World events
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Things are always happening in each part of the Mazes. When things are not business as usual, it means a world event is probably taking place.
World events are separated into two categories: Civilized Area events and Uncivilized Area events.
Rolling events
World events are a tool the GM can use to change or alter the way the world works around the player characters. The Tsuchinoko commands &event-ca and &event-ua can be used to roll events in the Civilized Area and the UA, respectively. These rolls are best kept hidden from the players so the GM can tweak them or introduce them in narration as needed. Below is a list of the events and their intended effects.
Civilized Area events
CA events are intended to be used in any town or intersection. It is generally recommended to roll the next CA event just before players enter the next location.
There is a total of 20 CA events and 12 "business as usual" event lines, the latter of which means that no particular event is happening. There is approximately a 62.5% chance to roll an event (and therefore, 37.5% to roll business as usual).
Event name | Flavor description | Intended effect |
---|---|---|
*Business as usual | It's life as usual in the Mazes, as dangerous as it usually is. | None. |
Toll gate | TownSec / InterSec is currently imposing entrance fees for all non-residents. | You must pay a tax (100 to 1000 P$) at the town gate or intersection entrance to enter, unless you can prove you are a resident. If you can't or won't, you will be turned away or escorted out. |
Identity checks | TownSec / InterSec conducts random identity checks on passers-by. | TownSec / InterSec guards will ask for a full identity check (name, age, species, occupation, affiliation) and a justification for your presence. They have full authority to conduct arrests on suspicious individuals. |
Weapons control ordinance | On orders of the Town Mayor or Intersection Overseer, non-residents may not bring weapons on their persons into the town or intersection. | TownSec / InterSec guards will require you to surrender all weapons they can see on your person before letting you in, unless you can prove you are a resident. If you do, you can only retrieve them on your way out. If you can't or won't, you will be turned away or escorted out. |
Drug control ordinance | On orders of the Town Mayor or Intersection Overseer, the possession, use, and trade of addictive meds and magic mushrooms is unlawful. | Addictive meds and magic mushrooms cannot be bought or sold in town. TownSec / InterSec guards have the authority to search anyone for substances and can perform confiscations and arrests for possession. |
Dry town | The town/intersection is currently experiencing severe shortages of alcoholic substances. | All facilities that can sell alcohol have little to no stock and charge 3x their normal price for what little they have. Local hiring bureaus may be desperately looking for couriers to run two-way jobs and trading missions for alcohol deliveries. |
Waterworks failure | The local water supply is contaminated or nonfunctional for one reason or another. Clean drinking water has become a precious resource. | Water is turned off in all toilets and showers, bottled water costs 5x more. Local hiring bureaus may be looking for help delivering water to the town or fixing the water supply. |
Under attack! | A wave of dangerous creatures or individuals broke past the Town Gate or one of the exits and is roaming the main streets. | A group of hostile creatures/raiders/faction members/etc. (as appropriate for the area and faction control) is around. Traveling through the main streets means a risk of encountering them. |
General shortages | Virtually every shop or outlet with things to sell is low on everything. Shoppers beware. | All shops have low stock, all items cost 2x, but shops also pay double the normal rate to buy back items. |
Low power | Electricity is rationed. Emergency lighting is on as a result. | In towns, generator facilities pay 2x for Serpentium and may be looking for help with repairs. Intersections receive their power from nearby towns, meaning the local Overseer may need help finding or fixing the issue (could be in the intersection, the UA, or a nearby town being low on Serpentium) |
Inventory day | Most shops are currently closed for one reason or another, usually reorganizing stock. | In towns, all shop hub outlets plus the meds shop in the hospital are closed. In intersections, all individual shops (deli, workshop, forge, gun shop, weapon shop) are closed. |
Band in town | A musical act (&band) is in town at the Social Square or Intersection Center. | Watching a band perform is equivalent to listening to the radio, but with doubled effectiveness. Roll to heal Stress as if listening to the radio, then double the result, this is the Stress healed. Enjoying the music is free, but donations are encouraged. |
Movie showing | One of the local bars has turned their sitting area into a theater and is organizing a &movie display. | Pay 25 P$ in a bar to get a seat. Popcorn (plain and caramel coated) is also available for sale. Watching a movie is equivalent to watching the television, but with doubled effectiveness. Roll to heal Stress as if listening to the radio, then double the result, this is the Stress healed. |
Food surplus | Either due to favorable trades or overproduction, local food stocks are high, and prices are low. | Stocks of all food and drink at facilities that sell them are high, including bars and restaurants. These items are sold for 30% off, but bought back for half their normal rate at shops that buy food items back. |
Ammo firesale | All outlets with ammunition for sale are sitting on large piles of unsold ammo. It's a firesale, come get some! | Stocks of ammunition at all facilities that sell them are high. Ammo is available for 50% off, but bought back at half their normal rate. |
Book fair event | The local library is hosting a book fair event to invite locals and travelers to trade books and data storage devices. | Entering the library is free and libraries buy books at higher rates (all titles considered in high demand for the day). Libraries will also buy incomplete sets of data, but at a reduced rate proportional to the amounts you do have. |
City works | One or multiple facilities are being rebuilt, repaired, upgraded, or otherwise fixed for one reason or another. | Large numbers of Engineering Corps personnel are in town (Power and Water Crew, The Bees, etc.). Workshops have low stock and all items for sale cost 2x as their supplies are being depleted to prioritize the works. |
Streets of Rage | A group of locals are drunk, rowdy, angry, looking for a fight, or all of that at once! | Belligerent locals may pick a fight with you at any moment. They will taunt and goad you, but only want a scrap or money. Beware if you fight back, though, local TownSec / InterSec is looking for excuses to put people in prison! |
Eighteen karat run of bad luck | For some reason, this town or intersection has trouble recruiting people for the simplest jobs, and locals are avoiding most jobs actively. | Base delivery reward 2x for all Postal and Courier jobs, but all Postal and Courier jobs start with a +20 Heat malus. |
Winds of Fate | Something big is going on and you're caught in it. | One of the jobs at the Hiring Bureau pays much more than usual and the GM's task is to heavily entice them to take it. If they do, keep this SECRET from the player: Heat is set to 400 (regardless of the job's actual Heat) and the opposing force is a random MAJOR FACTION (roll 1d6: 1 - Military, 2 - Youkai, 3 - Police, 4 - Syndicate, 5 - Angelic, 6 - Demonic). If Heat isn't depleted, it is saved for all future jobs and the opposing faction remains the same until Heat falls to 0. GM is free to interpret the implications of their involvement. |
Total lockdown! | No entry or exit allowed, no matter what! | In towns, TownSec at the Town Gate refuses all individuals coming in and exiting is not allowed. In intersections, InterSec blockaded the streets and all establishments are boarded up, funneling visitors to the doors instead. Trying to break in will render TownSec / InterSec hostile. Completing deliveries or jobs requiring entry into while a lockdown is ongoing isn't possible. |
Uncivilized Area events
UA events are best rolled immediately after players decide their UA route and before entering the first room of the trip.
There is a total of 20 UA events and 12 "business as usual" event lines. The chances to roll an event vs. business as usual are 62.5% vs. 37.5%, respectively.
Event name | Flavor description | Intended effect |
---|---|---|
*Business as usual | It's life as usual in this town or intersection. | None. |
Brownouts | The road is not receiving enough electricity from surrounding towns, so UA rooms and furniture may malfunction. | Furniture in all rooms is non-functional regardless of the roomstyle's decay level. Lights appear dimmer outside of Blackout rooms (but not enough to affect visibility badly) |
Miasma | The mold in the overgrown rooms is emitting dangerous gases. | Every Overgrown room is filled with clouds of miasma (toxic air) on all Sides. Like most other gas clouds, a gas mask can be used to resist them. |
Mushroom overgrowth | The usual mushroom spots are much bigger than usual. | Double mushroom quantity in all mushroom bundles generated by an Overgrown or Blackout room. |
Military patrol | The current UA route has been chosen by the Maze Military for a regular patrol. Beware, they're not here to play around! |
All creature encounters on this path are unfriendly Military units (hostile, but won't necessarily initiate fights). They can be either Regular Forces or Phantom Forces units (GM choice). If Heat is active, the Maze Military replaces the active ACE faction. If Winds of Fate is active, do not apply this effect. |
Nation raid | The current UA route is being raided by Youkai Nation activists. Don't mess with 'em! |
All creature encounters on this path are unfriendly Youkai Nation units (hostile, but won't necessarily initiate fights). If Heat is active, the Youkai Nation replaces the active ACE faction. If Winds of Fate is active, do not apply this effect. |
Police crackdown | The current UA route is being patrolled by the Police to root out lowlives and criminals. They won't be nice about it! |
All creature encounters on this path are unfriendly Maze Police units (prone to arresting/beating first, asking questions later). If Heat is active, the Maze Police replaces the active ACE faction. If Winds of Fate is active, do not apply this effect. |
Syndicate takeover | The current UA route is where Syndicate enforcers are roaming around. Fuggedaboutit! | All creature encounters on this path are unfriendly Yatela Syndicate units (hostile and likely to hold people up for their stuff). If Heat is active, the Syndicate replaces the active ACE faction. If Winds of Fate is active, do not apply this effect. |
Blessed path | Looking for a friend? Heaven is here. | A random Angelic creature will appear in the first room of the trip and will offer their protection. |
Path of vices | Need company? Hell's got you covered. | A random Demonic creature will appear in the first room of the trip and will offer their protection. |
Big Bill's Hell's Guns | Fuck you, Neo Khazrun! | A door to an ephemeral weapon shop may appear on the trip. This shop sells ALL retail weapon classes but accepts CASH ONLY (no credit, no paying from bank account). |
Bartertown | We got what you need, you just gotta trade for it. | A door to an ephemeral convenience store may appear on the trip. This convenience store does not deal in cash or bank transfers at all, only bartering is accepted. When "selling" items, their full (purchase) value is used to calculate their worth. Bartertowns may, at their discretion, use loose ammunition as change (standard FMJ). |
Underground engies | Have you ever found yourself needing more gun at an inconvenient time? | A door to an ephemeral engineering workshop may appear on the trip. This workshop offers all of the services you'd expect, but only accept cash (no credit, no bank transfers). They also sell access to a shortcut through the maintenance tunnels. For 200 P$ cash, you can get a Shortcut -8 that leads you to an empty room, if not your destination. |
Samudare (SMDR) | SAfeties on, MUsic loud, DAnce it off... and REpeat. The most sacred of all raider traditions. | One room on the trip may host an SMDR party: a boombox, a campfire, drinks, substances, loud music, and lots of transcendental dancing. Join in or pass by peacefully. If you're violent, the whole group will run immediately. If you join in, a day period will pass. Roll to heal Stress as if listening to the radio, then quadruple the result. (First-timers may experience euphoria and tears of joy.) |
High-risk route | Threatening creatures have moved onto the current route... | If the current route is Safe or Fast, it is treated as Deep (the trip length does not change, use &event-deep). If the current route is Deep, the trip length is increased by 5 rooms. |
Low-risk route | It is safer than usual on this route. Take it easy... | If the current route is Deep or Fast, it is treated as Safe (the trip length does not change, use &event-safe). If the current route is Safe, the trip length is increased by 5 rooms. |
Rumors of a Big Iron | Someone sighted a unique weapon on this route. It may or may not be on someone's hip... | A &customs-minor in perfect condition may appear on this route, either as an enemy's weapon or as loot. |
Refrigerant leak | A refrigerant line behind the walls has failed somewhere along the way. Expect some chills. | Starting from the 5th room into the route, all subsequent rooms cause a room-wide Frost-slowed effect that only goes away upon leaving the UA. |
Burst pipe | A water main, sewage line, or some other reservoir burst and flooded most rooms along the way. Expect to get wet. | Starting from the 5th room into the route, all subsequent rooms have foot- to knee-deep water, causing a room-wide Water-soaked effect. Players should be advised to use a bath towel to dry off AFTER leaving the UA as there is no point using one when you're still knee-deep in it |
Magus cove | The local magicians have gathered on this route to offer their services. | A door to a unique individual shop - a magus cove - may appear on the trip. This shop has two magus magician traders. One functions like a clothing store, the other like a street kitchen. The latter is guaranteed to have at least one of every magic mushroom they normally sell. |
Dive bar | It's a bar... but in the UA. | A door to a bar may appear on the trip. It accepts cash only and sells all of the drinks and cocktails bars normally sell. As is typical of a dive bar, all the drinks are cheap (50% their normal price). |
Tips for Game Masters |
While new events can always be added to the bot directly, GMs are encouraged to modify, tweak, or come up with their own events as well, as needed for each campaigns. Use the fact world event rolls are meant to be hidden to your advantage! |