The Updates

The Beggars of Horizon

Less of a mob in the traditional sense, the Beggars are a union of those who make their living on the streets of Horizon. They don't recruit from one particular district; whenever you're too poor, too desperate, too ill, or too full of confusion and bewilderment to remain in normal society, and there's no where left to call home, the Beggars will have an invitation for you. They recruit from all walks of life. Still, they have a definite organization, and it's said that plenty of people have found new hope and new purpose in their ranks.

As far as the average citizen knows, there is nothing to know about the beggars. There's just a lot of unfortunate people in the city. Don't be one. Those with a little knowledge of the underworld (mobsters and those people in government whose job it is to know) realise that there is more to them than that. There exists a large scale underworld organisation of beggars, and most individuals in the city who beg for a living are part of it. They have a loose chain of command, and pull together to achieve a common goal, but mostly just regulate their own profession. Anyone begging in the city for more than a few days (and hence making a permanent job of it) is approached by a beggar and invited to join their group, desist from begging, or leave the city. No-one knows exactly what happens to those who refuse all three, but the rest of the mobs have a pretty good idea. Once you've kowtowed and submitted to their authority, the Beggars seem to give their members quite a bit of freedom. If you keep an eye out you'll notice that beggars who are (so to speak) 'off-duty' can frequently be seen gossiping in pairs or groups here and there. That probably explains why information seems to flow so freely around the beggars; news seems to travel all around the city in a few hours, entirely via beggars. For the small change in your pockets, they can be quite a handy source of gossip.

The only exception to the Beggars' control of their profession are known priests of the Intercessor who have taken a vow of poverty and live only by the charity of others - these are left to their own devices. Most other mobsters show no surprise that that those who are already beggars try not to mess with the dominant religion. On the other hand, anyone just pretending to be a priest of the Intercessor will be in very serious trouble from two important sources.

In fact, the Beggars have their finger on all sorts of pulses. They can come up with stuff from all sorts of places. What's better is that they're mostly neutral in the mob struggle played out in Horizon night and day; they'll trade their knowledge to anyone and everyone. And they'll do it safely, too. There's an old superstition among the mobs of Horizon that it's bad luck to harm a beggar - even most honest citizens have heard of that one. From time to time, more unpleasant rumours arise about the Beggars; secretly they're plotting this, or they're just a cover for a criminal gang trying to do that. Given as how they've been around as long as anyone can remember, none of these passing rumours seems to make much difference. As far as the Horizon underworld is concerned, the big thing about the Beggars is that they provide a means of taking care of people who have nowhere else to go, keep them out of everybody's way, and are occasionally useful - that is enough. It's said that the Beggars take on those who have the worst physical - and mental - injuries, and make something of them. They take the orphans and the war veterans. And that suits the other mobs just fine.

Most Beggars take a 'street name' soon after joining the organisation, signifying that they have become a new person. Traditionally these are mildly self-deprecating, and completely different from the birth name. You are not obliged to do so, but Beggar characters will fit in better if they have a street name.

It is thought that the Beggars enforce strict oaths of loyalty among their members.

System Considerations

Rank 1 costs -1 points and gives you 2 spending points.
Rank 2 costs 2 points and gives you 5 spending points.
Rank 3 costs 5 points and gives you 8 spending points.
Rank 4 costs 8 points and gives you 11 spending points.

You will receive a certain number of bonus spending points for whichever Rank you buy into, as described above - this is similar to the way the Mob Membership quirk works, but you will not be spending the points on the same things as mob members. Your spending points may be spent on the following quirks: Spies, Rumourmonger, Reliable or Unreliable Contacts, Secret Hideout, Stealth, Dirty Secret, Finding Stuff, or Byways.

Subfactions

The Upright Men
Occasionally even the Beggars get things done by breaking legs. The Upright Men are the more able bodied, tough Beggars who see to such matters. Often in action together, they are characterised by fierce camaraderie and loyalty to their peers. They are also noted for the extremely good care taken of those of their members who have serious mental problems. Typically they can be found drinking in small groups at various of the very cheapest taverns when not "on duty". Most of them are in fact men, although there are a few female Upright Men. Some of the younger, angrier Ghouls are seen drinking with this group from time to time.

The Veterans
These old, broken men are the wounded remnants of the Emperor's last army. Unlike such heros as Colonel Zero, they walked or were dragged back from the front when the war ended, then sank into obscurity and poverty. They can typically be found hanging around the closed-up barracks in the Imperial Government Ruins, or slowly drinking in the nearby taverns.

The Street Matrons
Many children end up as Beggars. Officially no distinction is made between children and adults in the Beggars, but unofficially this group of women (and a very few men) take it upon themselves to look after those who are not yet strong enough for the harsh education that the rest of the Beggars offer. The children still have to sleep in the streets and sewers, and beg for pennies, but there is at least an eye being kept on them and advice to be given.

Rumours

The Beggars aren't just kept together by beggary - they're kept together by leprosy. They all have the disease, and little by little they're spreading it to the rest of the city.

All major cities have beggars' organisations in them - and they make up one worldwide Beggars' Union. They have a vast amount of hidden power, since they are the only truly unified group in the Four Kingdoms.

Most beggars are Jurican. The whole organisation is a Jurican spy network.

Every hundred years, a dragon's egg is smuggled into the city from the Treacherous Lands. The egg hatches in the sewers to give, not a dragon, but a new Beggar King. The old Beggar King then burns himself on a pyre of driftwood. All Beggars do the will of the Beggar King, who is born of a dragon.

The Beggars can make rainwater tell what it has flowed over, and moss tell what it has seen. That's how they know so much.

The Beggars know how to travel from end to end of the city without being seen or heard.