Welcome to the Shadow Investigations Unit

Alright, ya curious lot! Gather ‘round and listen close! I’m Greevil Toothbreaker! Welcome to the Shadow Investigation Unit. You’re now part of the curious, the brave, and the just-slightly-crazy folks who don’t blink when the shadows twitch. Here in Seattle, we walk the line between mundane and mysterious with our eyes wide open and our heads held high. You’ll see things that’ll make your jaw drop and your heart race, but you’ll never be alone. We look out for each other, we follow the questions no one else dares ask, and we make sure the world stays a little safer for everyone, mundane or Shadow Kind. So pour your coffee strong, steady your nerve, and let’s get to work, ‘cause there’s a whole lot of strange out there waitin’ for you!

-Greevil Toothbreaker

First thing we gotta cover is how this whole lovely mess is put together. The Shadow Investigations Unit isn’t just one crew runnin’ around pokin’ horrors with a stick—we’ve got departments, each one keepin’ the city from fallin’ apart in its own special way.

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The Clean Up Crew handles what’s left behind when things go loud—bodies, broken reality, inconvenient evidence. To the public, they’re Mindfulness Cleaning, a perfectly respectable forensic cleaning outfit you call when something awful happens and you don’t want it to linger. If something never officially happened, odds are they made it so.

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Tamazar Dosk

Tamazar Dosk is the kind of presence you notice right away. She is shorter than most half-orcs but built as solid as a bunker, always a bit too warm, and moves with the confidence of someone who knows her limits. She prefers blunt honesty, sharp sarcasm, and has a stare that can make even dangerous creatures think twice. As a trained chemist with a sharp mind and a temper she usually keeps in check, she quickly rose through the ranks of the Shadow Investigations Unit. Now, as the Clean Up Crew Supervisor, her work ethic and impressive skills are well known.

After the group finishes exploring the area and meeting the necessary NPCs, Greevil leads them back to the lobby and onto the elevators. They ride up to the second floor. When the elevator doors open, Greevil steps out with the party and keeps talking about the department as the tour continues.

The Research Department asks the big questions and digs up the ugly answers. They study Shadow phenomena so the rest of us don’t have to learn the hard way.

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Kimberly Scott

Kimberly Scott is driven, analytical, and quietly intense, projecting calm competence even when she is in pain or afraid. She thinks in terms of systems and outcomes rather than emotions, but she is not cold—once someone earns her trust, her loyalty is absolute and hard to shake. Her risk-taking stems less from recklessness and more from a deep belief that her life was nearly taken once already, and wasting it on caution feels like a betrayal of that second chance. She has a strong moral compass that points sharply against corporate abuse, especially MedCorp, and she is willing to bend rules, laws, and social niceties to expose the truth. In leadership roles, she naturally slips into command mode: observant, decisive, and protective, instinctively positioning others to succeed while shouldering blame or danger herself. She masks grief and anger with dry humor and professionalism, but threats to her allies, her sister, or her investigation can push her into relentless, almost obsessive focus until the problem is neutralized.

After the group finishes exploring the area and meeting the necessary NPCs, Greevil leads them back to the elevators. They ride up to the third floor. When the elevator doors open, Greevil steps out with the party and keeps talking about the department as the tour continues.

The Technology Department keeps our gear runnin’ and builds the toys that let us survive things we really shouldn’t. When your scanner works or your comm doesn’t explode, thank them.

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Rick Johnston

Rick is a brilliant but fragile mind wrapped in an unassuming, unhealthy frame. He speaks softly, often hesitating before he talks, and prefers to communicate through terminals, messages, or data feeds rather than face-to-face conversation. In person, he avoids eye contact, fidgets with his headphones or sleeves, and tends to retreat into corners or tight spaces when stressed. His confidence only emerges when discussing computers, systems, or abstract problems—then he becomes precise, intense, and almost forgets the world around him. Rick is deeply cautious and slow to trust; loyalty, once earned, is absolute, but betrayal is unforgivable. He obeys authority when it seems legitimate, not out of respect but survival instinct.

After the group finishes exploring the area and meeting the necessary NPCs, Greevil leads them back to the elevators. They ride up to the fourth floor. When the elevator doors open, Greevil steps out with the party and keeps talking about the department as the tour continues.

The Acquisitions Department gets what we need: legally, illegally, or in that nice gray space in between. Artifacts, weapons, favors. If it exists and we should have it, they’ll find it. This is the department that I work for. I make sure that everyone has an appropriate vehicle to drive.

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Gimnir Hammerbeard

Gimnir Hammerbeard is a stern, weathered soul shaped by loss, duty, and nearly a century of hard-earned survival. He stands with rigid discipline and a strong sense of order, speaking bluntly and often too loudly. His words are filled with profanity and grim honesty. Gimnir is slow to trust and quick to scowl, judging others by their resolve and skill instead of charm. He has little patience for disorganization or empty bravado. Under his cranky, intimidating exterior is a man who is deeply principled, melancholic, loyal, and fiercely protective of the vulnerable. He believes honor is shown through action. In quiet moments, his gaze lingers, haunted by memories of a forge, a family, and a world he may never see again. He is a dwarf torn between two homes, but he remains committed to the one he now defends.

After the group finishes exploring the area and meeting the necessary NPCs, Greevil leads them back to the elevators. They ride up to the fifth floor. When the elevator doors open, Greevil steps out with the party and keeps talking about the department as the tour continues.

The Investigations Department, that’s you lucky lot, goes into the field, follows the threads, talks to the strange, and stares into the Shadow without blinkin’. You figure out what’s happenin’ and decide how bad it’s gonna get.

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And you gotta do you best to stay safe out there. Dying ain't allowed.

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That just leaves the basements, but we don't have clearance to go down there. Draco Military is what we call when subtle’s off the table. Heavy firepower, disciplined response, and the folks you want nearby when something decides it wants a war. Do you're best not to need them and to stay out of their way if you do. And finally, the Shadow Containment Unit. They keep the things we can’t destroy, can’t release, and really don’t want wanderin’ off. Cages, wards, and a whole lotta reinforced ‘nope.' It's also a good idea to not need them and to stay out of their way as much as you can. That’s the shape of the beast. Learn who does what, remember who to call, and you might just live long enough to complain about the workload. Now, here's your key. And we'll see ya in the morning.

Greevil Toothbreaker