Sunday 26 March 2023

Seedy Sci Fi / Cyberpunk bar generator

As I'm currently enjoying running Mothership as much as I used to enjoy running Stars Without Number, and this month's RPG Blog Carnival theme is "Taverns, Bars, and places to meet", I thought why not combine my old love of one-roll generators and my new love of spark tables into a bar generator for your favourite SF TTRPG?

Image credit: Pazuah on DeviantArt

So grab a fistful of polyhedrals and let's see where the party ends up:

This place is:

d10 tens d10 units
a backstreet or spaceport hotel bar filled with noisy arcade machines
a streetside kiosk in a shipping container selling local moonshine
a laser-lit all-night club rumoured to have a secret back room
a trendy wine bar in a respectable 'hood tended by an AI/robot/alien
a high class cocktail lounge with live music playing
a trucker / hauler / biker bar hosting an open mic contest
a pop-up bar in someone's hab block allegedly run by the mob
a snug in the back of an ethnic restaurant with the best bartender in town
rooms in a church, mission, or similar with plenty of under-the-counter goods
a motel bar in the middle of nowhere with a priceless bottle under glass

Current patrons (reroll each day / as needed):

d6 d12
bored youths playing pool (etc.)
shift workers looking for trouble
long haul pilots not wanting to be disturbed
a local sports team gambling noisily
off duty cops facing off with (roll d6 again)
organised crime droogs getting thrown out as PCs arrive
talking drunken philosophy
looking for companionship
letting something secret slip
who "recognise" a PC
bragging about something
arguing about where to go next / to eat / etc.

Possible jobs (reroll each day / as needed):

d8 d4 d20
corporate goon looking to buy black market pharmaceuticals
wheeler dealer trying to fence illegal cybermods
society dilettante planning to steal a small spaceship
local kid needing to transport a large spaceship
ace pilot an unbraked AI
starship captain court evidence tapes
enhanced street samurai 2d6 cybernetic limbs
synthetic human a human heart (live)
a human brain (live)
reaped organs
a weapons cache
valuable artworks
recreational software
hull breaching weapons
a large quantity of e.g. ore
biometrics data
alien technology
overpriced local delicacies/art
insanely overpriced imported delicacies/art
live human slaves

All good stories start in the tavern, right?

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