesting with their own secrets and quirks. I like the work on details here: one of the most boring jobs was streamlined for me to just drag-and-drop its results when needed.

The Casino top level of the Manticore is a static illustration, just my creative commission to the atmosphere of the game. However, the basement Secret Den level, initially somewhat empty, is meant to change as the game progresses, with upgrades and whatever battle scars the PC's HQ would endure. Will the players bring a character of its own to it? Could they introduce some coziness? Time will tell...

I made these scenes with MagicaCSG. A bit cumbersome to compose (I'm looking forward to the announced aerial lights effect, one which I now emulate with invisible light emission bodies that clutter up the editing view), the diorama requires virtually no resources in order to be made. No kitbashing, no sets of premade objects required.

The objects are straightforward to make as separate models within the same project folder to be later dropped into a scene. It's surprising how few primitives one needs to create the aforementioned tables with wrought iron legs. Everything from cava glasses to the piano I modeled when I needed those objects.

To Be Done