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Open from sundown until the wee hours of the morning almost every night a week, the Cloak & Dagger prides itself on a cocktail menu crafted with a meticulous eye for detail, wines and spirits bearing labels and brands to make all but the wealthiest of Ul’dah’s socialites green with envy, and a pleasant atmosphere where one can put up their feet and speak easy among good company. The Speakeasy likes to brand itself as perhaps “the best-kept secret of the Brimming Heart” thanks to its location and quiet atmosphere where the night is just as easily marked by the quiet din of conversation among patrons and staff as it is the jazz music emanating from the phonograph.Having been in business for a number of years, the Speakeasy has naturally accumulated a number of rumors pertaining to its operations. Perhaps the most persistent among these is the idea that the Cloak & Dagger Speakeasy’s current proprietor obtained the business from the previous owner by besting them in a hand of cards. It would not be the first or only fortune lost—or gained, depending on who you’re rooting for—in such a way in Ul’dah, with the city’s various gambling dens being its worst-kept secret. Such a rumor does beg the question as to whether the Speakeasy’s gilded veneer is all there is to it, though…Moreover, the notion that nothing offered is ever free hangs over the Speakeasy with regards to its business operations. An enterprise like any other, the Speakeasy keeps job listings posted throughout the city-state and in surrounding locales for various staff positions to fill both the Speakeasy’s service needs as well as its security needs. The pay scale offered, though, is notoriously livable for a business that by all rights should be operating on a razor-thin profit margin in order to keep its ledgers balanced. Ul’dah being Ul’dah, it’s difficult to think that such a generous offering wouldn’t have a catch to it—but what?

The Cloak & Dagger Speakeasy presents its visitors immediately with a gilded veneer befitting an establishment which takes the Ul’dahn axiom that divinity is the color of gold to heart: the decor of the interior is understated and lined with golden accents and panels of stained glass. The air is filled with the smell of warm sandalwood incense, wisps of smoke carrying the scent drifting through the air from strategically-placed incensories. The incense does little to cover the smell of expensive cigarette smoke that has long-since seeped into the walls and instead works to complement it.The primary operations of the speakeasy are centered around the downstairs bar. Upon descending the stairs, one would see—well, the bar proper of course, situated almost directly across from the stairs leading down, but also tall bookshelves along the back wall. The bookshelves are lined both with books and magazines, geared toward providing the Speakeasy’s patronage with accessible entertainment. The selected range is a malm wide and an ilm deep, focused on catering to popular appeal whether the volume is fiction, nonfiction, archived periodicals, or collected and bound art prints for perusal.The shelves, however, are far from the only place one would find artwork; the walls themselves are littered with framed pieces—but what’s this? A trained eye, or perhaps an eye at least familiar with the genuine articles, would find that the pieces on display do not appear to be genuine. The replicas are well-made, certainly, but wouldn’t an establishment like the Speakeasy prefer to display genuine works as a way of showing off its supposed wealth?

Once one pulls back the curtain and peeks at its back of house enterprises, one would find services rendered by information brokers, by enforcers, by couriers… And more. The Speakeasy does not solely consider a prospective employee in terms of maintaining its front-of-house cover. It also offers special consideration to those who have services they can offer to the Speakeasy and its guests, even if those additional services skirt the line of—or even fall entirely on the other side of—the law.The Speakeasy itself does not disclose the terms of its employment contracts, but the keen-eyed and keen-eared may notice a pattern: those who work for the Speakeasy both in front-of-house and back-of-house regards tend to be kept on retainer, being formally employed by the establishment and enjoying all the benefits of employment which the Speakeasy advertises publicly. Those who solely work back-of-house, however, are not formally kept on the payroll and are instead offered tasks on a per-contract basis; the public, however, may simply see these privileged few as “VIPs” for the special privileges they have earned by proving their value to the Speakeasy.Naturally, it follows that the Speakeasy is more than just an upscale idle fancy to every guest who walks through its doors—and that perhaps the declaration of neutral ground is more than just a declaration that squabbles pertaining to Ul’dah’s usual orders of business are best left at the gate. The Speakeasy is a place for patrons to meet for the purposes of conducting business away from prying eyes: an establishment, unconnected to one’s personal affairs, where one might brush shoulders with the sort who are well-acclimated to Ul’dah’s shadows. Those attuned to the flow of aether would find that the Speakeasy is warded against unwanted intrusion, and those with eyes and ears in low places may well have heard that the Proprietor has ways of dealing with trespassers.The particulars of the Speakeasy's operations are muddled by rumors, which makes it difficult to discern fact from fiction. It’s not difficult to speculate that some of these rumors may have been started by the Proprietor themselves for the express purpose of muddying the waters, and then said rumors went on to take on a life of their own, far removed from the Proprietor’s input or original intentions. Whatever the case may be, it has ensured that the only way to separate the wheat from the chaff with regards to the Speakeasy is to step into that world for oneself… Which of course, would remove much of the plausible deniability one might enjoy on the basis of being an outside observer.Today, the rumors vary widely; it is said, for example, that the Speakeasy’s generosity is backed by the ability to leverage outstanding debts for favors in place of monetary repayment, which would seem to paint the Proprietor as a simple money-lender. On the other hand, it is said that the Speakeasy’s operations may be shielded from scrutiny by connections to big fish—be they an underworld syndicate or some socialite or another with connections to the Syndicate—which is just as viable a possibility, though it would naturally be in the interests of any would-be benefactor to maintain their anonymity so as to preserve Ul’dah’s delicate balance.

These black linkpearls encrypt and decrypt messages on their specific frequency, though at the cost of only being able to access the frequency they were designed to operate at. While this renders them less flexible for use in terms of use than most linkpearls, it does make them uniquely suited for use in clandestine affairs… Which of course includes their present use-case of being used by criminals to coordinate their affairs. This encryption ensures a certain measure of protection from prying ears… That said, the black linkpearls themselves do present a problem to those who have adopted them:Nobody knows who created the black linkpearls, or for what purpose.As a consequence, nobody knows how to create more of them; it’s widely assumed that the original shell may have been destroyed at some point, as the number of black linkpearls in circulation seems to be finite but the exact number is presently unknown. Without any way to know for sure, it’s natural that those who adopt the black linkpearls for use would take additional measures to ensure their anonymity: the use of code names or callsigns over the lines themselves, dead drops when passing along a physical good is necessary, or even masks if face-to-face contact cannot be avoided.The Cloak & Dagger is far from the first or only underworld enterprise to have ever utilized the black linkpearls, and the chances of it being the last are vanishingly slim. The network as a construct has existed since at least the years leading up to the Calamity, though there are scattered rumors of it having existed even earlier than that.As a result, the Speakeasy is far from the only way of coming into possession of a black linkpearl; there are rumors of happening upon one in a wide variety of serendipitous ways. The black linkpearls seem as liable to change hands in the course of regular underworld as coin during a transaction in the course of one’s regular work—if said regular work is in service to underworld interests, that is—and this phenomenon means that it is one of the Speakeasy’s top business priorities to obtain as many black linkpearls as possible for distribution to favorable parties. As a result, the Speakeasy is currently the most prominent—but far from only—entity on the network’s lines, and represents the most concrete point of entry for those who might be interested in obtaining a black linkpearl of their own.

Ask our staff about any nightly specials or personal specialties!

Ask our staff about any nightly specials or personal specialties!

• We Are Hiring!

Interested in community partnership?
Continue reading below for details!

Cloak & Dagger is a community that welcomes the prospect of working with like-minded writers through uplifting our neighbors, forging mutual community partnerships, and offering opportunities for collaboration! We have two major avenues that we endeavor to accomplish this: one-way OOC endorsement of community spaces as Confidants and mutual Partnership arrangements.Confidants are selected solely at the discretion of the Cloak & Dagger Officer Team and cannot be applied for as partnerships are; thus, information about them has been excluded from this page. More information about them can be found in our Discord server.

About Partnership

Partners are communities of like-minded writers that Cloak & Dagger endorses and works with on both an OOC (community culture and atmosphere) level and an IC one. Officially partnered communities are communities that Cloak & Dagger works with in order to encourage RP between the two groups via collaborative events and cross-community campaign opportunities.There are multiple different types of partnership: on the level of a community formed around a formal organization or venue, these organizations may become allies or adversaries of the speakeasy and its underlying network. In the case of hub discords representing a genre or locale, however, it may simply be that we collaborate on organizing RP events.

If you are interested in becoming a Partner, please open a Community Partnership Application ticket in our Discord's #ㆍcontact channel so that we can hash out the details! Please note: partnerships are far more likely to be accepted if at least one representative is demonstrably active in our community. These are designed to encourage collaboration, so while cold-calling won't necessarily mean that your request for partnership will be declined, it is not recommended as a practice.Confidants are selected solely at the discretion of the Cloak & Dagger Officer Team. Community owners cannot apply for the confidant role; as such, if you would like to become one, the best way is by being demonstrably active in our community, advertising your space/event in #networking, and fostering a safe and welcoming community.

• Discord

Cloak & Dagger is a cross-world criminal RP community that focuses on RP as a form of collaborative writing. We regard our community as a shared creative space. As far as events go, we run a variety of RP events including a bi-monthly speakeasy of the same name, open world RP nights, and community campaigns!Where many communities will designate storytellers to control the flow of storylines in their spaces, Cloak & Dagger adopts a “Bring Your Own Bottle” approach: there are community plots to participate in, but individual players are also encouraged to utilize the space and narrative framework of the community to advance their own stories and develop their own characters. In fact, you will get more out of our space if you do!Cloak & Dagger strives to bring together creatives of diverse experience levels and backgrounds under a player-driven, unified framework. To that end, we center our community spaces and the policies governing them around two sets of core values—one set to guide our OOC rules, philosophy, and culture and another to guide our approach to roleplay.

Last Updated: February 17, 2025

• Discord

Interested in joining us?

• Network & Venue Lore
• Recruitment Information

• Discord

The best, fastest, and most reliable way to get in contact with the Cloak & Dagger Officer Team is through our server's ticket system. Our tickets are private channels within our server managed by the Ticket Tool bot, which also allows tickets to be categorized depending on topic.General inquiries regarding our community can be directed to the General Inquiry ticket panel.Cloak & Dagger also has as a resource the Confidential ticket panel for the handling of sensitive matters. Confidential tickets for raising matters with upper-level Cloak & Dagger Officers in a private, confidential setting. These tickets are visible only to Officers, are logged separately from other tickets, and the information shared within them is considered private unless we are given the go-ahead from the ticket-opener to share information with parties outside of those present in the ticket.

Cloak & Dagger's Officer Team is only human, so our bans are appealable. Ban appeals may be accepted if new information comes to light regarding a disciplinary case, if the Officer Team has been purposefully mislead during an investigation, or if the banned member has taken steps to address and rectify the behavior or pattern of behavior that led to their ban in the first place.Ban appeals are a privilege which may be revoked in a specific case at the Officer Team's discretion. They are also not available in the case of obvious and severe Rule Zero violations (substantiated reports of bigotry such as racism or transphobia; inappropriate conduct with minors) or violations of our creative integrity rule (AI usage, art theft, etc.) are not appealable except in cases of false alarm, manufactured evidence, or if otherwise noted in a user's ban message and disciplinary log.

• Ban Appeal Form

As a criminal-themed RP community, the Cloak & Dagger of course welcomes mob bosses, murderers, and thieves—and most things in-between. However, current involvement in criminal activity is not a requirement for involvement with Cloak & Dagger, its community, or its overarching narrative framework.Our community welcomes characters from all walks of life and rather than narrowing based on premise or archetype, we utilize a Style Guide to set the boundaries for our space along the lines of lore adherence, our desired genre, and our desired tone. For a brief summary...

• full style guide

Naturally, as a criminal-themed RP community, the Cloak & Dagger welcomes mob bosses, murderers, and thieves—and most things in-between—but our Style Guide also provides room for non-criminal characters to participate in our community.

Please note that neither formal employment by the speakeasy nor VIP status are required to participate in Cloak & Dagger’s community RP! Speakeasy Staff and VIP status is simply designed to provide deeper involvement with the community’s narrative framework of being a speakeasy at the heart of a decentralized criminal network.

All character profiles and applications are handled through our Discord. In order to be considered an Associate, the only requirement is to post a Style Guide-compliant character's profile in the relevant channel; but Speakeasy Staff and VIPs will have to fill out a short written application through our in-server ticket system.

• Discord

Staff & VIP Application Processing Guidelines

Because neither of these roles are a requirement in order to participate in Cloak & Dagger’s community RP, it does mean that the evaluation process for staffing the speakeasy or becoming a VIP is more stringent than that for the Associate role. While any character not in egregious breach of Cloak & Dagger’s Style Guide is given the Associate role and allowed to participate in our community’s RP, Speakeasy Staff and VIP applications are additionally evaluated on:

• About Staff Positions
• About VIP Status

Service: Bartenders & Waitstaff

Service Staff as a category includes bartenders, waitstaff, and hosts (greeters). They are front-of-house staff responsible for the service element of the venue including taking and preparing orders and making sure guests’ needs are attended to. It is a heavily interactive role; service staff are expected to engage with guests within their areas (bartending at the bar, checking in on tables as waitstaff, greeting those who come in as greeters).

Security: Enforcers & Risk Management

Security Staff as a category includes enforcers and risk-management. They are, as the title suggests, security personnel responsible for enforcing the speakeasy’s in-character rules during our public events and checking weapons. Outside of public events, the role of characters who are tasked with security would be collecting debts owed to the speakeasy and assessing the risk of prospective future ventures.

Story: Narrative-oriented

Staff fulfilling narrative positions at the Cloak & Dagger Speakeasy. They may not be involved in the Speakeasy’s front-of-house operations in the same way that bartenders serving drinks or security staff checking weapons are, but they nonetheless fulfill an in-universe niche. Examples of narrative-oriented staff positions may include, but are not limited to: in-house performers, accountants or scribes, couriers and messengers, cryptographers...

As staff for the speakeasy, writers are expected to be interested and available to help with the speakeasy’s normally-scheduled operations (participation in special events is optional, but recommended).While staff who become inactive will never be “fired” for said inactivity, inactive staff may be moved to reserve and might be asked to briefly hash out a reason for their character’s absence from the speakeasy upon their return. Speakeasy staff are given the status of “Reserve Staff” after three months or more of observed absence from the speakeasy or if this role is requested as a result of a planned or foreseen extended hiatus.Players who are interested in retaining prior benefits/standing for their characters upon return must either return to work for the speakeasy or, if they are no longer interested or available to work for the speakeasy, fulfill the requirements to become a VIP (which are listed below). Otherwise, they will become Associates again.

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• About VIP Status

VIPs are characters who do not work for the speakeasy who are nonetheless considered to be trustworthy enough for the Speakeasy to entrust with certain contracts; in other words, they're recognized contract workers and close confidants of the Cloak & Dagger.Like Speakeasy staff, they may be given a black linkpearl in association with the Speakeasy’s operations if they fill some role like being a trusted outside contractor, but they may also acquire black linkpearls through other means.

Unlike Speakeasy staff, VIPs have little to no obligation to the speakeasy itself IC or OOC. As a result, however, the requirements to be able to apply as a VIP are higher, requiring both an IC referral from another character involved with the speakeasy or network and the completion of a trial following the approval of a written application by the Officer Team. In short: if you want your character to be considered a VIP at the Speakeasy, you have to earn it through in-character interactions.

About Referrals

The purpose of the referral process is to provide the basis of a reason for the Speakeasy to consider your character as a VIP candidate. There are two different ways of obtaining an IC referral:

About Trials

Following the approval of your written application, your character will be expected to prove their worth to the speakeasy in order to cement their VIP status. By completing their trial, your character will have concretely demonstrated their worth.These trials are RP sessions which are prompted by the Coordinator team, but ultimately organized and followed through by you, the player. They are similar to Job Board or classifieds listings with additional details tailored toward allowing you to showcase your character. They must be completed alongside at least one other player within Cloak & Dagger’s community (Associate or higher).Extensions up to nine months may be granted upon request; however, failure to complete your character’s trial in the allotted time will result in your characters’ invitation to become a VIP rescinded. You will need a new referral to apply again if you allow your trial to expire with no communication to the Officer Team regarding extenuating circumstances.

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• About Speakeasy Staff

Autumn Open House

⸻ GENERAL DETAILS ⸻

Special Event Menu

A complementary buffet of assorted snacks and sweets will be available to all guests.

speakeasy jam party

⸻ GENERAL DETAILS ⸻

The Speakeasy Jam Party is the Cloak & Dagger's spin on an art party! Creatives of all stripes are welcome to participate, including artists, writers, GPosers, and more! Don't classify yourself as a creative? No problem! You're welcome to come and enjoy the party's atmosphere or use the space to socialize, be it alone or with friends, though you are encouraged to try something new! After all, the important part of creativity is having fun, not necessarily being good at it.

RULES

activities

ART & GPOSE
This is our spin on an art party, after all! As with all art parties, we encourage artists of all skill levels to come and have fun! GPosers are also welcome to utilize our space to take screenshots.WRITING SPRINTS
In order to be more inclusive to writers, we will be having two writing sprints during the jam party. Suffering from writer's block? We'll provide optional one-word prompts! Each sprint will be 15 minutes long.

Q: why a "jam party" and not an art party?

While Art Parties as a type of event are widely accepted as social gatherings as much as creative ones, we wanted the title of our party to be more inclusive to other types of creatives who may not necessarily consider themselves artists. The title "Jam Party" also ties in to the theme of the party!The Jam Party is named to bring to mind a jam session, a gathering where musicians come together and improvise with little to no preparation. As the Cloak & Dagger as an RP venue is themed after Jazz Age speakeasies and RP is often an improvisational craft in its own right, it felt appropriate to call that to mind!

Q: what is "cocktail attire?"

Loosely, the nicest thing you own. Unlike categories like "black-tie" and "white-tie," cocktail attire has no set definition and treads the line between casual and semi-formal wear. All glamours should be SFW; while we will leave the dress code open to interpretation (what would your character wear to a cocktail party?) , please at minimum wear clothing and do not dye things to intentionally call to mind NSFW imagery.