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| Summary
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The Midnight Market is a secret, black-market bazaar that pops up in various hidden locations throughout the city. Known only to the right circles, the market is the place to go for rare, illegal, or difficult-to-acquire goods and services. From arcane relics to human trafficking, hitmen for hire, or forbidden knowledge, if it can be bought, sold, or traded, you can find it at the Midnight Market.
Only open for three hours each time, the market attracts a diverse clientele of criminal kingpins, underground movers and shakers, and shadowy supernatural entities. The temporary and transient nature of the event makes it unpredictable, and the stakes are always high. Players attending the market must navigate dangerous deals, avoid being swindled, and, if possible, come out with something that gives them an edge in their pursuits.
Themes
- Dangerous Deals: Every transaction carries the risk of betrayal, loss, or retaliation. Players must be cautious about who they trust and what they buy.
- Power Through Commerce: The Midnight Market isn't just about what you buy, but who you know. Networking and forming alliances are as valuable as the goods on display.
- Time Pressure: The market only lasts for a short time, adding urgency to every decision. Players must choose wisely where to spend their time and resources.
The Riddle of the Road
This riddle gives just enough mystery and atmosphere for those "in the know" to navigate the Midnight Market’s elusive, ever-shifting location.
To find the place where shadows trade,
You’ll need no map, no guide, no aid,
But walk the road where light grows thin,
And follow where the night begins.
At the witching hour, when whispers call,
Behind the veil, beyond the wall,
Seek not the stars, but glance below,
Where secrets stir, and shadows flow.
No door will show, no sign will gleam,
Yet pathways twist beyond the stream,
Step where silence meets the stone,
The Market waits for those who've known.
So heed the words, and trust your feet,
The Market hides on every street,
But only those who know the rhyme,
Will find the place, and beat the time.
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Mechanics
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The Midnight Market serves less as a structured game and more as a roleplay-driven background event. It provides players with a reason to explain how they acquired certain materials, connections, or abilities in-game. Think of it as a tool for developing backstory or explaining how characters improved their resources, influence, or even how they gained access to specialized items or services.
Atmosphere
The market is always a fleeting, temporary event, only open for a few hours during the night (from the Hour of the Witch to the Hour of the Jackal, roughly from midnight to 3 AM). It’s held in secret locations—on top of a parking garage, under a bridge, or in the basement of an abandoned building—adding to its mystique. Despite being a marketplace, it’s not just about commerce; it’s a nexus of networking opportunities and deals brokered in whispers.
Goals
- Network: Forge alliances, gain access to new contacts or resources.
- Acquire Goods: Buy or trade for rare or illegal items.
- Arrange Services: Hire specialists, whether it's assassins, information brokers, or bodyguards.
- Gather Forbidden Knowledge: Seek out mystical tomes, occult relics, or forbidden secrets.
- Gain Influence: Use the market to leverage deals that improve influence in politics, the underworld, or society at large.
Examples
- Need a place for your character to buy illegal goods or black-market items but can’t find a specific IC contact? The Midnight Market.
- Need a location for your character to quietly meet a dangerous contact the night before? The Midnight Market.
- Want to hire someone for an illicit or morally questionable job but don’t know where to look IC? The Midnight Market.
- Need a place to secure arcane relics, supernatural favors, or forbidden knowledge? The Midnight Market.
- Want to secretly broker a deal or arrange a discreet hit on someone IC? The Midnight Market.
- Need an explanation for how your character gained rare resources, influence, or contacts in the underworld? The Midnight Market.
- Looking to explain how your character met a shadowy figure or made a connection with another player off-screen? The Midnight Market.
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| Information
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| Plot:
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Midnight Market
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| Risk:
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Level 0
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| Storyteller:
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Gaunt
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| Spheres:
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Streetwise, Criminal, Underworld, Black Market
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| Timeframe:
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Initial
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| Status:
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IN DEVELOPMENT
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| RP Hooks
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- Underworld: The Midnight Market is the place to make deals that would be impossible in the daylight. For criminals, smugglers, and those with connections to the dark underbelly of the city, this is the perfect opportunity to build power and expand influence.
- Politics: Many high-ranking officials may send agents to the market to acquire sensitive information, illegal goods, or resources for their own agendas. This is a rare chance to manipulate the flow of power in the city.
- Influence & Power: For those seeking to expand their influence, the market offers access to goods and services that can shift the balance of power. Buying up rare items or cutting deals with key figures can be a game-changer.
- Mysticism & Arcane: For occultists and those steeped in magic, the market is a treasure trove of rare ingredients, ancient relics, and forbidden knowledge. Each item could potentially open doors to new rituals or powerful arcane forces.
Player Hooks
- Enchanters: What better venue to sell some of those trinkets that you've been working on?
- Alchemists: You got potions? We got buyers.
- Occultists: "Seek knowledge too dangerous for the libraries or artifacts whispered about only in secret circles—this is where dark power is traded."
- Thieves: "The Midnight Market is the ultimate playground for a thief—find buyers for stolen goods, or network with the underworld's finest to plan your next heist."
- Brokers: "At the Midnight Market, fortunes are made with a handshake; connect the right buyer with the right seller, and your cut might just buy your way out of the shadows."
- Dealers: "Whether you're peddling drugs, weapons, or information, the Midnight Market is the best place to find customers willing to pay top price for what you're selling."
- Buyers: "From the forbidden to the one-of-a-kind, if it exists, you can buy it here—just make sure you can afford the price, both monetary and moral."
- Mercenaries: "If you're looking for work, the Midnight Market is where contracts are signed in blood—hitmen, bodyguards, or muscle-for-hire always find the right employer here."
- Fixers: "Need a problem solved quietly, quickly, and off the books? The Midnight Market has the connections to make anything disappear."
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| Application
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Interested parties should @mail Gaunt with the following information:
- Interest: Why are you jumping into this plot? What's your motive. Boredom doesn't count. What do you hope to find at the Midnight Market?
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Merchants
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The Antiquarian
- Appearance: A tall, statuesque woman in her mid-40s, with sleek black hair pinned in an elaborate bun. Her eyes are sharp, and her hands are always adorned with silver rings. She dresses in a velvet cloak that shimmers slightly in the low light, lending an air of old-world elegance to her presence.
- Specialty: Rare arcane relics, cursed objects, and ancient manuscripts.
- Hook: Valeria speaks in cryptic riddles, never selling her goods without first making the buyer solve a puzzle or pass a test of wit. Those who fail might find themselves paying with more than gold.
The Information Dealer
- Appearance: She is a petite woman in her early 30s, always wearing dark glasses and a heavy scarf wrapped around her neck and shoulders. She seems to blend into the shadows of the Market, and her movements are almost too silent to be natural.
- Specialty: Forbidden knowledge, blackmail material, and high-level secrets.
- Hook: Nia doesn’t deal in items but in secrets. To buy from her, you must trade a piece of your own personal history or knowledge—often something you don’t want known. She keeps what you trade to sell it to others later.
The Smuggler
- Appearance: A scruffy man in his early 40s, with greasy hair, worn-out clothes, and a constant twitch. He’s always glancing over his shoulder, giving the impression that he’s up to no good. His grin is missing a few teeth, and he speaks with a thick, gravelly voice.
- Specialty: Weapons, contraband, and rare goods smuggled in from distant lands.
- Hook: Rat’s goods come with no questions asked, but he’s notorious for setting up buyers with future blackmail. If you buy from him, expect a favor in return down the line—or worse, you might find your dealings sold to someone else.
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