The High Rollers

Mistresses, Marauders and Murders; The Elite and Eclectic

Old Sins and New Money

There is a class of criminal who, in the slimy and scintillating context of a gambling hall, stoops head and shoulders above their gutterbound peerage. The ganglords, the gangsters, the candymen and killers. These varied and venerated rogues in gallery reflect the hierarchy of Essex, the Brass Rose - and in a macrocosm, the powerful exceptions to the unextraordinary bandits, smugglers and wetmen who make up the underbelly of society in the San Saba. 

The Highrollers are not a faction, but rather a concept applied to the viciously effective and merciless upon reaching a certain echelon of success. They are, largely, in Essex to gain access to the grave economy of the Dead Man’s Hand, where one may purchase the gambled-and-lost Infection of previous gamesters who bet their very lives against the House, and lost. 

A Roguish Gallery 

There are dozens of Highrollers who have taken up residence in Essex for the duration of the Dead Man’s Hand. For gambling, gore or glory; these are just some of the pernicious megalomaniacs you might spot in the honey-scented halls of the Brass Rose. 

Sid Sidewinder - Arsonist and barsonist, this DJ Killhouse Lifer is looking for a good time to set on fire. He loses a few Infection a year, most in October, and by all accounts should have died years ago. A psion who belches flame and a man, seemingly, without a mission. 

Dr. Emil Nelson. Section 128 - Whizkid gone wrong, Dr. Emil is a Final Knight who follows orders. He blames his actions on his bespotten warlord and cringes under duress - but is responsible for many of the Blueprints being presented as prizes at the Dead Man’s Hand.

Huckleberry the Bloodhound - Lawdogs are mercenaries with a focus on catching Breachers; contract breakers. A sin in the Lonestar, Huckleberry was once notorious as a Lawdog for his brutal methodologies and bloody interpretation of contract language. When the Lawdogs unionized, he left. Since then Huckleberry’s taken the jobs the Lawdogs won't stoop to. 

Lady De Luxe, Former Guild Mistress - Severe, obscure, festooned in gold and heavy lace; Lady De Luxe was once the leader of the Guild in Old Bravo. But four years ago she committed public suicide and, supposedly, died for good. Obviously, untrue. Now she’s back and, assumably, looking to buffer the space between her and the Grave.

Scorpio, Disciple of Zodiac: Unborn but yet bound, one of the 12 students rumored to labor and lyctor under Zodiac. Deeply involved with the Infectious Cycle as a matter of profession, who knows to what dire purpose Scorpio endeavors in the City of Light and Sound. 

Carina Astora, the Saltwater Sweetheart: A pirate princess who fancies themselves a gentleman adventurer in pursuit of wealth and power. Casually, a terrorist; professionally, a person of business. Astora will do anything for money, and more because she feels like it.

Jeremy Scales, Leader of the Vipers: The most charming psychopath may you never meet. Jeremy Scales is known for being both the slipperiest train bandit to ever grace the San Saba, and the ugliest. His remnant mutation is calloused, pus-filled boils along the ridge of his cheeks - at a distance resembling scales. 

Octane the Merciless, Eater of Flames:  Octane is a huge and powerfully fat man, with a voracious appetite for wealth and luxuries.  The corrupt Diesel Jock head Quartermaster of the Road Royal Clan,  He has a fanatic posse of DJs that operate as his bodyguards, and one of the fastest, most well armed vehicles you’ve likely ever seen. 

Bearing their own Brand of Genius

Accompanying the Highrollers are the tools of their trade. In exchange for a ludicrous number of chips, the currency that enables the purchase of Infection, some of these eclectic supervillains have anted-up the designs for their customized weaponry and clandestine gizmos. Those blueprints are now some of the most valuable prizes offered by the Dead Man's Hand and purchasable with - as you might intuit, chips.