What the Plot? (D66-table for random building)

What the Plot?

Picturesque Sketches of London (1852) by Thomas Miller

A lot of adventuring in a town like London happens in the street. Sure, you could try for encyclopedic knowledge and describe ALL THE STREETS. But you can also make a few nice tables. Which allows you to introduce a lot more of oddities that the encyclopedic approach.

So if you need a place to meet, your players follow someone that goes into a building, a recurrent question will be: “what’s on the other side of the street?”,then roll on the table and improvise!
As always, Odd numbers are odd encounters.

1D66	Building
11	A tidy entrance to a stone house with a rosewood plaque: “Heinrick Burke, Alienist & Lobotomist, Research in Scientific, Clinical & Chirurgical Neurology”
12	This manor was a nice residence, before Francis Augustus, Lord Heathfield let it derelict. The wind howls through the walls, or are these noises made by ghosts?
13	A Torii (japanese gate) opens to a wasteland. A rumor says that on full moon nights, the gate shimmers with white energy and people step out of it...
14	Sound of fanfare and horses come from this enormous building: “Astley's Amphitheatre”, master equestrian, entrepreneur, and showman.
15	A porter stands before a pub and invite to enter and have a refreshment. He addresses everyone by their name, adding a Random Title to their name
16	This little shop is tiny, narrow, and full of shelves overloaded with paper. At his pulpit, in the middle sits: “Augustin Leaden, public writer and copyist"
21	A bank of thick fog obscures the view of this address. 10 paces into the fog, you fall into the Thames near the pier of a warehouse of the east indian company
22	Loud metal smithing noise, a smell of soot and some neighing horses can be heard coming out of this workshop of the Worshipful Company of Farriers
23	A fountain looms over an old wash house. Throw a shilling in the fountain and it disappears. Next morning, you wake up a year older but with a £ in your pocket
24	A feather shop, full of colors from peacock feathers, but also white from geese feathers for pillow-making. Lots of fine people wear feathers on their hat.
25	This house looks like all walls are made of mirrors. The reflections you see are very gloomy and all beings but yourself are reflected as zombies
26	This building looks like a fortress, complete in stone and iron bars. Soldiers patrols the perimeter. Over the gate: “Embassy of the Kingdom of Syldavia"
31	This building is carved in a gigantic mushroom. The mushroom doesn’t seem to suffer from being carved and is supposedly occupied by a coven of witches
32	Before you stands a replica of 8000 years of history: the Sphinx on a smaller scale. It houses a prosperous Kilim shop: “Aladdin's stunning carpets imports"
33	This plain looking house cancels all noises in front of itself. You even cannot hear your heart beating or anything said. A celebrated hotel opened opposite to it
34	An artisanal dwarf smith from Scafell Pike works out of this address. He has a roomy workshop, his metalwork being in great demand in London’s high society
35	On the wall of the house, a “Wanted”-poster hangs with your face on it. Everyone sees his own face on that poster, but with a different reward in U.S. dollars
36	This loud place is a renowned workshop for music instruments. “Fratelli Ferrari’s Mandolins and Bagpipes” is the place to buy an exotic instrument
41	A person hangs willingly on a cross over the door of “Christabel’s exorcism and unburdening boudoir”. People getting off the cross are miraculously cured
42	This very busy place is staging post combining a pub, hotel and stables which allow horses to be unhitched and replaced with fresh one, during daylight
43	Anytime an arcanum is used in this street, the bells of this derelict “Antithaumaturgic Church of England & Salem” starts to ring a gloomy melody
44	A strange colored cloud smokes out of the furnace of this kludgy repaired ramshackle. A gas lantern reads: “Jason Galwax, genius Inventor & Alchemist"
45	A buzzing sounds originates from the roof: Aldwin Bjornbuzzle sells here honey. His bees seem to never attack anyone unless ordered to...
46	The best armored clothes of the City are made here, invisible under garments! O’brien’s: neither the prettiest nor the most protective, but the best compromise!
51	This halfling Tattoo shop is renowned for its moving tattoos. They have a life of themselves, are self-conscious, and leave their hosts if they feel disregarded
52	The Clockwork-house ticks all the time. It indicates the time in different places, time zones, some you never heard of… This is also a watchmaker’s shop...
53	This house is burning. Always has been burning since 1666. It seems it will never stop to burn. The smoke can be used to find your way through London
54	Here stands a 5m high statue of “Sir” Jeffrey Dunstan, “Mayor of Garrat”. He holds a wig in his hand and makes fun at the Tower Bridge
55	This small house with garden would be lovely if not for the fact that it’s covered with spider silk. Rumors go that the monster is big enough to eat humans
56	Inside this colossal Orangerie, you see verdoyant & wild-growing jungle plants. The gardeners tending the orangerie always walk in armed with a machete.
61	A Baobab, exactly as broad as a house, takes up this lot. A house is carved inside it, but Goutysnarl doesn’t mind. He’ll douse any fire magically, though...
62	This slaughterhouse has a black market, in the back, only open between sundown and midnight. You can get human flesh there. Ask for white venison...
63	Only people who have brought a cat to purr in the last 7 days can see this temple to Bastet. Luckily there are a lot of cats around this “invisible” house...
64	This shop sells mushrooms, fungi, bottled spores, yeasts, toadstools… Edible or not. Apparently, they are grown under the Big Smoke. In the Sewers?
65	An venerable oak supports a derelict treehouse, accessible by a ladder of braided evergreen vines, only climbable by invitees and persons of interest to the Faes...
66	A small pier and a derelict warehouse stand on the side of a narrow canal to the Thames, under the neighbouring houses. This is only used at night by smugglers

Notes:

11. This is a reference to Johann Gottlieb Burckhardt (24 December 1836 – 6 February 1907), a Swiss psychiatrist. This is highly anachronistic, most of the research in psychology and neurology starts with Freud at the end of the 19th century. But who doesn’t like a good transorbital lobotomy?
12. A very wild growth of a mix of rose and strawberry starch make it impossible to get to the manor without ripping your clothes. The smell of the garden is refreshing, though... 
13. A Torii generally signals the entrance of a Shinto shrine. This one leads (if open) to  steps in the middle of a forest in Usa Jingū, Ōita Prefecture.
14. Historically, this place was in  Westminster Bridge Road in Lambeth. Philip Astley (8 January 1742 – 27 January 1814) is regarded as the "father of the modern circus" 
15. He uses an arcanum that let him know the True Name of anyone he speaks to. The title can be his own imagination or also given by the arcanum, as you prefer
16. Not everyone can properly read in the lower classes, but letters are the only cheap way to stay in touch with relatives

21. The guards of the honourable east indian company will probably not be welcoming unless you have a very good excuse, or the means to bribe them
22. The Worshipful Company of Farriers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. The Farriers, or horseshoe makers, organised in 1356 and received a Royal Charter of incorporation in 1674. At the beginning of the 19th century, they are extremely important to the economy, since horse and windpower are the backbone of the industry. Steam-power is still quite experimental…
23. Do not tell your players right away that they age a year, describe muscle and joints aching, maybe a few new white hairs or some balding. If they use the fountain regularly for monetary purposes, MAKE THEM PAY!
24. In London 1814, the pollution of the air is such that everyone wears a hat to protect their hair. Feathers are a good way to personalise or decorate your hat.
25. Will you ever be able to trust the other members of your party after seeing their zombieface?
26. This is a reference to a fictional Balkan country that is part of the universe of “The Adventures of Tintin”. If you are interested, read on wikipedia: Syldavia

31. Think more like morrowind mushrooms than smurf mushrooms. The witches are descendants from witches that fled Salem over 150 years ago
32. A chase on the roof of the street could lead to a character or NPC to unintentionally break the nose of this wonder
33. The house actually EATS all noises and grows, minimally, with every noise made in front of it. The house loooves gunshots. “The unwinding sleep hotel”, on the other side of the street refuses any client that behave loudly, since the silence of the street does not expand into the hotel
34. The Scafell Pike dwarves are secluded but loyal subjects of the crown. They inhabit the highest “mountain” of England and their craftdwarfship with metal is known all over the Empire.
35. Paranoid, beware ! If your players are a tad jumpy, take each one apart to tell them what’s on the poster. Let the paranoid games begin!
36. The Ferrari Brothers existed in the 19th century and were celebrated mandolin creators, but operated out of Napoli (Italy). This could be a cousin with scottish ties, or a plain impostor selling knockoffs

41. The cure only lasts for 40 days, unless the “patient” strictly adheres to the fasting rules of the christian Lent (40 days). Samuel Taylor Coleridge's poem “Christabel” (written between 1797 & 1801) has influenced the development of vampire fiction
42. If you want to know more about Stage or Relay stations, check the description of this very important establishment before the steam age: The Swan with Two Necks
43. The “Antithaumaturgic Church of England & Salem” is against all forms of magic and miracles unless cast by Jesus Christ. Good luck explaining to these witch burners that you ARE the son of god, reborn or otherwise
44. Jason is very good at producing laxatives and sleep potions. Apart from that he experiments a lot. Explosions occur regularly. He has not yet thought of weaponizing the explosion power yet…
45. Aldwin is an old Elf, a former Fey-king from Scandinavia. Any kind of druidic power you can imagine, he possesses. His mission is to help the last flowers of London survive…
46. O’brien is a mercenary smith that has seen all the conflict zones of the empire, repairing arms and armors all around the world. In Zambesi, he bought a slave that he later on married. She’s learned to tailor clothes with the best masters in London and knows the art of combining textile with protective armor, without emcumbering the wearer nor damaging too much the look of the vestment.

51. The quill used by Nibelung Målarson is an Arcanum. It is in his family since the time an Ice Queen gifted it to his grand-father, as his tribe, the Rus’, saved scandinavia from a dragon. He is in his 12th reincarnation since his family and quite bothered, since whether his father nor his grandfather have been rebirthed (or not found since the rebirth)
52. The clocks show the time in very strange places on small side clocks, like in “Skavenblight”, “Agartha”, “Hesperides”, “Camelot”, “Thule”, or have strange clocks like the one for “Warhoon” (Capital of Mars/Barsoom) which is 37 minutes longer than a normal clock, another one with 85H12Min named “Sidon” (Capital city of the moon Europa), a clock including the seasons for “Arcadia”, and “Gehinom” which only counts up, endlessly, the number of hours, days, months and years since the opening of the gates of hell (if traced back, the clocks shows January 18th 749 A.D. to be the date where they opened - 1065 years before 1814). The clockmaker is Andreas Junior Schindel, a descendant of the maker of the Prague astronomical clock.
53. This house started burning during the Great Fire of London in 1666 (historical). It was  Thomas Farriner’s bakery. He left an arcanum unattended, that started to produce massive amounts of flour, which ignited when it came near the oven. The arcanum continues to produce highly flammable flour
54. “Sir” Jeffrey Dunstan was a wig maker and was Mayor of Garrat. For more information on the Garrat Elections, read : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garrat_Elections. There was historically never a statue made to the image of “Sir” Jeffrey Dunstan
55. The gigantic phase spider that lives in the basement of the house since she got through the Veil per accident. She only gets out to eat what her nets fang. She is very discreet about it. She is able to teleport up to 50 m with each “jump” and will only fight to defend the eggs she is brooding in the cellar. The neighbourhood may be eradicated once the army of small phase spiders hatch…
56. This building is an industrial sized Orangerie producing the citrus fruits that Buckingham palace devour every breakfast. The royalty spares no cost to keep this place heated over 25°C at any time and very damp.

61. Goutysnarl was brought back from Australia (the penitentiary colony) by a reformed thief that had made friends with some aborigenes… His deeds might have been redeemed by his exile, but his victims had not forgotten his deeds and took revenge on him. After they burned down his house, the gigantic tree grew within a week
62. “Boyd’s finest meats” also sells very cheap meats, provided you do not ask for the origin. Their “Spiced kibble” is composed of rat, dog, cat and other mammals meat, mixed with beef, pork or wild game, to cover the strange taste. Still, it’s a secret where the meat comes from (Zoogs are frequent suppliers)
63. This house is completely invisible and if anyone tries to touch it while not seeing it, something happens to distract them (two cats fight or attack someone, a cat comes nearer to be petted, a pyramid of vegetables from the nearest stands collapses, …)
64. The owner of the shop, Christiaan Hendrik de Schweinitz, is a grumpy old man with a rattish nose. He will never disclose any information on the use or effects of the fungi, but will sell them. Any fungus can be bought or ordered there (but it can take up to 6 months for exotic mushrooms to be delivered) by using its vernacular or scientific name.
65. This is the place of residence of the Raven King, a legendary Fey Lord. The house is much bigger from the inside, a real palace. Being allowed inside means a wealth of trouble in the future. Humans are the favorites pawns of the immortals...
66. At the beginning of the 18th century, the government collected a lot of its income from customs taxes, paid on the import of tea, cloth, wine and spirits. Such taxes were high, up to 30%. Smuggled goods were a lot cheaper. This pier is operated by the Water Snakes, a ruthless gang dealing in contraband tea and opium (which gives them some monetary power they can use to bribe officials)

So which one was your favorite?

Write it in the comment section!

You want to know more? Here is the Summary of the blog

Resources for Into London 1814

QUÆ SUNT CÆSARIS, CÆSARI

I'm not the only one writing stuff on the internet, as it appears. Not even the only one writing RPG stuff, can you imagine! And others also have great ideas!
So instead of 1) stealing the stuff or 2) reinventing the wheel, I decided to make this post to list the tables, influences, and works I used to build Into London 1814 or while running it.

English Speaking resources

• One very important source of inspiration is the Series Taboo, by and with Tom Hardy. The atmosphere, the intrigues, the treatment of the supernatural aspects, the costumes, and the sceneries are the reason why I wanted to make Into London 1814.
• Other founding stones are found in the "Tales of the Grotesque & Dungeonesque" by Jack W. Shear. His book contains rules, random tables, new spells, new monsters, and a campaign setting for Gothic Fantasy adventures. I don't use the rules, but some part of the universe are perfect for Into London 1814 (at least the D100 occupation table). And Jack really does know his gothic literature, he's a really solid source for this kind of ambience
• One thing Taboo got right was how filthy London was back then. But since Taboo is TV, the smell is missing... Dirty Old London: The Victorian Fight Against Filth by Lee Jackson might only be a book, but you'll literally will feel dirty reading how dirty London was, back then (and how long it took to make it less of a cesspool)
• Not citing Chris McDowall's blog would be a crime. At least read Bastion's triple rule, with in mind that Bastion = London in my head
• Need some more random & weird encounters? Well "Sheep and sorcery" has two very nice tables (one for night, one for day) to offer. https://sheepandsorcery.blogspot.com/2019/06/welcome-to-whispershire-2d20-encounter.html
• Need an NPC ranting about the life he's living? check "Coins & Scrolls" table for peasant's grievances and adapt them a tiny bit to fit into the Big Smoke: https://coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com/2017/07/osr-1d100-peasant-grievances.html
• "Coins & Scrolls" also have a great table for Dickensian NPCs, whose books descibes the world about 50 years after 1814, but this is still a very good and useful resource (the "Appearance" & "Demeanour" entries are worth gold)
• If you need an NPC (or PC) with an unusual background, 52 baroque character backgrounds by Roger G-S on rolesrules is a very ODD resource that will jumpstart your imagination with weird strange NPCs
• London is the capital of an empire whereupon the sun never sets. With strange countries also come strange religious beliefs... Against the wicked city has a very good post on that topic, to create a religion quasi on the fly: Religions of great Road by Joseph Manola
• Fantasy Name Generators never ceases to be a good source of names (and I gotta admit, even for welsh, scottish and irish names, I need help)
• a character generator for into the ODD, maybe not the most developped characters come out of it, but it works and is a good basis for afterwards (I love to use the "though questions" made popular by the games powered by the apocalypse to create bonds with the universe and between the player's characters). Anyway, kudos to pushing cows!

French Language Resources

The french translation of "Into The Odd" added a lot of stuff to the game (also a lot of not so relevant stuff, but we'll concentrate on the positive here)

• The french introductory set to Into The Odd is a wonderful resource, and one I use a lot for Into London 1814: Into The ODD french intro kit
• There is also a mini-campaign "Into the Cave" developped for the crowdfunding for the french version of Into The Odd which is really nice (Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3 & Episode 4) and introduce Isfets and Zoogs (werecat-like-people and skaven-like wererats)

Random Pursuit Encounters in London 1814

Even though the streets of London are dirty as hell, a lot of activity is to be found there: living quarters are very small and overcrowded, craftsmen (or women) often owns very small and dark places and therefore work just outside their workshop and a lot of person still work in the streets.

If you were to be in pursuit of a culprit, chased by an enemy, shadowing a person of interest, there are a lot of obstacles that can bring interesting scenes in your game.
You can also use this table to spice up any travel within the Smog City, but the entries were created with a concurrent sense of urgency for the players in mind.
Odd numbers are odd encounters.

1D66	Obstacles
11	A tarot reader stops you, Death card in hand & shouts “you will kill him/her before the moon is full” (pointing at the person you are following or is following you)
12	A worker strong as an ox is unloading gigantic barrels of alcohol (beer, ale, wine, gin?) in front of a pub. Do you go around, over, or under?
13	A butcher wearing an apron covered in blood stops you by threatening you with a gory bonesaw: “you owe me a horse” and gives you a freshly sawn horse head
14	A pack of street dogs (3D6 mutts) spread chaos along their path, which you happen to be on [Str12, Dex12, 3HP]. They will attack if you smell of food/blood
15	The rear axle of the cart of a “Night Soil”-collector breaks. A huge barrel containing human feces breaks and releases a humanoid foul-smelling creature
16	Someone shouts “Thief!” and a dubious looking thief-catcher mistakes you for the culprit (are you running?). [STR14, HP4, a crude club: D6 damage]
21	A man jumps down from the top of a building into a ball of hay. A mob gathers around, but only a cat (an Isfet) comes out of the hay. That mob blocks your way
22	It starts hailing. Really big chunks of ice [people not searching for shelter take 1 damage every 1D4 rounds]. Actually strange considering London’s mild climate
23	A man, disguised as a priest, disrobes for raven-black rags and starts chanting. Blinding light explodes around him (Dex Save: 1D4 r. blinded/1D6 r. stunned)
24	An explorer in his Majesty’s service came back with an elephant from the colonies and goes down your street. The elephant seems to dislike you a lot
25	During the transport of a 6m x 2m painting by a Duke’s retainers, the veil covering it falls down & the portrayed Dragon says to you “Help me X, you’re my only hope”
26	A falcon trainer loses control over his bird. This bird tries to snatch an object you are carrying (Dex save). Shooting the bird will attract the ire of its trainer
31	The sun seems to go down. Looking up, you see it’s a solar eclipse. You hear a wolf howling in your vicinity. Or does it come from that hairy man?
32	A rifle platoon accompanies a known murderer (John Bellingham) from newgate prison to his public execution. Do not cross their ranks or they’ll shoot
33	A scantily dressed yet unfathomably charismatic woman yells at you: “I am Artemis! Recover my bow from the british museum to gain my favor, insignifiant mortal!”
34	An Oyster street-seller’s cart collapses due to an enormous pothole. A mountain of salty smelling oyster shells blocks your way
35	A black hole opens in the sky, and a leathery creature flies out of it, throwing a black trident at a PC & shouts: “This is my master’s last warning!”
36	A gifted Catacomb Runner empties your pockets. [Dex Save -> you can choose between abandoning your current target & saying goodbye to your belongings]
41	A sunbeam pierces through the clouds, highlighting a pure rain. It feels great on the skin. Bad smells are banned [secretly cure all ailments, like lycanthropy]
42	A group of drunken sailors loudly stops you and try to get you to buy a few rounds “To the honor of the royal navy!” [5 Shilling each round]
43	Through a crack in time & space, a Decurion and his 10 legionaries march into the street in turtle formation: “Surrender to Britania Romana or be executed!”
44	A maid is transporting a mirror of a much too big size for her frame. Will you risk 7 years of lucklessness or make a big bow around her?
45	A stage magician performs a trick, but instead of disappearing a spectator, you are transported to a side alley, landing in a vat of pork blood. The butcher seems unfriendly
46	A street preacher, standing on his soapbox, call out to you: “Repent sinner! The Lord told me of your immoral acts! Confess your crimes and be saved !”
51	A Veiled stranger skulks around, seemingly invisible to anyone but you. When he touches anyone, that person faints and regain consciousness seconds later
52	Everyone turns their head at a strolling Lady in red. Mud and dirt seem to go out of her way. A subtle lavender perfume soothes everyone in her path
53	A flute player is followed by a wave of rodents, going to the Thames. (if you roll a second time, charmed children might get drowned in the Thames instead)
54	A man in a trench coat, broad pointy hat, and big silver Christian cross, points his crossbow in your direction and shouts: “Out of the way, I need to kill that Witch!”
55	A group comes your way. Each person seems to be the Twin of a character. Doppelgängers? Time travel? Evil Twins? Illusions? Hallucinations? Dreams?
56	2 Lambeth Street Runners come your way. They know you and you know they don’t like you. What will they invent this time to harass you?
61	A Coach stops at the side of your party and the leading horse asks: “Would you be so kind as to tell us the way to the tower bridge?”. The horse’s lips don’t move
62	A lady in nightgown (“how scandalous!”) runs down the street after a caped silhouette shouting: “Stop that person, she stole my baby!”
63	The party goes through a small side-street. On a wall is a very detailed mural depicting them killing big rats and kids [Zoogs before & after death, but psst...]
64	An old Hermit is feeding an army of cats. It produces a scandal, because he’s feeding them good meat, but seems not able to articulate himself
65	An harrowed old priest shouts at them: “Stop them! They are all possessed by demons!”. For the next 1D4 min., their steps leave a small fire behind [Arcanum]
66	A very grim looking man approaches the most frivolous member of your party and overturns a bucket of manure over his head: “keep away from my daughter!”

If you use this table, please add a comment to explain to what result it brought your PCs 😄

High Docks and the Church of the Wings of Salvation

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/regal-clipart-king-wings-royal-3419878/

The neighbourhood of High Docks and the Church of the Wings of Salvation are described in the Introduction Kit of the french version of Into The Odd.
So why do I describe it further?
Well, because of the impact in my campaign that my player’s actions have had on this neighbourhood and their new relationship to the Fisher.
For me, High docks is situated in front of Whitechapel, on the other bank of the Thames...

What happened with the Fisher (and why it matters to me):

In the Intro Kit, he is described as a peaceful man, mostly keeping to himself, but with a very big power: If he touches someone, he can impose his will on that person (Will save negates).
¾ of my players did not make the save, and the 4th was somehow forced to get along with the others (peer pressure, you’d call it).
They made a lot of money during the adventure and decided (i did not influence them at all there) to give 95% of their earnings to the Fisher (~20£).
This makes him not only influential thanks to his power and his followers, he is suddenly also wealthy. He will definitely use this money to further his arch-project, buying materials for the construction of his gigantic boat, and probably also paying a few skilled workers to speed things up.

High Docks:

This wealth means that the neighbourhood of High Docks will flourish, attracting more and more craftsmen and craftswomen, but also all kinds of parasites, predators and profiteurs of the human sort.
The Fisher will have to either turn to the authorities (which means implicating himself in the local politics) or to police the neighbourhood himself (well, manner of speaking, his acolytes will be patrolling). Unless an influential Player Character steers him toward the political options, the Fisher will resolve the matter using his own special means: he’ll capture the worst ruffians and try to convert them to his cause (with his weird power over the minds) and use them against those witty enough to keep away from his touch.

Militarisation of High Docks:

But, for me, the priority of the Fisher is to secure his neighbourhood against his past.
He is a Deep One explorer that has been trialed for treason in Innsmouth and that his former kingdom tries to bring to justice, sending him their fishbat-soldiers squads by way of the Thames.
With this money, the Fisher will first employ shooters to kill the fishbats in flight while a very tight net of wire fence is being built up to 6 meters (which will cost a lot of money since metal is not cheap and the fence must be built by hand) along the banks of the Thames.
How will the regent react to a militarisation attempt of High Docks? How will the crown react if they learn about the underwater kingdoms lurking around their island? Could the Deep Ones be interesting allies against their rebellious colonies and their Blocus?

Random encounter in High Docks:

1D12	Encounter
1	A group of pilgers on their way to the Fisher
2	A group of religious fanatics (to the Fisher) trying to convert anyone they see
3	Fishbats-squad (2D6 vaguely humanoid small hunchbacked creatures with wings)
4	Mercenaries on a patrol - asking "nicely" for a toll (1D6 pennies per PC)
5	Street children asking for a few pennies or some bread (Details here)
6	A priest wearing a sword and preaching against the Fisher (Details here)
7	A Nulla Corvi doctor responding to an emergency (Details here)
8	A fortune teller with the Gift - or is she using an Arcana?
9	A dwarf smith with a metallic arm ending in a big hammer (Details here)
10	A bible merchant - some of them bound in a strange leather
11	A snake-oil peddler (He might sell something useful or even arcane-ish)
12	A strong fishy smelling hunchback (A spellbound Deep-One carrying a big wooden beam)

Sources:

• Deep Ones are part of the Lovecraftian Mythology
• The Fisher and High Docks were developped in the french version of ItO

Rumors

Dear Diary,
I love to use rumors as a tool to introduce future scenarii and plant the mood in the game.
I normally let the players roll for one rumor at beginning of play. I also use this kind of tables when my players visit an inn, a pub or a party to seed informations that might be relevant in a later adventure.

Rumors

1D20	Rumor	True / False?
1	Some cats seem to be intelligent. My neighbour thinks he heard one speak, once. But he’s a drunkard...	True
2	There is a giant shark in the Thames	False?
3	Some kind of priest asks around if people have seen Holy Artifacts of Power or experienced Wonders (Hospitaler of Dunwich)	True
4	One patient of the Ravens (Nulla Corvi) was murdered because he couldn’t pay the monthly dues (or extortion)	False
5	One guy on the docks has opened the chest of a ruffian with his mechanical arms(²) and ate the heart of his victim(³)	T(²) & F(³)
6	There are giant Rats(²) riding crocodiles(³) in the sewer system	T(²) & F(³)
7	Miasma (foul smells) infects you with typhus and cholera	Partly True
8	Prince Regent’s George IV dissolute way of life will ruin the empire and his politics must be as bad as his lifestyle	False
9	Since last week, Thrawl Street is cursed(²). An abominable stink of decay comes from the ground and the houses(³).	F(²) & T(³)
10	An American fleet roams between Ireland and Wales. Only a traitor would try to get rich by selling them black powder.	True
11	A prophet in the dry docks of High-Docks (on the other bank of the Thames in front of Whitechapel) can work wonders.	True
12	An epidemic & a lot of disappearances happened  in the district of Katzenjammer (between Whitechapel & the city center)	Partly true
13	Dr. Reginald Malt is searching for candidates for limb replacement. The prosthesis will be iron made & indestructible	True
14	The Lambeth Street Runners (Whitechapel “police”) have issued a bounty for "The Yorkshire Witch" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Bateman)	True
15	The Ó Céitinn gang was recovering money from bad payers of the Nulla Corvi, but they seem to outstep their duties	True
16	Étienne Vigée, a playwright visiting the Lyceum Theatre, has been seen a lot in literary salons and military receptions (spy?)	True (false)
17	Urchins working as pickpockets on the River Thames frost fair work for Mama Browny (Catacomb Runners)	False
18	Oroku Nagi has placed a 10£ bounty on Dorian Conywood as a traitor and ronin (whatever he means by that)	True
19	A street kid says he hit with his sling a crow flying over the Thames and that it transformed into a man that fell into the River	True
20	The green Toucan (irish pub) offers a bounty of one Shilling for the head of each “filthy” cat (Sons of the Piper)	True

What’s behind it

1. That would be an Isfet, a kind intelligent cat. They mostly live in the district of Katzenjammer (between Whitechapel & the city center). They are at war with the Zoog (evil were-rats)
2. I mean, why not. A shark would be too much for my taste, but some kind of big Monster in the Thames like in the Doctor Who episode “thin Ice” (S10E03) is something that can be interesting.
3. The Hospitaller Order of Dunwich is searching for artifacts. They can be great allies, but also dangerous enemies
4. This is not really true: some people saved by the Nulla Corvi have been roughed up by their collectors, but never killed. However, the Ó Céitinn gang, who was in charge of collection for them up to recently, has begun racketting the families of the healed people and a few have been found dead from “falling in the stairs”. The Nulla Corvi has stopped their collaboration with the Ó Céitinn gang, but they continue collecting. The Nulla Corvi will certainly try and find some courageous party to stop this problem that tarnishes their reputation.
5. The inhuman strenght that the mecanical arms of the Ordo Mechanica can give you is impressive. A band of ruffians attacked one of the modified dockers on a foggy night and he defended himself, opening the ribcage of one of the attackers. All others good-for-nothing fled on the spot, chased by the docker. Once the runners arrived on the scene of the battle, the heart of the dead bandit had been surgically removed by a third party, but the docker had nothing to do with it
6. There a lot of giant rats under London, quite a lot of them being Zoogs. There are dangerous enough as it is, but they don't ride crocodiles. But a swimming Zoog might be confused with a crocodile in the darkness of a sewer...
7. This was a common misconception back then that the smell was responsible for getting sick, when it's actually the lack of hygiene that is the real prick
8. George IV was hated by his population. His rule was a bit ruthless, he lived in an indecent comfort and had a dissolute way of life (Partying and women, mostly). The quite biggot population of the Regency Era could not stand his way of life, but loved his wife and daughter, who were behaving a lot more within the society standards of the era. But retrospectively, his results are not bad: Under his rule (and under the regency where minister had a lot of power), the kindom developped to an impressive world power, improving it's colonial grasp on the world (which is nowadays a politically difficult subject, but was considered very positively back then) and allowing the industrial revolution. The kingdom could have done worse economically but his way of life was considered a problem and he was therefore never a popular King/Regent.
9. Last week, Sir Charles Wale KCB of the Royal York Rangers (a distinct member of the Hospitaller of Dunwich) was assaulted in Thrawl Street while searching for the "Heart of Coal" , a relic from a peat swamp (arcana) and could only defend himself by casting a "Rain of Gore"-miracle. His attackers remain unknown, but are sure not to try again soon, happy to have survived an actual "miracle".
10. A very enterprising chemist and his crew could try and contact the Committee of Secret Correspondence and sell them black powder or food for the fleet. Such deadlings would be very lucrative, but also very dangerous, the crown threading not lightly around traitors.
11. That Prophet is known as the Fisher. This rumor is a reference to the adventure present in the french Into the Odd introductory Kit
12. This is a reference to the fact that a lot of people in Katzenjammer are transformed into Zoogs, eaten/killed by zoogs, and a lot of Isfet and cats disappeared. This is a reference to the introdution of the mini-campaign "Into the Cave" developped for the crowdfunding for the french version of Into The Odd (Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3 & Episode 4)
13. Dr. Reginald Malt is part of the Ordo Mechanicus
14. The Yorkshire Witch was a female murderer whose Modus Operandi was to seek employment and poison its "masters" and rob them dry of all their possessions. The bounty for her identification is of 1£ and her capture 1.5£ on top of the identification. It would be a shame if one of your players was identified as the Witch "by error"
15. The Ó Céitinn gang is a lawless band of ruffians, that not only recovered missed payments from the people cured by the Nulla Corvi, but also extorts racketing money from the poor population of Whitechapel ("it would be a shame if the house of your neighbours would burn down, bringing yours down in the process") and lately started to target the families of the persons cured by the pest doctors. The Nulla Corvi did cut them off, but they continue "collecting" the money. A participation to the collected money is offered for any party getting rid of them in the Name of the Nulla Corvi (treat it as a D4 enterprise)
16. Louis-Jean-Baptiste-Étienne Vigée is a french playwright, in short exile in London fleeing from Girondist persecution in France. As a supporter of Napoleon, his political views are unpopular in the literary salons of the City, but his wit and word skills are highly regarded. His mother was a friend of Lord Byron. He's not a spy in my campaign, but a false trail. But you can do what you want with him, he's long dead anyway.
17. The frost fair on the Thames is an incredibly Odd place to use for a scene or adventure. I recommend watching Thin Ice, the 3rd episode of the 10 Season of the new Doctor Who series  which takes place 1814 at the last great frost fair in London. This kind of fairs are back then full of con artists, pickpockets and other unsavory characters. One band of pickpocket is particularly well organised, but they have no affiliation with Mama Browny and her Catacomb Runners
18. Oroku Nagi is a shinobi Master training the Sons of piper in the art of silent deplacement and soundless assassination. Dorian Conywood was one of his most promising students, but I discovered the ploy to create a Zoog army. He didn't want to be part rodent, therefore he defected. His old master hunts him since, but since he could not find his trace, he put a bounty on his ex-student's head. In my campaign, I consider Dorian to be one of the good guys, that was mislead by the Sons of piper
19. The bored kid did hit Dr. Michael Finley Barlow, a member of Nulla Corvi that was using his Arcana to fly a patient needing help on the other side of the Thames. the Raven Doctor survived the hit, the fall into the dirty Thames, and the temperature shock, and was quickly fished out of the River. A generous Pound offered to the rescuing fishers help them "forget" the fact that there was no bridge around where he could have fallen from.
20. The green Toucan is a Pub that is used by high ranking members of the Sons of piper (Sean Devlin is a recurent guest). Brychan Gwynn, The bartender and owner of this "fine establishment", a man convicted for Anarchy under another name 10 years ago in Cardiff, is a general in the Zoog army, and he will pay a bounty of 1 Shilling for every cat head that is brought to him. He will even pay 5 Shilling if it can be proved that it was an Isfet's and not only a cat's head. This is also a reference to the mini-campaign "Into the Cave" developped for the french version of Into The Odd (Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3 & Episode 4)