London’s Dungeons- Occupants

For six weeks, we’ve looked at prime locations in London large enough to hide lairs, laboratories, and secret headquarters for your Victoriana villains. This week I’m listing some secretive groups likely to use London’s dungeons, their agendas, and their henchmen.
Theses conspiracies don’t all have to be antagonistic to the players. While these dungeons are described to be infiltrated, explored, and house exciting battles (preferably with period specific monsters), they could instead house resting places, bolt holes, the headquarters of an allied organization or even a parties’ association.
Here are some ideas:

Very organized river pirates/smugglers store their hoard in a hidden place.
Hook: The River Police offer a substantial reward for the location of the Hideout/ Something important was stolen from a barge.
Plan: Keep stealing and avoid the law
Fight: Foreign nautical creatures infest the warehouse.

A group of anarchists fight against the status quo through detective work, research, and bombs
Hook: A number of public events have been canceled due to a wave of anarchist attacks/why are a number of influential men suddenly all dropping their support to an upper class contact?
Plan: The removal of key politicians by blackmail, kidnapping, public opinion, and murder.
Fight: Scrappy halfling newsies, printers, and typesetters, all with bizarre tattoos hidden under their clothes

A cadre of discharged army officers moonlights as thieves because of lost fortune, blackmail, revenge, or the thrill of stealing.
Hook: A rash of imaginative brilliantly planned crimes plague the precious stone exchanges of London.
Plan: To execute, through cunning and forethought, the crime of the century.
Fight: Loyal batmen (personal servants of commissioned officers) armed with stolen military prototypes.

Order of disgraced scientists and engineers has a secret laboratory for thaumaturgical experiments.
Hook: Some easily overlooked locals have gone missing after being hired by academic-looking gentlemen to do some light labor.
Plan: They explore dangerous and illegal magical practices to purify the polluted air of London
Fight: Fanatical but nonviolent civil servants armed with marvels guard their secrets.

A group of night beat constables have been possessed by the spirits of Roman soldiers.
Hook: A neighborhood’s criminal elements are being stabbed to death with alarming frequency while working at night. Historians say the wounds are caused by very old style short swords.
Plan: The soldier’s souls are trying to find their lost army and regain control of the Londinium settlement.
Fight: Disciplined and well trained policemen that do not succumb to wounds.

The Guild elite of London gather for what is known as “The Auction” where the most incredible magical items and most exotic thaumatergical ingredients can be bought. If you have to ask where it is, you’re not invited.
Hook: “The Auction” is the only place in London that has it.
Plan: Keep out the riffraff, and acquire or create valuable collections to be sold to the highest bidder.
Fight: A series of busts of famous magicians have been enchanted to talk and levitate. Answer their questions about thaumaturgical trivia and you can go in. Otherwise, they will berate and hurl themselves vigorously at intruders.

An ancient hibernating Dragon lies dormant under London.
Hook: Terrible smelling fires break out in the Square Mile. Each Fire is also the location of a daring daylight crime roughly a week earlier or a lecture by an ascetic criminologist.  
Plan: The dragon’s dreams physically manifest as a devious overlord taking over the London’s criminal underworld and as an observant genius detective determined to thwart the overlord.
Fight: Symbiotic magical birds that clean the Dragon’s scales of parasites.

The Empire’s worst criminals held in a secret prison.
Hook: You Need to Escape!/There’s only one person who can help but he’s disappeared
Plan: Keep all the prisoners under lock and key or are the lunatics running the asylum?  
Fight: The few remaining descendents of an ancient knightly order led by a rotting bodiless skull watch over the prison.

After weeks of research and report based posts, it was nice to just write some crazy ideas. I will definitely go back to some of these ideas (HIBERNATING DRAGON!?) soon.
There are many places in London that could hide a secret and provide a backdrop for a boss fight. I just chose a few that caught my eye. For more of London’s Dungeons check out Subterranea Britannica.