BEING A FIRST-HAND ACCOUNT OF

LEVIATHAN
HUNTING
IN THE FAR-NORTHERN

VOID SEA
TOGETHER WITH A BRIEF
HISTORY OF THE INDUSTRY
& MISCELLANEOUS NOTES ON THE

PRIVATE
LIVES OF HUNTERS
J.WALTON
credits introduction
VERSION WHAT THIS IS AND IS NOT
1.1 (May 2020) This is not a stand-alone game about the leviathan hunters who sail out of Doskvol.
Instead, it is a supplement for Blades in the Dark. It assumes that the characters are underworld
miscreants that have been conscripted or (coercively?) volunteered to serve on a leviathan
WRITING AND LAYOUT ship. Hence their sea voyage may be a temporary—albeit potentially lengthy—interlude
J. Walton between urban adventuring and stints in prison.
That said, you can certainly create a campaign and set of characters for the express purpose
ORIGINAL WRITING AND LAYOUT (BLADES IN THE DARK) of dispatching them deep into the northern Void Sea to hunt giant demon fish. But this
supplement does not assume that to be the case.
John Harper
Also, and perhaps most importantly, this is still a work in progress. Some of the ideas included
here have been playtested, but not all of them, and not in this particular configuration. So
EDITING this document will continue to evolve a bit as things come together.
John Harper, Sean Nittner
A BRIEF NOTE TO VETERAN BLADES PLAYERS
ILLUSTRATIONS If you prefer your own homebrewed hunting practices—however you’ve been handling
leviathan hunters prior to the release of this supplement—by all means, please continue
Gustave Doré: “The Destruction of Leviathan” (1865), “I Met, From Time to Time, with to do whatever has been working for you. Steal as much or as little from this document as
Huge Fishes” (1867) makes sense for your own campaigns.
John Harper: leviathan hunter ship, original sketch of Port Unity
CONTENTS
INFORMAL CONSULTING This document has four sections:
Johnstone Metzger, Stras Acimovic, Dylan Green 1. Leviathan Hunters, which includes descriptions and rules for handling life aboard a
leviathan ship, including the hunt itself but also day-to-day existence.
2. Leviathans, Their Habits, and Their Assorted Kin, a description of the great sea
INSPIRATION beasts themselves and the kinds of lesser creatures that they spawn.
Brainstorming: THAT THREAD in the Blades in the Dark G+ community 3. Port Unity: “Stronger in Service,” a description of the Imperial docks and processing
Novels: Moby Dick, the Master & Commander series, Death of the Necromancer, Roadside facility just outside Lockport, where the majority of ectoplasm refinement takes place. (a
Picnic, the Southern Reach Trilogy sketch of this section is included, but more details will come in the next draft.)
Comics: Drifting Dragons, Gyo 4. Appendix: Leviathan Chanties, a printable list of the lyrics to well-known songs that
are performed by hunters during different parts of a voyage.
Video Games: Shadow of the Colossus, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Films: Princess Mononoke A NOTE ON THE CONTENTS
Documentaries & Reality TV: World’s Deadliest Catch, Shark Week
Commercial whaling—especially industrialized whaling—is a brutal, horrific business whose
Experiences: sailing from Hong Kong to Vancouver on the freighter Eagle in 2005 time has mostly passed, thankfully. Cetaceans are amazing creatures and should be treated
History: of whaling with respect. The contents of this supplement are inspired the horrors of whaling but are not
intended to glorify them in any way. If you find all the blood and gore too unsavory, perhaps
consider sailing on a specialized ship that only hunts “dreamer” leviathans (see p.16).
LEVIATHAN
AN IMPERIAL LEVIATHAN HUNTING VESSEL EXPENDED SUPPLIES
ship name outward return

noble house ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐

HUNTERS
notable traits ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐
notable gangs ☐☐☐ ☐☐☐
notable cults
A ship can use supplies
meant for the return,
Lightning-barrier
but it can be difficult to
towers built into the
restock on a northern
rigging are used to
EXPENDED FUEL island or in Tycheros.
ward away and destroy
tank 1 tank 2 spectres that might

☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ otherwise haunt the

ship and its cargo.
Ships can save
fuel or run
☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ without fuel by
hanging a full
☐☐☐ ☐☐☐ set of sails in
the rigging.
External tanks carry the
refined ectoplasm, to keep
the ship’s fuel seperate The 4 foredeck
from the unrefined blood boats are held
and viscera in the hold. in reserve for
rescues and
replacements.

Once within range, the 16 aftdeck Rare viscera—used to create specialty products—are not dumped in the hold with the rest
boats are sent out in 8 pairs to hunt. but instead kept in barrels and glass jars under the careful eye of the ship’s masters.

HARVEST ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐ ☐☐☐☐☐

the development of nowadays, hunters were conscripted from the lower strata of society and forced to undertake
their dangerous task. Criminals, wanderers, street urchins, witches, cultists, addicts, and those

modern leviathan hunting of non-Akorosi heritage were all given places on the decks of the great ships, with officers
drawn from the black sheep and illegitimate offspring of Whitecrown, Brightstone, and Six
Towers. “A more worthy calling” it was often called, or “an opportunity to serve the Imperium.”
EARLY EFFORTS: 551-556 IE While the officers drilled in Doskvol’s academies, the training for the less fortunate took place
at sea, where newcomers—as is still the case today—were grouped together and given only
Roughly 300 years ago, Imperial warships first succeeded at harvesting leviathan blood
basic instructions before being asked to capture a lesser bloodsquid or butcherfish. The price
and viscera from the great oceanic demons, a fuel source that would eventually power the
for failure was being categorized as “chum” themselves, prime candidates for being used as
Imperium. Surprisingly little is known about this crucial era, due to the Great Conflagration
lures for more valuable catches. It is perhaps not surprising, then, that the survivors of such an
of 614 IE and Imperial decrees aimed at safeguarding the few remaining written accounts.
initiation quickly gained a reputation for their rough-and-tumble nature. Few establishments
The limited reports available suggest that leviathans were occasionally hunted from shore
outside the Docks actively cater to leviathan hunters as potential customers, for fear of the
or in littoral waters prior to the advent of industrial hunting (see the account of Casdannick
damage that their businesses will accrue as part of normal wear and tear.
the Left Hand in Blades in the Dark, p.160). The construction of dedicated leviathan-hunting
vessels, however, marked a major shift. Since the early days of the business, the nature of leviathan hunter camaraderie has been
difficult for landlubbers to fathom. On board a ship, hunters often fight with each other
In the years following, Doskvol itself was attacked by one or more leviathans, as reported in
tooth-and-nail for any advantage or scrap of authority that might allow their own gang of
conflicting accounts. In the wake of these attacks, the Immortal Emperor decreed that all
sailors to survive the current voyage. However, on shore, leviathan hunters will often fight and
cities of the Imperium, not just Doskvol, were to be surrounded by lightning barriers. While
even die for each other, even for members of opposing gangs or hunters from rival vessels.
the stated reason for these barriers was, of course, the obvious threat from the ghostlands,
this author also wonders if the barriers—fueled by the leviathans’ own blood—were not also
meant as a deterrent against the great beasts returning to our coastal metropoles. TRACKING LEVIATHAN MIGRATIONS IN THE VOID SEA
Perhaps the most significant Imperial contribution to leviathan hunting, aside from the
BUILDING THE GREAT HUNTING SHIPS construction of the great hunting ships, is transforming leviathan augury from an illicit
whisper’s art into more of a science. Anticipating the future positions of gigantic oceanic
In the decades following the Prime Harvest, the Imperial navy invested heavily in large scale
demons requires the most advanced mathematical calculations and complex electroplasmic
ship-building for the institutionalized leviathan hunt, including—almost immediately, by all
instruments. In addition, the measured use of refined leviathan blood as a tool for sensing
accounts—ironclad ships powered by electroplasm. These were originally converted from
its unprocessed, still-living counterpart has dramatically increased the range and accuracy
existing merchant and navy vessels, heavy plating added to their hulls to withstand moderate
of modern augury.
contact with demon carapaces. However, dedicated leviathan-hunting ships were soon being
built in the shipyards of Doskvol. The Iruvians find our divination methods to be not of their liking, of course, but their
relationship with demonic entities lends their augury a different flavor. Occasionally you will
More recently, shipbuilding has shifted. As space in Doskvol harbor is increasingly taken up by
encounter a rare vessel that prefers to employ a Tycherosi or Skov augur of the old school, one
facilities for docking and maintaining the immense hunting ships and for transferring refined
who tracks leviathans by reading “demon sign,” sailing through traditional hunting grounds,
electroplasm to the rail lines, other supporting facilities have been moved elsewhere. The vast
and observing the wind and waves. Such methods are slower and less exact, but—on the other
majority of leviathan hunting vessels are now constructed in the gargantuan drydocks just
hand—are more time-tested and reliable for captains with sufficient patience.
east of Southport. Around the same time, the refinement industry was moved to Lockport,
sparking the recent Unity War.
THE BUTCHERING AND DRAINING OF LEVIATHANS
Note that Iruvian hunting ships—the 4-vessel Sky Fleet of House Ankhayat and the 3-vessel
Star Fleet of House Ankhuset—are not direct copies of Imperial designs but are slightly Pre-Imperium leviathan harvesting and processing was a relatively small-scale endeavor,
smaller and swifter. There is even some talk of the Imperium buying Iruvian-made hunting even on dedicated Skov hunting ships. If a sizable community was able to harvest blood and
ships, since Akoros’s shipyards have been churning out well-armed naval vessels over the viscera from one or two great leviathans per hunting season, alongside a periodic catch of
past several years, and hunting ships—which take up so much space—have a hard time butcherfish and lesser creatures, they would consider themselves to be incredibly fortunate and
getting on the docket. extremely wealthy in trade goods. But the uses for leviathan blood have grown exponentially,
thanks the Imperium’s push for industrialization, mechanization, lighting, barrier-building,
LEVIATHAN HUNTING AS AN OCCUPATION inter-continental shipping, rail transport, and so on. Consequently the moderate harvests of
the past are no longer sufficient to sustain contemporary rates of consumption. Thankfully,
Paralleling the rise of the great hunting ships, leviathan hunting emerged as a viable and—only the leviathans are immense, immortal, and swiftly regenerate harvested blood and body parts.
much later—a consistently profitable occupation. Initially, as with the backfilling of crews
They also seem to continually spawn lesser creatures at a rate that seems inconsistent with
either hatching or live birth. In truth, a leviathan’s lesser offspring are not spawned so much daily life (and death)
as emitted from the great beasts’ bodies, particularly from wounds or other places where their
raw flesh touches the ocean’s dark waters. Indeed, one of the dangers encountered during
leviathan hunting is the sudden appearance of unexpected and unfamiliar creatures that
aboard a leviathan ship
can quickly swarm and become overwhelming. This abundance of demonic creature flesh, Before you get too excited about volunteering for the life of a leviathan hunter, even if such
though, means that—so far at least—over-harvesting does not appear to be a major problem. voluntarism comes under the coercive threat of prison, there are some basic things you
should know about the practicalities of the profession.
When a leviathan is sighted, then, hundreds of sailors descend into a smattering of lesser boats,
ready to traverse the churning stretch of sea between the leviathan ship and the leviathan
itself. And while some of these sailors will likely not make it back, in their stead will return OFFICERS, MASTERS, SAILORS, & CHUM
many times their bodyweight in drained leviathan blood, spongy tissue, stringy tendons, Rank and authority on a leviathan hunter has both official and unofficial dimensions. Officially,
chipped shell fragments, bone shards, and the occasionally mysterious rarity like a handful there are four broad categories of personnel—officers, masters, sailors, and chum—and
of ebony scales or a tuft of feathery material. All of these are taken in a frenzy of slashing, moving between these ranks is impossible. A dead master may be temporarily replaced by a
stabbing, ripping, and siphoning by sailors who are often counting down the seconds until highly experienced sailor and, on occasion, a veteran chum who’s survived long enough may
they will flee back to the boats, hopefully with their lives intact. This harvest is never sufficient be valued as a worthy sailor, if the captain gives that explicit command. Otherwise, everyone
to actually slay a true leviathan, even if it amounts to the mass of a score of butcherfish. comes on board knowing their rank or, in the case of raw recruits, is quickly determined to
Indeed, the same several dozen leviathans are sighted over and over, occasionally with the be either sailor or chum through basic seamanship trails.
evidence of a recent harvest on their backs, yet to regrow.
Officers on a leviathan ship come from the upper-classes. In the early years this meant
All experienced leviathan hunters agree, though, that the beasts are becoming craftier and dishonored and illegitimate scions of noble houses, but—while there are still some of those—
more difficult to pursue. Centuries ago, I’m told, you could drive a butcherfish into shallow leviathan hunting is now a valued, if not completely honorable, occupation.
water by banging on a metal pot and chasing it in a small skiff. No longer. Indeed, it’s becoming
rarer to catch anything larger than your forearm without someone losing at least a pint of Masters rank at the top of the lower-level members of the crew, recognized for their long
blood. This becomes even clearer in hunting for the greater leviathans, which now spend service and special expertise. Each ship’s master-level positions are a bit idiosyncratic, though
longer periods underwater, rarely surfacing, and sometimes seem to be intentionally goading almost all will have a Chief Steward, Master Sailor, Master Augur, and Master Butcher. Other
ships and their crews into increasingly risky and desperate actions. Compared to even a few positions can vary from ship to ship. Masters are typically given a complement of experienced
decades ago, it now takes significantly more effort to harvest the same amount of raw blood crewmen to serve directly under them, in addition to one or more groups of sailors who
and viscera. rotate between serving different Masters.
Common sailors rank somewhere in between Masters and chum, making up the vast
BLOOD PROCESSING, LOCKPORT, AND THE UNITY WAR majority of any ship’s complement. They range in background from more capable conscripts to
The processing of leviathan blood has always been a messy and politically touchy issue, life-long travelers of the sea. Nearly all are from lower-class backgrounds and the majority did
but never more than in the past 50 years. Modern commercial processing is a complex not choose this life voluntarily, at least at first. And yet many former conscripts find themselves
multi-step process in which raw blood and viscera are cataloged, separated, re-combined in returning to the sea over and over, whether because it pays better than their options on shore
specific quantities, blended into a paste, pressed to create a liquid extract, heated to specific or because it offers a kind of escape—including from various legal or personal repercussions.
temperatures for set amounts of time, and then more carefully strained through a series off Groups of sailors are generally assigned to serve a particular master, sometimes multiple
filters. In addition to the general, multi-use leviathan blood that we are all familiar with, groups to the same master. Transfers and rotations are commonly performed, however,
more specialized substances are also created from rare parts or unique recipes, to be issued particularly on more well-run ships, with the idea that every sailor should be able to fulfill
to a handful of Imperial scientists and military armorers. multiple roles. After all, nobody knows when a botched hunt, spectral haunting, or freak
Aside from the basic dangers of being around leviathan parts, blood processing facilities also accident will wipe out an entire section of the crew.
create a variety of byproducts that must be disposed of, whether by burying leftover sludge Those unlucky or ill-equipped enough to be categorized as chum, while worked hard and
in designated pits or simply hosing residues off the machines that then soak into the ground. given few breaks, are rarely subject to the kinds of gross mistreatment that green sailors are
The former, now-disassembled processing facilities in Barrowcleft still contain some signs of given on merchant or naval vessels or that new prisoners are often subject to in Blackgate.
these poisons. The Imperial decree to move all processing to Lockport thankfully prevented This is partly due to superstition, since it is considered bad luck to mistreat a chum. After
further contamination of Akoros. But, as we all know, the Skovs didn’t take too kindly to all, they hold a semi-sacred role in the Lottery and in the hunt itself. Mistreated chum are
this move, and that grumbling continues today, even after the Unity War made it clear that also notorious for coming back as ghosts to haunt their persecutors.
the Emperor’s decision was not up for debate.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES “active” with supernatural elements, whether those unknowingly (or knowingly?) brought
aboard or those from the freshly harvested leviathan viscera in the hold. Even a temporary
Traditionally, smaller leviathan ships could get away with a Captain, a First Officer, a Sailing haunting can really gum up the ship’s gears both literally and metaphorically. The Master
Master, a Master Augur, and a Master Butcher, who collectively oversaw an undifferentiated Engineer may even assign you special equipment—perhaps jury-rigged rail jack gear still in
crew of sailors. Modern vessels tend towards more specialized labor, with dedicated groups the experimental phase—for dealing with such problems, at least until the Quartermaster
of sailors assigned to 6-8 Masters. can intervene. If problems persist, however, the backup plan is driving any spectres up
Officers: The captain, in addition to their other duties, is essentially the “master” of the to the main deck where the lightning-barriers built into the rigging can annihilate them.
officers. The officers are collectively responsible for maintaining schedules and watches, Augury: The Master Augur is generally the strangest entity on board the ship, including
crafting strategy and tactics for the hunt, and overseeing training and discipline. They any resident ghosts and horrors. They are a scientist whose main task is supposedly to track
get paid more than anyone else, typically are less directly at risk in a leviathan hunt, and leviathans—which they may have to be reminded of, as they are often bent on conducting
are the subject of a lot of grumbling. Directly insulting or disobeying them is punishable their own experiments far from watchful eyes of Doskvol academies and Spirit Wardens.
by death, though, if the captain so decrees. Impertinence will at least earn you a good Additionally, the master augur and their associated personnel are regularly called on to
flogging, assuming the master butcher is available to inflict such a punishment. If the chain provide evidence-based expertise on spectrology when a problem becomes too significant
of command breaks down, though, nearly anything becomes possible. to be ignored or handled by other crew members.
Stewards: The lowest-ranking officer is the Chief Steward, who is responsible for Butchery: While the officers plan the strategy and tactics of the hunt, the master
overseeing the handful of sailors currently working as servants for all upper-class persons butcher works within those boundaries to plan and execute the harvest, ensuring that the
aboard. This involves cooking fancier meals than those served to the crew, cleaning and most spoils are gained—at the cost of a reasonable number of lives. Risk management is
polishing their clothes and gear, emptying their chamber pots, and a variety of other duties important. If the harvest is too careful and cautious, valuable opportunities slip away and
that are often both more pleasant and more unpleasant than the tasks given to other sailors. the hunters return with little to show. But a reckless assault risks losing all hands and the
Stewards are famous for taking out their anger about their own relatively low rank on harvest. Master butchers tend to gather up all scraps of lore about specific leviathans, their
their underlings. If the Chief Steward is killed, the lowest-ranking officer takes their place. dangers, their valuable parts, and their history, searching for any possible advantages. The
Medicine: The ship’s doctor is the master of medicine, and has a small but able medical master butcher is assigned a small compliment of sailors during normal conditions, but
staff at their disposal, with the capacity to pull in other non-critical groups of sailors to staff this swells to include all available personnel once a leviathan is sighted and approached,
the medical ward in emergencies. The ship’s doctor may also be treated as an officer, whether since the butcher commands the harvest. Before and after the harvest, the master butcher
due to their upper-class birth or the captain’s desire for more stimulating conversation. typically also serves as the master of arms: responsible for maintaining all weapons—
In other cases, they are clearly lower-class but still valuable, like a local apothecary. In including those used to hunt leviathans—and only handing them out when necessary.
particularly dire circumstances, the Master Augur is sometimes called to serve or assist Otherwise, you risk deadly violence among different factions of the crew or, worse, a
in medical care, which is something all sailors dread. mutiny. Recovering all weapons after a hunt is more difficult than it might seem, since a
flaying knife is easily concealed in a boot. Tracking down missing weapons is a tough but
Sailing: In an earlier era, the majority of sailors would have been assigned to serve the
important job. In addition, the master butcher and their assigned teams are charged with
Sailing Master, climbing the rigging and helping to guide the ship through the water.
enforcing discipline among the crew, keeping all sailors working hard and punishing those
Modern leviathan ships are engine-driven, at least when the engines are working properly.
who are caught shirking or misbehaving.
However, the engineering of hunting ships is notorious for breaking down or having other
problems (like becoming haunted by spectres), so all leviathan ships carry sails and rigging Supply-tending: All of the ship’s resources are logged and tracked by the quartermaster,
than can be deployed as necessary. The tasks of navigation and steering are also not fully who serves as master of supplies. The quartermaster’s duties become more complicated
automated, and maneuvering a vessel as large as a leviathan hunter takes considerable after the harvest, when they take possession of the resulting blood and viscera from the
care. Additionally, those assigned to sailing are often called upon to take measurements master butcher. The harvest was traditionally kept in glass bottles, wooden barrels, and
of speed and depth, monitor the weather, conduct basic maintenance in cooperation with cast-iron kegs, and this is sometimes still practiced, especially for small quantities of
sailors from engineering, keep watch for leviathans, signal messages to other ships, and especially valuable materials. Modern leviathan ships, however, are built with a massive
perform all manner of basic labor involved in running an immense ship. Once the hunt tank in the hold. As in larger fishing vessels, the catch tends not to be carefully counted,
has begun, most sailing personnel may be assigned to join those engaged in butchery. but instead dumped all together in the tank and then closed up in the hope that nothing
too strange will emerge on the voyage home. This is not always a recipe for success, but it
Engineering: The master engineer is responsible for keeping the ship in working order,
is successful enough that most leviathan ships are not devoured at sea by their own catch.
or as near to it as is humanly possible given the resources at their disposal. Maintenance
Still, sailors often get suspicious if a return voyage is too quiet, thinking that some greater
is a common duty of those assigned to engineering, as is boiler-tending. Once this would
doom is biding its time to strike. Upon the return to Doskvol at the end of each voyage,
have involved shoveling coal into a furnace, and sometimes that it still true in emergencies.
the quartermaster is also responsible for paying all crew members, based on their share
But monitoring the system that pipes electroplasm into the engine is less exhausting but
of the harvest.
no less fraught. A major concern is preventing the refined electroplasm from becoming
assignments at sea SAILING — SERVING THE SAILING MASTER

1 Your course has shifted due to (1-2) a leviathan, (3-4) the weather, or (5-6) captain’s orders. Inform the crew, make sure
everything is tied down tight, and then turn this massive ship sharply without losing or damaging anything.
This is a table of different kinds of “missions” that a handful of sailors might be
assigned, based on which Master you are currently serving under. Remember that 2 You’ve been assigned watch during the Witching Hour, when everyone else is asleep and weird things are about.
your current ship may lack Masters in certain roles, meaning that those duties— 3 You’re coming up on a bunch of drifting ice and the busy Sailing Master asks you to navigate the ship through.
and the assignments that come under them—are assigned to a different Master.
4 The Sailing Master wants you to take a first-hand look at the engines because something’s off. Time to be dangled over the
side of the ship in dive suits, right behind or to the side of the massive rotating blades.
STEWARDSHIP — SERVING THE HEAD STEWARD
5 The ship is entering uncharted waters, and the Master asked you to log all notable features above (and below?) the surface.
1 You are assigned to do chores for the captain, and come across some (1-2) valuable,
(3‑4) shocking, or (5-6) perplexing information. What will you do about it? 6 Something is happening in enginnering that prevents the ship from functioning as well as it should. Roll on the
engineering table, and go help them resolve that problem.
2 You are assigned to do chores for the officers, and come across some (1-2) disturbing,
(3-4) arcane, or (5-6) blackmail-worthy information. What will you do about it? AUGURY — SERVING THE MASTER AUGUR
1 The Master Augur is suspiciously absent, but the helmsman calls for a fresh reading on a nearby leviathan. Give it a shot.
3 You are mistreated and/or overworked by an officer who is known for abusing their
power over stewards. How will you respond?
2 Feed and record notes on the captive demon spawn that the Master Augur keeps in their private laboratory.
4 The head steward is busy and has assigned you to plan and execute an elaborate dinner
for the officers, including both food and entertainment. 3 The sailing master has observed some bizarre weather approaching from far off and wants to know how the ship should
prepare for encountering it. Do your best to discern whatever information you can.
The quartermaster says the ship is running short on some crucial supply due to (1-2)
5 overuse, (3-4) spoiling, or (5-6) mysterious disappearance. Figure out how to ensure
that you don’t run out of it, or find a suitable replacement. 4 The Master Butcher has requested some fairly specific information about the leviathan than you either are tracking or have
just harvested. Deliver whatever clues you can discern from your intruments, observations, and samples.
The quartermaster assigns you to go ashore at the nearest spot of land in order to (1-3)
6 purchase, (4-5) gather, or (6) steal some additional supplies. Then, see them delivered 5 Some haunting in engineering has gotten so bad that they’d like you to consult on the problem, using your equipment. Roll
on the engineering table, and then roll for an additional “Summoned Horror” (Blades in the Dark, p. 304).
into the appropriate part of the ship.
medical problem has gotten so bad that they need to pull you in to help. Roll on the medicine table, and then roll
6 Some
for an additional “Summoned Horror” (Blades in the Dark, p. 304).
MEDICINE — SERVING THE SHIP’S DOCTOR (OR MASTER AUGUR)

1 One or more members of the crew is injured in a freak accident while the ship’s doctor
is otherwise engaged. Do your best!
BUTCHERY — SERVING THE MASTER BUTCHER
One or more members of the crew suffers from some mysterious ailment that the
2 doctor has already tempted to treat with no real success. You have been assigned to try 1 There’s rumors of a small cult on the ship that is rapidly gathering members. Go put a stop to it before it gets out of hand.
Roll on the “Forgotten Gods” and “Cult Practices” tables (Blades in the Dark, p. 305), and then start a countdown.
to figure out what’s going on.
3 A contagious illness is spreading across the ship, and you’ve been assigned to 2 Some butchery tools have gone missing from the stores and you need to track them down, before there’s a murder or a
mutiny. Start a countdown that ends with violence occuring.
quarantine off the infected area and make sure it spreads no further.
A sailor or group of sailors comes to you with an embarassing problem that they beg 3 There are rumors that a few sailors have started having strange dreams/nightmares that might be indications of a leviathan’s
influence. Go interoggate them for whatever useful information they might have.
4 you not to tell the ship’s doctor about—offering threats and bribes to keep their secret
and help them quietly find a cure.
4 One or more members of the ship’s crew have mutated into monsters. Kill them and throw their corposes in the tanks (why
waste useful demon blood?). Roll on the “Demon Desires” and “Summoned Horrors” tables (Blades in the Dark, p. 304).
5 Some samples that the ship’s doctor was keeping in jars have escaped and run off
somewhere in the ship. Track them down and return them.
5 Several members of the crew have gone missing, and it’s your job to find them and either punish them for slacking or
dispose of whatever monstrous or spiritual force has accosted them.
6 The Master Augur is engaged elsewhere and you have been asked to step in to deal with
something. Roll on the augury table.
6 Something has gone wrong amid the ship’s stores of demon blood, and your expertise has been requested. Roll on the
bloodtending table, and then roll for an additional “Summoned Horror” (Blades in the Dark, p. 304).
ENGINEERING — SERVING THE CHIEF ENGINEER (OR SAILING MASTER)
1 Some complex, difficult-to-reach mechanical system has broken. Crawl in and fix it. BLOODTENDING — SERVING THE QUARTERMASTER (OR MASTER BUTCHER)
1 See (1-3) entry #5 or (4-6) entry #6 on the stewardship table, since the stewards are too busy to handle it.
2 Something (or someone?) keeps chewing through the wiring that connects two
important systems. Repair the lines and then prevent this from happening again.
2 Safety check! One of you will be dangled into the blood holding tank on a rope, just to see if anything looks off.
3 There are problems on the outside of the ship, so you’re going to put on diving suits and
head into that black water to repair some system in near-total darkness. Good luck! 3 Blood that’s pumping through the pipes in a random part of the ship is letting off a ghastly noise that’s scaring off the
engineers sent to repair it. Roll on the “Ghost Secondary Effects” tables (Blades in the Dark, p. 304), and check it out.
4 The master engineer has come up with a new invention that they swear will make
everyone’s lives easier. You have been chosen to test it out and debug any problems. One group of sailors who were previously assigned to bloodtending have started a cult that claims the ship—being filled
4 with demon blood—is actually a leviathan. Roll twice on the “Cult Practices” table (Blades in the Dark, p. 305). You have
A minor haunting is plaguing one of the ship’s systems. Get to the bottom of it without been asked to infiltrate the cult, and regularly report on their activities to the Master Butcher.
5 alerting the Master Augur. Roll on the “Ghost Traits” and “Ghost Secondary Effects”
tables (Blades in the Dark, p. 304). 5 A tank leak leads to random escapees. Roll 1d6 times on the “Summoned Horrors” table (Blades in the Dark, p. 304).

6 One of the ship’s systems is possessed, and the Master Augur is busy elsewhere. Roll on
the “Demon Desires” and “Summoned Horrors” tables (Blades in the Dark, p. 304).
6 An dire entity has phased out of the walls of the holding tank. Roll twice on the “Ghost Traits” table and a few times on the
“Ghost Secondary Effects” table (Blades in the Dark, p. 304).
ship’s compliment You may end up wanting to keep addition notes on NPC
backgrounds and their relationships with each other on a
commanders
and masters
seperate sheet of paper.
Roll or pick characteristics from the “People” table (Blades
in the Dark, p. 302) for each significant NPC among the The white boxes are for filling in the officer and master roles
officers and masters, the core leaders of the ship. on this particular ship, since they vary somewhat.

name, heritage name, heritage name, heritage
looks, gender looks, gender looks, gender

goals, methods goals, methods goals, methods

traits, interests traits, interests traits, interests

their next move their next move their next move

name, heritage name, heritage name, heritage
looks, gender looks, gender looks, gender

goals, methods goals, methods goals, methods

traits, interests traits, interests traits, interests

their next move their next move their next move

name, heritage name, heritage name, heritage
looks, gender looks, gender looks, gender

goals, methods goals, methods goals, methods

traits, interests traits, interests traits, interests

their next move their next move their next move

name, heritage name, heritage name, heritage

looks, gender looks, gender looks, gender

goals, methods goals, methods goals, methods

traits, interests traits, interests traits, interests

their next move their next move their next move

ship’s compliment Depending on how detailed you want to be in tracking NPCs
(or how quickly the human and natural horrors of the sea
sailors
and chum
diminish your supply of named NPCS), you may end up
Roll or pick characteristics from the “People” table (Blades needing multiple copies of this sheet. Still, it’s better to start
in the Dark, p. 302) for each significant NPC among the with just one and to not detail characters that you do not
general masses of sailors and chum. yet need to pay full attention to.

name, heritage name, heritage name, heritage
looks, gender looks, gender looks, gender

goals, methods goals, methods goals, methods

traits, interests traits, interests traits, interests

their next move their next move their next move

name, heritage name, heritage name, heritage
looks, gender looks, gender looks, gender

goals, methods goals, methods goals, methods

traits, interests traits, interests traits, interests

their next move their next move their next move

name, heritage name, heritage name, heritage
looks, gender looks, gender looks, gender

goals, methods goals, methods goals, methods

traits, interests traits, interests traits, interests

their next move their next move their next move

name, heritage name, heritage name, heritage
looks, gender looks, gender looks, gender

goals, methods goals, methods goals, methods

traits, interests traits, interests traits, interests

their next move their next move their next move

how to run a tight ship REMEMBER THE EFFECTS OF THIS WORK ON PEOPLE
Leviathan hunting is dangerous business. Physical injuries are common and some have
YOU DON’T NEED TO KEEP TRACK OF EVERYONE lasting consequences. The sterotype of hunters as having hook hands and peg legs is not
generally true, but it does happen. Scars, burns, and missing fingers and ears are relatively
There are scores of people on board a leviathan ship and you don’t need to takes notes on common. In addition, the direct handling of raw leviathan blood and viscera can lead to the
the personality and goals of every single one. Most of them can remain part of the crowd or development of “demon” traits, at least a sprinkling of them among the veterans. Hunters
nameless members of certain gangs or groups, unless they become notable and memorable are typically much more supportive and open-minded about these things than city-dwellers.
enough that the PCs are likely to have regular dealings with them. Then they go on the “Ship’s
Complement” sheets above. Masters and most officers should also appear on those sheets, WHEN YOU’RE FIGURING OUT WHAT COULD HAPPEN,
just because their agendas have a way of creating repurcussions for everyone else.
LOOK AT “NEXT MOVES” AND PICK ONE
EVERYONE COMES FROM SOMEWHERE The “Next Moves” portions of the Ship’s Complement sheets are arguably the most important.
Make countdowns for some of them and tick off sections when it’s mechanically or fictionally
Remember that only a rare handful people are actually born on a leviathan ship. Everyone
appropriate. Just like in Doskvol, nothing stands still—everything is continually in motion,
has a life that they’ve left behind on shore, whether something very fresh and recent that
including things that the PCs may have little stake in.
they are escaping—like a stint in prison—their family and friends, or something left behind
long ago. In addition, many folks are from Doskvol or have spent extensive time there, so
they probably know people that your crew knows and may be members of prominet Doskvol GIVE THE CHARACTERS JOBS TO DO
factions and gangs or at least have dealings with them. Those connections may or may not Nobody is left alone on a leviathan ship, with so much work to be done. Once the voyage
figure prominently at sea, where alignments are different, but they definitely mean something, is underway, assign the PCs to a master—grouping them together on the ship, just to keep
including that folks already have opinions about you and the circles you come from. things managable—and then roll or pick something off the “Activities at Sea” table, based
on their assigned duties. There are a multitude of shipboard tasks, and the officers and
ALMOST EVERYONE WAS FORCED INTO THIS, masters cannot possibly be available to supervise every single one. Hence, it’s typically up
AT LEAST IN THE BEGINNING to the players how they go about their duties, with the higher-ranking crew members only
showing up periodically, most often to distribute punishments for any disasters that occur.
Very few people actively seek the life of a leviathan hunter if they have other viable choices.
Consequently, sailors have a surprising amount of sympathy for newcomers, thinking back ROTATE ASSIGNMENTS REGULARLY
to their own early days on board a ship. However, this sometimes manifests in the form
of tough love, based on a philosophy of toughening new crew members so that they will Unless you are part of the hand-selected staff of a particular master, groups of crew members
survive longer. Until your shipmates are more confident of your continued presence, they will be rotated through service duties in different parts of the ship, serving under different
may consciously or unconsciously decide to not get too attached to you. masters. This is a great opportunity to put PCs together with a variety of different NPCs that
will support them and push their buttons in different ways.
THIS IS A DEADLY SERIOUS BUSINESS, While it may sound tempting to break up the PCs and send individuals to serve in different
BUT HUNTERS ALSO HAVE A LOT OF FUN parts of the ship, be wary of this because of the difficulties of switching back and forth between
them, running individual scenes. Splitting them into small groups of 2 or 3 is probably okay,
Hunters know, better than most, that any of them could die at any moment. You might think or even leaving one of them isolated from the resk for a brief period of time, but make sure
this would make them grim and serious, and that’s sometimes the case, especially when a they quickly get brought back together. They are still a gang, even on a leviathan ship, and
hunt is imminent. Yet, even in those moments when they are leaping into the boats to go risk that doesn’t work if they don’t get to operate as a group.
their lives against immense ocean demons, someone will crack a joke or sing a dirty song,
if just to break the tension. Such a jokester may get briefly dangled in the void sea, if their Note that, in addition, if they work really well at something, a master might request that they
humor isn’t met with appreciation, but playfulness and revelry are core to a hunter’s lifestyle. be assigned to their permanent allotment of non-rotating sailors.

Note too that “fun” means different things to different sailors. Joining an illicit cult of demon- ACTUALLY SING THE LEVIATHAN CHANTIES
worshippers is some crew members’ idea of a good time, as is instigating or betting on brawls
between different factions of the crew, or simultaneously conducting secret romances with For real, though. You will be pleasantly surprised how much a round of singing really jazzes
multiple commanding officers. Hunters live life both passionately and dangerously, and that up things in the middle of a tabletop roleplaying game. There are specific moments in the
is not always limited to the moments when they are atop a leviathan. voyage where the rules suggest singing particular songs, and the lyrics are in the appendix.
leviathan song: voyage tracker
departure underway (start a clock)
start Load up and sail out
of Doskvol Harbor.
Sailing on the Void Sea, deep into the far north,
and taking part in the daily grind of work
No

check for check for Yes

chum lottery leviathans complications Will the ship now
Sailors hunt lesser leviathan spawn to use as bait, Have you sighted Have there been head for port?
or risk becoming bait themselves a leviathan? unexpected events?

No
extraction checking the hold
leviathan hunt The ship withdraws
from engaging
the beast.
Has the hunt
been a success? The harvest is
inspected.
Yes

going ashore get paid doskvol harbor port unity return voyage (start a clock)
Are you looking for The raw blood
Is that all of it? Ah, it’s good Sailing to Lockport and then back to Doskvol,
some trouble, or is unloaded for
is it looking for you? You must be joking. to be home. processing. but still taking part in the daily grind of work

trouble at check for check for check for

the docks complications hauntings complications
end What nonsense
is going on?
What fresh mischief
is there in Skovlan?
Are you vexed by
ghosts and curses?
Have there been
unexpected events?

NOTES:
weather-related 1 Heavy rain or Raining ichor

complications 2 Strong winds

3 Snow and ice
or
or
Haunting voices
Horrific nightmares
Whenever you roll a complication, but want to 4 Fog or mist or Encroaching barnacles
introduce weather-related problems rather than
5 Eerie calmness or Enveloping darkness
those related to sailors’ execution of their duties,
roll or choose from this table: 6 Major storm or Spawn attack the ship
tracking a voyage differnet problem—it can create complications that affect the entire ship and its ability to
complete its mission. Consequently, for every tick on the “Underway” clock, roll a die to
see whether some other problem on board has expanded into something that the PCs may
Leviathan hunter voyages can vary in the length of playtime they require, depending on
the needs of your campaign. If you just want a very brief interlude at sea, you can probably have to deal with: 1-3, No new complications; 4-5, Minor complications that you can deal
play through a complete voyage in 1.5-2 sessions of play. Getting through everyone in one with as they come up; 6, Significant complications that you have to deal with now, on top of
session might even be possible if you portray it as a montage of different vignettes of life your other duties. If you roll a complication, roll or choose from one of the “Assignments at
at sea and skip right to the hunt itself. However, a voyage can also be a lengthier affair that Sea” tables and escalate a problem that was not effectively dealt with by other crew members.
takes up several sessions or even forms the basis of an entire campaign. You can also play a
hunter-centered campaign that includes mutltiple voyages of different lengths, maybe even 4. LEVIATHAN SIGN
on different ships. Consequently, what follows below are general guidelines that you can
Once your “Underway” clock is full or nearly full, you can begin to check once per day for
adjust as necessary, skipping, condensing, or expanding steps as needed.
leviathan sign, to see if anyone has spotted signs of a leviathan. This can include signs sensed
by the master augur’s specialized equipment or just a swarm of spawn glimped by a sentry up
1. DEPARTURE in the rigging. Roll one die: 1-2, No signs, try again tomorrow; 3-4, Minor signs, giving you a
Everyone and everything is loaded aboard, barring any complications, and the ship pushes rough direction to head in; 5-6, Major signs, indicated that you’re getting closer. To generate
off. Every sailor is required to be active and alert for potential problems. When the moment these signs, the GM can go ahead and roll a few times on the leviathan traits and/or
of departure comes, you should lead the players in singing “The Hunter’s Cant,” the chanty leviathan spawn tables, to get a sense of what you might see drifting and swimming in
most often sung when leaving port. the water or carried by the air—including horrid or strangely pleasant scents.
Once you have some sign, start a “Pursuit” clock—using a set of checkboxes, not a pie—with
2. UNDERWAY boxes equal to the size of the leviathan (i.e. 1d6+4 boxes). In order to actually pursue and
catch up to a leviathan, you need to check all these boxes. Minor signs allow you to check 1
Once clear of Doskvol Harbor and out in the void sea, all crew members have several days— box and major signs allow you to check 2. Hence, the actual length of the pursuit is somewhat
perhaps even several weeks—of regular duties before any signs of the great fish are spotted. random, though persistence will ultimately be rewarded, as long as you don’t run out of fuel
Set a countdown clock with 6 ticks, each of which represnts ~3 days of time and ~1 major and supplies first.
duty or incident in the life of the PCs. This is a good time to assign the PCs to particular
duties and play them out to see what happens. Note that you don’t need to play out every Note that if you decide a particular leviathan seems too difficult to catch—perhaps because
single day of the voyage, no more than you play out every day of life in Doskvol. Skipping it is a huge, “elder” fish that’s too huge or clever—you can abandon pursuit of your current
ahead days or even weeks is fine. target and begin searching for signs of a different leviathan.
In addition, the ship will use up its stores of fuel and supplies (including food and water) at a 5. CHUM LOTTERY
steady rate. In good weather, tick a box of fuel every 3 days, but bad weather uses up fuel at a
Once you complete your “Pursuit” clock and have successfully caught up with a leviathan, it’s
much higher rate: 1 box per day in stormy seas. Likewise, 1 tick worth of supplies will last 3
time to go fishing. In order to keep the leviathan on the surface and distracted long enough
days in normal circumstances, but tick off 1 box per day if a large number of crew members
for the harvest to occur—and to keep its attention away from the ship—you’ll need to chum
are sick, injured, haunted, or otherwise in need of additional care. If you cannot tick a box
the water with a large amount of blood and gore. In a pinch, you can slaughter a number of
for needed fuel or supplies—because you have already used up the full compliment—then
large animals or dump refined (and highly flammable) ectoplasm in the sea, but either of
the lack of resources begins to create real problems.
those methods uses up valuable supplies. Consequently, the preferred method is to capture
Note that leviathan hunters carry a full rigging’s worth of sails and lines, in the even that they a sizable number of the leviathan’s own spawn from the waters around the great sea beast,
need to operate under wind power. Some captains even prefer to be under sail on portions to be chopped up and turned into chum.
of the outward or return journeys, to preserve fuel that may be needed for other purposes.
This preliminary hunt is known as the “chum lottery,” for reasons lost to time. Some horrific
There is no obvious solution, however, to running out of food, water, and medical supplies.
stories suggest that the sailors who fail to catch any spawn were once doomed to be used as
Ideally, you can find a small island community where you can purchase goods, but many
chum themselves, but the truth of those stories is unclear. It is true, however, that the boats
communities have reasons to be less than welcoming to Imperial vessels, and gathering
that come back with the least weight in captured or killed spawn are often assigned the most
supplies in the wild takes time and expertise.
dangerous tasks in the upcoming hunt, while the most successful boats are given the most
important or lucrative assignments, so in that sense it’s still a lottery of sorts.
3. COMPLICATIONS AT SEA
Depending on how much gametime you want to spend on the chum lottery, you can either
The PCs often only have direct influence over the problems that fall under their assigned play out the entire thing as a quazi-mission, or—as the simplest method—treat it as a single
duties. If those duties get out of hand—or if another group of sailors fails to deal with a roll by the PC who’s taking the lead, with other players potentially assisting in that roll.
6. LEVIATHAN HUNT 10. COMPLICATIONS & HAUNTINGS DURING THE RETURN
The chum lottery also serves as a way to test out the capabilities of the leviathan and its spaawn, Complications and hauntings during the return voyage are also the same as the outward
as well as the current conditions of the sea and weather. Once the lottery is finished, then, journey, but the presence of raw leviathan blood and viscera on board means that weirder
it’s time for the master butcher to lead the hunt, based on the strategy and tactics decided and more dangerous things are likely to happen.
on by the captain and officers. Ideally the enlisted, non-officer masters were consulted on
the overall plan but that doesn’t always happen. 11. PORT UNITY & POTENTIAL COMPLICATIONS
The hunt itself involves a series of steps, so those are broken down in the next section, called Before returning to Doskvol, every leviathan hunter stops at the blood refineries outside of
the leviathan hunt. Lockport to unload their catch and fill up the ship’s hold with refined ectoplasm for transport
to the “mainland” of Akoros, literally fueling the Imperium. Generally, the ship’s complement
7. EXTRACTION does not get shore leave in Port Unity, since there’s not much to do there and security is really
Once the harvest has been completed, it’s time for the ship—ideally now heavy with a hold tight. Instead, it’s unload, reload, depart, with hardly any break in between. The hours are
full of demon flesh—to extract itself from this encounter with the leviathan. At this point, brutal, but the sailors often are eager to get home and jump to finish these last steps, even
the chum is likely mostly devoured or is no longer holding the beast’s attention. Worse, it’s if it involves mopping out the residue of raw blood in the hold so the refined stuff can be
probably enraged or at least mildly annoyed by the harvest of portions of its body and the pumped in. The ship is usally also given a thoroughly cleaning before sailing for Doskvol.
blood-soaked ship is likely to seem like the best new target. However, delays happen and equipment does break. Sometimes there’s just too many hunting
ships coming into Port Unity at the same time, so you may sit offshore for a day or two. Roll
Leviathans are known to track ships for several days, sometimes weeks, through all kinds of for complications every day you remain in Port Unity, including trouble that results from
weather and rough seas. Hunters are not allowed to return to Lockport or, worse, Doskvol labor issues or political unrest.
with an angry leviathan on their stern, so shaking off the beast’s pursuit is a priority. Woe
befalls the ship who treats the extraction process too casually and then encounters engine 12. DOSKVOL HARBOR & POTENTIAL COMPLICATIONS
trouble, allowing the beast to catch up to them.
Doskvol may be home, but there’s still some work to do before you can leave the ship,
Conseqently, it’s often best to reserve some portion of the harvest to return to the sea, acting
including unloading the refined ectoplasm. Roll at least once for complications, including
as a second slick of chum to temporarily distract the leviathan and allow for the ship’s escape.
various gangs and factions within the city hearing of your return.
Sometimes this can be excess viscera that lies openly on the deck or in the boasts and is unable
to fit into the hold. Sometimes a spare boat is filled with gore and rigged with a fixed rudden
so that the motor hopefully leads the beast away from the ship’s course. 13. GETTING PAID
Mechanically, you can either play out the extraction as an extra task that the PCs are assigned Once everything is finished, stop by the quartermaster’s storage room to get paid. This money
to deal with, or instead have the leviathan’s continued pursuit come up as a potential is not kept on board during the voyage but is instead brought on in a locked chest once the
“complication” during the return voyage. refined ectoplasm is fully unloaded. Each sailor’s share is, by tradition, 1 stash for every five
boxes of raw harvest that ended up in the hold, up to 8 stash. Don’t spend it all in one place!
8. CHECKING THE HOLD However, individual sailors or groups can be docked stash (-1 or -2 stash) or given bonus
stash (up to +2 stash) at the sole discretion of the quartermaster and ship’s officers, based on
Each pair of boats is responsible for returning with up to 5 boxes worth of raw harvest, their contributions to the hunt and overall voyage. In general, personal grudges or favors
checked off on the ship sheet. However, the vast majority of harvests are not fully successful, do not feature strongly in how much sailors are paid, since that’s bad for business, though
leaving portions of the hold empy. Following a hunt, then, the captain must decide whether it’s not uncommon for 1-2 stash to mysteriously move around during the final accounting,
to return to port with the current catch or to continue the hunt, either making another run based on the whims of the higher-ups or surprise “taxes and fees.” In such cases, whether the
at the same leviathan or pursuing a different beast. PCs decide its worth it to press for their proper share or not is up to them.

9. RETURN VOYAGE 14. GOING ASHORE

The return voyage works exactly the same as the outward voyage, but the GM should feel Finally home. With everything and everybody that’s awaiting you, especially now that you
free to make it a bit shorter, even if the ship has pursued one or more leviathans to the far have a lot of jingle in your pockets—maybe more than you should really be carrying around
corners of the sea. On the return journey, everyone knows where you’re going, as opposed in your pockets. Suddenly you’ll have a lot of “friends,” enemies, and debt collectors that are
to having to scour the sea for leviathan sign. Be careful to keep an eye on fuel and supplies, eager to meet with you, as well of plenty of reasons to part with some of your hard-earned
though, since its easy and even expected to be running low near the end of a voyage. money. Good luck!
the leviathan hunt Each pair of boats is also supposed to work as a team, coordinating their actions and
supporting each other, but that doesn’t always happen either. A common piece of hunter
wisdom is that the landing is the most deadly part of the hunt, because everyone is in the boat
1. OBSERVATION & IDENTIFICATION together and nobody’s quite sure yet of what’s around them, especially underwater, or what
will greet them on the shore. If there’s a moment in the hunt where you risk losing all hands
Both during pursuit and throughout the chum lottery, the master butcher and other along with the boat, it’s the landing. But if you manage that, then things are looking alright.
experienced masters and officers will have had the opportunity to get a good sense of the
beast you are targetting, at least as much as they can tell without direct contact. This gives
them the opportunity to either (A) identify the leviathan as one of the dozens of named
6. SURVIVING THREATS
and known beasts or (B) give it a new name and epithet in the old tradition. With known Spawn will show up to defend the leviathan and drive off visitors as soon as they can, which
leviathans, the records may give some history or advice on how to approach the harvest, varies based on their speed and numbers. Generally speaking, smaller spawn arrive more
whcih the master butcher can share. quickly, with the larger spawn moving more slowly, though this is not always true. Often a
boat of 6-8 sailors will assign roughly half of the available hands to keeping watch, fighting
2. POSITIONING THE SHIP spawn, and protecting the others—while also throwing the parts of any defeated spawn into
the boat with the harvest. The other half are supposed to stay busy with the harvest unless the
Before the hunt can properly begin, the ship itself has to positioned close enough to the sentries yell out for them to flee or hide. Unfortunately, the plans made on the ship or even
leviathans so that the boats can be launched within reasonable range. However, it’s also in the boats often fall apart once you’re atop a leviathan and strange things start happening.
useful to keep the ship as far away from the leviathan as you can, to prevent any damage to Adaptability and quick thinking is required if you want to stay alive and return to the ship
the ship. The captain personally directs this step, with his orders implemented by the sailing with sufficient harvest to be paid in full.
master and the officers.
7. THE HARVEST
3. LAUNCHING BOATS
Each boat can hold 3 checkboxes full of harvested blood and viscera, which has to be both
Once the ship is in position, the captain gives the order and the master butcher relays it: extracted and transported to the boats. Note, however, that each pair of boats is only supposed
“Boats away!” All available sailors pile into one of the 16 boats, which are launched in eight to bring back 5 boxes worth, so if you return with a full 6 boxes between two boats, you’re
pairs. The 4 remaining boats are kept in reserve for rescues and replacements when boats essentially doing some other pair of boats a favor, by making up for whatever they fail or
are damaged or lost. Some or all of the boats will carry prepared buckets, baskets, or piles of harvest. In fictional terms, it can be helpful to think of each checkbox as the equivilent of a
chum, in preparation for distracting and pacifying the beast during the harvest. The rest of huge wine cask or barrel holding ~250 gallons, meaning that three huge barrels really are
the boats will be armed to the teeth with butchery implements and containers for holding the max that a boat can carry without tipping over or running too low in the water. There’s
the results of the harvest. Each boat has a small motor in the rear but also carries oars that no reason, though, that your boat has to carry three large barrels rather than a variety of
can be used in emergencies. different containts, from casks and buckets to baskets, small tanks, glass jars, and rope for
binding sheaves of spines.
4. CHUMMING THE WATER
Each empty checkbox or barrel-equivilent of containers starts out as an empty countdown
Before the boats get too close to the leviathan, it’s important that the water be properly which the PCs—and the NPCs who are also in their pair of boats—have to fill by making
chummed and the great beast’s attention focused on the slick of gore spread before it. This is rolls in various harvesting actions, filling in clock piecee as per the standard rules. Once a
messy, dangerous work, as it involves getting close to the leviathan’s head and maw (assuming clock is completely full, you can check a box, assuming that portion of the harvest makes it
it has one that you can percieve) and shoveling chum hurriedly over the side, before clearing back to the ship. To determine how much harvest each of the other pairs of boats returns
out of the way. This job is often reserved for whichever boats had the worse performance in with, the GM should roll 1d6 for each one, checking those boxes on the ship sheet.
the Chum Lottery, but sometimes more veteran sailors insist on taking the job, when they
are worried that inexperienced hands might create too much danger for everyone. 8. BACK TO THE BOATS AND THE SHIP
5. GOING “ASHORE” Once you’ve harvested as much as you can or the conditions on the leviathan deteriorate
compeltely, it’s time to jump back in the boats and race back to the ship with the harvest.
Once the leviathan is calmed and distracted by the chum, it’s time for the boats to land on Note that boats are generally much slower and less manuverable on the way back, thanks to
or near it’s exposed back and for the harvesters to go “ashore” to do their bloody work. Each the extra weight, so all rolls involving speed and careful steering should be more difficult or
pair of boats is supposed to land on a different region of the leviathan, in order to maximize fraught. In addition, there are many tales of boats being left adrift on the Void Sea when a
the harvest and find as many rare viscera as possible (and for safety). But sometimes boats ship was forced to leave without them or, worse, of sailors being marooned on a leviathan’s
compete for prime locations or multiple pairs end up harvesting in the same general area. back. This doesn’t happen very often, but it’s a good incentive to row harder.
LEVIATHANS
THEIR HABITS
& THEIR ASSORTED KIN
the biology and behavior GENERATING & MAPPING LEVIATHANS

of giant oceanic demons

The table on the following page includes basic guidelines for generating leviathans. Name,
epithet, and shape should all be fairly straightforward.
Next, all leviathans are huge, even in comparison to the largest spawn. For our purposes, the
LEVIATHAN LIFE CYCLE exact size of a leviathan doesn’t matter, so we instead focus on how many general “regions”
are exposed—and harvestable—when the leviathan surfaces. The leviathan’s size is thus
Honestly, we don’t really know much, even now. Where did leviathans come from? Were they 1d6+4 regions (ranging from 5 to 10 regions). A region is a very general unit that can range
born or created? Did they always exist? Do they ever birth new leviathans? Are they even in area from a small field to the scope of one of Doskvol’s districts, but regions are useful in
alive in the same way as humans and animals, since they are—as far as we can tell—enormous tracking which parts of the leviathan the ship’s sailors are currently standing on.
demons? Do they need to eat or do they just enjoy the taste or sensation? Why do they often
eat their own spawn? Do they ever hunt each other or is that all just rumors and sailors’ tales? The terrain in each district reflects one or more demon traits from the leviathan tables.
For example, the region that consists of the head and shoulders of Songramal, The Orchestra
of Pain, might feature both “dripping ichor” and “a forest of spines,” so the GM might describe
LEVIATHAN MIGRATIONS
the terrain as a thicket of needle-sharp spines as high as a sailor’s chest, with each spine slowly
Leviathans have been spotted all over the Void Sea, but they are only irregularly found on squirting out dark blue ichor that drips down each spine. Fun! A neighboring region might
the surface of the ocean except for in the traditional hunting season. During this season, have just spines or just ichor, or combine one or both of those traits with something else.
which stretches from late Suran through early Volnivet (see Blades in the Dark, p. 245), a Sketching a rough map of the exposed regions of the leviathan is a good idea, including
huge number of leviathans migrate to the northern portions of the sea and can be regularly noting where the PCs land their boats and where they have traveled during the harvest to
spotted surfacing and meandering around. What is the cause of this behavior? Again, we don’t gather various leviathan parts. You can also add a treasure or two, and add spawn as needed.
truly know, though you should ask the Master Butcher or Master Augur for their conjectures,
which are always entertaining.
WAKING THE DREAMERS
LEVIATHAN PERSONALITY There are rare leviathans called dreamers that appear to be sleeping, drifting languidly in
the Void Sea’s currents. This relaxing pose is a mask, however, for their vivid imagination,
Each leviathan is remarkably unique in both appearance and behavior, which has led humans which generates entire worlds that exist only within the Dreamer’s mind. Sailors who approach
to give them unique names and titles. That said, leviathans never seem to communicate a Dreamer in boats will not find themselves landing on the leviathan’s back but instead
directly with people in any clearcut way. They sometimes seem to demonstrate emotions like transported to a different time and place in the creature’s dreamworld, often given new goals
anger and annoyance in response to human activities, but other times a leviathan’s actions and identities, just as in some dreams and nightmares.
will seem to follow an alien logic of their own, rather than something a person or animal
might do. While there are reports of rare leviathans talking or singing in a human language, The only way to harvest blood and viscera from a dreaming leviathan, then, is to play out
I remain skeptical. I suspect if leviathans wanted to communicate with us, they would use the dream, living and acting within the dreamworld until it resolves and the sailors are free
a means other than words. again. When this occurs, the sailors will awake back in their boats to discover that very
little time has passed and that their tanks and baskets are all eerily full of leviathan blood,
LEVIATHAN SPAWN slabs of flesh, and rare translucent parts that have been carefully stacked and arranged in
neat patterns, like a fancy meal carefully plated by a master chef. The leviathan will be gone.
Spawn are not leviathans but are created from a leviathan’s flesh. Such spawn are simply Mechanically, you can simulate an encounter with a Dreamer by temporarily switching
“emitted” rather than hatching from an egg or being birthed. Sometimes they appear to to play a different roleplaying game, one that represents the leviathan’s dreamworld. Once
emerge from various orifices, including mouths and eyes, but other times they form as nodes you have played out a brief portion the other game, ranging from 1 or 2 scenes to an entire
of skin or protrusions on the leviathan’s body that then break off and act independently. session or multi-session arc of play—you can come back and continue to play Blades. If you
While spawn behavior can be quite complex, most scientists do not think they have their own want a short interlude, it’s probably best to choose a “micro-game” or one that’s easy to pick
spirits. Rather, they are manifestations of the leviathan’s consciousness, operating to protect up and play immediately, without lengthy prep or character/setting creation. John Harper’s
and support the leviathan’s ineffable plans. This has yet to be verified, but a number of master written a number of games that fit this description—The Mustang, Lady Blackbird, Pocket
augurs are interested in capturing spawn and moving them far away from their leviathan to Danger Patrol, World of Dungeons, etc.—but any short game from Patreon or Itch.io is also
see if their behavior—and their “link” with the great beast—is affected. a great choice, and there are a ton of such games that you might not get a chance to play
Spawn are not normally aggressive toward humans, but they will defend themselves and other otherwise. For a longer dream interlude, you can play any game you want, but trying out
spawn if attacked, and they do not welcome visitors who approach close to the leviathan. another “Forged in the Dark” game might be a natural segue.
leviathans NAME
11 Olvilis
12 Drulvollon
EPITHET
Crowned in Iron
The Baleful Orphan
SHAPE
Serpent
Turtle
DEMON TRAITS
Endless rows of shark teeth
Iridescent scales
TREASURES
Radiant orb
Crystal mirror
SPAWN
Bloodworm swarm
Demon eels
GENERATING A LEVIATHAN
13 Voglarax Rain-of-Ashes Shark Razor-sharp claws Pulsing strands Butcherfish (boat-size piranha)
1. Roll or choose a name and epithet. 14 Ilganea The Hidden Legion Anglerfish Bony protrusions Warm glass Homarids (giant crab-people)
2. Its form is that of a giant dragon-like chimera, 15 Brelrethaan Lady of Oblivion Seahorse Multiple eyes Cask of ichor Ghost-white octopi
with features that resemble those of various sea
16 Jalgamath The Rolling Shadow Octopus Lashing tendrils Golden scales Thoroughly mutated people
creatures (roll 2-3 times on the shape table).
21 Kurnomog Deep Lord of Woe Squid A forest of spines An incisor Clouds of stinging insects
3. Its size is 1d6+4, which is the number of distinct
regions of its body, each with different features 22 Thozgimor The Godless Prophet Eel Undulating strands of hair Folded frill Autonomous parts of the leviathan
and terrain. Roll or choose 4-6 demon traits 23 Ezgeth The Horned Flock Lobster Dripping ichor Humming blood Large flying jellyfish
and sketch a rough map of the different regions, 24 Magdronnol Vessel of Gray Morning Crab Glowing markings Blue goop Dog-sized amphibians
mainly the parts above the water’s surface, with
1-3 of the demon traits in each region. 25 Juniros The Toothed Eyes Nautilus Metallic plates A chipped beak Aquatic dinosaurs

4. A few regions will also contain treasures: rare, 26 Sagthul Lan The Lone Swordbearer Crocodile Tufts of blue-black feathers A severed fin Schools of singing dreamfish
valuable things that hunters can harvest for a 31 Drethtimog Instrument of Her Wrath Abalone Multiple articulated arms A tusk A house-sized crustacean
potential bonus in pay—or perhaps to secretly 32 Berkosha With Myriad Graces Manatee Suction-cupped tentacles Shell plate Ocean mammals with human voices
hoard for themselves.
33 Dalgomur The Broken Giantess Jellyfish A hard, bony shell A perfect feather Color-changing rainbow fish
5. Roll or choose spawn as needed, combining
34 Orzoch Wrought-by-Lightning Sea cucumber Floating lights flash Flap of striped skin Angular fish with strange geometry
them with rolls on the shape or demon traits
tables if you need more variety. 35 Drikath The Endless Swarm Sculpin Patches of aquatic plants Oozing pus Toothed bloodsquid (giant)
36 Galmadin The Echoing Thunder Geoduck Mechanical wreckage Tuft of silver hair Goblin sharks with human legs
LEVIATHAN ACTIVITIES 41 Thulmadar The Unbound Coil Walrus Pools of strange liquid Poisonous spines Lamprey-faced dolphins

When you first spot or approach a leviathan, roll 42 Zarzonnog The Orchestra of Pain Baleen whale Crystalline shards Black foam residue Giant rays with infinitely long tails
or choose from the following table to determine 43 Xolrisha The Bird and the Doorway Toothed whale Acidic clouds A barnacle Roll 3 random shapes and combine
what it is doing. Choices from the left side of the
44 Sogmoroth The Veiled Maw Isopod Skin pulled back or peeling A remora Roll a random shape, but humanlike
table are more banal and those from the right side
are more disturbing and surreal. Feel free to make 45 Tethtillog Clothed in Beauty Spider crab Hypnotic lights Saliva-soaked rag Roll a random shape, but inside-out
other choices during the hunt itself, if it makes 46 Zalmol Ath Returner of Blessings Krill Vibrations in the air Bone marrow Roll a random shape, but it flies
sense in the context of the game. 51 Ullmuxal Throne of Nightmares Sea dragon Lashing hooks External organ

1 Singing or Playing with its spawn 52 Drogdraluuth The Circle and Its End Horseshoe crab Freezing winds Length of artery

2 Bobbing or Shedding its skin 53 Irgron The Heart-Eater Sea snail Electrical discharges A toenail

3 Slowly sinking or With another leviathan 54 Dirnolloth She Who Waits Batfish Disturbing shadows A major eyeball Ghosts of dead hunters and other
spectral emanations, roll on the
4 Eating or Unwrapping itself 55 Xalgrarin The Endless Descent Ray Faint echoes A sensory cluster
appropriate tables (Blades in the
56 Galgothan Tide of Bones Anemone Voices in your head Bioluminescent oil Dark, p. 304).
5 Leaping or Emitting new spawn
6 Spouting or Building something 61 Dergath The Graveyard Gate Catfish Slippery wet skin A bag of lice
62 Varroketh Unity of All Things Pike Mountainous ridges A stinger

LEVIATHAN DREAMS 63 Songramal Heart of the Storm Sunfish Spongy tissue An antenna
64 Ogmanod The Executor Coral Gelatinous membranes Major organ tissue An actual demon with its own
Rare leviathans called dreamers concoct entire will and agenda, roll on the
worlds in their imaginations. Be careful not to get 65 Kolmathuun Friend of the Lost Lamprey Stretched webbing Shipwrecked artifacts appropriate tables (Blades in the
trapped inside one of these dreamworlds. 66 Magthumor The Bloody Wake Pipefish Pulsing gills A famous corpse Dark, p. 304).
 “ STRONGER IN SERVICE ”
PORT UNITY
2

4
1

Just north of Lockport proper lies Port Unity, which Skovs call 1 Unity Docks. The most notorious seaport in the known world, 4 Lockport Channel. A southern branch of the formerly fierce
“the Blight on the Ulgash.” To leviathan hunters and Akorosi where immense quantities of demon viscera are offloaded in Ulgash River, which has been dredged and widened to allow for
traders it’s often the only part of Lockport that they’ve visited: pumps and pipes, to be processed and then returned to the same ships commercial ship traffic to Lockport. Now a languid, gentle current.
a heavily fortified industrial complex designed for one thing— for transport to the rest of the Imperium.
the processing of leviathan blood and viscera into ectoplasm.
2 Blood Refineries. While some facilities are still being rebuilt Wealth  
  

Signs of the recent Unity War are omnipresent, whether in the from damage sustained during the Unity War, production has
crews repairing sabotaged structures or the propaganda posters mostly returned to the pre-War levels, barring semi-regular hauntings. Security & Safety  
  
 
hung on every blank stretch of wall. Port Unity is “Stronger in Criminal Influence
Workers’ Quarter. Those who toil in the blood refineries  
  

Service” to the Imperium, at least that’s what the slogans claim. 3 are required to live in this highly policed district where they are
But the Skovs who toil in the refineries and bear the direct monitored for signs of political dissent or social unrest. Occult Influence  
  

effects of handling demon blood... they disagree.
APPENDIX: AFTER A
SUCCESSFUL
HUNT
RETURN TO
DOSKVOL

LEVIATHAN
HUNTER, LAY YOUR
BURDENS DOWN
THE FACE ‘E BORE Hunter, lay your burdens down
When I was born, ma said to me Let the monsters roar, jack!
The face ‘e bore looked a bit like me!

CHANTIES
Some were lost and some did drown
‘E said my child never go to sea Now we’re safe ashore, jack!
Hey, ho, the face ‘e bore! The void it sings and the void it claims!
For there, out there, the things you’ll see Call for us no more, jack!
The face ‘e bore looked a bit like me! Bid us sleep and quiet dreams
You’ll ask yourself, “How can this be?” ‘Til we leave this shore, jack!
Hey, ho, the face ‘e bore!
(Often repeated in a round)
The face ‘e bore, a-lye-dee-oh!
DEPARTURE LEVIATHAN The face ‘e bore looked a bit like me!
The face ‘e bore, a-lye-dee-oh!
THE HUNTER’S CANT SIGHTING Hey, ho, the face ‘e bore!
ADD YOUR OWN CHANTY:

We’re off to hunt the biggest fish When I was a babe on grandma’s knee…
That anyone ever did see CHUM IN THE WATER
Is ‘e bigger than a house, my friend? Signs on the horizon When I was young, pa said to me…
Aye, ‘e looked bigger to me! Tell of a levi’than
Bigger than a house, my friend! Run to the oars, my sailor! When I was grown, they said to me…
Aye, ‘e looked bigger to me! Into the boats, my love — hey!
Bigger than a house, my friend! Where be the lad with the pale green eyes? But I didn’t listen and went to sea
Aye, ‘e looked bigger to me! ‘E’s chum in the water! chum in the water! The face ‘e bore looked a bit like me!
Where be the hand that once held mine? And I saw a fish as big as the sea
Is ‘e bigger than the ship, my friend? … ‘E’s chum in the water, love — hey! Hey, ho, the face ‘e bore!
So I crawled up ‘is back to see what I’d see
Is ‘e bigger than the docks, my friend? … Where be the lad with lips so fine? … The face ‘e bore looked a bit like me!
And I saw a face looked a bit like me
Is ‘e bigger than the sky, my friend? … Where be the lad with skin like wine? … Hey, ho, the face ‘e bore!

We’re off to hunt the biggest fish Where be my true love for all time? … The face ‘e bore, oh!
That anyone ever did see The face ‘e-ee bore!
Is ‘e better than a heart, my friend? Where be this dear heart of mine? … The face ‘e bore, oh!
No thing’s bigger than a heart! The face ‘e-ee bore!
Bigger than a heart, my friend!
No thing’s bigger than a heart! The face ‘e bore, a-lye-dee-oh!
Bigger than a heart, my friend! The face ‘e bore looked a bit like me!
No thing’s bigger than a heart! The face ‘e bore, a-lye-dee-oh!
Hey, ho, the face ‘e bore! FOR AUDIO RECORDINGS SEE
BLADESINTHEDARK.COM