The Crimson Telegraph
StandardA Web of Wires, A Net of Lies
A conspiracy threatens the colonial communication network. As lady investigators, you must intercept the coded messages before the Veil strikes -- using the networks of telegraph operators' wives, colonial hostesses, and educated women who manage correspondence across the Empire.
"The wires hum with the secrets of empires -- but so do the drawing rooms, the correspondence tables, and the whispered conversations over tea. The Veil believes they control information. They do not know about us."
Lady Detective Notes
The telegraph network is managed by men, but their wives, sisters, and daughters see every message that passes through. The women's network of correspondence parallels the official wires -- and often knows more.
Regions
The Three Acts
Act I: The First Coded Message
Gather 10 clues to identify the telegraph operator. The first coded message has been intercepted -- not through official channels, but through the network of colonial wives.
The telegraph operators' wives keep copies of unusual messages. The memsahib network has already noticed something wrong.
Act II: Following the Trail
Travel to 3 different regions and expose the network. At each station, the women who manage social correspondence have noticed discrepancies.
In each region, the local hostesses and telegraph operators' families hold pieces of the puzzle. Your letters of introduction open doors that official credentials cannot.
Act III: The Final Confrontation
Confront the Mastermind with matching Lead cards: Motive, Method, and Agent.
You have what he never anticipated: a network of women across the Empire who saw everything, remembered everything, and shared it with each other.
Special Rules
Coded Messages
Spend an action at a telegraph office to intercept a coded message: +1 Clue, +1 Menace.
Ladies' Correspondence Network
Exchange information with telegraph operators' wives instead: costs 1 Trust but no Menace increase.
The Social Telegraph
Once per game, the Hostess can send a message ahead to the next region, granting +1 Clue on arrival.
Invisible Network
Spend 2 Trust to receive intelligence from a distant region without traveling there.