Series Posts

The Displaced Shoppe

XIV

The greeting is warm and inviting, a surprising welcome here in the middle of the crypt. The party had been trudging through worn ancient floors of mud, limestone slabs, and false camena stone. Here, they stood on polished wood slates, arranged in long mosaic hexes. The adornments had been tattered old banners, rusted busts, and the occasional guck covered jewel. Here, vellum printed adverts marked prices, a silken sash was woven between sections of polished display cases, and a platinum chandelier illuminated the room. The wolvenisa standing behind the counter was groomed and powdered from the base of their fur to the tips of their popped collar. The only thing about this sudden shop that seemed as grimy as the crypt around it was that merchant smile on the shoppe keeper’s muzzle.

The Displaced Shoppe is a place and an npc. Located in the middle of a dungeon, a crypt, under the sewers of an ancient city, or any other strange out of the way locale, the shoppe is a travelling space that seeks out wealthy individuals in far reaching cubbies. Since most spaces are rarely visited, it senses the arrival of adventurers in these dangerous spots, and manifests shortly after a conflict or stressful situation of some type, hoping to prey on their need for healing, relaxation, and a hearty meal.

The shoppe specializes in the limited usage market. Potions, scrolls, one time use gadgets, hot and filling meals, drinks, and occasionally even accommodations. The keeper is friendly and warm, so long as it thinks a profit can be had. And profit is the goal. All of the prices are far above reasonable asking value. The store relies on the desperate and needy, and the keeper will ham it up. If the keeper makes a successful sale at all, they will be back at some point in the future of the party’s adventures; again appearing at a time of desperation.

Manipulation of the keeper lies in the art of negotiation. Threats of are of little use, as the keeper has a failsafe. If they take any damage, their entire shoppe will teleport home, as will the keeper and all the goods not purchased. Attempting to halt the departure of the shop will find that most of the things on display are not actually here but are only teleported here after purchase. It’s not impossible to stop the keeper, but it should be hard, and it shouldn’t be rewarding. Even their remains will dissipate away.

In fantasy they arrive by magic. Illusions and teleportation are their means of access, and they will avoid things that might hinder their exodus.

In sci-fi they arrive with faster than light travel typically beyond what the players or their enemies may have access to. A drifter on the far planes of space looking to make credits.

In ages of discovery, their little dinghy seems to show up just off the beach at the right time. No one else seems to notice it, and it moves faster than it should as it departs.

A diversion, a piece of comfort, a smell of fine spices and surprising warmth, the Displaced Shoppe is a wonder to behold amidst the darkness of this mine. How they arrive and how they depart remains a mystery, but the promise to be seen in the future is both comforting, and unnerving. Mostly for the coin purse.

The Depot Thinker

XIII

It was supposed to be a quick layer over. Refuel the ship, grab some snacks, a shower, go meet the client, blast off. Two hours. Three, tops. Yet when the party returned to the depot, mission objective and seemingly reasonable timetable in hand, they found their trusty ride cracked down like an egg, engine picked apart and thrusters detached. And the perpetrator of this act, was still there, running some random part through a cleaning process that should have taken hours to even get to this stage.

Some much for deadlines.

He’s a machine speaker, maybe literally, maybe not, and when he sees a piece of tech that can be improved, he has a hard time resisting. The machines are easier to understand for him. They break, he fixes. They can be better, he obliges. The locals know to keep an eye on him, and his team typically tries to keep him out of other folks engine blocks. But this time, they failed.

The Depot Thinker is a surprise gift horse wrapped inside of a nightmare situation. If the party has the technical skills, they could attempt to put the ship back together themselves, but if they seem game to play along with the events, they’ll find the parts they need to fix the ship aren’t all here. The overthinker saw what could be better and already arranged trades, drop offs, and favors, and will help arrange local transport if the players don’t have access (anymore). After all is retrieved and delivered, the crew will find their vessel working better than new. The ship just sings now. Maybe literally.

The Depot Thinker doesn’t have many interests outside of machines, and the chance to play with a new one is a carrot he’d have a hard time resisting. He doesn’t respond well to threats unless it involves taking away access or damaging things needlessly. He doesn’t really care about money outside of keeping the parts coming in and the lights on.

In Sci-fi, he’s positioned in an off the beaten path way station, probably along a smuggling route where he’d get a lot of chances to tinker.

In ages of exploration, he’s setup in a smugglers’ bay, and the local pirates and privateers find his work charming.

In steampunk, he’s adding strange gadgets to otherwise mundane machines in an air ship depot.

The machines call to him for aid, and his spanner will always answer. With the dash of patience and willingness to explore, he can turn a simple stop over into an unintended upgrade, overhaul, and headache.

The Divided Pet

XII

A shuffle, a ruffle, a pawing at the door. They make their presence known one way or another. And yet again they smell of spices not grown nor traded in these lands, are brushed clean with trimmed and polished talons, and then there’s that odd bow they’re wearing that no one in the party seems to know where it came from. Where has this companion been? And how does it keep slipping into that world?

The Divided Pet is a companion to the party, but not to just this party. They’re a portal jumper, but not one that walks up and down the stream of time; rather they leap cross the blade to other possibilities. And in several of these realities they are companion animals to various loving homes and travelers.

The exact nature of the animal doesn’t matter to the theme, although a cat stepping sideways is fitting, and a charming dog loved by many across spacetime is certainly in vogue. This companion cube is meant to serve as a means of offering relief from managing an animal companion, as well as an engine to deliver interesting parcels or gifts. With an evolved enough relationship, it may even be possible to send messages or gifts to the other parties the pet travels with.

Manipulating this companion is well, like manipulating a pet. So, lots of ear scratches, love, affection, maybe some treats. Dear listener, please give your pets extra love tonight, less they escape to their other dimensional family.

In fantasy, they have the blood of magical beings in their lineage, and with a smooth motion they slip into another realm.

In sci-fi, they’ve managed to find a phasing collar that lets them slip between realities.

In ages of exploration, they fly high above the ship and disappear in a cloud, only to reappear later with a clipping of a strange map.

Not all NPCs need have vast stories, nor the means to speak them. Some come pawed and others scaled, but they are all wonders unto themselves, and share these gifts with those they consider pack.