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A Brief History of the Albion Street Runners 'There's no escape for the criminal' - Unofficial motto of the Runners. The Runners have been in existence in Albion for as long as anyone can remember. They were formed to deal with the criminal elements of Orcish society. The Runners’ reputation has been built on honesty, fairness and hard work. They tend to be mainly Orcs, but Runners from other races have been accepted if they can pass the gruelling tests. Possibly the hardest test is 'The Hard Run'. A veteran or experienced Runner takes an average Runner out on a difficult mission. If he passes, he is granted the status of an experienced Runner. The Unit's H.Q. is in Albion Street, Londinium and the 200 or so Runners operate throughout Albion and in Embassies of their Allies throughout Valon. The head of the Unit is the Chief Magistrate, Lord Brassington. The Runners’ badge of authority is a black top hat with a discreet scarlet top hat shaped badge on the front. Though dressed in civilian clothes, most runners traditionally wear a red item of clothing. Whether it be a jacket, waistcoat, shirt, gloves and so on. Harry 'Eldarado' Benton, the Runners representative in Catalucia wears knee length red boots. The Runners work in pairs and tend to favour pistols; swords or clubs (a large improvised weapon), in the cities and towns, as there is a lot of hand-to-hand fighting. Veteran and experienced Runners partner an average or raw Runner. As the veteran and experienced Runners tell the raw recruits, 'You can't arrest your Orc from a distance'. Out in the country though they tend to carry Orc Bessie muskets. In the present crisis, the Runners have found themselves working alongside the Army on special missions, chasing and apprehending enemy spies and guarding key military figures. Some Key Personalities Many of the veteran Runners have become legends, several in their own lifetimes. One of these is John Townhall whose adventures awe new recruits. When they ask how he was able to deal with four armed Orcs robbing a coach on his own he replies, 'When you can see the red of their eyes, you know you are in pistol range'. Other famous veteran Runners operating at the present time include Napoleon Soho and Harry 'Eldarado' Benton. Albion Street Runners Statistics The Runners are considered a regular unit. Veteran and experienced Runners when firing their pistols move one column to the left. None of the Runners receive any additions for firing Orc Bessie muskets. All Runners receive +1 for fighting with a sword. Any raw Runners within 10cm of a veteran Runner receive +1 to their morale. Flintloque Figures There are plenty of Flintloque/Deadloque civilian figures available that can be used as the runners. I decided that my runners are to be called the 'Albion Street Runners' would all wear top hats. Examples of figures available include Ian Phleming, Lofty Halfing Halforc, Colonel Augustus O'Toole (a runner if ever there was one), an Orc deserter, Void Grossman and so on. Author's Notes
Having recently carried out research into the Bow Street Runners, the forerunners of today's police force, it occurred to me that it would be possible to use the Runners in Flintloque. The Bow Street Runners - an historical background The Bow Street Runners were formed in 1749 by Henry Fielding, a Bow Street Magistrate. His blind half brother Sir John Fielding, 'The Blind Beak' took over the running of the Runners after Henry Fielding died in 1754. Initially, there were eight plain-clothes runners. As time went by foot and mounted uniform runners were created. The Runners eventually had authority to travel anywhere in the United Kingdom in the pursuit of criminals. It wasn't unknown for them to travel abroad. The foot and mounted patrols were known as 'Robin Redbreasts', on account of their red waistcoats. By the late 1810's, early 1820's the Runners were at the height of their fame. The Runners successfully arrested the Cato Street conspirators in London on February 1820 after a fierce hand-to-hand fight. The conspirators known as the Spenceans planned to kill the British cabinet. Runners other duties included guarding Royalty, stopping duels and investigating thefts and other crimes. Robert Peel became Home Secretary in 1822. He opposed the Runners and fought to have them replaced by a new police force, the Metropolitan Police. Peel finally achieved his aim in 1829. Although the plain clothed Runners remained separate from the Police they remained in existence until 1839. The Runners badge of authority was a crown tipped baton. Several of the Runners were famous in their day. These include John Townsend who guarded Royalty and was an expert on highwayman. Townsend started his career under Sir John fielding and was still working as a runner in the 1820's. George Ruthven led the runners into the building where the Cato Street conspirators were hiding. Henry Goddard joined the runners in the 1820's and remained a Runner until they were disbanded. Goddard left behind a diary of his cases. Other runners included William Ballard, John Sayer and Vickery. Webmaster's Notes The above was first published in Alternative Armies Loque & Load magazine in the Spring of 2002. The article was accompanied with three scenarios, also by Adrian Banfield, in which we got to see the Runner at work: The Bank of Macbeth Robbery, Barn Room Brawl and The Red Riding Hood Affair. The Valonian equivalent of the Bow Street Runners have also appeared recently under the moniker of The Bone Street Rumblers in Alternative Armies magazine, The Notables Newspaper. |
