Iron Man #1

Making Iron Man great again again again? Maybe. 

Making Mine Marvel again? No.

 © The Weirding, 2024

Zelda's Flophouse for Dark Conspiracy 1st-Ed.

Part of the 55-year-old alcoholic's problem is that Zelda is too soft on the bad ones, and she never knows which ones the bad ones are—at least, that's what she tells herself. The truth is that she is too soft on the bad ones, but she knows which ones they are. Her problem is that she won't stay away from them, and so finds herself in the middle of other peoples' problems too often for the law to leave her in peace.

Zelda's house on the outskirts of Robinsville has been turned into a halfway house or flophouse where PCs can find a rundown hole-in-the-wall to use as a bolthole or in a pinch. The rent is taken daily and is $100, flat. Zelda doesn't mind company, but she wasn't born yesterday, and it's $100 for each extra person after 11:00pm. There's a 40% chance of law enforcement patrolling the house overnight, but only a 10% chance during the day. The lot is overgrown, so Concealment of 25% is automatic. PCs stand a good chance of evading is the point.

The TV is constantly on; Zelda likes "the company." The radio in the kitchen is constantly on and tuned to the local talk radio station, WXPO, just in case any in-game exposition needs to be delivered or the players need to be reminded of their characters' latest exploits. There are a lot of wastebaskets and a lot of empty beer and wine bottles, there are also ashtrays everywhere. As she used to be a reader, piles of old magazines are fanned on coffeetables and surfaces around the house.

True to her nature, there is a 30% chance of a stray dog or cat on the premises that Zelda is feeding. It may not stay long or it may stick around, it just depends on how long the characters stay. There are also ants and some cockroaches, though only a few mice. Sadly, the carpet is shag and sticky. The kitchen linoleum is hopelessly stained and badly in need of mopping, but the entire house is covered in a layer of dust and grime that would take a team to remove.

Zelda can be fun to drink with, but only to a point; after that, her mood swings sharply depending on the subject being discussed, the music that's playing, the atmosphere... she is an alcoholic with few redeeming qualities, but not a bad or mean person. She has a pretty firm rule against hard drugs and trafficking, and will immediately eject anyone she discovers engaging in such activity.

Finally, there is a 35% chance of d3 other NPCs co-habitating Zelda's Flophouse at the same time. Draw a card for their demeanor and give each one attribute at 3-4 and one stand-out skill at 1 or 2. Their RES should match their demeanor, but give each only one random Treasure roll plus pocket loot.

Zelda 9♥

EMP 1
CHA 3
Business 1
Human Empathy 1

Brunette, Curly, Mid-length
Slight, Aged (Alcoholic, Smoker)
Dentures, Worn Clothes usually T-Shirts and Sweatpants with Sneakers
Little Make-Up
Phone contains d3 Contacts (Bounty Hunter, Law Enforcement, Factory Worker)
Purse contains Pocket Loot (Random)
Zelda still wears a ring a former boarder and ex-lover stole for her, she is still in love with him even though he is long dead 25¥
She has d100¥

PCs should be dissuaded from dispatching Zelda; they can pilfer whatever they want or need off of her after she passes out. Getting her blind drunk is easier than killing her. She makes a great Contact/Information Source (T) and leads to many other good Contacts, including Bounty Hunters, Law Enforcement, and Proles.

Other NPCs you might possibly encounter include local homeless and pr*stitutes, both of whom visit even when they aren't utilizing Zelda's flophouse.

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COPYSCAPE NOTICE: I have previously written-up Zelda's Flophouse: It appeared in a sidebar on The Weirding dot Net for more than 15 years. I do not wish to lose it, and I hope others can use it for whatever system they are running.

© The Weirding, 2024

Treasure for Buffy, Chill, and Dark Conspiracy RPG

Random Treasure in Angel/Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG, Chill, and Dark Conspiracy

Using Dark Conspiracy's NPC card-based Demeanor system (p.168) to determine the general RESources an NPC or Critter is likely to possess gives us a starting point for determining what one might find on an NPC, critter, or at a location. The latter of which depends largely on what the location was being used for and by whom.

♠: Spades, Ambition. Clearance Pass, ID, d4 credit cards with (d10x10k¥) limit. Roll twice.

♣: Clubs, Batons, Violence. Weapon, Hand Weapon, (d3x100¥) cash. Roll once.

♥: Hearts, Social. ID, Contact Book/Phone, (d6x100¥) cash, d2 credit cards 10k¥ limit. Roll once.

♦: Diamonds/Jewels, Greed. d6 credit cards (d10x100k¥), (d10x100¥) cash, d6 x Jewelry. Roll three times.

Values do not refer only to actual cash worth, but the difficulty of accessing the item. Thus, the Eye of the Drake is actually a rather gross and ugly necklace, but is worth an awful lot because it is magical and difficult to acquire. These prices do not replace AVAIL codes in Dark Conspiracy or Empyrean, but items of magical/Darkling nature are generally unavailable on any market, and thus don't have AVAIL codes.

Random Treasure Table (Start)

1. Nothing

2. Pocket Lint - STOP.
   

3. 20¥ pocket change

4. Key d6: 1-2 Door in room, 3-4 Car outside, 5-6 Lockbox in room

5. 50¥ pocket change

6. (d10x100¥) pocket change

7. Debit/Credit Card (d10x1000¥) limit

8. Jewelry 1-2 Ring 3-4 Necklace 5 Bracelet 6 Anklet 7-8 Toe Ring 9-10 Earrings Value (d10 x 1000¥)

9. Lighter and Cigarettes

10. Roll Again

Weapon
Dark Conspiracy/Buffy/Chill

1. Ammo 9mm d6/12 LP/SR 5

2. Ammo .22 d6/12 LP/SR 5

3. Ammo .38 d6/12 LP/SR 5

4. Ammo .45 d6/12 LP/SR 5

5. Beretta d6/9 LP/SR 5

6. Desert Eagle .44 3d6/18 LP/SR 7*

7. Standard .45 d6/12 LP/SR 6

8. Rifle, Shotgun d6/18 LP/SR 8

9. Scope +1 Aim/To-Hit, +10% Telescopic optics.

10. Repeating X-Bow d6/16 LP/SR 5

* Big-Ass Pistol

Hand Weapon

1. Fist Pack +1

2. Big-Ass Brass Knucks +d6

3. Big-Ass Knife d6/(3xSTR)/SR 4

4. Big-Ass Sword d6/(5x[STR+1])/SR 6

5. Baton d6/(3xSTR)/SR 3

6. Garrote 2d6/(3x[STR+1])/SR 4 **

7. Hand Tool d6/(d3xSTR)/SR 3: Hammer, screwdriver, heavy wrench, et.al.

8. Chainsaw 2d6/(6x[STR+1])/SR 5

9. Roll on Enchanted Items

10. Roll on Magickal Items

** Must score Headshot.

Enchanted Items

1. Nothing

2. Nothing

3. Timeless Watch PL 1: A watch that never needs winding nor batteries.

4. +1 Athame (Knife, q.v.) PL 2

5. +1 Ring of Protection (+1 WPR vs. Spellcraft, Ritual Magic, Darkling EMP, EWS) PL 2

6. +1 Cauldron of Brewing: Enchanted Copper Brewing Gear. PL 2

7. Ghostlight PL 2 (As Light of Guidance - Magic Box, p.71)

8. Cloak of Invisibility (Roll vs. PCN -2) PL 3

9. Energy Blaster PL 3 (STR x SL)

10. Screamer PL 3 (WPR x SL): A Darkling mouth screams incessantly. Can be stuck to anything.

Magickal Items

1. Nothing

2. Nothing

3. Nothing

4. Nothing

5. +1 Athame $1000, 1500¥

6. +1 Cauldron/Pot of Brewing $600, 1200¥: Copper brewery in low-magic worlds.

7. +1 Ring of Protection: Eye of Agate $1100, 1700¥

8. +1 Augur of Scrying: Bloodstone $1500, 3500¥ See following.
   

9. Eye of the Drake: Necklace $11k, 25k¥  See Following.

   10. War Trophy $50k, 50k¥ See following.

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8. +1 Augur of Scrying 

Chill 

+10% Fortune Telling, Ritual Magic, Contemporary Religion¹
---
¹Must have Faith 1+

Scry
(Pot.) PL 3
15-minute scrying ritual using an augur which must be at least $100 in value (usually a crystal of some kind).
2d10 WPR Fatigue

Locate person or object. To search for Supernaturals or magic use, the character must have The Sight (ARPG, p.58), and traces of magic from items and places where magic has been present will appear as false positives. Test (Ritual Magic -12, Fortune Telling and Contemporary Religion¹ -27). PC needs an INT of at least PL(+9) to cast spell (PCN 60 in Chill). d10 WPR Fat. cost is augur is made from materials worth $1000+ (as is the case with the +1 Augur of Scrying). 

Scry is resolved using Witch-Fu vs. 9 in Angel/BtVS RPG.

Ritual: Scrying up to 15 mins. +2; Mats: Augur $100 +3; Assist: 0 +1;
Sub: Ritual Magic +10 +2
         Fortune Telling -15, L +4
TOTAL: 8, 10
Range: Planet +9; Dur: +1; Area: Planet. +10; Fat: 2d10 WPR +4
DETECT Pot. 3
TOTAL: 27

9. Eye of the Drake
PL 5
Dark Conspiracy

Eye of the Drake comes from a Demonground drakken and allows the bearer to scry into Dæmonground—areas that do not show up when normally scrying. This Divination tool also adds +1 Psionic Scan. The drake that lost it wants it back and it is a much vied-for magickal item, so it isn't something you should be showing-off. +1 xp, Hunted by Underworld, amongst which this item is particularly popular. Bearer does not need INT of PL to employ the Eye of the Drake, but does need to know the Scry spell or Psionic Scan.

Chill

-3 Hunted (EWS 110-120, Underworld - 110-120 point NPC)

Eye of the Drake allows the holder to scry into pocket dimensions normally out-of-bounds. This includes the Land of Nod, et.al.

Buffy/Angel

Supernatural Senses: The Sight (3-pt.)
The bearer can see traces of Magic and the Supernatural. ARPG, p.58. 

-2 Adversary (Underworld, Champion)

In all cases, Hunted/Adversary is necessary because the Eye of the Drake, although there are more than one, are much sought-after by spellcasters and the Underworld.

10. War Trophy
        PL 7

As per the WarMagus Spell (Empyrean):

-3 Adversary (WarMagus, Veteran)
-2 Adversary (Law Enforcement, et.al.)
-1 Adversary (Underworld, Investigator)

The WarMagus who created this War Trophy wants it back, if he can find it.

Allows the possessor to instantaneously travel to and from a pocket dimension at the center of all time. All planes and realms of existence are within a finger's distance, allowing the owner full travel of the multiverse, coming and going, at the speed of thought.

War Trophies are grisly things—the human lampshades and fallen soldiers' remains -level of grisly—and thus, should remain hidden. Law enforcement agencies, including historical departments and organizations, might be looking for them and would definitely be interested if they find a War Trophy.

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I recently acquired Ghosts of Albion, so I will revisit this post, especially the spells.

© The Weirding, 2024

Current Market Prices in Sunnydale (Buffy)

Although these entries are fun, eagle-eyed readers will see that I'm trying to keep you up-to-date on the critical equipment used in the game while also providing more mundane items so that you have a better idea of the economy as a whole. The inclusion of things such as current gold prices and now wheat is another indicator from another perspective. Your characters might be invested in these commodities but, even if they are not, the price of a pack of cigarettes, underwear, and similar everyday items should help you understand the market.

Note that, even though this is entirely fictional, I used current-day prices as the basis for pricing and this is a fixed economy which doesn't revolve around the PCs and their needs, alone. Also, like most points-based systems, the core books barely touch upon economy and prices, outside of the Resources Quality, as you are assumed to be able to "purchase" everything you need with XP. In practice, however, this is woefully inadequate. The inclusion of an actual, monetary economy and a closer focus on the RESources Quality helps round-out the setting.

I've described AVAIL (availability) and how it operates elsewhere (if it hasn't posted yet, it is scheduled to soon) but, to reiterate, AVAIL contains a letter and a number which refer to the Type of [solid] Contact you need to even hope to acquire the item in question, while the number is the DV to beat to find it.

Airfare - First Class, Domestic: 897.37¥

Pack of Smokes: 16.57¥, Street Value: 7.57¥

Carton of Smokes: 149.87¥

Special Response Tactical Vest: 1608.22¥

Wheat, Ton: 250¥

Morningstar: AVAIL: S17,C20 250k¥

Morningstar (Jewelry, Ward)
Obsidian set in bone, favored by vampyres. A Ward Etched (Spell, Enchantment) into either the bone or stone provides protection from sunlight. Nearly always an amulet set on a necklace, given the size of the bone necessary to set the stone, though rings, bracelets, and even earrings have been discovered. This is specific to Vampyre and is usually destroyed by Slayers, if possible. The only protection it provides other Types is basically that of really strong sunscreen. A Morningstar is not available on the open market (and I cannot include the legend for it due to a fonts issue, previously mentioned). This negates the Vuln. to Sunlight Drawback without a loss of points but, should it be lost, so is this protection; for this reason, it should be purchased with NuYen, not XP.

NOTE: A lot of this comes from Empyrean, my personal system I hope to publish in some form one day, and is included here to entice possible readers, purchasers, players, and publishers. It is fully copyrighted, not in the CC nor public domain, and has been heavily modified to work with Buffy the Vampire Slayer RPG. You are more than free to enjoy it for personal use but please contact me before attempting to include it in anything, as UniSystem is available under an OGL, so this is likely to be collected into another project in the future.

I'm so sorry for this but this blog has been around for almost 20 years, has 2m+ hits, and dozens of posts have 5k+ views. Money earned = $0. Thanks!

© The Weirding, 2024