Third-Party Settings

Chapter by chapter

This third-party guide introduces a corrupt city built inside a volcanic crater and the vigilantes who challenge its rulers and criminals. Setting chapters describe the Pit, Upper City and Old Hunger before character chapters provide backgrounds, disguises, five subclasses, species and equipment. It is useful to players creating locally connected heroes and DMs running urban intrigue. A short story, world primer and maps reinforce the atmosphere; text-free gallery pages are omitted.

1. ▸Introduction: Fight for the Cityp. 3

   Malborn combines masked crime-fighters with a gothic city whose institutions rarely protect the vulnerable. Characters can investigate wrongdoing, pursue escaped prisoners or survive imprisonment themselves. The guide supplies setting knowledge and character options for the companion adventures City of Masks and Old Hunger. Start here to agree whether your group wants heroic intervention, revenge or morally compromised survival.

   • The city occupies an extinct volcanic crater, with privileged households above the impoverished Pit.
   • Civilian occupations matter alongside your masked persona.
   • The contents page, rather than the introduction’s inconsistent chapter descriptions, gives the actual chapter order.

   On the siteGetting started

2. ▸Chapter 1: Malborn, City of Masksp. 5–15

   This chapter explains the city before asking you to defend it. Its history follows the Owlfather and the Nine Sentinels, showing why earlier attempts at reform failed. Architecture, commerce and caste make inequality a practical obstacle rather than distant background. Law and religion explain the institutions a vigilante will repeatedly confront. Use it to decide where your character belongs and which injustices they cannot ignore.

   • The caldera, Undercity and tethered airships make vertical movement central to city life.
   • Native status, identifying tattoos and immigration shape access to work and legal protection.
   • Lex Talionis and the court system enforce a deeply unequal version of justice.
   • The Virtue Mandate makes the prison crisis relevant to would-be crime-fighters.
   • The Maker’s faith, its virtues and its vocal religious traditions influence public life.

   On the siteBuilding an urban campaign

3. ▸Chapter 2: The PitDM onlyp. 17–41

   Spoilers for players — the Dungeon Master’s eyes only.

   The Pit is the main street-level setting for investigations, gang conflicts and neighbourhood loyalties. District descriptions connect particular markets, institutions and criminal organisations to the people living around them. Building cross-sections explain how overcrowded tenements and stacked businesses actually function. Notable figures offer allies, enemies and uneasy compromises rather than a simple division between police and criminals. Read this as a district gazetteer, keeping the more revealing character material for the DM.

   • The Citadel District places City Watch authority close to organised crime; the Rooks are an important thieves’ organisation.
   • The Hunger District includes Old Hunger and the lotus trade; addiction is part of the city’s exploitation.
   • Safe Street and the Sharp Rondel show how apparently secure territory can depend on intimidation.
   • The Covered Market, Street Bailiffs and Market District offer commerce, faction trouble and illicit services.
   • The Ascent links lower and upper districts; the Twister District and dimensional hermits introduce stranger communities.
   • Named figures include Dragan Phobas, Filigree, Generalissimo Ghorsht, Killer Roach, Kruger, Duke Pertwen IV, Strixdaughter, the Owlfather and Wifflemoon.
   • Lagstones are unsettling prison-linked magic items rather than ordinary street equipment.

   On the siteRunning factionsUrban equipment

4. ▸Chapter 3: The Upper CityDM onlyp. 43–53

   Spoilers for players — the Dungeon Master’s eyes only.

   The Upper City shifts play from desperate street survival to wealth, influence and inherited power. Its landmarks reveal how astronomy, engineering and luxury sustain the ruling households. Noble-house descriptions give the DM competing interests to use in investigations and social encounters. Profiles of influential residents expose connections that a new character should discover through play. Use the chapter when a case leads from a tenement doorway to a protected estate.

   • Chylim’s Eyes watch for valuable material associated with the shattered moon and Chylim’s Bracelet.
   • The House of a Thousand Knives is Kaleb Thumbcrusher’s brutal fighting venue.
   • Tide Cisterns turn extraordinary tides into useful power; the noble-tower cross-section distinguishes family privilege from servants’ quarters.
   • Houses include Arkelander, Calenhad, Huorath, Hyb-Halorin, Malabrate, Phobas and Thegn.
   • House Huorath’s High Parks occupy floating platforms, while Arkelander Academy provides an unusual opportunity for poorer residents.
   • Mayor Illonar Frosch, Silfin Malabrate-Ondar and lawyer Ypo Usgath connect city government, family influence and legal power.
   • Vintner’s Special illustrates how forbidden substances circulate among those who publicly condemn them.

   On the siteIntrigue and NPCs

5. ▸Chapter 4: Old HungerDM onlyp. 55–59

   Spoilers for players — the Dungeon Master’s eyes only.

   Old Hunger is both a prison and a monument to Malborn’s failed justice. Its history explains how successive solutions to crime produced an institution that the authorities cannot truly control. The layout and internal divisions help a DM portray confinement, escape and negotiations with entrenched prisoners. Important administrators and inmates show how the boundary between gaoler and captive has broken down. This is setting material, not the inmate-character rules promised by the introduction’s mistaken chapter summary.

   • Gordrene the Mason helped shape the prison’s development.
   • Disorienting internal routes make escaping a cell very different from escaping the fortress.
   • Dangerous prisoners maintain power and criminal connections despite confinement.
   • The Governor, Mostly (Morselli Porlar) and Olvarin Blaek are central prison personalities.

   On the sitePrison adventures

6. ▸Story: Pinned to the HookDM onlyp. 61–65

   Spoilers for players — the Dungeon Master’s eyes only.

   This short fiction demonstrates Malborn’s tone through Sewal, a skilled maker drawn into dangerous events. Constable Una’s request pulls technical expertise into an investigation involving a deadly contraption. The narrative connects specialised vigilante equipment with personal grief and the city’s capacity for cruelty. Read it for atmosphere and character inspiration, not as an adventure with encounter rules. Its revelations are best treated as spoilers.

   • Written by David W. Snee.
   • Sewal’s workshop makes devices and repair work feel like part of everyday urban life.
   • Una, Lotus Temple and the Ondar Emporium connect investigation to existing city institutions.
   • The story offers an example of how ordinary citizens become entangled in masked violence.
7. ▸Chapter 5: Creating a Vigilantep. 67–79

   Character creation begins with the life your hero leads when the mask comes off. Each Vigilante Background combines ordinary background benefits with a Secret Identity and an Anchor, a trusted person who keeps you connected to the city. Civilian work can provide legitimate access to evidence, witnesses and resources. The later sections help you choose disguises, visual themes and a memorable name without granting extra powers merely for the costume. Discuss identity protection with the DM rather than assuming a mask automatically prevents recognition.

   • Choose among Crusader, Judicator, Redeemer, Penitent, Predator and Watchman.
   • Crusader supports a City Watch Officer identity and connects you to Duorende; Judicator supports detective work and lawyer Chan Issikar.
   • Backgrounds specify ability-score choices, feats, skills, tools and equipment alongside their narrative connections.
   • With DM permission, a Secret Identity or Anchor can be exchanged for one from another Vigilante Background.
   • Disguise ideas include simple and full-face masks, body and face paint, and stylised helmets and armour.
   • Divine, flamboyant and shadowed naming themes help communicate a chosen reputation.
   • Some internal references point to the wrong equipment chapter; Vigilante Gear is Chapter 8.

   On the siteBackgroundsTools and disguises

8. ▸Chapter 6: Subclassesp. 81–91

   The printed chapter supplies five urban-themed subclasses, despite its opening claim that there is one for every class. Each turns a different kind of city specialist into a playable adventurer. Their features focus on vocal influence, altered senses, nocturnal justice, traps or constructed gadgets. Choose a concept that fits your intended role, then use the level-specific features alongside the appropriate core class. Standard Player’s Book subclasses are also allowed, while options from other sources should be discussed with the DM.

   • Bard — College of the Voice: Cantor training and Maker spells develop into inspiration-powered spell adjustments, resilience and stronger vocal control.
   • Monk — Lotus Warrior: Lotus Bloom spends Focus Points on heightened capabilities, progressing through White Bloom to Final Bloom.
   • Paladin — Oath of the Owl: a nocturnal guardian whose Channel Divinity includes Eyes of Midnight and whose ultimate transformation is Night’s Judgment.
   • Ranger — Gaoler: an ambush and capture specialist using ball bearings, caltrops, Gaoler Traps and grappling equipment, later enhancing traps with magic.
   • Rogue — Umbra: builds shadow devices, adds fear and silence to Cunning Strike choices, and eventually prepares a complete device arsenal.
   • Umbra devices include Death’s Door, Flash Bomb, Knock Bomb, Lurker’s Cloak, Master Key, Rebreather, Smoke Pellets, Sticky Net, Tether Bola, Wall-Walker Pads and Wind Break.

   On the siteBardMonkPaladinRangerRogue

9. ▸Chapter 7: Speciesp. 93–99

   Species in Malborn affect social expectations as well as character abilities. The opening surveys humans, dwarves, elves and other residents within the city’s unequal hierarchy. Dedicated options then describe kobolds, malborne and spriggans, linking playable traits to local communities. These choices provide different ways to belong to the city or remain conspicuously outside its ruling culture. Other origins, including connections to Thylea or Grimnir, need a conversation with the DM.

   • Kobolds connect to the Spiralhorn Scholarly Society and receive Draconic Lineage options with metallic-dragon-themed benefits.
   • Malborne are the city’s dominant native people; stoneworking traditions and identifying tattoos are central to their culture.
   • Spriggans are Fey associated with Lyonesse and the wasp-riding Wasp Hill Mob.
   • Spriggan size-changing magic supports a very different approach to infiltration and movement.
   • The Skiffpole Gang and Cesscourt situate smaller communities within the city; gygans have a history of enslavement and emancipation.

   On the siteSpeciesCharacter Origins

10. ▸Chapter 8: Vigilante Gearp. 101–114

    This chapter equips masked adventurers with specialised ammunition, weapons and tools for an unusually vertical city. White phosphorus, stardust-powered selenikinetic flywheels and lotus preparations explain the technology behind the devices. Equipment can help capture suspects, cross rooftops, disrupt vision or survive hostile environments. Many tools have charges, consumable parts or practical limitations, so check their individual entries before buying them. These are bespoke third-party options rather than additions automatically available in every campaign.

    • Special ammunition includes Bleeder, Flash, Lotus and Starburst Arrows, plus Flare, Ooze, Shatter and Smoke Bolts, offering injury, sensory disruption, elemental attacks or concealment.
    • Weapons include Constriction Bolas, Head Tosser, Iron Tether, Meteor Hammer, Three-Fold Grasp, Vaulting Staff, Wolfram Club and Wolfram Quarterstaff; their mechanisms favour capture, reach, mobility or heavier strikes.
    • Airsponge Mask and breathing-related equipment support hazardous-environment work; the Goldwing and Sky Dog provide unusual aerial transport.
    • Clockwork Engraver, Dungblast and Dart Bandolier illustrate compact workshop-made aids and distractions.
    • Injection Worm and Key Worm turn living or specialised tools into covert delivery and access solutions.
    • Phosphor Bomb and Phosphor Censer use incendiary material; Roof Skipper and Shrieker Box support movement and disruption.
    • Starflash Egg, Starfire Paste, Stardust Goggles, Sunburst Flask, Trap Rat and Urro Bomb broaden the light, sabotage and scouting toolkit.
    • Utility Belt speeds potion access with armour restrictions; Whisper Tick tracks its paired parasite; Widowcap Smoke creates concealment that repels beasts.

    On the siteEquipmentCombat actions

11. ▸Appendix A: Malborn World Primerp. 115

    The primer compresses the setting into a quick orientation for a new participant. It revisits the crater city, the contrast between the Pit and the ruling households, and the social significance of native tattoos. Its legal overview connects caste inequality with Old Hunger and the escaped criminals now threatening the streets. Use it as a refresher after deciding how much criminal background information the group should know.

    • Introduces the city’s stacked skyline and decaying airships.
    • Explains malborne status, Lex Talionis and the prison crisis.
    • Names major noble interests, including Malabrate, Frosch and Gol.
    • The rogues overview names Carderon, Killer Roach, Mr. Owl, Sickle-Claw and the Abbot.

    On the siteCampaign orientation

12. ▸Appendix B: Malborn Mapsp. 116–117

    These map pages provide a visual reference for Malborn rather than a new rules subsystem. Use them alongside the Pit and Upper City gazetteers to establish where scenes take place. The city’s height differences matter when planning travel, pursuit and access between rich and poor districts. Consult the illustrated source for labels and spatial detail, since extracted text cannot preserve a map reliably.

    • Pair the maps with Chapter 2 for street-level locations.
    • Pair them with Chapter 3 for elite neighbourhoods and major landmarks.
    • Agree with the DM how vertical routes affect journeys and escape plans.

    On the siteUsing setting maps