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The original thread has hit autosage and is in the process of falling off the board, so I thought I'd make us a second thread to continue brainstorming the fluff and crunch of the campaign module called "The Night Shift."

>Playing under the guidance of the General Manager, or GM, you take the role of an Attendant at a dingy old gas station and convenience store on a lonely stretch of deserted highway, just this side of Nowhere.

>Cryptic warnings and some suspect station damage aside, you're pretty sure that those assholes working the Day Shift only have to deal with your typical day-to-day interactions with your standard run -of-the-mill customers, But not you. No, you're not that lucky.

>As night falls and your shift begins, weird things start to happen. Little things at first, like the mirror in the women's bathroom starts malfunctioning, or the television tunes itself, or your last customer pays for his purchase in a currency you've never seen, by the end of the night, things have gone from bad to worse, and you may find yourself having to fight off a horde of shambling dead, service an alien spacecraft, or defeat an invisible beast intent on ending your life.

>However, even with all this happening around you, you still have a job to do and a list of tasks you're expected to complete before the sun rises and the night shift ends, setting up the win conditions for each night's session.

PREVIOUS THREADY FOUND HERE:
>>30729189

AND HERE:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/30729189
>>
>>30745096
Google doc here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjU0A8WsCtScdEw0RVZIQ0pwanBfTjdxZ1cxWWtQVUE&usp=sharing#gid=0
>>
I'd like it if we could take a look at or start a table for potential recurring NPCs, mysteries or caches related to the Station. Stuff like the grey man, or day shift Randy, or the specter of that 80s attendant chick.
>>
>>30745283
What if Day Shift Randy is the only recurring non-violent character? He acts more and more sketchy the more sessions you play. What is he up to?
>>
>>30745283
That's a good idea, keeps the most agreed-upon ideas together
>>
>Night Shift
I kind of preferred Graveyard Shift. It's got that implied death and destruction, as well as the mundane nature of a night shift.
>>
>>30745283
If folks are still hung up about how assholish the Day Shift actually are and whether or not they actually believe in or participate in the gas stations supernatural shenanigans, we could go with what a previous Anon said about Randy, namely that he used to be on the Night Shift but couldn't cut it, and is now just another of those Day Shift assholes. Except, he's not entirely forgotten about his former comrades in arms, and is in fact the one who leaves those cryptic clues and stashes of supplies for the players to find.
>>
Please don't make this a recurring thing. We have enough generals.
>>
>>30745387
Sorry about that, Graveyard Shift is just as good a title. Should have at the least put a mention of it in the OP.
>>
I thought of a couple of ideas.

>The normal delivery of gasoline arrives late. The truck-driver looks exhausted and barely says a word, and wanders into the station's restroom. While pumping the gas into the station's reserve, you hear something rattling inside the tanker, banging at the walls. The driver has disappeared, and the truck cab is locked with the keys missing.

>Graboids.

>The discount sushi begins to talk to you.

>A man buying milk complains that it's expired. Looking at the date, you see it expired 10 years ago, yet it seems completely fine. Examining the store reveals all the stock is expired from 10 years ago.

>You see a huge storm on the horizon. The weather channel says nothing about it, no customers or passer-bys mention or even acknowledge it. But it's big, it looks dangerous, and it's heading right for the station.
>>The storm may or may not be made of bees. Or birds.

>A priest wanders in and asks if you've heard of his god. His crucifix has someone other than Jesus on it, and he quotes passages from his bible that you've never heard of before.

>Your family keeps calling you, asking you where you are. When you tell them you're at work, they say they already checked there and couldn't find you. In fact, they say they were told you have never worked there in your life.
>>
>>30745387

But "Night Shift" works for grim, and for silly both.

Scary movie voiceover guy: "Four employees are about to have one HELL of a night. ... on the NIGHT SHIFT!"

Wacky movie voiceover guy: "Rob Schnieder didn't know what he was in for when the boss put him on the Night Shift!"
>>
>>30745424
No worries. This isn't a General Thread, this is a thread for fluffing and crunching a homebrew setting.
>>
>>30745424

This is not a general, we're building up a sourcebook / campaing module thing. We were in full swing when the other thread hit autosage, so it's time to keep going while we have momentum.
>>
>>30745424
>2 threads
>plz no general
You can whine after the 10th or so.
>>
>>30745440
Most sound good, add them to the doc. But what are graboids?
>>
>>30745574
Graboids are the worm-like, tentacle-tongued subterranean terrors from the Tremor series. They drag you underground to eat you, and the best defense is to climb up something tall and sturdy or find bedrock they can't tunnel through.
>>
>>30745574
The subterranean killer worm monsters from the Tremors movie series. They track pray with sound and vibrations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFNBUs7O-h4
>>
>>30745194
>No Big Dipper is in the wrong place event

People seemed to like that one.
(Also, I wrote it, and I have, like, the biggest ego).


Some more:
>If PCs try to run, they find themselves running towards the Gas Station. Somehow.
>The old HAM radio turns on and won't shut the fuck up. You hear voices crying out for help, explosions in the background. Different frequencies have different people, all of them scared. If you talk to one, they'll cry and tell you that it's all over, that they "sold out your position".
>>And then the van pulls up.
>Guy pulls up in the nicest hot rod you've ever seen. No idea what kind of car it is, and the guy is dressed pretty weirdly. Sorta like a suit, but the lapels are all wonky, and who wears something with chrome trim? Talks weird, too. He starts laughing and asking you if the gas price is a joke. He's amazed when you tell him that it's pretty high, but that it can't be helped. He just shakes his head and says "Chog me, never seen it below £50. Fill 'er up, trub."
>>When he drives off, you notice that the money he gave you is shiny.
>>
I added this to the doc -
Several drug-dealers are in the back of the store making a very obvious drug-deal, you notice after they leave that a bag is stil on the floor. Compelled by some unknown instinct you consume some, and can now see the presense of ghosts. You must find a way to help the ghosts pass on or the drug consumes you, and you become one of them.

and only 2 of the PC's can join you, the 4th and unaffected coworker will be targetted by the more dangerous ghosts, and you must protect him/her.
>>
>>30745698
I like this,

And the co-worker will not believe you, instead telling you to stop doing drugs and get back to work.
>>
>At 2:31, the phone in the beat up old phonebooth out on the corner starts ringing and does not stop ringing until one or more of the players go to investigate. If they pick it up, the person on the other end explains frantically that "they had to get them OUT of there," before an explosion, hail of gunfire or something more supernatural and volatile erupts inside the Station.

>The old clock hanging over the front door to the convenience store has stopped, along with everything in the outside world beyond those doors. The situation can be remedied by reconnecting the loose wiring behind the clock, and savvy players can use this time-stopping malfunction to their advantage later.
>>
I work the night shift at a hotel. I like where this thread is going. Once we get this all hashed out, does anyone want to carry on to an expansion about working other night jobs?
>>
I wonder how about something like a notebook filled with exchange rates for US dollars to all other forms of currency (yes all) and if there's any short fall, the manager takes it from your salary. If you gave less change, the customer in all his forms might get mad. What do you think?
>>
>>30745883
I think the phone and the bookshelf should have separate tables than normal customers -- not huge ones, but maybe 1d20 for a phonecall.
>>
>>30745938
this could be great.
>>
I got an idea for an NPC.

If the players are able to defy horror movie conventions and actually call the police, the GM may send in The Sheriff, who can range from obtrusive to extraordinarily helpful, depending on the GM's wishes. You could get the good ol' boy sheriff with 20 years on the force who rolls in with a truck and a shotgun and doesn't hesitate to shoot the vampire that ate Billy, or you could get a corrupt Boss Hogg-style man who doesn't believe your story about giant killer bees. The Sheriff could also be a part of the supernatural events, could acknowledge prior experience with them.

In essence, he could be a wild card who hops in near the end of the session to either help stabilize a terribly out of control situation (even by the game's standards) or throw a too-perfect game into further chaos.

Alternatively, instead of the Sheriff, the GM sends in the Deputy, who is most likely a clueless idiot more likely to accidentally shoot you than help you, and probably dies within 10 minutes to whatever danger is going on.
>>
>>30745938
>>30745987
Last thread we mentioned getting different "quirks" as part of working certain places (see >>30740803
) but nothing definitive.
>>
>Some 1950s greaser kids pull up in a hot rod
>another group pulls up
>knives come out
>girl comes inside, screaming about her boyfriend

>they're all ghosts

>an old man in the parking lot has been knifed

Explain that to the cops, guys. Or the Sherrif as in >>30745995
>>
>>30745938
>>30746009
I think it works better to pick a random "attachment" to the gas station. Diner, mechanic shop, and a motel are fine examples, and can provide potential bonuses (or more potential dangers), as well as additional slots for PCs/NPCs. It could be easy to make up new ones too, you can fit a lot of things next to a gas station. Break into the next-door liquor store and make some Molotov cocktails.
>>
>Guy comes in and asks to use the bathroom.
>>When he comes out he looks just like you. Use your imagination for what happens next.
>A section of the station floods. Like, you open a door and the water is to the ceiling.
>Fishes swim past the window outside
>The radio starts playing Stairway to Heaven backwards. A well dressed man with a red cane walks in. You swear you smell sulphur. He offers you a deal.
>A truck marked "Happy's Soda Inc." pulls up. The trucker starts unloading crates of Happy's RasplosionBerry Soda. You've never seen this stuff in your life. He just loads it into your freezer, saying nothing more than "howdy". If you inspect it, you find that it's red... And thick.
>>The guy says he'll be by next week.
>>
>>30746009
yeah. i like the idea that you have small changes to end up in other places.

Like

>The Office-building of the "Management"

>Sheriff's Office.

>a mirror-world.

>the underground city that lays under the gas station.

>a space ship.

etc.
>>
>>30746168
>>30745967
>>30742854
I expect a separate table on the doc for the phone, the bookshelf, and the stocking catalog by tomorrow.
>>
>>30745444
You could add some campy subtitle to Graveyard Shift. The original post in tfw other thread had the subtitle of something like "Tales of gas and horror".
>>
oh and lets talk about this:

>>30746236

what shall we do with the dead witches? Or the captured Xenomorph we keep in the Rest rooms?
>>
>>30746269
*the other thread
Swype, I never even added tfw into the dictionary.
>>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvj4Ud-RKrM


Invisible bullies.
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>>30746269

But then you'd have two names for the thing. I like The Night Shift, it's more ambiguous.
>>
>>30746277
>everything fades away / turns to dust / otherwise disappears come sunrise
>alternatively, it turns into mundane nastiness that the PCs have to dispose of
That, or the Janitor takes care of it.
>>
>>30746183
I like these ideas, but I think we want to be wary about building a small town around the Station. If there are a lot of superfluous buildings about, it might take something away from the weird isolation of a little old service station on a deserted highway. That being said, there's definitely room to play mix and match with the layout when the GM first rolls up / lays out the Station.

- Convenience store, liquor store
- Garage with repair bays
- Greasy spoon diner
- Trailer park
- Upstairs apartment
- Basements, subbasements, caverns, fallout shelters
- Outbuildings, sheds, shipping container maze
- Desert scrubland across the highway
>>
Are we going to fluff out a Day Shift? In the last thread, they mentioned the idea that night shift is supernatural horror, and day shift is "normal" horror. So night shift would fight the ghost of Bigfoot, while day shift would have to do their tasks while a serial killer stalks the aisles.
>>
>>30746396
Nah man Day Shift needs to be normal as fuck. Not even suspiciously normal. Just plain regular ass normal.
>>
Friend thought of a couple more ideas.

>A black man in a Southern-style suit steps into the station and buys things normally. But if you fail to deliver perfect service to him, if you short-change him by even a single cent, he leaves a Voodoo doll on the counter that looks exactly like you. Try not to let anything bad happen to it.

>You hop over to the fast food joint across the street for a midnight snack. All the employees look like the creepy franchise mascot and act like they enjoy their jobs too much. When you get back to the station, everyone else freaks out when they see you have turned into the mascot as well.

Friend also suggests putting the Gray Man into a sub-category of NPCs called "Patrons"; strange, possibly powerful people that reoccur throughout a campaign. Whenever they arrive, whatever calamity is going on will calm down for a while until they leave, letting everyone catch their breaths. Mishandle the Patron, and things get worse very fast.
>>
>>30746396
Let's just let Graveyard Shift handle both of it.
The contrast between "plausibly mundane" horror and "oh god what the fuck" horror would keep things interesting.

>One night, the station gets robbed. No supernatural weirdness, just a couple of hood rats with 9mms. What do?
>>
You guys are adding way too many NPCs and being way too detailed with the management honestly. It takes away from the isolation and mystique of the night shift itself.
>>
The guys are putting a lot of humorous stuff in the chart.

I love it. Please keep the comic relief stuff.
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>>30746544
The management needs to just be "The Management" and leave it at that. And the Day Shift should just be those assholes who have it easy and don't have to deal with this paranormal horseshit.
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>>30745096
What happens to things like time displaced soldiers or aliens that get stuck in the store as the night ends?
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>>30746467
We have a list of recurring NPCs below the encounter table. I don't think we need an archetype for "serve them right or you will regret it" because that's basically every customer.
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>>30746396
Nope.
>>
>>30746396
Day Shift Fluff:
>Assholes. No exceptions.

But in all seriousness, they don't need it. The Day Shift guys are just assholes. They wake the PCs up after they inevitably fall asleep (die).
That's the only interaction, and it's just their to further impress upon the players how confusing everything is. Were they dreaming? Was it real?

That, and also to show how much of an asshole the Day Shift guy who finds you is.
>>
>>30746467
I like the idea of NPCs fitting into subcategories like Patrons and Co-Workers, for example.

Day Shift Randy and Ms. 80's Attendant Spook would be Co-Workers, a class of NPCs who can sometimes aid the players, or sub-in for a character if that character dies or that player can't make it to the session.

Patrons, like you say, can be recurring characters that can bring either good or ill along with them, but are very powerful, and their appearances are perhaps "once in a session only" sorts of events.
>>
>>30746542
No. Night shift covers both. Day shift isn't supposed to be relatable to by the night shift.
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>>30746675
Aliens teleport off.
Soldiers are airlifted off/ride into the sunrise/walk behind a pillar and disappear.
Just GM fiat your way into them going away without a trace.
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>>30746675
That's Day Shift's problem.

Like >>30746544 said, you guys putting too much scrutiny into it. The people that work there are dead beat burnouts working at a gas station on a stretch of road in the middle of nowhere. The weird shit is weird, and they have to deal with it, but at the end of the day they just want their paycheck and to go home.
>>
>>30746713
Oops, meant to link it to the guy you responded to.
>>30746396
>>
To the folks that are worried about the NPCs, I don't think that anyone is implying that all these characters ought to be included in ever session or even every campaign. I think that the idea is just to brainstorm a bunch of memorable characters that can be used or ignored as the GM desires.
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One problem I have - who exactly are the players?
Night shifts usually only have 1 or 2 people manning the station, maybe more if there's a little Tim Hortons or something in there, but I don't think there's really any room available unless you have actual attendents that fill up gas and shit, not self-service.

also
>an elderly man who is flagrantly disregarding the no smoking signs purchases a pack of unfiltered cigarettes. As he pays, he advises you not to talk to anyone about yesterday. The thing is, now that you're all thinking about it, nobody here remembers yesterday at all...
>>
>80s Lady
>Mister Smith
>Time Traveller
See things like these shouldn't be full on NPCs but just one of the many possible one time events
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>stephen king enters the shop and buys a coke
>...and the gunslinger followed
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>>30746811
I've seen the number four bandied about, and that feels just about right to me crunch-wise and fluff-wise. If we're talking about a gas station that has pump attendants and convenience store clerks, a four person night shift doesn't feel excessive.
>>
>>30746811
That can be where the potential attached establishments come in, like the diner or car shop. With a small group of 2 to 3 you could just have the station; larger and you can add something else to it for more players.

Or just wave it away as Management hiring more people than it needs. It's not like half the shift could suddenly die off overnight, right?
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>>30746361

I think there needs to be something down in the basement. There ought to be a reason all the weird reality-bending stuff happens right here and not everywhere else. The players don't need to know, but we and the GM ought to, in order to keep things coherent and avoid having just a bunch of lolrandom 2spooky4me stuff thrown at the wall.
So, yeah, a magical node or a hellmouth or something down there. Though a hellmouth would be about stuff trying to get out of the station, I think we're more worried about stuff getting in.
>>
>>30746675
Id think it could be funny if they sort of blend in to the world. That german guy who woke you up SURE does look like that nazi we left in the store room, or that Tall guy in bandages reminds you of the alien we locked in the freezer. Perhaps they also come back night after night, as long as they survive?
>>
>>30746958
>There ought to be a reason
No there shouldn't. Don't ruin the mystique with something like that.
>>
>>30746907
I see your point, and I don't think that there needs to be many or even any NPCs in a Night Shift game, but it is nice to have certain character concepts on hand that can be expanded upon if the players or situation call for it.
>>
>>30746981
There should be a reason in mind. Nothings worse than going through a mystery plot and never finding out why. Wether or not the players choose to find out is the question. It should be somekind of monumental feat to figure it out, and should only be explored if the players wish to
>>
>>30746981


>No, nothing can make sense or have reasons!

That's an amateur-hour "2spooky4me" horror writer attitude, man.

You need to understand at least SOME of what you're doing, even if you don't tell the audience. If you don't know, the shit you come up with will start to lack coherence and you wind up with a feeling that it's all random bullshit.
>>
The NPCs don't HAVE to appear. They can.

Also, if the phone is dead, you can't call the sheriff or the black suit.
>>
>a gang of annoying teenagers rolls up and starts screwing shit up, and generally getting in the way
>>but looking closely, one of them uncannily resembles you when you were that age, and your co-workers seem to express the same
>>how are you geing to get these fucks out of your store without potentially fucking up the time-stream
>>>bonus: Another phenomenon is occuring at the same time, and you have to play bodyguard for these kids
>>
>>30747080
Ancient Indian burial ground.

Everything is an ancient Indian burial ground.
>>
>>30747103
>Suddenly, a large Austrian man busts in with guns drawn. He demands to know where a certain kid
>>
>>30747150

Yeah, but it's been done to death. That's why I suggested a magical source of power beneath the earth, maybe a crossing of ley lines or something, in the previous thread. The players would probably never find out, but it had consequences for the setting, and what happens in various situations, so the DM needs to know it.
>>
> You suddenly find that the Station is now on the other side of the highway than it was when you first started your shift.

>A pack of dogs hundred strong stampede down the road in front of the station. A straggler stops to pee on one of the gas pumps before hurrying after the rest.

>The power is on the fritz, and the row of freezers are beginning to thaw out. Then they start to fill with water. Then you start to see... things... swimming behind the stock.

>You suddenly realize that the cover of the manhole out by the pumps has been pushed aside. If you choose to investigate, you'll discover a maze of cramped sewers and storm drains beneath the station. Beware of rats and alligators.

>In a seldom used storeroom, you discover that a campsite has been set up. This can be a hobo's makeshift shelter, a medieval jousting pavilion, a WWII army encampment or a modern camper's tent. Although there will most likely be no one there all signs point to very recent habitation.
>>
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>Day shift leaves a note indicating that you're all out of vanilla coke. Problem is, that's all everyone wants when they come up to the counter, and the customers are getting stranger and more belligerent by the hour...

>At the start of the shift some hillbilly asshole knocks the portait of the owner askew, now it's glaring at you and making little growling noises and- hey, since when did the owner have a portrait? And how do you even know that's the owner?

>around midnight a bright flash illuminates the area for miles around, temporarily blinding anyone staring out the windows. As the night goes on, more and more people seem to be fleeing from the source of the light, looking increasingly desperate.

>The thermostat just keeps going up and it's getting quite unbearable. Unfortunately, outside the night keeps getting colder and colder. Soon, you can see icicles form off the overhang while you and your co-workers try to hide in the freezers indoors.
>>
>>30747258
These are good.

Okay, is the point of the game to complete all of your tasks before 8 hours is up, but having to deal with all this ridiculous shit that may or may not be real?
I can dig that. Gives PCs something to do in between finding clown heads in the frozen yogurt.
And when everyone dies, they wake up at the end of their shift, Randy or some Day Shift asshole prodding them to get a move on.
Maybe the store is wrecked, but hey, you're still alive.

Oh yeah, and saving up money to get your ass outta there.

>Find clown head in the frozen yogurt
>>
>>30746907
Everything before the Sheriff was well- liked and agreed upon from last thread. People just keep adding shit that should be up top.
>>
>>30747335
>Day shift leaves a note indicating that you're all out of vanilla coke. Problem is, that's all everyone wants when they come up to the counter, and the customers are getting stranger and more belligerent by the hour

Theres nothing strange about that at all.
I mean, have you tried vanilla coke?
>>
>>30746361
simple we just roll for Details about Nowhere when a new campaign starts, which means Nowhere can be all sorts of small towns across the nation, one campaign you're in Kansas, the next you're in Alaska, and in another you are in New Mexico
>>
>>30747406
Well, yes, but when a gypsy caravan collectively streams in the door looking for some, you've gotta do your best to diffuse the situation.

The DM in this scenario should be subtly hinting that a cache is hidden somewhere, maybe by one of the PC's
>>
>>30747214
You could try to explain weird happenings as a "lack of human presence". Almost if the psyche of humanity actively rejected the strange into a bubble of safety.
Almost every strange story happens with only a few witnessess or in isolated and unexplored parts of the earth. Even if there's a significant human presence, like a big city,it happens in the middle of the night, while everyone else is sleeping or gone.
The station is in one of those areas, in the middle of nowhere (maybe on a highway, the outskirts of a small town, or a really forgettable part of a city) and shit happens when the lights go out.
Why are the day shifters not aware of this? (They're assholes) The day, the customers and the transit or maybe something else; but the "veil" is strong and they're protected from the weird and the strange.
But you're not one of them, welcome to the Graveyard Shift.
>>
Even if this amounts to nothing (which it shouldn't, because we don't suck. Not like those Day Shift assholes), I'll be running the Night Shift as a one-shot for my friends.
Might use CoC. Maybe Dread, though I've never played it.
>>
>>30747493

I like that. That might work, though why it would pick a gas station instead of the middle of the desert where people aren't constantly coming and going, I don't know.
Maybe combine the two. The station was built here because the veil was thinner here once, and the owner did something to keep it that way. Now the presence of people can't push the veil back, and whatever the owner is harvesting in that locked room can grow/develop in the unreal aura.

I still feel like making the owner be this mysterious dude who is somehow responsible for resurrecting the employees, provided you're doing a good job.
It provides more incentive to get the chores done. Even if there are werewolves out there trying to eat you, accomplishing them might mean Dave gets to wake up after being eaten.
>>
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The varied mundane-meets-magical mood of this setting also makes it great for references/crossovers of all kinds. A pair of nosy FBI agents were bothering the dayshifters, and are now annoying you? I want to believe. A very tall man in a leather duster appears to be camping inside the door and muttering to his dog about coloured courts? Stars and stones, mate. The possibilities are practically endless.
>>
Standing under a flickering fluorescent lights by the gas pumps, the players can see shadowy figures and glimpses of light moving out on the highway, moving closer slowly but surely. As the shades come closer, the players can see that they are people, sick, scared, grim people. Some are dressed in World War era military uniforms. Some are dressed as soldiers and civilians from across the eras of history, husbands wives and children. There are also a slew of men and women dressed as pilots or bus drivers and such from many different eras, as well as their passengers. They each carry a lantern, or a flashlight, or a torch or even a candle. The children may carry toys or blankets, the adults carry packs or emergency supplies or weapons. Like a funeral march, the walk in a single file line, each one nodding to the players grimly before continuing down the road and disappearing into the night.
>>
>>30747875

This is good. To flesh it out as more than window dressing, I'd say the players will need to get a note from one of these people and drop it in the mailbox, to mail it off to the person's descendents.
The General Manager left cryptic instructions to "mail the letter from Irene," and nobody knows what it means until she comes through the station, asking about her son.
>>
>>30747814
we already have mister smith for that.

who sometimes is a mrs. smith.
>>
>>30748025
A nice incorporation that also raises the idea of side-quests for extra rewards.
>>
TO those not in the google doc, we need ideas for special items the players can find/are awarded for encounters.

Or maybe stuff that seems god but just fucks with the night shift more.
>>
Maybe once we have enough sections the really simple/non-adventurous jokey ideas could be on a different table?

Unless the idea is for the GM to really stretch and come up with a plot mostly on their own using the joke as a base, I guess?
>>
>>30748157
What about some sort of typically handheld, mundane item like a cooler or box that sends things that touch it to another dimension?

If the PCs use it too often to save their ass, whatever things might make that dimension its home might come back and cause its own shenanigans.
>>
>>30748157
Hour Glass, Can repeat the last hour in case if you want a due over(one time-use). Obtained through Time Traveler Encounters
>>
dafuq just happened to the site?
>>
Someone is goofing the shit out of the document, m8s
>>
>>30748157

>The lighter stand on the counter was knocked over in the latest scuffle. You're about to right it when you see a scuffed and dirty looking pink see-through lighter stuck to the bottom. It's half empty.

The lighter produces a 3 inch jet that will burn a hole in anything and could probably be used to weld, but once it's empty it's empty.
>>
>>30748383
I suppose gas station-related stuff are good.

How about a gas pump that will dispense answers to questions that it can spell with numbers? Could double as a character if you made it full digital and could actually type answers, could be a snarky fucker.
>>
>>30748431

A magic 8 ball that's right when the question is important enough, but nobody knows what the threshold is?
>>
It was good while it last /tg/
>>
>>30748157

An ornate brass key.

In the back room, there's a small desk, with one drawer locked. Unlocking it with the key, you find an old 1950s rotary phone with a number taped to it. It says "EMERGENCIES ONLY" above the number. The phone is not plugged in.
Dialing it will sometimes get an answer. The voice on the other end (the owner) may offer a suggestion, or may offer supernatural aid of some kind, but will most likely tell you "Isn't that your job? Fix it and stop bothering me!"
In the latter case, the phone will return to the desk, and the key will disappear, the next time it's not being watched.
>>
okay some autist is fucking up the site.
>>
>>30748460
Something like that. Would have to be rewarded in an obtuse way, though. Like the wizard casts a spell on it, or some part of last night's events made it sentient.

Might count more as a character if you wanted to.
>>
>>30748462
Fucking hours of collective work ruined
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>>30748480
>implying no one saved a backup
>>
Did someone have a back up? Gib back up.

Plz.
Plz.
>>
>>30748553
Seems like the implications were right ;_;
>>
>>30748553
i only had up till the 22nd senario when i saved it to a .pdf
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>>30748474

Did I say not plugged in? I meant it can't be plugged in. It predates modern phone plugs, and doesn't have a cord anyway.
But the players will probably dial it at some point, because if they found that key, they've probably seen some weirder shit already.
>>
GODDAMMIT.

WHAT THE FUCK, DAY SHIFT? STOP BEING SO SHITTY.
>>
Shockro here, saved a revision. It has full details up to 97, unfortunately some slight remixes and other details posted after that have been lost.

What do now?
>>
One of the weapons left behind/found/whatever is a 4 foot fence post. Someone's carved the bottom 1/3 of it into a handle of sorts, which is wrapped over with black tape.

Whatever gets hit by this oversize 2x4 takes more damage than it should; be it the zombie you just knocked the head off of, the window that smashed when you leaned the thing up against it or your buddy's arm that just fractured when you jokingly poked him with it.
>>
>>30746361
what about a gas station/auto repair place and have possessed cars like the stephen king short story or christine
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>>30748755
make a pdf and share it.
>>
>>30748813
this.
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>>30748813
This man gets it.

How many remixes do you have, Shockbro?
>>
>>30748813
>>30748845
>>30748843
Working on it, pretty much everything except for some of the more fun/added on junk comments.

Once PDF is made I will upload it.
>>
I can't believe Google Docs doesn't have a version control system for colloborative efforts.

Nobody would have to tolerate this kind of shenanigans in a coding project, we'd just revert the dummy's changes and move right along. And it's all just text, there's no reason it couldn't be an optional backend on Google.
>>
>>30748908
Actually I reverted it multiple times and can revert it to any time I like in the thing. The problem is that the funny guy just deletes it again and posts more dicks.

I dunno who set it up, but my only control power is to revise stuff, I haven't tested locking people out.
>>
>>30748936
Any other form of collaborative work program that allows you to grant and rescind access?
>>
>>30749005
I'm not very knowledgeable on the subject unfortunately. I think this kind of problem is gonna be consistent if we want it open to the public.

Just saved often and be safe. I also stopped on the PDF making since its fully accessible to everyone at the moment. Gonna stop namefagging now, have a good one.
>>
Like a week ago I had a dream where I was going to make a horror game called "Night Shift." When I woke up I decided it was a pretty cool name and that I'd probably actually try to make something out of it.

Fuck you guys. Fuck you.
>>
>NPCs
why the hell would you want that?

Also Graveyard Shift is better because Night Shift implies Stephen King: the game.
>>
>>30749064
Well the NPCs are just like the scenarios, they are tools for a GM to use so that the game can have a sense of continuity.

Also you have to admit that so far the game IS quite Stephen King-esque, and Night Shift does imply more WEIRD things while Graveyard Shift sound much more foreboding.
>>
>>30749042
Well, SOMEONE oughta make a pdf.
>>
As someone who works night shift at a gas station, I approve of this thread.
>>
>>30749099
Actually I just cant get my pdf to come out looking right, its keeps on dumping remixes in a big clump at the end

I agree with you though
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>>30749095
>Also you have to admit that so far the game IS quite Stephen King-esque
That was the point of the first thread but taking a name of one of his books is kinda overdoing it.
>>
>>30748157
>a one time use magazine that allows you to pull one of the advertised items out into reality.

If you want to be a bit trollish make it a magazine that has stuff that will require some clever thought.

>a pen torch that casts a holy light and deters undead or vamps

>a disposable razor that can cut through anything but has limited uses because it's a shitty disposable razor.
>>
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>>30749064

>Graveyard Shift is better because Night Shift implies Stephen King: the game.

Actually, dude.
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>>30749133
>The name of a collection of Stephen King short stories
Isn't that kind of fitting? This will be a collection of horror-inspired adventures taking place during a night shift. Seems pretty okay to me.
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>>30749163
>>30749131
>mfw he has both Night Shift and the Graveyard Shift
>>
Keep calm and edit on.
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>>30748157

One of the customers points out that the joke "Complaints department: take one" grenade on the counter is in fact a live grenade.
>>
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>>30748157

Just go click the random button at the SCP foundation.
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>>30748157
The freezer of the small general store stocks among other things a couple packs of Grandma Morris' Instant Chicken Nuggets(TM) (Easy to cook even in a Microwave!*)


In its frozen form, each chicken nugget is hard enough to break even a padlock with. When used as a throwing weapon, they are surprisingly devastating.

However, when cooked in the staff backroom's microwave*, they are plump and delicious, perfect for a midnight snack or to distract hungry, rampaging predators!
>>
bump
>>
Night shift worker here, read the whole last thread while on-shift, love it. I had an idea on the rez thing. A system of Complaints and Commendations. Three complaints, you're fired (dead), three commendations get you a rez. Complaints and commendations negate each other, say you have two complaints, you earn a commendation, now you have one complaint, and vice versa.
>>
>>30746447
>>30746617
I dunno, suspiciously normal from the perspective of the Night Shift could work really well.

Oh man. Idea. Event modifiers.
>One of the Day Shifters is doing overtime tonight. This can go one of two ways: either he needs to stay alive, and can see why the hell all of the Night Shifters are a little odd; or he can't see the madness going on around him.

>>30747081
Well, why does it "need" to have a reason? If nobody actually questions it, then there's no need for there to be a reason.
>>
How about creating additional tables with events? Right now I'm planning on running a Fiasco-like game with this, where events happen and players may use them to stop others from fulfilling their objectives/ helping their cause.

The way I see it it should look like this. There is some money and player number * 2 "black" d6s on the table, each player has three "white" d6s in their tableau. DM introduces a Persona and rolls for an event. It... is somewhere in the background. Now, any player may go around doing their chores; for each completed chore they get "black" d6 which is rolled for money after the game. At any moment, though, a player may spend their white die to control an event or narrate.

Controlling an event - you roll d6. 1-2 allows you to describe what it does, but it behaves in harmful way (potentially preventing pal from completing objective). 3-4 allows you to "improve" it somehow. Those bees? Well, now some queen bees appeared laying eggs everywhere and making all other bees more angry. Them you may "control" it as though you have rolled 1-2. 5-6 allows you to "improve" it, and describe that it does anything that seems somehow reasonable.

Narrating is slightly different as it simply allows you to describe how the events (and Persona) interact with each other and players, potentially stealing DMs job for a moment.

When at least eight "white" dies are spend DM rolls again on the event table, introducing new horrible thing. Players receive two dies each. Six dies later last event comes into play, (players receive one dice each) and when four last "white" dies are spent - morning comes.

All the survivors may now roll for monies.
>>
>>30749042
Ah, fuck me. I made the doc and can revert any changes/lock people out if you guys need it.
>>
>>30746269
FUCK YOU GUY I TOLD YOU WHY YOUR SUBTITLES WERE SHIT LAST THREAD
>>
>>30753070
Subtitles are usually shit.

Aside from boss subtitles, those are usually great
>>
>>30753100
That guy in particular needed a Mr Rage-ing because he suggested the same exact shitty ass subtitle last thread. bitch ass nigga
>>
>The players come into possession of the General Manager's Keyring. Most of the keys on it are the standard variety that fit standard pin and tumbler locks, but there are also car keys, skeleton keys and other more exotic keys on it as well. These keys can allow the players to open any locked doors they find in the Station to access new areas, supplies and weapons.

>Players can obtain the GM's Keyring either through searching his office if it is unlocked, or perhaps by being given it by that pale, scraggly girl dressed in the 1980's Attendant's uniform that just seems to have disappeared when you'd all looked away.
>>
>>30753309
>holding either set of keys makes the player nervous as hell about losing them
>in fact most employees would rather die than give them up in fear of what punishment they'd get if they lost them.
>>
>>30753309
No player will use it right away. They know when they get something as 'big' as this, that the GM is just begging them to use it, to fuck up and use it.

They won't be able to resist not using it for long.
>>
>>30753348
They could be a good way of nudging the players forward.
Maybe before you give them the keys you talk about a door that none of you remember being there before.
Maybe they could unknowingly 'awaken the great evil' as it were.
>>
>>30753339
This might be why that pale, scraggly girl dressed in the 1980's Attendant's uniform is still "working overtime," so to speak, and is so willing to relieve the players on their shift.
>>
- Beyond the flickering fluorescent lights of the Station, everything past the road is suddenly engulfed in an inky, unnatural blackness that slowly but undeniably is creeping closer and closer. Soon, you can no longer see the road, and the streetlights short out and go dark. Not much time later, the darkness covers the pumps outside, the lights overhead sparking and popping before they go out. The little lights inside the pump's displays old out a moment more before dying. Now the darkness is pressing in on the Station on all sides, and even the lights inside are beginning to flicker and sputter and wink out, one by one, as if the building is trying to fight the darkness. With each light that does out, a corresponding section of the station is plunged into unnatural inky blackness, section by section, until the characters are huddled in the breakroom around candles and flashlights, just trying to hold on till the end of their shift
>>
So, should the player's nightly tasks be more or less related to the night's random events?

Too little correlation, and it becomes "do your job while ignoring the creepy shit entirely".
>Supernatural plot hook? Nah, I have floors to mop.

Too much correlation and "doing your job" and "dealing with the creepy shit" become one in the same instead of the latter being an obstacle to the former.
>Oh goody, boss wants me to oil the widgets. What is it gonna be this time? Gremlins? Killer robots? Constantine?
>>
>>30751923

It's about maintaining internal consistency. Not having the slightest idea what's going on is great for an audience, but it's bad for a writer.

If the audience begins to suspect that the writer doesn't understand what's happening either, they lose interest fast.


>>30749183

Alternate idea: How about we call it Night Shift in Nowhere? Stephen King probably won't write that for another five books, so we'd have three months.

>>30753732

Ooh, I like that.

>>30753840

There should be a little bit of both. Once in a while orders from the General Manager (who's passing them along from the unseen Owner) should involve the events directly.
>>
>>30753840
I thought that the players have to do their task despite the creepy shit going down, like still getting the floors mopped when there's a rampaging zombie horde outside. I think it may also be up to the GM to create event-specific required task for the night.
>>
Archived this thread for posterity:
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/30745096/
>>
>>30745666
>Guy pulls up in the nicest hot rod you've ever seen. No idea what kind of car it is, and the guy is dressed pretty weirdly. Sorta like a suit, but the lapels are all wonky, and who wears something with chrome trim? Talks weird, too. He starts laughing and asking you if the gas price is a joke. He's amazed when you tell him that it's pretty high, but that it can't be helped. He just shakes his head and says "Chog me, never seen it below £50. Fill 'er up, trub."
Reminds me of the brief description of the Gods of Automobiles from American Gods. The ones with "blood on their chrome teeth". I like it.

I know, I know, replying to a ten and a half hour old post
>>
I will say that just 'Night Shift' sounds best. It sums up the contrast of otherworldly shenanigans with the mundanity of having to keep the petrol station running. Graveyard Shift is just a step too far.
>>
Maybe create another 100-item table with joke entries and allow the GM to mix one serious and joke entry per session?
It's my excuse to see more weird stuff written by anons
>>
>an attendant wearing a uniform that hasn't been worn at the station in 20-30 years keeps appearing around the place, doing random jobs: stocking shelves, taking inventory, throwing out garbage, etc.
>always just happens to be halfway through turning to face you as you enter the room
>catching them off-guard shows the whole back of their head is pretty gruesomely caved in
>mentioning this to them yields a slightly dejected "Oh, right. Thanks for letting me know." before they go back to the task at hand
>the attendant doesn't appear again for the rest of the night
>returns again within a week, under the same circumstances
>>
>Every now and then, the floor mop will perform its function perfectly normally with the exception of in places where bodily substances have been spilled within the station, where instead puddles of vomit, piss, blood and the odd turd are occasionally left in the mop's wake.
>>
>>30745096

We've got a lot of neat ideas, right now, but no mechanics. Is this supposed to be a game? Or just a setting for a game?
>>
>>30755011
It's just a bunch of ideas for a setting or campaign.
We don't need a dedicated homebrew for every single idea. Besides, there are already plenty of modern horror RPGs to choose from.
>>
>>30755126

Fair enough. But I'm in the camp that a game's rules can often help reinforce or present the theme; I prefer having rules specific to the theme/tone/world of a game than generic rules. But that's a personal preference.

...If I spent some time putting together specific mechanics for a Night Shift game, would anyone be interested?
>>
>>30755147
I would. I've been wracking my brain trying to find the perfect way to run it.

I love this kinda stuff and I have a feeling my friends would appreciate a game like this
>>
>>30755147
>would anyone be interested?
Well, I'm certainly not gonna stop you.

But I will say that it would probably work best as a generic ruleset you can drop onto an existing system, rather than a full system in and of itself.
No need to reinvent the wheel, right?
>>
>>30755147
I think Paranoia might actually work well for the setting, rules wise.
>>
>>30755251
Same here. Maybe it's with the idea that despite all this crazy nonsense you better make damn sure that the drinks fountain is cleaned out and the floors mopped.
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>>30755198
Righteous. Expect something in an hour or so.

>>30755204
That might be the route to go. We'll see.
>>
>>30755147
>>30755147
I would be more interested than you could possibly comprehend. I would sell my very soul to see a set of mechanics for this. My eyes would weap tears of golden hope for humanity if you did this. I want to run this game more than I want to have a job, but wouldn't know what system to use. What do I have to do to see a system created for this game anon? Name it and the price will be paid.
>>
Sounds very similar to Nightlight, an RPG that /tg/ almot finished, then disappeared. I'm interested.
>>
>>30755251

That's a good idea, system-wise.

>>30755276

Whatever rules you do for it, keep them as rules-light as possible. Something like FATE without the players ability to influence the world/setting.
>>
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back long ago I tried my hand at making a quest thread, back when mods had decided that they were kosher again. I made gas station operator quest. Essentially ended up being this, except nobody answered except the roll who wanted to fight robbers (which were totally not the gecko brothers) by pouring gasoline all over the protag and light self on fire.

Then they ended up in the under world where players learned that if you wanna challenge death to a rock off, you have to mention that you want your life back if you win, before you blow his god damn doors off.
>>
Ok. Here's what I'm thinking so far. I'm gonna start with design concept before I start number crunching.

Players have several metrics to worry about.
1) Management: They don't care if the milk cartons 'Have You Seen This Person' keeps showing you, they only care that the milk stays stocked. If your Management score ever reaches 0, you're out of a job, sorry bub.

2) Paycheck: You want to leave. You don't want this job, but you need money. This is, for lack of a better term, a character's 'win-condition'. Once their Paycheck threshold is crossed they can say goodbye to Nowhere and how all the frozen dinners inexplicably say 'With that REAL Human taste!'.

3) Weird: This is an indicator of how close to permanently fucked things are. It mechanically influences the GM's rolls to see what new hell is visited on your minimum-wage ass. In short, Weird stuff will snowball, so its best to resolve things ASAP.

4) Effort: Sort of a generic metric of how much of a fuck your character has to give. When you hit 0, you Burn Out. I'm planning that you'll mostly spend Effort to deal with the Weird stuff, and regain it doing things to satisfy your Management score. Burning Out will be bad.

I'm thinking of borrowing a basic 2d6+Attribute vs. Target Numbers, to keep it simple. I might even just make this an Apacolypse World hack if that turns out to be easiest.

Players would, in chargen, choose Backgrounds. Things like 'College Stoner', 'Medicated Drifter', 'Local Kid' and the like. Those would form the basis of their Paycheck thresholds and inform any modifiers to Effort and the like.

Thoughts so far?
>>
>>30755590

I'm thinking to keep chargen as simple as possible, because I'd like the game to focus on the cast rotating through this weird-as-fuck gas station. Like CoC, with less death. Maybe less death.
>>
>>30755590
So is this something you would keep track of turn-by-turn (as in a game mechanic) or session-by-session (as in a campaign mechanic)?
>>
>>30755590

The 2d6+Attribute versus Target Number mechanic would work decent. IKRPG sports a good enough system for that, however the classes wouldnt fit very well.
>>
>>30755648

Effort would probably see the most up-and-down, while Paycheck and Management would be closer to a campaign-mechanic.

I think each session would comprise of a single Night Shift. If at the end of the shift you've hit your Paycheck? Fuck yeah, I'm outa here. If at the end of your shift, Management hasn't been satisfied? Don't bother showing up tomorrow night.

Weird would get tracked across sessions, and Effort would probably refresh at the beginning of the next shift.
>>
>>30755901

The GM would plan out different sources of weird shit. These are the things that are CAUSING strange things to happen. Is the place built on an Indian burial ground? Are the moons right? Is the gas-pump infested with demons?

Each Threat would also have a condition to get rid of it. Placate the spirits, wait it out, and exorcism respectively. Once that condition is satisfied, boom, problem solved.

Each Threat would have a 'Weird Rating' which basically tells you how often it will crop up during a shift. When a shift starts, the GM rolls 2d6+Weird. If that is equal to or above the Threat's Weird Rating, the GM then picks from a list of Portents. Here's an example;

Threat: Parallel World Crossover.
Satisfaction: The AC unit needs to be fixed- apparently the way it was rattling is causing the gas station to occasionally transplate into a different reality.
Weird Rating: 5
Portents:
- The frozen dinners keep listing 'human flesh' as an ingredient, and it is upsetting the customers
- There are too many moons in the sky
- Two men in strange uniforms, claiming to be 'Cattle Recovery Officers' enter the gas-station looking for escaped livestock
- A man with a wild look and ragged clothes is looking for asylum. He claims to be livestock.
- The gas pumps keep switching to the wrong side

At the beginning of a session, the GM would roll 2d6+Weird. If that number is greater or equal to 5, the session will involve one of the events listed above. Some are simply things that happen, and serve to reinforce the weirdness of what's going on. Some will be the foundation of an 'adventure' with a problem to fix.

The Threat is ended whenever the PC's figure out that this crossover into a cannibalistic reality is being caused because the AC is on the fritz. Once the AC guy takes care of it, the Threat is over.

Ideally, there should be more than one Threat active at a time. That will keep 'em on their toes and give 'em something to bitch to Day Shift about.
>>
>>30755590
If there's some kind of weirdness-level for encounters, there should also be a skepticism level for characters. The more skeptical you are, the less weird events effect you less, but the more weird events freak you the fuck out.
>>
>>30756209
And presumably a less-skeptical character would have no problem with aliens or zombies, but would flip the fuck out at mundane problems because he thinks the smelly homeless guy is actually an old one in disguise or something like that?
>>
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>>30745096
The face when you realise that this can be played with FATE
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>>30756320
Perfect.
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>>30756209

That would probably fall into chargen. I'm thinking players pick 'jobs', basically like a class, to describe what they do at the gas station. They also pick 'backgrounds'. One of them could be 'Constant Skeptic' and it would give you the kind of bonuses you describe.

It would also mean we could have the flip of that - someone who is so paranoid that the weird shit doesn't so much effect them as make them revise their paranoid delusions. Dinosaurs on the highway? Probably a secret government experiment. Ghosts? Probably environmental interference from a government black ops satellite. That background would give you something like more Effort so long as you believed the crazy thing happening was actually a different crazy thing.
>>
>>30756320
It could be linked with paranoia too. The lower your character's level of skepticism, the higher their paranoia might generally be.
>>
>>30756434
Maybe effort would work better in the form of FATE points type system? Effort levels vary on factors and also replenish on nights, and can be used to re-apply abilities, and give better bonuses if you can explain why your character would effort it.

Just seems more fun than a straight up "your character has +X to stuff because they try hard, your character has +Y because they try harder" or something
>>
>>30756512

I was imagining Effort as something akin to FATE points. My initial thought was actually halfway between FATE and Gumshoe; each 'job' has a way to spend Effort to automatically succeed at something. Cashier? You're good at handling customers. Pump Attendant? You know all the equipment and machines at the station.

So generically, Effort is expended to make you better at doing something, but used specifically for you to excel at your specialty.
>>
Just ran a rules-light version of this. 2d10 for random encounters and difficult tasks, but mostly RP and dickery. The resident That Guy first tried to be RoboCop, and then a murderer, but after making him a felon who can't get a job elsewhere, we began.

They met the ex-graveyard shift guy, the gray man, and one did drugs that make you see ghosts. One idiot poked a tentacle, and demonstrated the high lethality of the setting. I didn't do tasks, as I wanted to ease them into it.
>>
>>30756653
Can you elaborate some? How well did the horror/creepy aspect go with your group?
>>
>>30745440
>>The discount sushi begins to talk to you.
This happens all time. Dont buy sushi from a gas station, specially discounted
>>
>>30756653
Storytime!
>>
>>30747150
>>30747214
Or just The Sandman. It seems like a really early sandman story anyway

> The magazine guy makes his delivery. Its not the usual guy. This one doesn't stick around and chat. You open the box to put them on the rack; they are from 20 years ago. Front page news: missing white girl. Station wagon pulls up a few hours later. Man with horned rimmed glasses driving. Man with priest's collar riding shotgun. Kidnapped girl in the back.
>>
>>30747214
Gas station on the outskirts of Silent Hill or Twin Peaks.
>>
>>30757666

Interesting, but I don't think we should make the town into the focus. There may not even be a town for miles around. Plus, the staff room is a usually-safe room for some reason. (Warded by the Owner, IMO)
>>
>>30757695
I dunno, the setting seems to have a certain degree of humour to it. I reckon it might work if you play it as "There's weird stuff going on in that town, but that's their problem and we've got our own weird stuff going on right here. Now go exorcise the slushee machine."
>>
>guy rolls up to the convenience store, he's a little sketchy, his eyes move too quick and often, you feel something off about him
>he asks where the bathroom is, then follows your directions, never bothering you again
>group of friends come by, almost too wasted to be driving that truck, they ask you for directions to a hotel, you mention the little gas station motel where they could spend the night for a low price
>one of the girl asks directions for the bathroom, the others tell them they're gonna be in the motel getting settled, nothing happens much for several minutes

>girl comes out of the bathroom, clueless to where she is, comes to the convenience store, asks if she was here with someone else, you don't think much of it, since she was just wasted out of her mind
>now, though, you notice she doesn't seem that altered. she's actually too okay, compared to how she was when she got here
>she asks you about her friends, you tell her they went to the motel, leaving out the fact that she already knew that
>she goes "than kkhyou", and the worse chill in your spine you've ever felt kicks in, as you notice her voice is some tones down from a girl voice
>you look into her eyes as she bids you good night. moving quickly and often, animalisticly
>you realise you haven't seen the guy that first came in anymore
>a really thick, strong coppery smell takes over the convenience store, making you gag a little
>you look over to the girl, she's way too far in the distance, entering the motel, but it's only been a few seconds since she bid you goodnight

What do?
>>
Remember guys, KISS. Keep It Simple Stupid.
>>
>>30757788
Gas stations have a gun under the counter, right?

This campaign just turned into Call of Cthulhu.
>>
I go to work perfectly hyped about this setting.

...Then I come back and see people have shitted up the doc. God fucking dammit, why won't those Day Shift ASSHOLES leave us alone?!
>>
>>30756987
>>30757269
Let me write something up.
>>
>>30757944
More like Day Shit, amirite?
>>
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OP of the first thread here, you guys are awesome
>>
> At around 12:34 a guy in creepy clown make-up comes in. He buys a bottle of seltzer water and asks to go to the bathroom.
> 12:51 and a different guy, also in clown make-up, comes in. He buys a salami and asks where your bathroom is.
> 1:03, two people both in clown make-up ask where your bathroom is. One grabs some whipped cream on the way.
>1:11, five people in clown make-up honk at you, demanding to use your bathroom. They all buy bottles of glue.
> 1:18, six people in clown make-up come in and stare at you from the other side of the counter.
>"Can I help you?"
> HONK
>"Are you looking for the other clowns?"
> HONK
> "I don't know what you want."
> HONK
> Without a word they shuffle in single file towards the bathroom. The last one gives you a long, pleading look - a wordless plea for help, and resignation that there is none to be had - before he disappears inside.
>>
>>30758273
Easy to be awesome with a solid premise. Cheers, OP!
>>
>>30757788
Dammit, now I'm gonna have to clean all the dried blood out of the bathroom.
Again.
Fucking skinwalkers are worse than the meth junkies.
>>
>>30758371
>You hear the faint sound of calliope music coming from the bathroom.
>>
>>30758371
Also clown-related:

>A strange, eerie circus or carnival sets itself up around the parking lot or in the forlorn field across the road. The music and laughter drifting into the station are both enticing and off putting at once, and carloads of people stop to take part.

>The carnival games, while fun are all a little off. The shooting gallery, for example, is bring your own weapon. No caliber too large.
>The freak show is... Aptly named...
>>
It occurs to me that the fact that the Stop'N'Gas has been there since the 50s will probably have some impact on how the place runs, and what kind of tasks players need to do .

I used to work at a lube shop that had been around since the 70s, (it also had a name similar to a major national chain, but predated it.) and one of the things about it was that since the owner had built it so long ago, the car wash out back was not subject to the strict environmental controls that would later affect car washes. This grandfather clause meant that people basically washed crap down the drain out there, and in addition to checking the coin machines, fixing the vacuums, and cleaning the sumps, we had to keep an eye out from time to time, to make sure that meth heads didn't go out back and try to do their own oil changes. 'Cause there were meth heads, and sometimes they did weird shit out there.
>>
Maybe we could link our perception of these events to our uncommon circadian rhythm required for the NIGHT SHIFT. Almost like it tunes our brain to the supernatural or something. Could explain why the day shift peeps don't see shit. Just throwin fluff out there
>>
>>30758273
Its a cool idea you had OP 1. Thank you for sharing it so we can have this fun.
>>
>>30756584

Ok. So can someone knowledgable about gas stations give me an idea as to what jobs and duties there are?

So far I've got the obvious. Stocking the shelves, cleaning the floor, handling the customers, pumping gas. In terms of this possible Night Shift RPG system, I'm thinking that translates to 'Cashier', 'Stock Clerk', 'Mechanic/Gas Attendant'. Anything else? Maybe an assistant manager type?
>>
>>30758970
clean bathroom, mop the floor, refill the ice cream machine, recount the stuff in storage room
>>
>>30758970
At some point you have to count the money in the register and presumably store it somewhere as well
>>
>>30758371
>He buys a salami
"I didn't even know we STOCKED whole salamis!"
>>
>>30758970
Almost every rinky-dink operation like the one described would have an 'everyman', the guy who knows enough about everything to patch things together until you need an actual repairman/plumber/electrician.
>>
>>30758970
Gotta keep the doors and windows clean
>>
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>A bunch of unnecessary NPCs
>"Special Items"
>A book rack consistently filled with strange books and not just an occasional weird find when it's actually rolled up
>Explanations for the mysterious management and why all these strange things happen.
>More jokes and awful references than actual genuinely weird or creepy events.
Good job guys, ya blew it.
>>
>>30759004
>>30759021
>>30759059

Alrighty. That sounds like we can probably break PC's down into some pretty standard archetypes.

Cashier - Specialty is dealing with people. Spend Effort to mollify someone. You get a lot of experience mollifying people when there's an anime convention in town and the delivery of Orange Fanta is always late.

Stock Clerk - Specialty is knowing where to find anything, where everything is, where everything should be. Knows where to hide if you wanna catch a couple Z's on the job without the assistant manager finding you.

Gas Attendant - Doesn't pump much gas, like, ever. But he knows how to check the gauges and where the toolbox is. Even pretty good with the toolboxes. Could probably build a potato gun that might be almost safe.

Assistant Manager - He's ok with people, but he's best at keeping the above shmucks on point. Jerry, put away your phone there's a customer stuffing Playboys down his pants. Greg, someone complained about the ice machine earlier, you wanna take a look at that? Sally? Where's Sally? I bet she's out back having a smoke break again. Someone go get Sally. Why do we not have any quarters? Fuck Day Shift, goddamn.
>>
>>30759368
1. You don't have to use all the NPCs, special items or weird books in every campaign. The goal here is to have a bunch of tables you can roll on.
2. The players will probably never actually get to see the explanations, they're just for the GM.
3. The game is intended to work for both creepy, horror campaigns and campy, over the top campaigns.
4. You're a massive faggot.
>>
>>30759458

Cashier - spend Effort in conversations
Stock Clerk - spend Effort to find exactly what you need
Gas Attendant - spend Effort to figure out why something is fucked up
Assistant Manager - spend Effort to smooth over someone else's cockup.
>>
>>30759368
What >>30759469 said with the addition of you are, in fact, a double faggot for not suggesting how to fix the problem rather than just compain about it.
>>
>>30759368
The "special NPCs" section was basically to take the more popular ideas from the original thread and give them their own spot. People just kept adding bullshit after that.
>>
Moved over 20 entries to the joke table, added some suggestions from the threads, and reworked some of the remains.
>>
>>30758371
I like the clown idea.
I thought of something similar, but with less HONK:
> It's unusually busy for a night shift
> Every few minutes or so a person comes in and asks where the bathroom is
> More and more people just walk through the bathroom door, without anybody ever coming out
> If you finally decide to check what is going on in there, the room is (you guessed it) empty.
> Note that there is no window or other exit except the door to the shop
> When you go take a dump next time you realize that there are, besides the usual scribbling you failed to clean up despite best efforts, a bunch of new doodles on the stall wall
> Upon further inspection, these "doodles" are almost photorealistic drawings of people who you remember having seen not too long ago

also

> Some time after midnight two men in Gestapo-uniforms walk in
> They say they got a hint that there are jews hiding somewhere in the gas station
> You tell them thats bullshit, but despite that They start searching, turning everything upside down in the process
> you get to decide if you stop them or not, and face the consequences
> Also, the GM decides if there really are Jews hiding somewhere on the compound
>>
>>30759741
You're doing god's work, anon.
>>
>>30757980
So, other things happened. This isn't two hours of work, it's closer to half an hour or so.

Chargen was surprisingly long. These guys mostly play dungeon crawls; being normal shmucks with a dead-end job had some rebellion. That Guy first wanted to be RoboCop, and then wanted to be a murdering necrophiliac. I finally shut him up by letting him be an elderly felon named Noah, whose criminal record was ignored by this corp for whatever reason. (In a later session, I’m going to prod him what his offense was, as that’s real plot hook potential)

The other guys are pimply-faced Tony, who just applied for a random job, and Carson, the businessman who lost his life savings when his stocks fell.

They’re accepted without an interview. They got an automated message saying that their resume was accepted, and that their hours are from 10 PM to 6 AM.

The first time the chars met was in the gas station. Shortly after introductions, they met one of three customers that night. An impeccably dressed man of an indeterminate age, he said that he’s a regular and that he just wants a specific candy bar. To rub it into the players that they don’t want to not appease him, he gave Tony a five-dollar tip for giving him candy. He then walked into the darkness.

For some meta humor, they decided to play in-character D&D, but just as chargen finished, a drug deal that was as obvious as possible walked in. Two men, one holding money and the other a white-streaked briefcase, walked into the restroom and walked out before the attendants could help them. They left on the sink a baggie with some foodstuff. Carson rolled a critfail on his check to resist eating it, and he was unaffected for about three or four turns.
>>
>>30760024
In the meantime, Noah and Tony were building a “rocket cart” out of a fire extinguisher and a basket. Carson noticed a weird shadow outside, and had to refill the ice bucket anyhow. On the way back, he tripped on a tentacle. When he poked it, it dragged him off, spilling the ice all over the asphalt. Around this time, the session ended, Carson re-rezzed, and the Manager was so pissed at the property damage that he’s going to ensure they do certain tasks, or their ass is grass.

Again, the session wasn't very long, and the point was to show that a) some supernatural shit is commonplace, and b) that you're going to die easily. I'm easing the players into the game, so it's missing 95% of the rules and it's a lot blander than it'll become.
>>
Some of these items need to be heavily reworked so they aren't so useful and they shouldn't magically just break when you try and show day shift or whatever. They should just be so dumb and nondescript that no one but the night shift actually thinks twice about there validity.
Like the ray gun should literally just shoot "rays" and those rays shouldn't actually do anything at least anything useful or noticable. Also it makes a stupid whirly noise.
Or the Ex-Ray specs should only kinda sorta work, I mean if you really squint.
Also why is there A magic flashlight? Seems unnecessary and speshul since a gas station should already have a flashlight behind the counter at least and sell batteries.
And a talking head, chainsword and robot medic? Really guys? Stuff like this should just be outright cut.
>>
>>30760120
Man some of that shit is ridiculous. When I thought about it, I meant more things like little cross necklaces or a little silver pocketknife or bullets or something, not completely silly BS.
>>
>>30760193
Agreed. Doc owner, can we purge this shit?
>>
>>30760120
>the ray gun should literally just shoot "rays" and those rays shouldn't actually do anything at least anything useful or noticable. Also it makes a stupid whirly noise

The joke was Ronald Reagan.

Reagan.
Ray Gun.

Do you see?
>>
I'll admit to adding the"cheap toaster"in the doc simply because I was playing around in kingdom of loathing at the time.

Also,I was thinking that this could potentially translate into an Arkham Horror/Relic/Talisman style boardgame if handled correctly.
>>
>>30760193
>>30760208
Silly items will be moved to the joke table.
>>
>>30760230
Look 7 lines lower, dude.
>>
>>30759887
>Secret Jews in the nacho machine
I like it.


Also, the spending Effort classes seem good, as suggested by
>>30759458
>>30759481


Anyway, some more events:
>Black flies infest the station. Their source, if investigated, is a rotting dog carcass stuffed into one of the walls. It has no skin. There is no obvious way for it to actually GET into the wall.
>One of the Day Shift guys stumbles into the store. He seems...wrong. He doesn't respond to you talking to him, but that's probably because he's an asshole. He looks like hell, actually. Sunken eyes, vomit covered clothing. He just keeps moaning. Better get him outta there before he freaks out one of the customers. Oh shit, did he bite someone? Oh fuck no!
>>There's more of them outside
>An All-American family on their way to the Grand Canyon stops in. The parents are nice and the kids (while annoying) are hilarious. Nothing strange about them. The kids want candy and to use the bathroom. The dad wants a sports magazine.
>>(Need mundane shit too)
>The bathroom is out of service. Fucking Day Shift.
>Day Shift assholes ate all of the snacks in the staff fridge.
>All the road maps are clearly incorrect. What the fuck kind of state is "Unified Dakota" or "Western Caligon"? What's more, they seem to be international boundaries. The hell?
>>
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I can't draw for shit so here's just for you /tg/ - a track inspired by THE NIGHT SHIFT

https://soundcloud.com/panstach/z-jae-c-i-f-e-el-y-ou
>>
>>30760120
I, for one, appreciate the talking head.
>>
>>30760321
Talking shrunken head? Day shift just thinks it's a Halloween prop perhaps?
>>
>>30760362
Only if it only says a set number of phrases.
>>
>>30760382
It acts like a toy during the day.
But holy shit, press it on the full moon and prepare to roll SAN.
>>
>>30760442
occasionally the head becomes Mimir, who is both rather useful in granting information but also a sign that viking shit is about to happen

Do you learn ancient secrets or do you help those vikings with the microwave burritos.
>>
>>30760305
Holy shit spooky.
When the radio malfunctions, I know what I'm playing.
>>
I think we should move the joke stuff to a separate doc and make it a sort of expansion. Keeping the original for the more creepy/strange things. It'll help keep the doc less cluttered and easier to read
>>
> All the pop from the coolers has made it's way out, and have built themselves into "pophenge" in the back of the store.
>a group of druids has taken up residency within, drawing all sorts of unwanted wildlife into the store
>>
>>30760442
>>30760382
>>30760362
Guys, it's a Talking Heads reference. Google it.
>>
>>30760627
Oh goddammit. How did I miss that?

>Not adding a bit about him trying burn down the Gas Station
>>
"Fucking skinwalkers man" is creepy enough a premise to go on the regular list I feel. It's just it like some others on the list have been made too jokey by the other comments.
And some subtly jokey ones can stay on the regular list for more mundane encounters. Like the pepsi/coke one again, if you cut out the ridiculous comments.
>>
Why isn't the revision history working?
>>
Decided to try and play this with a simple system I homebrewed in like 5 minutes.

>Had PCs roll standard D&D stats with percentile dice to determine ability scores
>Use roll under skill checks to determine shit, kind of like a really bootleg Call of Cthulhu (I had no rulebooks or anything on me at the time, only a set of dice I take pretty much everywhere)
>Pretty good stats, both rolled really shit Strength though (under 10%)
>First scenario is skinwalkers
>Nothing really happening in the day, quickly turns to the night shift
>PCs have to stock the store, trucker named Geoff is outback waiting for them to get their shit so he can go
>They start to unload
>All of the sudden Geoff is talking to some dude
>"Who the fuck are you?"
>It's just some random dude standing in front of him
>PCs know something is up
>Geoff tells the guy to fuck off, but he just stays there and mumbles unintelligibly
>One PC knows of the skinwalker pastas and I could tell he was making assumptions about it already
>They both take some boxes inside, seeing what happens after they leave for a bit
>Random guy is gone
>Geoff is just there, getting back into his truck
>But something is off about him
>He's missing his goatee
>Skinwalker-aware PC knows what's going on now and decides to run to the truck and provoke it
>Needed to have it be somewhat hostile, not just docile and really creepy, so I just gave it razor sharp fingers.
>It jams its fingers through the glass and almost kills him
>Both of them nope the fuck out of there and run inside
>Barricade the doors with boxes of shit
>Skinwalker prowls the perimeter of the station, tapping and scraping its diamond-edge fingers along the glass windows, but never breaking through
>All of the sudden a letter falls through a mail opening in the back door
>Signed "From Management"
>The letter reads "Ashes, Ashes, we all fall down."
>>
>>30760676
I agree with you.

I think we need multiple tables for spooky shit.
Low level spooky shit like having a customer disappear without a trace.
Medium stuff like meeting someone you know is dead.
High level stuff like portals to hell and shit.

I dunno, just my opinion.
>>
>>30760676
Things that I think could be on the regular list.
>Fucking Skinwalkers man.
Skinwalkers are legit creepy shit
>All the Coke suddenly tastes like Pepsi.
It's dumb and funny funny sure but it's strange and subtle enough to be one of the more mundane encounter on the regular list which i feel it needs more of.
>A weird person stumbles into the Store and grabs a few cans of Tuna.
If you make the cat hints subtle this is just strange enough work as a encounter on the regular list.
>Day-shift tries to prank you with monster-costumes.
This is just the kind of shit I'd expect from those asshole and is completely non-magical and could go on the regular list showing that this is still sort of a regular job. Ditch the thing about them not remember tho that makes it seem 2spoopy.
>>
>>30760796
Nah it should all be one table, we just need to get it the ratio of sorta strange, kinda spooky and crazy shit more even. It needs to switch back and forth between the three on a dime.
>>
Chargen will consist of three basic parts.

1) Job. Functionally a class. It informs your baseline Paycheck, Duties, and Specialty.
>Cashier: Paycheck 2, Specialty: Mollifying patrons, Duties: Make sure the register is in order, make sure no patron left unsatisfied
>Stock Clerk: Paycheck 1, Specialty: Knowing where everything is and should be, Duties: Stock is in order, nothing is out of place
>Pump Attendant: Paycheck 2: Specialty: Knowing why something is broken, and maybe how to fix it, Duties: Make sure things that should move, can, and things that shouldn't, don't
>Assistant Manager: Paycheck 3, Specialty: Smoothing over other people's cockups, Duties: Making sure people don't cock up, make sure things run smooth

2) Background - I think each PC should choose two of these. Each will be passive bonuses or small abilities.They will give a baseline Effort and the Paycheck Threshold (how much you need to get out of the gas station).

Weird starts at the number of PC's, and goes up by 1 each night. Resolving a Threat reduces the Weird by 1.

At the end of a shift, the GM grills each PC about whether or not they satisfied their duties. If they did, they receive their Paycheck. If they didn't, they get docked either half or full payment depending on how fucked things are. Day Shift likes to tattle.
>>
>>30760305
2spooky, sounds like a song that would play at the beginning of each session
>>
>A creepy customer comes in, just shuffles up to the counter. When asked what he wants, he beckons the employee closer, then whispers, directly in their ear "I'll tell you a secret. If you use enough fire, everything burns."
>>
>>30760850
The AM should ideally be the one with the most knowledge about management by default and also be the one most afraid of them unless they're particularly jaded
>>
>>30760850
Drug use gives a bonus on dealing with the supernatural, but deductions from everything else. The harder the drug, the more severe the bonuses/penalties.
>>
>>30760784
Cont.
>PCs decide to look around for anything useful
>They find a padlocked safe below the counter
>One of them decides to try and pry it open with a crowbar they picked up from the outside
>Succeeds, inside is a silver crucifix
>They both make the connection that it was the crucifix that was keeping the skinwalker at bay
>This wasn't actually so, but I liked the idea so much that I made it so.
>They take the crucifix to the window
>The skinwalker recoils back in fear
>They get some duct tape and tape the symbol to the crowbar
>Head out and begin to bludgeon the fucking thing to death
>The crucifix sears it skins as it makes contact, it desperately tries to retreat into the night but fails
>They kill it
>It releases an ear-piercing screech from hell
>More skinwalkers come up from the distance
>PCs get on the roof to confirm
>"Yep, more of them"
>They're trying to figure out what to do to live
>Bunch of ideas thrown around, like park Geoff's truck in front of the store and block their way into the station
>All of the sudden the letter comes back to them
>"We gotta fucking burn em"
>They get matches, plastic gas containers and pumps ready
>Circle the station with a ring of gasoline
>Set it ablaze as the skinwalkers are within 10 feet
>Fire everywhere
>Skinwalkers burning
>Gas containers thrown into the crowd like molotovs and explode fucking everywhere
>Skinwalkers are repelled
>All is well in the middle of nowhere
>Another letter comes through the back door
>"Well done. This time, the gas is on us. So is a beer."
>Inside is about $80 for them to split half and half.
>>
>>30760676
We already have a more expanded-upon skinwalkers entry. Leave the joke-only one where it is.
>>
File: 1394486474528.pdf-(645 KB, PDF, Creepy Ideas for Tabletop(...).pdf)
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Thought this might be relevant, here's something I found in a PDF share thread. Could give some scenario ideas or something.
>>
>>30760803
Yeah things can be funny and still be on the regular list. You just gotta be careful with it. Like the X-Ray specs could be on the regular item list if they were just really shitty like someone else had suggested before.
>>
>Darklight
>Magic Compass
These are a bit too provable to be included I feel. Things can be weird and useful but only if you can't actually prove that they work to anyone else. Like the Translator, It translates Alien languages to french, but you can't show it to the day shift or anything cause they'd never encounter aliens. See, paranormal but unprovable is the key to more magical or sci-fi items.
>>
>You see a huge storm on the horizon. The weather channel says nothing about it, no customers or passer-bys mention or even acknowledge it. But it's big, it looks dangerous, and it's heading right for the station.

>After the storm hits, the power goes out and a small squad of 1960's era US soldiers walk in, straight out of Vietnam, and take shelter from the storm. The environment outside is of the jungle to them, and normal to the players. Unless stopped, they'll raid the shelves and eat a lot of the food, deducting from your pay that night. Storm ends when they leave or when they're all killed, most likely from VC.

y/n?
>>
>A hooded guy drops a few coins
>They all fall on their side[\spoiler]
>>
>>30761298
I think we're getting too heavy on the "people from different eras show up" thing guys.
>>
>>30760966
Management guy from the last thread. Were the letters green? Doesn't matter. Nice job, dude!
>>
- The station's dirty, graffiti covered bathroom is now staffed by a suave, well-dressed attendant and stocked with all the nice toiletries, colognes and magazines that the highest class washrooms provide. While the man and his supplies are both completely normal, no can remember him being hired or why.

- Advanced Mode: the bathroom itself is no longer the shithole it once was, and is now just as posh and luxurious as the attendant himself. In fact, it is so large and opulent that you are fairly sure that it shouldn't be able to fit inside the station.
>>
>>30761498
Somewhere out there a 5-star restaurant patron is in for a horrible disgusting surprise.
>>
>>30761539
Fucker probably deserves it too.
>>
>>30761574
day shifter on vacation
>>
>>30761498
>the bathroom graffiti is now a spell book of immense power
>>
>>30761438
I believe I said that Managment on the letter was written in green, but the paper itself was green as well.
>>
>>30761594
>Unfortunately, you can't read it or pronounce it.

>>30761589
On a hot date, or so the asshole would have you believe.
>>
>>30760966
I like how this sounds.
How long did it take, and was it fun?
>>
>>30761686
You think your night was weird? I was on this date with this hot girl last night, and let me tell you, the bathroom of the restaurant!
Captcha: was poolakin
>>
>>30761728
The bathroom was akin to a pool? Or was it a poolakin, pool born?
>>
>>30761684
Sweet. I'm not actually really sure where that came from, it just popped into my head.
>>
>>30761711
Each night was about 20-30 minutes give or take, and it was actually pretty fun. I could probably do better preparing the actual crunch for next time, but for a 5 minute job it held up pretty well.
>>
>>30761728
Dude doesn't even recognize that the bathroom of the restaurant looked exactly like the one where he work.
I bet he doesn't even clean the bathroom much less use it, thinks he's to good for it. Fucking asshole
>>
>>30760966
>They get some duct tape and tape the symbol to the crowbar
Reminds me of the Bible NailBat from John Dies At The End.
I love it.
>>
The players are tasked with defrosting and cleaning the inside of the oldest freezer in the Station. Deep inside, they find:

>A frozen caveman
>A glacier mummy
>An icebound Everest climber
>Day Shift Randy
>An evil sword
>Samples if some deadly plague
>An animate snowman begging for you to turn the freezer back on
>>
>>30762097
'effin Randy.
>>
I think we need another list, just because people keep coming up with more ideas.
>>
So the objective is to just survive your shift and do your work tasks right? Not to actually deal with all the supernatural shit. You know unless it's directly interfering with said tasks.
To that end I think the management should be less weird. The only strange thing about them should be that he never actually shows up in person and that he doesn't care about/mention the weird shit. The weird shit should come form the night shift and the gas station itself.
>>
>>30762134
I think I rather like the management not only being mysterious, but also very scary. They don't care that vampires ate your coworkers what they do care about is that you didn't mop up what was left. They should always been in the back of the player's mind to help push them to do their shit instead of just fucking around with the supernatural shit, because they have a good idea of what that werewolf is going to do with them but they don't know what management will do if they've not stocked the slushie machines.
>>
>>30762134
like I said last thread
"Why the Hell is there a hole in the parking lot?"
"We had to blow up a yeti!"
"Whatever. Don't do it again.lol

management doesn't directly acknowledge or deny weird shit, but they don't seem to care
>>
>>30762220
my phone changed " to lol. what the shit
>>
>>30762206
Yeah that's fine and all, make them imposing or whatever. But I think making them send messages in green on green or scrambled videos and making them have magic shit in their office is a bit much. Secret rooms and undiscovered basements appearing out of nowhere and stuff like that is fine though because that has to do with the Gas Stations itself. Like I said, the anomalies should be related to the night shift and the Gas Station themselves not the management.
>>
>>30762241
>my phone changed " to lol
Maybe you're a faggot, anon. Face and confront your problems head-on.
>>
>>30762220
>>30762241
>Management is 14 year old girls

Oh god no.

What kind of tasks should PCs be given? I think they should get like 4 randomly assigned ones per shift. Maybe.

Oh and about Management:
Since Management only cares about the job getting done, should they only see the after effects of whatever shit went down during the night?
Like the bathroom is wrecked. They don't care that it was Satan's personal taco shop all night. They care that it's disgusting and smells like brimstone.
>>
>>30762374
Management sees all. But they do care that it smells like brimstone. They just don't give a crap about how it got that way.
>>
Good to see this is starting to be salvaged from the mess it became for a while there.
>>
>>30762483
You're telling me. I damn near locked down the google doc.
>>
>>30762371
>>>/b/
we are having a nice thread here
>>
>You get a call from a Day Staffer asking why the freezer is smashed and he's pissed he had to clean it up. You look over to the freezer and it's perfectly fine.
>Later, an unconnected event causes the freezer to smash and you don't have time to take care of it. The next night, you receive an identical phone call.
>>
>>30762643
I think you could get rid of getting a new phone call.

Seriously, we somewhere to put new events.
>>
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Whilst stocking up the freezers (I assume this is one of those gas stations that is also like a mini-supermarket), you find an old man frozen solid inside one.
>>
>>30745096
It's probably already been said, but I think this premise would make for a kickass Twilight Zone style tv series
>>
>>30761300
>that spoiler
O.o

Mundane things being slgihtly off is probably the creepiest thing you could do. Things like the till being empty at the start of the shift, yet every single customer you get paying exactly, with cash and coins, almost like they knew beforehand exactly what they would need to pay...
>>
Aaaaalrighty. I'm still working on the rules here.

I decided to go with a hack of the *World system, because I'm hoping it will be rules-light enough to handle the weirdness, and it has a kind of resource-management built in with things like Holds and Ongoing and such. It also enforces thinking about the consequences of an action.

Here's what I have so far.

Cashier - Paycheck 2
- When you [talk with someone who wants something] you may expend an Effort to ask another question. You may use this even if you rolled a 6 or less.
Stock Clerk - Paycheck 1
- When you [look for something that might be in the gas station] you may expend an Effort to treat any roll of 6 or less as though it were 7-9.
Gas Attendant - Paycheck 2
- When you try to [discern why the thing isn’t working the way it should] you may expend an Effort to gain 1 hold.
Assistant Manager - Paycheck 3
- When you [help an employee with something difficult] you may spend an Effort to re-roll your dice and take the higher result.

In addition, I made custom Moves for each of the Jobs. Anyone can use these Moves, but as will become apparent people are better at the Move related to their Job. These are all first draft, so I haven't quite balanced them yet.

“Customer Service”
When you [talk with someone who wants something] roll+Cha
10+, Ask three from the list below;
7-9, Ask one from the list below, or two and choose one; they do not get angry at you, they do not expect it unreasonably.
6 or less, They are unclear. Ask nothing and hope they don’t call Management.
- What do they want?
- Why do they want it?
- How can I help them?
- Who are they really?

“Let Me Check”
When you [look for something that might be in the gas station] roll+Wis
10+, Choose 3;
7-9, Choose 2;
6 or less, Choose 1
- There are enough, or are whole
- They are not broken/they work as intended
- They are similar, but not exactly what you looked for

>Cont
>>
>>30761300
>>30762725
I know this was a joke, but I was thinking about it and it could develop into something serious and creepy

A man drops his coins, and you notice that quite a few of them roll to a certain spot on the floor. at first it seems like no big deal, but it keeps happening and with greater frequency. pretty soon you're finding tin cans rolling to that spot, and other pieces of metal slowly inching their way towards it. the magnetic anomaly beneath the tiles seems annoying yet benign, and you start having to secure metal objects with string or duct tape, trying to carry on normally and not let your customers know. but then the tiles on the floor start dipping down, and caving inward...
>>
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A skeleton pops out of the freezer one night.
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>>30762728
Awesome. I might suggest changing "who are they really" to something more vague. Mystery and all that. Can't have the GM say "skinwalker" out right.
>>
>>30762728

“Well That Ain’t Right”
When you [discern what isn’t working the way it should] roll+Int
10+, Hold 3; you may spend these holds 1 for 1 below
7-9, Hold 2
6 or less, Good luck and godspeed
Holds may be spent 1 for 1 on the following;
- You know what is wrong with it
- You know what you need to fix it
- You know know what to do to fix it
- It won’t be that hard to fix
- You know what caused it to need fixing

“Lemme Lend A Hand”
When you [help an employee with something difficult] roll+whatever Attribute their check demands.
10+, They receive +1 to their check
7-9, They receive +1 to their check and choose one;
- Costly. One of you takes -1 Paycheck at the end of the shift. (If no agreement is reached on who, Assistant Manager decides)
- Stressful. Both take -1 forward
- Reprimand. Take -1 Management at the end of the shift.

Chargen will also involve choosing two Backgrounds. Together they give you how much Effort you gain at the beginning of a new shift, as well as some passive perks. Some examples/ideas;

Stoner - If you have smoked weed today, when you [try to keep your cool] you may add +1 to the roll. Effort 1
College Kid - You have a car. It's probably really shitty. -1 Paycheck every session for the payments. Effort 4.
Local - Anyone who comes in and is also a local, you know. Effort 2.
Paranoid - When you [need something really bad] roll, on a 10+ you have something useful and dangerous, 7-9, you have something useful and dangerous, and Day Shift tattles later. -1 Management. 6 or less, Shit outa luck, pal.

So. Yeah. That's so far.
>>
>>30762859

Good point. I'll change it to 'are they who they seem?' That will be useful for sussing out the regular weirdos from the supernatural ones.
>>
>Whilst checking the stock room, you discover a large crate/box you do not remember being there before. The box is roughly the size of a coffin and marked with a single label reading 'not for resale'
>>
>>3076272
>>30762880

>“Customer Service”
>When you [talk with someone who wants something] roll+Cha
>10+, Ask three from the list below;
>7-9, Ask one from the list below, or two and choose one; they do not get angry at you, they do not expect it unreasonably.
>6 or less, They are unclear. Ask nothing and hope they don’t call Management.
>- What do they want?
>- Why do they want it?
>- How can I help them?
>- Who are they really?

That part doesn't fit.
I don't see why we need specific questions., leave that part to the player.
In fact why do we even need those rules at all ? Just make it a charisma check to see if they answer the question.

In fact, why do we even need those rules at all ?
Why can't stat be directly attributed to specific tasks, cutting the middle man and making the system lighter ?
>>
>>30762849
This is so silly i would use it. Skellington invasion.
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>>30762997
That's how PBtA games like Dungeon/Apocalypse World work, you get a list of questions and you can pick a number of them based on how succesful your roll was.
>>
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>>30762917
Good idea.

You're the best. I love *World games, and to think this could actually turn into something is awesome.

Keep going, bro.
>>
Lads and Lassies, it looks like the thread has hit Autosage. Do we have enough guys and enough brains for a third Night Shift thread?
>>
>>30763132

Always. Besides, we need to keep the links to the doc and archives somewhere.
>>
>>30762997
meet>>30763039

I took the idea directly from the 'Discern Realities' in Dungeon World.

>>30763082
Thanks mang. Will do.

“Glad That’s Over”
When you [resolve a Weird Threat to the gas station] roll+Weird
10+, Subtract 2 Weird
7-9, Subtract 1 Weird
6 or less, Weird remains unchanged

“I Hate This Job”
When you [start a new shift at the gas station] roll+Weird for one of the Threats
10+, A Portent activates, roll again
7-9, A Portent activates, roll for the next Threat
6 or less, You might be ok. Roll for the next Threat.

The first one works as a kind of cap on Weird, and should keep things interesting for the players.

The second one just means that Weird will snowball if things aren't taken care of. Gotta keep the gas station in order. Don't want Management to get upset.
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>>30763132
Make it so.
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>>30762997

Also keep in mind that, like any *World game the dice aren't used in routine conversations and situations.

Customer Service isn't really about Customer Service. It's about the kind of customer whose eyes are actually mouths, or who is asking if you have any soft drinks that taste of ember and ash.
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>>30763166
If this becomes A Thing, we should see about getting it on the wiki,
>>
Diggin' these mechanics muh niggas. Keep 'em coming.
>>
>>30763437

New
>>
Is anyone able to start a new thread in my stead? I really want to do it but am not in a good position right now to compile what we have and write a whole new post.

Sorry!
>>
>>30763615
see
>>30763573


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