The Exchange was founded in 1688 in Erasmus Cross, formerly Easthaven, on the east coast of England. As a refuge for the supernatural, Erasmus Cross needed an organisation that policed and protected its streets. While the true character of Erasmus Cross has passed into legend and myths, the Exchange is still a quietly influential organization in the present era.

Their original mission was controlling currency in Erasmus Cross, changing the innumerable varieties of world money to the Cross' coin, which allowed there to be a common language between the merchants in the city that came from all over the world. At the behest of Dr. Bloodworth, the man who pioneered research into the supernatural and de facto mayor of the city, the Exchange's duties expanded to controlling travel into and out of the city. The policy change followed after a royal decree declared that the supernatural presence in Erasmus Cross would need to remain a closely guarded secret beyond its borders.

Even after discontinuing the city's unique coinage, their influence grew and expanded beyond the city borders. As they grew, the Exchange swallowed up the local police service, forming its martial ranks to enforce their laws. Their presence precluded a local branch of the Metropolitan Police in later years, resulting in unspoken resentment between the branches. That is not to say the Exchange Office did not work closely with the Met beyond Erasmus Cross' boundaries. Often, when a supernatural threat reared its head, and the local constabulary was unable to combat it, the higher-ups who were in the know would call upon the Exchange agents.

Back in this era, women or supernatural beings were not openly members of the Exchange's ranks. Half-bloods were especially looked down on, while those shifters and undying who were known were shunned outside of their own kind. Humans who were unlucky enough to be cursed or possessed lost their jobs unless they could hide it. A woman would need to push hard to see any of the more dangerous assignments. Often they were trained differently - often in the gentler arts of etiquette and high society or other subjects which may give them an advantage undercover. These days, there is a more egalitarian and meritocratic approach, a change that happened during Queen Victoria's reign for the British Exchange, while the American Exchange had a "don't ask, don't tell" policy since the time of frontier justice. Today, if someone has the inclination and the dedication, they can take on whatever assignment or receive whatever training they choose, regardless of gender or supernatural status.

Before and after the Revolutionary war, the Exchange was present in the Americas. They expanded alongside the country as land to the west was settled, cities founded, and American expansionism picked up steam. In this time, the organisation went through several changes, becoming quite unlike its English counterpart.

Rather than a centralised hierarchy, complete with a legal system and containment, the size of the country necessitated granting each agent the powers of judge, jury, and executioner. Exchange officers began to take on cohorts of specialists to support their efforts and training apprentices in their work. Each group developed its unique hierarchy and culture, allowing them to function independently, but all with the same goal of holding the line at the barrier between the supernatural and the natural world.

For the past few centuries, they have worked in the shadows, hunting down cults, keeping supernatural entities quiet or appeased, killing or trapping dangerous monsters, and helping the friendlier elements of the supernatural community blend into the human world. Like the old Exchange, the organisation still employs both humans and metahumans, with a deeply ingrained meritocratic culture.

As they moved into the modern world, some groups put down roots, becoming a little closer to the English branches, if with a few quirks of their own. Exchange Private Investigations in Easthaven is one of these groups that settled down, originally in Boston before shifting to Easthaven in the 1840s. The Exchange works within the city combating supernatural threats on its own and in conjunction with the local police department.

Although they are a small organisation, they are heavily involved with the supernatural community. The Easthaven Exchange has garnered a great deal of trust for having a fair and steady hand in their dealings. Having many supernaturals in their number, they care for the community as much as they police it, and many supernaturals go to them first when they are in need.

That isn't to say they are strictly good and gentle; they do not give much quarter to those who endanger the human or supernatural communities and are more than capable of using lethal force when necessary.

Quick Summary

In America, the Exchange divided into mobile cohorts to best facilitate the rapidly expanding borders.

With a close connection to the supernatural community, the Exchange draws its recruits from both humans and metahumans, functioning as a meritocratic organisation.

As America industrialised and big cities began growing, some Exchange cohorts set down roots, settling in cities to define their area of responsibility and making connections with the local law enforcement.

The Easthaven Exchange is an offshoot of the Boston Exchange, having moved to Easthaven in the 1840s.

The Easthaven Exchange has been heavily involved with the supernatural community since the 1840s and has gained their trust for having a fair and steady hand.

Many supernaturals and metahumans come to them first if they have a problem.

The Easthaven Exchange offices are warded against divination and other scrying magics.

The Exchange accept both humans and metahumans into their ranks, having seen the tactical misstep of limiting their recruitment pool. Magic-users, half-bloods, shifters, and the undead are not viewed much differently than pure humans. The Exchange agents aren't absent of their personal prejudices, as one cannot control individual opinions, but the organisation has a merit-based hiring approach.

Morality varies within their ranks, from the pinnacle of goodness to the sort of person who will do whatever it takes for the greater good. In essence, these men and women of the Exchange stand on the edge of the void and scream back, lending to a whole variety of personalities that may or may not clash. The job takes a lot out of the agents, as it is a high-risk, low-reward job that leaves little room for anyone simply seeking status. Summed up, they're a collectivistic group that rates cooperation highly but also requires the sort of person who can operate independently and make choices in tough situations.

Each Exchange cohort has a cypher for digital and physical documents, which preserves the secrecy around their work. Many also have a collection of diaries and books written in older cyphers that they no longer have the key to, thanks to the writers, past Inquisitors and agents alike, being killed in action before being able to share their key. Easthaven's collection of coded books is extensive, thanks to its long history.

The sole authority in an Exchange office is the Inquisitor, a formal title left over from the European roots of the organisation. There are differences in leadership styles between Inquisitors, but there is a common goal of protecting everyone from supernatural threats. The other ranks, senior to junior agent, represent the level of experience of the agents under the Inquisitor's command. Senior agents can lead bigger teams on cases that need more manpower, but usually, agents handle cases with their partners, calling in back-up when needed.

A player may place their character in any of the agent ranks at their discretion. The only qualification is that the history of the character reflects their chosen rank.

Inquisitor for Easthaven

Theo Crowhurst

Ranks

Senior Agent

Agent

Junior Agent

The dynamic of the Exchange in Easthaven is that of a small investigative division in the mundane world. They tend to be somewhat insular and defend their own, as is typical in a group regularly facing the weird, dangerous, and deadly. They're small in number, especially compared to the community they police. The larger cities like New York or Los Angeles have more bodies to throw around, while Easthaven has learned to get the most out of their available agents.

While they hold no power in the mundane world, being nothing more than a fully licensed PI firm in the eyes of the law, they work to maintain the secrecy of the supernatural and protect the supernatural community. They work to eliminate risks to that secrecy, and neatly fill in the role as the men in black of the supernatural world. These risks can be rampaging creatures of all sorts: the bay creatures looking for a snack, unauthorised spiritual activity, people getting lost in the subway and ending up in the underworld, flesh-eating possessed scarecrows, and many more. The more unfortunate cases, such as shifters gone amok or ritualists pushing the envelope too far, are also handled by the Exchange, often to deadly effect.

Although small in number, the Easthaven cohort has recently established their very own Sewing Circle. With an experience Arcanist coming up from Boston to spearhead an organised group for enchantment and charm work for the Easthaven cohort, their small cohort has reinforced their position and supply lines. This, along with their favourable reputation in the community, means they are generally respected and taken seriously. Despite their losses and inability to expand as rapidly as the community they protect, the Easthaven Exchange cohort is intent on using their resources as effectively as they can to fulfill their charter.

At best, the Easthaven police department would consider them vigilantes if they knew what the Exchange got up to. However, there is still the vestiges of a working relationship between the two organisations. Should a mundane case start looking supernatural, higher-ups in the know are known to tap the Exchange PI for the work, to the bafflement of some officers.

Quick Summary

The Easthaven Exchange operates as a fully licensed and legal private detective firm.

They're small in number after some rough years and low recruitment, but as a result they ferociously defend their own.

Their charter is to maintain the secrecy and protect the supernatural world and protect the mundane from supernatural threats.

The Easthaven Exchange has an active Sewing Circle, headed by an experienced Exchange Arcanist from Boston.

The community they protect generally views them favourably and cooperates willingly when problems crop up.

The Easthaven Police Department as a whole are unaware of their presence as supernatural experts, but some individuals know and willingly cooperate with them.

There is no single recipe for how to train an Exchange agent. The training model used across America is an apprenticeship approach, focused on learning on the job with another agent. Therefore, rookies are often already familiar with the Exchange and the community, possessing some skills that would be useful. In the case of a skilled individual showing promise, an Exchange cohort in a city may actively pursue recruiting them. Still, recruits primarily come from those who actively seek out the Exchange themselves.

The variety of training depends on senior agents available in each Exchange office. If a rookie or agent is interested in pursuing a magic or ritual focus, seeking an apprenticeship with another agent with expertise in that area is the natural progression of their training. Most senior agents are expected to offer their expertise, especially if they're experts in any magical field or theory.

Generally, all agents know how rituals and magic work, especially the Codes of Conduct. Agents learn counter-magic tactics through a mix of on-the-job training and course work, specifically the quirks of magic, identifying ritual circles and breaking them safely, and the weaknesses and strengths of metahumans. Depending on an agent's training, they employ a variety of abilities and tools to counteract the magics they encounter on the job. Many agents carry objects of silver and iron, with the cleverer agents, with access to good arcanists, carrying around little bottles of sunlight for an emergency.

While retirement is an option within the Exchange, most do not choose to leave the organization. It is difficult to go back to normal life at the end of it all. So they remain on board (and thus retain the bonus) often serving as archivists or researchers. Alternatively, an agent may go rogue and retain their bonus, but they will then be avidly hunted by the Tongue-Tyers and more often than not meet a swift end. The third option is allowing the Tongue-Tyers to take it all from you so that you may go on to live a normal life in ignorance.

A Sewing Circle is an Exchange-associated group of hedge witches, hobbyists, arcanists, and other magic users. When magic users find each other over the internet or through community centers, sharing knowledge and resources, they often group together and become something of a magical force in the community. More often than not, this means that the Exchange needs to keep a close eye on them lest they find their way into more dangerous practices, becoming something more like a cabal or a cult.

Rather than disbanding or destroying these groups where they find them, the Exchange offers positions in an adjunct organization known as the Sewing Circle. In return for attaching themselves to an Exchange cohort and helping by creating simple enchanted utility and protection items, these groups gain access to better resources and protection. The Easthaven Sewing Circle is slowly building their numbers, a new Exchange Arcanist having come up from Boston to spearhead their efforts. Despite their new status, their expertise is unmatched in the city.

Like the Tongue-Tyers, they are primarily based in Europe, although there are a few small groups in the Americas, often housewives, hobbyists, hedgewitches, and other minor magic users.

History

Again, the name comes from a group in old Erasmus Cross. Part ritualist resource, part social club, the Sewing Circle was a group of women who lived openly as women as part of the Exchange and were classified as noncombatants. They also were not required to live on Exchange property and often ran households of their own in the city, gathering weekly to exchange gossip, news, and tips on magic use. It's not much different these days.

The upper echelons of Exchange Arcanists. Largely the hand in the dark, they are rarely recognized for their work - and many of them prefer it that way. As the Exchange's version of a spook, they are often in charge of intensive and high-profile interrogations as well as investigations. Their methods are esoteric, and often brutal, cutting to the quick on protecting the line between the supernatural and the mundane.

Their name comes from their roots. This branch of the Exchange was originally meant to keep track of the comings and goings of Erasmus Cross, using intimidation and vigilance to keep the secrets of the city hidden. However, after the advent of Egyptian grimoires and the introduction of Ritual Magic to the Cross, they became known for branding runes onto the top of people's mouths. These runes kept the unfortunate from speaking about the city, or about the brand that keeps them from doing so. The practice has expanded as the art of enchantment was refined. These runes can now create all sorts of controlling effects, which allows the Tongue-Tyers to create protective measures for both the Exchange and the supernatural.

In Europe, they are primarily based in Erasmus Cross, and joining their ranks is a competitive and often dangerous affair. Their academy is world-class, with a demanding curriculum that produces powerful and knowledgable arcanists.

There is no academy or central location for Tongue-Tyers in America and as such their numbers are sparse, with agents going where they are directed rather than settling in any one place. If a Tongue-Tyer darkens your doorstep, then things are serious indeed.

Since they are so rare, in the Americas there are no available positions for Tongue-Tyer characters, although you are free to use them for your character's history.

History

In the era of old Erasmus Cross, Arcanists were primarily high-born women with the time, money, and energy to put into ritual magic. As such, the Tongue-Tyers were one of the few groups in the Exchange that were comprised almost entirely of women. As such, the group never received an official hierarchy. Instead, they have organized themselves into a group subordinate to a Matron and her secretary. This group complemented the combat-focused agents and assisted the detectives and uniformed officers in their work.

These days, they take everyone into their ranks, functioning as a meritocracy, but they have not forgotten their roots and more often than not, the head of the European academy is still a Matron.