Looking at starter ventures, a few places to visit and further adventures for Book 3 of Steam Highwayman.
Steam Highwayman - bk 1 guide | bk 2 guide | bk 3 guide | interview 1 | interview 2 | all articles
In the Reeking Metropolis
overview | starting ventures | places to visit | further adventures
Steam Highwayman was the 100 Endings Book Club read for May 2026. There are guides for book 1 and book 2, but in this series you can start in any book.
Book 3 quite a different experience from the countryside of books 1 & 2, being all in one large dirty city. Things are more spread out, with most locations having one or two sites to explore. Having Parliament, the Tower, Hyde Park and other familiar London locations may also make it more recognisable.
The Reeking Metropolis is challenging to start with, as you start with no money and slightly lower abilities (23 points as opposed to 26 in books 1 & 2). It's also harder to find a good place to store your things and recuperate. Although if you've been to prison the Cookshop in Lambeth is one of the best.
The same general advice also applies from the Book 1 Guide (find somewhere to store things, prioritise bonuses to Nimbleness, visit the pubs for opportunities)
5 Starting Ventures in the Reeking Metropolis
overview | starting ventures | places to visit | further adventures
Like most open-world series, getting started can take a while in Steam Highwayman. Here are 5 ventures looking into to start you off.
- Get the Donor's List from Bird Alley Chapel in Bow and then head over to the nearby Sewage Works for an immediate donation. It's up to you when the money reaches the Reverend and if you want to pursue other donors such as the Baroness at Islington.
- Helping out at London Zoo, found in Queen Maria Park. There is some money to be made, a friend to be made who teaches a useful lesson, and a valuable find to make. May take a few times working there to get all of them.
- Steal from St Katherine Docks, which is easiest to access from Shadwell. Go in at night with a grappling iron and rope, then keep stealing things until you get spotted. Most of it is sellable at the markets.
- Make Deliveries for the Telegraph Guild, which can be found at the Observatory at Greenwich. You'll need to get to three locations in the city as efficiently as possible, although you could repeat it if you fail. Doing it on time is well-paid and can lead to many other well-paid opportunities to help out the Telegraph Guild.
- Become Friends with the Waterside Boys. They are tricky to find, requiring you to go mudlarking several times at Allhallows Wharf (accesible from north side of London Bridge or Upper Thames Street on north side of Blackfriar Bridge. Once you've filled all the checkboxes you'll meet the urchins. Talk to them (even if they throw things at you) and "Bid them farewell" (don't give them a pork pie yet as there's an error that means you won't find them again). Then return with a pork pie and you'll befriend them. While it sounds like a lot of effort, they are great allies, as they can earn you some money, follow people and look for things. More importantly, they can save you from dying from too many wounds or by hanging!
5 Places to Visit in the Reeking Metropolis
overview | starting ventures | places to visit | further adventures
The Reeking Metropolis is far more spread out than the other books, with most Locations having two or three sites to interact with. The only must-visit is The City (Tower of London, St Pauls Cathedral, St Katherine's Docks, the forgers of St Margaret's Court, Brewer's Hall, Newgate Gaol the Exchange and Bluecock Publishing House at Ludgate Hill).
Here are five locations to visit outside of the City
- Blackwall is in the far east of London and has the Gun Public House with a few bits to buy, a room to store things and good rumours. There's a useful builder's merchant selling hardware (useful if you get the Millwall Workshop) and the docks if you've got a boat (don't visit the Tiger as chance of death and no reward). Last up is the main place of the Compact for Workers' Equality, which if you've joined offer all kinds of goodies to buy/sell, healing and a route to revolution!
- Clerkenwell is a place of commerce with the Horn Inn, a pub with excellent rumours, a job if disliked by Haulage Guild and a place to stay and store stuff if you've befriended landlord. Then there's a dentist with medical supplies and healing of some ailments plus Smithfield Market which is has decent wares, a lead on the Compact and a pub with ok rumours. Then there's the Brethren at St Gorgonia's Court, run by a secretive order and also the best place to sell gems and jewellery
- Camden Town in the northwest has several opportunities, starting with Camden Brewery and a lucrative bit of persuasion (detailed in Further Adventures). The Freight Yard has wares worth a look at, velosteam upgrades/repairs and rumours useful for planning ambushes. There's the chance to drive omnibuses for a day and the wharf is the place to buy or upgrade boats if you want to mess about on the Thames.
- The Strand has a pub with ok rumours and a branch of Coulter's Bank, important for turning bank notes or bars of precious metal into cash. More interesting is the Lycium Theatre with an audition for a profitable part in a theatre, and actors with info of interest to a nearby location. Last is Somerset House, with an interesting adventure and opportunity for a risky break-in.
- Whitechapel is a seedy area with Whitechapel Street Market, a place with all sorts to trade, but keep £1 spare to avoid a tough fight. Then there's the Bell Foundry, who buy and sell blueprints and have an event with an opportunity (take some rope). The pub is the Grave Maurice. which has a keymaker and is also home to crime lord Flat Billy, who can offer several jobs and has ties to other city adventures.
5 Further Adventures in the Reeking Metropolis
overview | starting ventures | places to visit | further adventures
The Reeking Metropolis has lots of further opportunities, all without leaving the book. Others worth mentioning are stocks at the Exchange (in the City) and exploring and trading on the Thames (buy a boat in Camden Town).
- Ambushing on the Roads is varied in the City, with ambush points being on the edge of the City (Bishop's Wood, Hampstead Heath, roads to Essex & Kent, west of Chelsea, west of Deptford Bridge) and Hyde Park. Consider the Holly Bush in Hampstead as a base and visiting the freight yard in Paddington for hair matches, velosteam upgrades, setting up ambushes and a smith who can melt things down.
- The Camden Brewery wants help to convince pubs of London to sign a contract with them. There are seven pubs to convince in nearby areas (and Chelsea), with the process will lead to further adventures. As well as visiting lots of pubs in London, it's well-paid work too.
- Foment the Revolution for the Compact for Workers' Equality. You can join them by asking around at Smithfield Market or by getting lucky on an event in the bell foundry at Whitechapel. There's lots that can be done in London to help the overthrow of the existing order. many connected to other threads. And the Compact also offer good rates on useful items.
- Become a Member of Parliament, which comes with a place to store your stuff, several duels and a one-time clearance of Wanted Statuses. Oh and some politics if you care about helping the Progressive party. You'll need to go to the Pineapple in Lambeth, either as the People's Champion or more likely after hearing a rumour about 'parliamentary blades'. The only downside is that you'll need a Nimbleness of 8 (try completing the fights in Deptford or playing darts in Limehouse or to increase it), but they'll offer you work teaching them how to duel if you don't.
- Develop your own Workshop in Millwall. You can buy a workshop in Millwall for ten Guineas, and this is probably worth doing even if you don't want to use it as a workshop. It's a safe place you can't lose, to heal wounds, store things and repair your Velosteam. If you do want to develop your workshop, there's things to be made, quests to solve, a wharf to build, an apprentice to get, improvements for your Velosteam, a masterwork to make for the Exhibition and a whole lot more.
Finishing Up
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