The Red Noses

More than one group has attempted to make their mark in the world of alcohol production in the city of Arbor, though none have failed as spectacularly as the Red Noses. Going up directly against the The Arborian Revelers was always going to be an uphill battle but attempting to do so by marketing mass produced watered down ale on the cheap and sold as if it was fine wine was always going to be a recipe for disaster. When everything went pear shaped on them ironic given they produced a kind of pear liqueur they decided it better to turn to thievery, thuggery and general mayhem.

"Most folks would want the red roses to go back to brewin, most folks didn't taste the swill they used to make honestly that stuff was doing more damage than all the bad shit they get up to these days" -Unknown Green Cloak

Public Agenda:

These days the Red Noses are either pining about former glory, how they were this close to making it, or simply stealing from anyone who wanders into their territory. Truth be told they are far more proficient at being a gang of thugs and thieves than they ever were at brewing. They control one of the Branch in the Third Ring forcing the people who live there and the various merchants to pay them in protection money otherwise the rednoses show up and take everything that isn't bolted down. In addition to this they have been known to target several Publicans and even make an attempt on the delivery of Arborian Starlight.

Public Perception

Lower Class

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Fear mostly, if you happen to live in their territory and aren't under the protection of another company then you are stuck paying them or risk losing all your belongings or worse. The Green Cloak do nothing for you so you can either hide from them or leave and there aren't that many places that don't have their own problems and some that are worse.

Middle Class

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Largely have no interactions with them unless they make an unwise move and wander into their territory or get stuck on a train station in a bad part of the town, in which case they are liable to lose everything

Upper Class

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No upper Class person would be caught dead anywhere near the Red Nose territory though their brutish nature does have some uses and it is not unheard of for the ruling classes to make use of such thuggery should the situation require it, of course once a deal is done all knowledge of the interaction is thoroughly denied.

History:

During the initial expansion of factories, steam power and general industrialization of Arbor a small group of enterprising young business men decided they would setup a brewery, attempting to carve out a niche of their own in the alcohol market. The group was modestly funded and had decided to use imported pears rather than any of the goods available within the city, setup costs were high but they believed they could produce a product that would rival the best that the The Arborian Revelers were offering. Their plan was to market their Pear liquor to the upper crust of society and to water it down selling the diluted versions to the lower and middle class depending on dilution. At first business was good, patrons were eager for something new and the pear liqueur along with its derivations were popular enough that the distillery began bringing in healthy revenue. A recruiting drive was done and nearly 500 people in total were brought on board in order to keep up with the demand.

Sour Pears

However this was not to last, pears are not a fruit that the Arborians really understood and the varieties that exist beyond their borders, not every pear is sweet not everyone is suitable for making alcohol. On the next batch of alcohol it tasted terrible the small company had no quality checks at all and was too busy rushing product out the door to be worried about such things. By the time they realised their mistake they had angry publicans and more importantly angry Rich people at their doors demanding their money back. When this happened though the bosses had already spent every penny on more pears and didn't have a Leaves to give to anyone.

Blood and Alcohol

At first this wasn't a problem a few angry customers could be dealt with, 500+ angry employees were a lot harder to manage and when it came time to pay them and they turned out their pockets producing only moths and dust well the workers had had enough. They threw the two of the three bosses into the distillery vats and drowned them in the fermenting alcohol, the last hadn't been at the distillery at the time. When the Green Cloak finally managed to get inside and find out what had happened they all said the three had been inspecting the next batch personally and had slipped. The greenies didn't ask too many questions and when the entire crew to a man corroborated the story they were not about to try and arrest 500 angry unpaid workers.

From Violent Beginnings to Violent Ends

With their source of income now gone and no work to be had about half of the 500 left to find other work the others though took what was left of the booze and got themselves rip roaringly drunk and began trashing the place denting and breaking equipment and machinery and generally just making a mess of the place. When they were done and still slightly buzzing the remainders who hadn't wandered off decided to take back what they believed they were owed from the final boss, when they found him he was packing up everything he had, the Red Noses beat him to within an inch of his life and just before the lights went out he made them a deal he would show them where he kept the reserve financials and give them everything if only they'd spare him, they left him alive as promised though in a sorry state and promised to come back to get their money. With this taste for violence and immediate gratification that it brought this marked the beginnings of the Red Noses.

Attire / Common Garb / Quirks:

The Red noses still to this day have a reputation of being drunkards and louses from the working classes of Arbor. As such you can find them in a variety of clothing though they prefer flat caps short messy shirts and long pants. Their signature though is their alcohol induced red noses a bright, there are rumors that their initiations culminate with a night of heavy drinking the likes of which few can muster through and be fit to stand the next day.

Structure and Hierarchy:

A boss and a 2 lieutenants are all the structure the red noses have though who the lieutenants are might change quite frequently, you see one of the ways for advancement is by beating your betters in a drinking contest, however getting enough alcohol together to challenge someone to the contest is part of the entry fee so most of your average thugs cannot get enough booze together to make the challenge but it doesn't stop them trying with a bit more creative solutions, higher proof alcohol in smaller quantities or just stealing medical grade disinfectant which still qualify.

Notable People:

Dren Rounda (Orc Boss of the Red Noses and a real sonnva bitch, brutal and ruthless but any one who pays protection gets it)

Territory:

Third Ring Branch 2

Notable Structures:

The Ruined Dream (The Ruined distillery where the Red Noses began much of the equipment has been scrapped for cash but a few stills are still in operation making cheap hooch)