Item Encounters

by Gurth

The following table can be used to randomly generate the buildings found in a block of a typical North American city; each building is assumed to take up about a quarter of a block, so rolling four times on the table should produce a full block. The table has been set up to give different kinds of buildings for different security areas, and applies mainly to Seattle. To use the table, roll two D6s and place them next to each other, to produce a roll from 11 to 66.

Definitions

Most entries refer to the Location Archetypes in Sprawl Sites, as indicated by the column of the same name on the table. Some need a bit more explanation, though.

Apartment Building: a large building with a number of residences.

Bank: in AAA and AA-rated areas, this will be a Large Bank, taking up the entire remaining area of the block. In A and B-rated areas, it is a Medium Bank, and in the rest it is a Small Bank plus some other building: roll again and add the two buildings in the same area of the block.

Body Shop (Illegal): roll again on the table to see what legitimate business serves as a front for the illegal body shop.

Bus/Monorail Station: in the center of Downtown (the large-scale map in the back of the Seattle Sourcebook), this is a monorail station on a 1D6 roll of 1 or 2; else it is a bus station. In all other areas it is always a bus station.

Church: either a building belonging to a religion, or to a generic charity organization (like the UB :)

Dock: probably only found in districts on Puget Sound; in others, roll again or make it a warehouse.

Empty Lot: an area of a block without any buildings on it; probably they were knocked down and nothing has been built there yet.

Hotel: in AAA and AA-rated areas, this is a Luxury Hotel on a 1D6 roll of 1-4, else it is an Average Hotel. In A to C-rated areas, it is an Average Hotel on a 1D6 roll of 1-4, else it is a Cheap or Coffin Hotel. In other areas, it is an Average hotel on a 1D6 roll of 1, else it is a Cheap/Coffin Hotel.

Mall: takes up the entire remaining area in the block.

Private Residence: a free-standing, single-family house. Usually only found in rich areas, and therefore normally well-protected.

Restaurant: roll 1D6 for the kind of restaurant; Large restaurants take up two "areas" of the block, if the room is available. 1-2 = Fast Food/Small Restaurant, 3-5 = Mid-Size Restaurant, 6 = Large Restaurant

Store: roll 1D6 for the type of store; Medium and Large Stores take up all remaining area on the ground floor of the block. 1-3 = 1D6+1 Small Stores, 4-5 = One Medium Store, 6 = One Large Store. What the store sells is up to the gamemaster.

Warehouse: whether there is anything in the warehouse (and what) is a gamemaster decision.

Special: this is the gamemaster's discretion; it can be anything from the table, or something else entirely.

SECURITY RATING

Brothel

Modern brothels are part whorehouse, part simsense parlor. Demanding customers often want to experience fantasies that are either impossible to act out for real, or want the same things over and over again. In either case, simsense provides the answer. For the more old-fashioned, live entertainment is also offered.

Rooms are usually identical to those in an average hotel (Sprawl Sites, page 26), an though many are situated in depressing parts of the Sprawl, some (those catering for rich clients) can be found in much higher-rated areas.

Computer

Orange-4, Access-5, Barrier-5. Brothels require reasonable security, because many of their customers would hate to see themselves be associated with them.

Archetypes

Bartender: use Bartender, p.203, SRII.

Bouncer: use Troll Bouncer, p.213, SRII.

Customer: nearly any Archetype can be found in a brothel at one time or another.

Owner: use Mr. Johnson, p.210, SRII. Reduce Etiquette (Corporate) to 5 and add Etiquette (Street) 5.

Prostitute: use Joyboy/Joygirl, p.89, Paranoid Animals of North America, or Corporate Secretary, p.205, SRII. Remove datajack and headware memory and add skills Acting 4 and Etiquette (Street) 3.

Number Of People Present

1 Owner, 1 Bartender, 2 Bounders, 2D6 Prostitutes, 2D6 Customers

Garage

A typical garage has one large working area, at least 10 meters deep and 25 meters wide, with tool racks along the walls and bridges and pits everywhere to allow the mechanics to access every part of the car. The front wall has a large number of roll-up doors, with a repair area directly behind each of them. Off to one side are offices, while at the back of the building is a store room holding spare parts for most common models and makes of car. Some garages specialize in a single manufacturer's cars, and only stock parts for these.

Many garages also function as gas and recharge stations for vehicles low on fuel or power.

Computer

Green-6, Access-5. Since the computer usually only holds an inventory of the store room and a work schedule, protection against decker intrusions is not a prime concern.

Archetypes

Attendant: use Pedestrian, p.116, Sprawl Sites. Add Armor Clothing and a Fichetti 500 pistol.

Customer: anyone with a broken car, or in need of fuel or a recharge.

Mechanic: use Mechanic, p.208, SRII.

Owner: use Street Doc, p.21, SRII, but remove Biological Sciences and Biotech skills and add Cars B/R 4 and Etiquette (Corporate) 3.

Secretary: use Corporate Secretary, p.205, SRII.

Number Of People Present

1D6-4 Customers, 4-6 Mechanics, 1 Owner, 1 Secretary. If the garage is also a gas/recharge station, add 1 Attendant. If the number of customers comes up negative, treat it as positive and make it indicate the number of cars waiting to be repaired instead of the number of customers in the garage.

Simsense Arcade

Where the late 20th century had video game arcades, the mid-21st century has an equivalent in the form of simsense arcades. The building can be anything that has room enough to put up at least a dozen simsense machines with room for the users to sit down-the machines themselves are not larger than a shoebox, it's the chairs that take up most of the room in the place. A few guards usually patrol the arcade to make sure nobody tries to take advantage of the customers while they are someone else in another world.

Computer

Orange-4, Access-6. The computer keeps track of which games are running, as well as for generic administrative tasks; a decker or virus could tamper with the games and injure a customer, so security is strong enough to keep out most amateurs.

Archetypes

Manager: use Club Owner, p.106, Sprawl Sites, add Special Skill Knowledge of Simsense 4.

Guard: Use Corporate Security Guard, p.205, SRII.

Staff: Use Corporate Wage Slave, p.108, Sprawl Sites.

Typical Customer: use Fan, page 110, Sprawl Sites.

Number Of People Present

1 Manager, 2-3 Guards, 2 Staff, 2D6+3 Customers.