[Games] Riddles and Relics

[jordangreywolf]

Random thoughts for the "Last Will & Testament" adventure. Players stay out.

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Locations in The Flat:
I'm using a bunch of maps from the DHR "Fort Griffin" supplement as floor tiles for my online game. There are many more locations in the semi-fictionalized treatment of "The Flat" (an unincorporated town outside historic Fort Griffin, that was sometimes colloquially referred to as "Fort Griffin"), but I'm trying to keep the action focused on those areas I actually have some floor tiles for. I really should have some street scene tiles, too, but somehow I'm lacking in that regard.

Since I'm deviating from history anyway, none of these places really has to keep its name. I may use a saloon map tile to represent any number of saloons in town. A shop tile can stand in for some other shop. Et cetera.

• Shannsey's Saloon: Moderately-sized one-room drinking establishment, with a couple game tables (blackjack, poker). Historically, there doesn't seem to be much agreement on how "Shannsey" was spelled (at least one account lists "O'Shaughnessy").



• Beehive Saloon: Large multi-room, 2-floor saloon with "soiled doves" working the premises. There happens to be another, smaller saloon in town called the "Busy Bee," that could serve as a bit of a red herring for one of the riddles.



• Doney's Saloon: Representative generic super-small saloon with only two tables; the map tile fits on a single page. Nothing about the name really stands out to me as ideal for a riddle, so I have no ideas for this one right now -- save as a stand-in should someone head into the "Busy Bee."



• Frontier House: Dance hall/theater: the benches are moved aside for when it's used as a dance hall; otherwise, the stage can be used for small plays, etc.



• Planter's Hotel: 2-floor hotel with several rooms. Another noteworthy hotel in town is the "Occidental," which might be a better target for riddles.



• York & Meyer's Outfitters: Supply shop, noteworthy for being made out of stone rather than wood.



• Post Office & Drug Store: An oddity in that, yes, it's a drug store that also serves as the post office (and the stagecoach stops here, too). I actually made a model of this building for a "Fort Griffon" game scenario I ran at Necronomicon.



• Louis Woolform's Bakery: Large building, map tile has a lot of floury mess in the work area. I'm sure I can work in some sort of riddle about bread, dough, etc, so I might make use of this as a target location.



• Pete Haverty's Livery: Horse stalls, two floors (upper floor is a hayloft).



• Chen's Laundry: This map tile is a bit fanciful and colorful compared to a lot of the locations, having some stone little fu dog statues out front, a painted coiling dragon design in the middle of the plank floor, and a nice little garden out back. This seems like a worthwhile destination for one of the riddles.



• Earl's Shave and Bath: Two barber chairs up front, and a couple of bathtubs in the back. One-stop shop for cleaning up when you're heading in for a night on the town.



• Clampitt Wagon Yard: Fenced-in work yard with a few wagons, lots of wagon wheels, some barrels, etc.



• African Methodist Episcopal Church: A nice, small church (7 pews) that I'm tempted to work in simply because I've got a tile for it ... but I've also been tempted to have all churches be absent from the apparent town (need to edit from the town map reference for players) simply because of Xolotl's influence (and a desire not to have any "holy ground" messing with things). Having one of the cursed relics hiding here just seems wrong.



• Doc Culver's: Nice two-floor doctor's office and house (the operating area is in a corner on the first floor).



• F.B. York's Bank: A durable stone-walled building.



• Thorp Blacksmith: I figure a smithy should be riddle-worthy. This is a small work-shack, adjoining small house, and outhouse.



• Picket Jail: Small two-cell jail, stone-walled. Typical old-west TV design, with just one main room, but a corner is divided into two cells, with the rest of the space devoted to a desk, a cot (for the guard), and a table in the corner (with some cards on the table).

Other locations of note (on the town map, though I don't have map tiles for them specifically, or any useful details):

• Masonic Lodge.


• Occidental Hotel. (Presumably just another hotel like the Planter's Hotel.)


• Owsley's Eatery & Boarding. (Okay, it doesn't say "OWLsley's," but it sounds an awful lot like an owl. Maybe I can do a pun with that?)


• Northwest Texas Cattle Association. (A meeting house, I guess.)


• Telegraph Office. (No, none of the telegraphs will successfully get out, but that won't likely be obvious.)


• Hunter's Retreat Saloon. (I expect a much higher-than-usual amount of taxidermy in a place with a name like that.)


• Busy Bee Saloon. (No details on it, but it just strikes me as odd that there'd be a place with this name in the same town as the Beehive.


• Rath & Wright Outfitter. (Those names sound very pun-worthy. Wrath and Right?)


• Gleck Boot Shop. (Something about feet, boots, shoes for the riddle, I guess.)


• Fort Griffin Echo News. (Historically speaking, at this point this would have been closed down, and it would have since moved to become the "Albany Echo News." However, the old building might be there, marked as "closed," with some sort of post advertising the new whereabouts -- maybe with some ornery graffiti from someone ticked off at the previous owner abandoning the town? Or something.)


• Charley Hatfield's Restaurant. (A possibly punworthy name. I could imagine some reference to a haberdasher, and trying to look for a hat/bonnet shop would be a waste of effort, but someone might notice the name "Hatfield" in the town map handout, and make a connection. I don't have a restaurant floor plan, but I could probably just use one of the saloon tiles if any "action" breaks out.)

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Riddle Ideas:

• #1:
  In this house of soldiers fleet,
  Who stab once, then they die,
  One by another name is just as sweet,
  And with her you'll find me lie.
  

  
  Translation: In the Beehive Saloon, in the room of a "soiled dove" who goes by the name of Rose, hidden in the pillowcase of her bed.
  

  
  Relic: Sacrificial Dagger. Power: Doubles bonus when used in a Wild Attack, or if you get The Drop. Drawback: On roll of "1" on wild die, harm nearest ally, innocent bystander, or (failing all else) yourself. On crit-fail, auto-hit with Raise for extra damage. Upon slaying an enemy with relic, it bonds with you.




• #2:
  Serpents were driven from my elusive host's old home,
  So far across the rippling sea,
  And he has given me a perch that's so warm,
  From which I can clearly see me.
  

  
  Translation: In Shannsey's Saloon (owner from Ireland, name derivative of old Irish seachnach, or "elusive"), mounted above the fireplace (behind mounted wolf head), directly across from the bar and its mirror.
  

  
  Relic: Beast Mask. Power: Wearer may take on a beast form, but must be alone/unobserved when transforming. Drawback: While mask is worn, your thoughts become more bestial. You Wild Attack all the time, and suffer a Malfunction chance on many Smarts-based rolls. Upon slaying an enemy with relic, it bonds with you.




• #3:
  If all of life is but a play,
  Then I can see its end,
  From where I am lit aloft all day,
  Though sheltered from the wind.
  

  
  Translation: In the Frontier House (playhouse/dance hall) lobby, perched on the chandelier (thus arguably seeing the "end" of each play in the form of the lobby being where the guests linger and then depart).
  

  
  Relic: Eagle Crown. Power: Whenever you make a Notice or other check (e.g., using Survival for tracking) that depends heavily on SEEING a clue, you may use the crown's power to re-roll for free, taking the new result as if it were your original roll. Drawback: If the new roll comes up a "1" in the skill die, there is a Malfunction, as you see "something you were not meant to." (Possibly a Fear/Sanity check involved.) On a crit-fail (either on the re-rolled Notice, or resulting Fear/San check), the crown merges with the wearer.

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I'll try to think of more later, and add to this list. I definitely need far more than just 3 relics, locations, and riddles. I can't really "cheat" on the riddles unless I'm less than fair in how the items are distributed (e.g., NPCs get to go first, pick the items I didn't come up with riddles for, and then the PCs get to squabble over the rest). I'd rather not go that route, as it seems cheap.