|
|
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Jan 8, 2006 7:43:23 GMT -5
Many things to do regarding drugs and alcohol:
*Acquire some contacts and suppliers for Shae's black market
*Find some rare acquisitions for Mosho and Jin's collection, not to mention Daedrous' bio-comp
*Undermine the worst traffickers
|
|
|
|
Post by miskah on Jan 8, 2006 22:02:25 GMT -5
Sounds good, where to sign up?
|
|
|
|
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Jan 8, 2006 22:22:13 GMT -5
...Here. How will you start?
|
|
|
|
Post by miskah on Jan 10, 2006 15:34:14 GMT -5
Mosho's just gonna have to take a trip on down to Chinatown, get some noodles, and find a decent sake importer...
|
|
|
|
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Jan 10, 2006 20:21:15 GMT -5
Which Chinatown? San Francisco? New York?
|
|
|
|
Post by miskah on Jan 13, 2006 20:37:23 GMT -5
SF yo, the hardcore one.
|
|
|
|
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Jan 14, 2006 23:32:20 GMT -5
San Fran is the original Chinatown. (You know, I found more results on Google for NYC's Chinatown... odd.) San Francisco has long since artificially expanded the island, which meant expanding the Chinatown too. www.sfgate.com/traveler/graphics/maps/nb-map.gif is the map of the original, however. What will you hit? |
|
|
|
Post by miskah on Jan 15, 2006 3:44:49 GMT -5
Portsmouth Square
|
|
|
|
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Jan 15, 2006 9:31:06 GMT -5
www.jim-collier.com/lifeofacity/downtown/images/portsmouthsq.jpgDuring the day or at night? The UEG has decriminalized most drugs, though the laws remain on the books to extend the sentences of some offenders, so the most obvious drugs at very high qualities are sold openly but discretely (just as one might sell dirty magazines). However, conversely, the new drug market is NOT safe, as in modern America, because of the Unknown Bio-Chemical Substances Restriction Act (UBSRA), which gives all UEG local, regional and world authorities tremendous discretion in banning new chemical substances, whether they be pesticides or hallucinogens. This may seem draconian, but there is a public good justification of some merit, precisely the reason you're looking FOR these drugs: some drugs don't just make people FEEL like gods, they make people INTO gods. One junkie ODed on Metangel, an amphetamine of alien origin, and broke two people's necks for walking dogs because once a dog bit him on the ankle. He then ripped apart an armored police squadron and survived full-on stun bursts sufficient to take down a rhino. He died not from police brutality but from hemorrhaging sustained from clenching his whole body so hard and massive asphyxia. Long story short: Unless the dealer or connection is practicing 'air your dirty laundry so no one will think it's dirty'/hiding in plain sight, Portsmouth Square won't be where the shit is. And the Yakuza's best moments are not found in sunny squares filled with people walking by.
|
|
|
|
Post by miskah on Jan 15, 2006 17:50:58 GMT -5
Hmm.. I dunno then, I'm not really savvy on SF geography, which one o dem streets got itself a back alley? ehhh?
|
|
|
|
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Jan 15, 2006 22:49:12 GMT -5
Probably most of them. Notice that I didn't deny that there would be ANY leads in Portsmouth Square.
In the square, you see a few people discretely showing off their drug wares, some tourist groups on Chinatown tours (one being led by Egg Shen), people strolling their dogs or looking at the monuments, etc.
|
|
|
|
Post by miskah on Jan 16, 2006 15:47:30 GMT -5
Fred, when you say things like " Portsmouth Square won't be where the shit is. And the Yakuza's best moments are not found in sunny squares filled with people walking by." it makes me not want to go there. Then you turn around and say that you didn't say that it would be totally fruitless. You're playing both sides there.
Who's Egg Shen? How Do I know him? If it seems safe, grill him for info.
|
|
|
|
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Jan 16, 2006 16:34:30 GMT -5
Keith: I'm a GM. I give you limited information so I'm not railroading you. Even if the Yakuza aren't there, a) Someone who might KNOW where the local Yakuza are (possibly Egg Shen, say) might be in the park at that moment b) More broadly speaking, since your mission is to find drugs and not to kill Yakuza (though that would be good for other reasons), if you find a drug dealer who knows of something you can skip that angle entirely Tunnel vision, my good man. Tunnel vision. Egg Shen is an Old Guard member, the ages-old Taoist magician who helped prevent the rise of Lo Pan. And searching for criminal activity in random alleys may not be the best.  Mosho's lore about syndicates, though Earth Yakuza is not his specialty, tells him that what distinguishes Yakuza from other gangs (even Oriental ones) are the attempt to follow Bushido (meaning one might be able to track them through hand weapon shops) and the distinctive tattooes covering their whole body. Unfortunately, many a gaijin idiot or impressionable fool has chosen to do the same, and in the modern era, Yakuza care more about their lives than their honor and choose to ignore such insults generally in favor of a degree of deniable plausibility. Then there's the basics they deal in: prostitution (since the UEG has legalized and heavily regulated it, what they deal in is non-regulated sex), truly illegal drugs (they don't bother with the legal stuff any more because the market's been flooded), weapons, other contraband... which implies a series of shipping companies either bought off or totally owned and controlled, money laundering mechanisms, etc. |
|
|
|
Post by miskah on Jan 16, 2006 19:11:27 GMT -5
I think it migiht be funny to see a Pandaren try to get a prostitue, then grill her for info on who her pimps are.
|
|
|
|
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Jan 16, 2006 22:35:05 GMT -5
So will you actually do that?
|
|
|
|
Post by miskah on Jan 17, 2006 5:25:23 GMT -5
Yup. Big pimpin time.
|
|
|
|
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Jan 17, 2006 14:20:27 GMT -5
The main problem I see is finding a prostitute who actually has a pimp rather than being independent or connected to a legitimate escort service.
|
|
|
|
Post by miskah on Jan 18, 2006 17:41:30 GMT -5
Goddamnit. Roll harder then!
|
|
|
|
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Jan 18, 2006 20:22:38 GMT -5
...Oh. So what's the strategy? I'd recommend finding what which the Yakuza UNIQUELY do: tattooes, vigilante services to defend the town, etc. They tend to have a number of quite open services, at least in Japan: they are not secret societies like Mafia or triads. The UEG is decidedly anti-Yakuza, but they have made some admissions for the sake of local culture and actually being implemented. In SF or LA, they'll be underplayed, especially the highest echelons, but a little easier to find than Mafia or triads. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza may help. |
|
|
|
Post by miskah on Feb 12, 2006 21:58:00 GMT -5
I guess try to find a Tattoo Parlor run by them yak's, and walk on in saying I want a tattoo.
|
|
|
|
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 12, 2006 22:21:35 GMT -5
That would be a rather ironic way to hide in plain sight. Mosho finds four tattoo parlors in Chinatown and probably sixty or so in the broader Bay Area.
|
|
|
|
Post by miskah on Feb 13, 2006 15:48:16 GMT -5
Process of Elimination. Walk into each of the Chinatown parlors until I find a suitable looking one, and start dropping hints about what I seek.
|
|
|
|
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 13, 2006 16:55:31 GMT -5
Mosho heads down the streets to the tattoo parlor, which is in a back alley. As he is turning around, suddenly the streets are completely empty. An ominous wind picks up...
|
|
|
|
Post by miskah on Feb 15, 2006 22:36:15 GMT -5
....Like the bottom of my flasK! edit: *CHUG CHUG CHUG*
|
|
|
|
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 15, 2006 23:17:44 GMT -5
Mosho decides it's time for drinkin'. Trash blows around him.
|
|
|
|
Post by miskah on Feb 16, 2006 5:25:28 GMT -5
Continue in to the shop. Ask for a Lotus Tattoo and wink at the man inside.
|
|
|
|
Post by Frederic Bourgault-Christie on Feb 16, 2006 20:21:54 GMT -5
The shop's door refuses to open to any normal level of Mosho's strength.
|
|
|
|
Post by miskah on Oct 22, 2006 21:46:43 GMT -5
Pound on the door and light up an inviting blunt from Furax, casually waiting for an answer.
|
|
Mosho's lore about syndicates, though Earth Yakuza is not his specialty, tells him that what distinguishes Yakuza from other gangs (even Oriental ones) are the attempt to follow Bushido (meaning one might be able to track them through hand weapon shops) and the distinctive tattooes covering their whole body. Unfortunately, many a gaijin idiot or impressionable fool has chosen to do the same, and in the modern era, Yakuza care more about their lives than their honor and choose to ignore such insults generally in favor of a degree of deniable plausibility. Then there's the basics they deal in: prostitution (since the UEG has legalized and heavily regulated it, what they deal in is non-regulated sex), truly illegal drugs (they don't bother with the legal stuff any more because the market's been flooded), weapons, other contraband... which implies a series of shipping companies either bought off or totally owned and controlled, money laundering mechanisms, etc.