Originally posted on YouTube on 15 October 2023.
Namaste Mother Nuggets!
Last time, Orin Ryder got mugged by two waitresses on his own doorstep. He wounded one, the other ran off, and he went inside thinking: this is a scummy place to live and a scummy lifestyle, and I want out.
Would you have dobbed in a mate to get the cops off your back? Hold that thought, and tell me in the comments.
Calling in the Mates
This month Orin is doing a chilling encounter. That’s a voluntary one, where he goes out, meets people, and asks around. His plan: call up his buddies, have a drink, and see if anyone can hook him up with some work on the side. Something to earn a bit of extra cash and get him into a house that isn’t in a crappy neighbourhood.
He’s going on the weekend, and he’s going alone. I drew a location card for where they’d meet: a tavern in Midland Terrace. I did not stack the deck, I promise you, but that is amazingly perfect.
In the shadows of New Hope City, where the streets bear the scars of countless stories, Orin Ryder finds himself at a crossroads. The past night’s mugging left him battered but unbroken, and it has awakened a burning desire for a better life. With every ounce of his strength he grasps at any opportunity, no matter how faint.
Amidst the urban turmoil a glimmer of hope emerges. His friend Rob posts a cryptic message on his socials, a lifeline of sorts for those willing to seize it. Orin’s agile mind pieces together the clues, and he arranges a rendezvous at the Sick Frog Tavern, nestled in the heart of Midland Terrace: a haven for the city’s unsavoury characters, its exterior cloaked in darkness.
Amongst the patrons lurk a pair of shadowy figures: private investigators, skilled in the art of reading lies and uncovering truths. And then there are the undercover cops, concealed beneath nondescript attire. A cop is a cop, and these stick out like a sore thumb. Rob, however, has reservations. The sight of law enforcement, even in disguise, sends shivers down his spine. What will he and Orin decide?
Outside the Sick Frog
In 5150 you resolve a possible enemy force (PEF) on the way into the building and another on the way out. Turns out there’s basically always a PEF.
The one outside: a criminal. Another criminal, are you for real? Rolled what kind: thieves. Two of them. We literally just got robbed by criminals, so I’m assuming I’m about to get robbed again, right?
Nope. We roll for the interaction, my People skill against theirs, four apiece. We both pass one die, and the result is: the NPC ignores you. Very good. At least we didn’t get mugged. Thank you.
Inside: A Thief, Some Private Eyes, and the Cops
Inside, I rolled up three more PEFs: a police officer, a thief, and an investigator. Which matches the story beautifully.
Quick mini shout-out: the cop and the detective are from the 7TV Action range, painted by Moran Minis. Go check him out on Instagram, he’s pretty top-notch. The other investigator is a HeroClix figure I didn’t paint at all.
The thief is the one known to Orin: this is his mate Rob. Being known means we skip the first, gated interaction and go straight to asking for a favour. Orin is Cruel, and Rob’s rep is lower than his, so Orin gets a bonus die. But Orin’s a Joe talking to a non-Joe, so he loses one. And because he’s asking for a job, he sweet talks, which costs him a decreasing rep D6 to claw a die back.
(Meanwhile, in real life: I lost my pencil. I grabbed another pencil. It broke. Oh, it’s always chaos. The first pencil turned up a few minutes later, sitting on the table the whole time, camouflaged against the board.)
The roll: we both pass two. Same result, which for this kind of interaction means no. Orin asks: “Man, I’ve just been robbed, I live in a garbage neighbourhood, can you give me a job or something?” And Rob says: “Nah man. It’s not for you. Stay in the factory. Live your life.” And off he goes.
“Who Was That Guy?”
Talking to a known thief in a dodgy bar looks a bit suspicious, doesn’t it? So I rolled to see who’d come over next: the investigators.
“Hey man, we saw you talking to that thief. You trying to get in cahoots with him?” Orin plays dumb. The dice come out level, so they believe him: no, he wouldn’t even give me a job, what do you want from me? Off they go. Happy days.
The Cops Are Not Convinced
Then the cops. They’ve just watched Orin chat to a thief and two private eyes, and they don’t buy it. That’s a confrontation. I checked Midland Terrace’s law level (three), rolled, and failed, which means the cops will use lethal force. A bit rough. I guess that’s the internet reputation cops have now.
Here’s the thing, though: the cops fumbled their first roll, which meant Orin could just… leave. And that’s exactly what he did. “Look man, you’ve got nothing on me. If you want to arrest me, arrest me. Otherwise I’m off.” He walked straight off the battle board.
One of the cops followed him out into the street. Orin’s rep is higher, so he tried something cheeky: talking his way out. And it worked. A positive interaction, and an increasing rep D6. “There’s no need to arrest me, I’m just an average Joe. Call my boss!”
Then Orin pushed his luck. “Hey, if that guy’s one of the people you’re after… maybe I can help you out. Maybe I can dob on my friend.” The cop wasn’t interested in giving him a job either. But: “Am I free to go, officer?” Yep. Off you go, my dude.
The Golden Girls Mercenaries
One more PEF on the way home to Lower Gaia, at a storage facility: two mercenaries. Do I have some mercs on hand? I have the perfect mercenaries. Bea Arthur with a gun and Betty White with a gun. The Golden Girls mercenaries.
The first chat went well. So Orin, who said he’d never do mercenary work, sweet talked them and asked for a job. And of course these white dice hate me (I need to stop using the white dice). They said no.
“Nah bro. Mercenary work isn’t for you. Stay in the factory.”
No one wants to give this man a job. This is the problem with this economy.
The Month So Far
That’s September for Orin Ryder. Things did not go well. He’s still stuck in his crappy apartment, and his rep tally came out exactly even: three up, three down. He can’t even roll to improve.
But look at what we’ve got now. Thieves who aren’t happy with him. Cops who aren’t happy with him. Private eyes. Mercenaries. And a mate he offered to dob in, and if that ever gets back to Rob, he’s in big trouble. That sucks in real life, but it’s great for games. You want to make lots of enemies, because enemies give you story.
Next month: let’s see if October is a bit kinder to Mr Ryder.
What do you reckon? Should Orin have kept his mouth shut with that cop? Let me know in the comments.
Ciao for now.
(Note: This post was created transcribing my youtube videos using tools which may include elements of artificial intelligence.)
