GM's Introduction to Silent Night

A GURPS/Snowcrash Adventure
By Joshua Levy  <joshualevy@geocities.com>

<Intro Paragraph>

I strongly recommend playing this for laughs.  The supply scene (for example) is something right out of Paranoia's R&D Department!

Introduction Scene

The main purpose of this scene is to introduce the patron.  You can use any patron appropriate
to your world.  I use the following patron, appropriate to mine:

Tony Torres, retired trailer home salesman.
<description>
ST   DX   IQ   HT
Speed Move
Advantages:
Disadvantages:
Quirks:
Skills:
<full description>

(Note: the idea for Tony comes from Carl Hiassen's book STORMY WEATHER.)

 

The Supply Scene

 Give the characters 4-9 of the following things: A more complete description of these things is given in the supply.tbl TableMaster(tm) table.

Turning Them Loose

 Alright, so now the characters are fitted out, it is time for them to earn their money.  I generally let them choose their own targets and methods, but some common ones are listed below.  The Patron, the truck driver, friends (at a bar), or net-research could suggest these.

Sample 1: Mall Central System.

Tired of listening to christmas music as you walk from store to store?  Get the mall's central music system!

This is probably a semi-automated system, composed of either an 18 inch satellite dish or an internet connection, and a wire down to some electronics in the back of the mall management office.  There will be a (rarely used) microphone there, and may be a DAT tape player.  The management office will be a couple of offices and a couple of cubes in an out of the way part of the mall.  The security station will be elsewhere, in a more visible part of the mall.

This office will contain four groups of people, generally with 1-3 people in each group, depending on the size of the mall:

The Mall Manager(s). Generally one person, although in larger malls, might have an assistent.

Mall Marketing. This group is in charge of making sure that there are lots of people in the mall.

Mall Sales.  This group is in charge of making sure that the mall's space is fully rented out.

Sample 2: Music Store (stand alone, big)

 

Sample 3: Music Store (in mall)

 

Sample 4: Radio Station

A radio station might be targeted because it is having an "all christmas music" day, or because it has regularly scheduled christmas music hours (in which case the hit had better come during that hour).
 
 

Sample 5: Syndication Office

Somebody has to package up all that christmas music into easy to broadcast hours.  That is the business of the syndicator.  This company supplies radio stations, malls, and individual stores with christmas "muzak" by the hour.   As luck would have it, one of these guys specializes in christmas
music.  At the GM's option there will either be a sales office or the head quarters located near by.
Or maybe one of each (in opposite directions).  The christmas music syndicators office would
make the ideal target for the group, so don't give up it's existance for free.  Make the characters
research to find it.

The sales office ...

The head quaters ...
 

Claiming Credit

Although their patron will insist that they claim credit for each hit, weaselly charactors may
try to wiggle out of this requirement by notifying minor media outlets, or potentially sympathetic
ones (like United Atheists, for example).  Conversely. gutsy characters may notify media
controlled by the Christen religious right, which will get them more limelight, and also more
backlash (see below).

A sample TableMaster(tm) table of complications to through at the characters as they attempt
to claim credit for a hit is in bl-cred.tbl. The less lucky the characters are, the more likely the
GM is to roll on this table.  Also, the more planning the characters do, the less likely the GM is
to roll on this table; unless the planning is really bad.

Reactions

As GM, you should keep track of how much media exposure the characters get.  If they get
a lot, their patron may try to contact them to congradulate them, or just to gloat.  If they get
a little media exposure, and are unlucky, they you can choose or roll on the following chart
to create a "backlash".  If they get a lot of media exposure, then they'll get a backlash no
matter how lucky they are.  Maybe more than one.

A TableMaster(tm)  table of possible reactions is in reaction.tbl.

Ending The Adventure

Measuring Success

Game masters can measure success in this adventure by considering the following factors:
1. Were any of the characters caught?
2. Were any of the characters maimed or hurt?
3. How much media coverage do they get?
4. How much actual silence do they create?  How much Christmas music is destoryed?