Midnight Market/Mechanics
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.
