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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 at night and only in the same location until the next turning of the moon, 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.
Intent
The Midnight Market serves as a secret, neutral ground for all Mortal + (Sorcerers, Psychics, & Mediums), Traditional Mages and those Bygones who are affiliated with the Traditions characters, offering a place where supernatural abilities are subtly understood but never openly discussed. The intent of the Market is to provide a common space where these individuals—those who have touched upon the supernatural can gather without fear of revealing deeper affiliations. Whether you’re a sorcerer, psychic, hedge wizard, awakened traditional mage, etc., the Midnight Market is designed for you to explore your potential without the pressures of belonging to a specific supernatural society, like the Garou, Mages, or Vampires.
This bazaar is a place to trade knowledge, acquire rare goods, and network among peers. It emphasizes the mortal side of the character, catering to their need for growth, secrecy, and personal power. Here, alliances are formed based on individual merit, without the shadow of larger organizations looming over transactions. The Market operates on discretion—no one will ask who you are or what faction you belong to. It is understood that those who come to the Market seek to enhance their mortal lives or abilities without stepping into the dangerous politics of the supernatural world.
Above all, the Midnight Market is a space where those touched by the extraordinary can come together in relative safety, sharing in the strange and powerful without the risk of full exposure.
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. So if you don't or can't think of an IC connection that would draw you to the Market directly, perhaps you've heard of this riddle, learned fragments among the various mystical / magical shops / communities you belong to and overtime piece it together to discover how to find it's location. Fragments of the Riddle could be found at local witchmarts, paganwares, bookshops, libraries, etc.
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.
Rolls
Brand new to Sorcerer / Psy? A mage that's curious about the market? If you can't think of an IC reason how you would even have heard about the Market or how to get to it, consult the information below:
Intelligence + Investigation
This roll focuses on gathering practical clues, context, and piecing together specific information sources the character has encountered. Intelligence + Investigation could help gather practical leads—such as rumors, local histories, or sightings. Investigation tells you WHAT the Market is.
Fragment Locations: They’d likely know about or have collected scraps of the riddle, overheard in occult shops, mystical libraries, and at gatherings where magic-users share lore. Each fragment seems intentionally scattered, likely a way to weed out the uncommitted. The character recognizes that the riddle likely has roots in lore surrounding an underground gathering or market. They've heard whispers that somewhere within the city , at an unpredictable location, there’s a “market” where those with magical knowledge and wares gather. The “witching hour” reference likely points to a specific late-night window when entry is possible. This Market moves around, however, staying at one location only for one turning of the moon.
Riddle Themes: By analyzing the rhyme and wording, they’d conclude that the Market’s entry is tied to times and locations where the boundaries between the everyday and the mystical thin. Notable locations include places associated with superstition or history—older parts of the city, forgotten alleys, bridges, or places rumored to have ties to the supernatural.
Physical Clues: Each stanza seems to hold a practical clue, hinting at an intuitive pathway rather than a concrete location. The phrase “step where silence meets the stone” implies it might appear in quiet, secluded urban areas. They’d surmise that looking for environmental signs like a sudden hush or an inexplicable feeling of stepping through a veil would be crucial.
Intelligence + Enigmas
This roll allows the character to analyze the riddle’s deeper symbolism and hidden meanings, interpreting it as a coded set of instructions.
Intelligence + Enigmas would likely be more useful in directly finding the Market’s entrance based on the riddle. Enigmas tells you WHERE the market can be found.
They recognize symbolic elements in the riddle, such as “the road where light grows thin” symbolizing dusk, alleys, or the edges of the city, and “where the night begins” referring to places untouched by modern lighting, like older parts of town. They realize it’s less about following physical directions and more about intuition.
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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.
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
Details
- RP'ing here could be a reason to buy up Influence, or add a new Contact, or even Allies. But nothing is free.
- Magic items - again - unless there is a plot and someone oocly creates a magic item - they get nothing. It cannot just be purchased. You can broker a deal with another PC that is a crafter, but unless there is a specific plot that is pre-approved by staff /and/ someone oocly creates it with their own stats (does not have to be the person getting it or even running the plot - this is to see how luck favors the strength of some types of items), then they do not get a special magic item.
- This could be a place to be able to purchase books that then can be reflected in the Library (or Occult Library) Background as well.
- Mundane items, like a real life book that does not have inherit magic properties is possible to pick up. Illegal weapons - that most likely can be a reason to submit a +equip request.
- Trading of Lores is up to the PCs to teach each other - this will not be a way to get any Lore for free. Of course, this could end up with some Risk involved, especially if Vampires find out the masq was broken about them, or the Shifters if they find out the Veil was broken about them.
- Any other item that would be illegal that is not magical is probably fair game - but ask if there is any question.
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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Merchants
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The Alchemist
- Appearance: A middle-aged man of possible Persian ancestry with a rugged, yet charismatic presence. His long, wavy auburn hair is often pulled back into a loose ponytail, while his beard is trimmed but not overly groomed. He wears a tailored black waistcoat over a crisp white shirt, the sleeves rolled up to reveal intricate tattoos that swirl around his forearms—each symbol representing a significant event or spell in his life.
- Specialty: Rare brews, powerful elixirs and the occasional tonic
- Hook: Rashid has a penchant for storytelling, and he often weaves a tale about each potion he sells, revealing the lore and history behind its ingredients. However, his stories are known to carry a hidden warning; those who don’t heed his advice on how to use them properly may find their effects unpredictable. Customers must also share a story of their own to earn his trust before he will sell them anything.
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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| Information
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| Location:
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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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Tyler
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| Spheres:
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Sor/Psy, Tradition Mages, Tradition-Affiliated Bygones
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| Access:
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+hangouts/jump Midnight Market
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| Status:
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BETA TESTING (See Updates)
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Each month the Market's entrance will be moved to another alley access (or something) somewhere on the grid with the +hangout jump also updated (everyone say thank you to Sassycat) so that we can maintain the idea that the Market moves around frequently. I'll adjust the description accordingly.
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Updates (OOC)
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October 20, 2024
Hey folks. We've been green-lit to link the Midnight Market to the grid and have it set as a +hangout for Mortal+ folks. The entrance is locked to Mortal+ characters. Any questions / problems should be sent to Tyler and/or Staff.
October 29, 2024
To expand the potential RP-Pool of characters, The Midnight Market's +hangout list has been expanded to include Sorcerers / Psychics, Tradition Mages and Tradition-affiliated (friendly) Bygones. So the +hangout is now listed as a "Secret Magical Bazaar" because it's for the magic folk.
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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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if you want to set up a stall (as a +view in the Bazaar) please contact Tyler to get you set up.
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