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Evildoers' Tavern
May 1, 2026 at 03:06 AM
Initial version (2026-05-01)
Evildoers' Tavern is the underworld bar in Tingen and one of three named landmarks featured in the Crimson Test build. It serves as the player's primary contact point for Sequence-9 underworld content, alley-fight encounters, and shadier side quests. The tavern sits on the boundary between Tingen's East and North Boroughs, making it accessible from both the industrial waterfront and the poorer residential streets.
Evildoers' Tavern is a low-ceilinged, smoke-darkened bar with rough plank tables, sawdust on the floor, and an unfinished cellar that customers are politely asked not to wander into. Gas lamps hang at low intensity. The bar runs a back-counter ledger of names whose owners receive a free first drink and an unspoken understanding that they are not to start trouble; the same ledger keeps record of those whose owners are barred from the cellar entirely.
The tavern's clientele rotates by time of day. Late afternoon brings dockworkers and crewmen from Tingen's freight rail terminus. Evening brings small-time fixers, mid-tier operatives of the city's grey-economy gangs, and Beyonders in plainclothes. Late evening rotates in heavier traffic: senior fixers, cross-borough bodyguards, and occasional Sequence-7 or higher visitors whose presence the bartender registers and quietly does nothing about.
Several recurring contact archetypes can be approached at Evildoers':
Contact archetype | Role | Player approach |
|---|---|---|
Information broker | Sells leads on missing-person cases, alley fight recruitment, and Tingen rumour mill | Direct purchase via mundane currency, Acting Method check for discount |
Underworld fixer | Connects the player with off-the-books job offers, including bodyguard and courier work | Reputation-gated; first contact via Nighthawks undercover quest line |
Beyonder ingredient broker | Sells low-tier and mid-tier ingredients not available at Iron Cross | Higher prices than Iron Cross, but stocks rarer items and asks fewer questions |
Sequence 9 underworld contact | Recruits low-Sequence Beyonders into local crew operations | Pathway-dependent introduction; bypassed by overt Mandated Punishers or Nighthawks affiliation |
Sealed artifact fence | Occasional cellar guest who buys sealed artifacts of dubious provenance | Cellar access only; gated behind East Borough reputation |
Unlike the open-air Iron Cross Street Market, Evildoers' Tavern handles its Beyonder commerce in the cellar, behind a door that opens only to specific knock patterns and to recognised Beyonder mannerisms. The cellar room is wallpapered with wax-sealed envelopes and a brass speaking tube that connects to the main bar. Inside, the broker keeps a small standing inventory of low-tier ingredients (hair clippings of the deceased, low-grade soporific dust, dried marsh-vine, low-purity sea-salt) and a longer waiting list of bespoke orders.
Cellar prices run roughly 30 to 60 percent over Iron Cross prices for comparable ingredients; the premium covers discretion and same-day delivery. The cellar will not sell any item categorised as evidence of a current Nighthawks or Mandated Punishers investigation, regardless of price.
The Crimson Test build runs three named quest lines through the tavern:
Evildoers' Tavern Cellar: the introductory dungeon encounter. The player enters the cellar on a Nighthawks-side investigation and discovers a wider supernatural conspiracy under Tingen's underbelly. Triggered after the early Iron Cross smuggling case.
Alley-fight tournament: an underworld tournament held in the rear courtyard. Pathway-flavoured combat against opponents tuned to Sequence 9 reach. Reward includes early Acting Method practice tokens.
Cover-identity rehearsal: the player practises a long-form Acting Method cover identity by drinking with the regulars without being identified as a Beyonder. Shared drink rounds become sanity management practice.
Nighthawks: run an undercover monitoring rotation. The bartender knows; he is paid not to act on the knowledge.
Mi9: maintain a thin file on the tavern's senior fixers. They do not have an operative on-site, but the file updates from informant chatter at the bar.
Red Gloves: occasional cellar buyers; the broker recognises their handshake.
Divination Clubs: rarely meet here. The tavern's atmosphere is not conducive to ritual; clubs prefer rented private rooms elsewhere in Tingen.
Tingen: parent city.
Iron Cross Street Market: the open-air mid-tier market that the cellar prices itself against.
Gandren Department Store: the civilian-side counterpart in the same city.
Crimson Test: the closed beta build that exposed this landmark.
