Design documentation for a sidequest in a noir crime RPG. Original work.
The Fixer is approached by their old friend Ginny Dale. Dale has a job for the Fixer: assassinate Mabel Monterey, a brothel madam who may soon lay the city’s dirtiest secrets bare. The Fixer must decide whether to carry out the job or pursue an even more lucrative alternative.
The player must manage three of the Fixer’s stats:
Ginny Dale approaches the Fixer at their office, and the two catch up on what they’ve each been up to since the war. Dale reveals that she’s been hired to carry out a contract killing, but she doesn’t know San Francisco as well as the Fixer does. Therefore, she offers to subcontract the job to the Fixer. The contract offers moderate Cash, but Dale will not reveal the target of the hit unless the Fixer agrees to take the job.
If the Fixer does so, Dale tells them the target is Mabel Monterey, who was arrested when her bordello was shut down by the police. It’s an open secret that Monterey intends to pursue a plea deal to reduce her sentence, and various parties within the city are invested in making sure she doesn’t tell the law what she knows. Therefore, Mabel Monterey must die.
There’s one catch: Monterey is in protective custody, and nobody knows where she is. To kill her, the Fixer must first track her down. Go to 2.
Even someone in protective custody is allowed to see their attorney, and the Fixer knows this. They need to figure out which of the city’s lawyers has been engaged by Monterey.
Monterey’s former lieutenant can be found lurking around the closed-down bordello; with sufficient Infamy, the Fixer can intimidate him into giving up the name of his boss’ lawyer.
The Fixer also has a contact at the San Francisco Chronicle; with sufficient Favour, this reporter is willing to share what she’s heard about Mabel Monterey’s attorney.
Finally, the name and office address of Monterey’s attorney will surely be on the paperwork for her upcoming trial. With sufficient Cash, a clerk at the courthouse can be bribed into giving up the information.
(If the Fixer doesn’t have enough Infamy, Favour, or Cash for any of these three options, they are free to pursue other quests until they’ve accumulated enough resources to continue this one.)
Through one of the above methods, the Fixer learns that Monterey has hired a lawyer named Eugene J.W. Bell as her attorney. They also have the location of his office.
When the Fixer visits Bell’s office, go to 3.
The Fixer enters Eugene J.W. Bell’s office to find someone else has got here first: a group of hired toughs working for a shadowy employer who clearly had the same idea as the Fixer.
With sufficient Infamy, the Fixer can intimidate the toughs into going away.
With sufficient Favour, the Fixer can persuade the toughs that they’re after the same thing; if the Fixer is allowed to carry out their work, the toughs’ employer will be happy. The toughs will then leave Bell to the Fixer.
Otherwise, the Fixer must defeat the toughs in combat.
Once the toughs are dealt with, go to 4.
The Fixer demands to know where Monterey is being held. Bell refuses to tell them, but the Fixer spots a fresh matchbook on his desk from the Emperor Norton Inn. That must be where Monterey is.
Bell, sensing he’s been rumbled, tells the Fixer that Monterey has authorized him to make a counteroffer. The hit was surely contracted by Albert Kelly, one of Monterey’s clients; if she were to turn state’s evidence, it would utterly destroy his career and reputation. Bell offers the Fixer double what Ginny Dale is paying them to kill Kelly instead; he can be found most nights at the Nightingale Club.
The Fixer can accept this offer (or lie and simply claim they’re accepting it). If the Fixer declines the offer, Bell will attempt to call Monterey and warn her the Fixer is coming. With sufficient Infamy, the Fixer can stop him through intimidation; otherwise, they can either kill him (increasing Infamy) or let it happen (increasing the guard detail within Monterey’s hotel). The Fixer then leaves the office.
If the Fixer goes to the Emperor Norton Inn to kill Mabel Monterey, go to 5.
If the Fixer goes to the Nightingale Club to kill Albert Kelly, go to 6.
Mabel Monterey’s hotel room is under guard by the US Marshals. If Monterey wasn’t warned about Fixer, the marshals have a small detail monitoring the hotel; if Monterey was warned, the marshals are present in force.
The Fixer has a contact among the hotel staff; with sufficient Favour, they can persuade their contact to sneak them into the hotel undercover.
There are also a few young troublemakers hanging around the hotel. With sufficient Cash, they can be bribed into starting a commotion in the street outside to draw the marshals out.
Finally, the Fixer has the option of shooting their way in. This is a moderately difficult-to-extremely difficult combat challenge (depending on the number of marshals in the building) and will dramatically increase the Fixer’s Infamy.
If the Fixer doesn’t have enough Favour or Cash for their preferred option, they are free to pursue other quests until they’ve accumulated enough resources to continue this one. Once the Fixer enters the hotel, however, this is their one and only chance to kill Monterey. The marshals will not risk a second assassination attempt and will move Monterey out of the Fixer’s reach if the Fixer leaves the hotel without killing her.
After the Fixer has gotten past the marshals, they can confront Monterey in her hotel room. While Monterey is clearly afraid, she maintains her composure; she knew when she was arrested that something like this might happen, and has made her peace with it.
The Fixer can shoot Monterey, or turn away at the last minute and decide to let her live. Either way, they leave the hotel. Go to 7.
Albert Kelly is indeed present at the Nightingale Club, but so are many, many other people. A direct attack may be unwise.
The Fixer observes that Kelly is quite fond of one of the club’s waitresses; with sufficient Cash, they can bribe said waitress into luring Kelly out behind the club, where Fixer will be waiting for him.
Kelly is also clearly comfortable hiring others to do his dirty work; with sufficient Favour, the Fixer could arrange to meet him in one of the club’s private rooms under the pretense of offering him their services.
Finally, there’s always the option of just walking up to Kelly’s table and shooting him in front of the whole nightclub. This dramatically increases the Fixer’s Infamy.
If the Fixer doesn’t have enough Favour or Cash for their preferred option, they are free to pursue other quests until they’ve accumulated enough resources to continue this one. Once the Fixer confronts Kelly, however, this is their one and only chance to kill him. Kelly will not risk a second assassination attempt and will go into hiding if the Fixer leaves the confrontation without killing him.
When confronted, Kelly is terrified and begs for his life; he sees himself as a victim in this whole sordid plot whose life would be unjustly ruined for a few indiscretions.
The Fixer can shoot Kelly, or turn away at the last minute and decide to let him live. Either way, they leave the nightclub. Go to 7.
Ginny Dale is waiting for the Fixer back at their office.
If the Fixer killed Monterey, Dale pays them their cut of the contract (moderate Cash increase). The Fixer has helped out an old friend, and therefore they get a significant boost to Favour. Dale will be in touch regarding any future jobs.
If the Fixer killed Kelly instead, Dale is alarmed and confused that the whole job has fallen apart. A courier from Eugene J.W. Bell’s office arrives and pays the Fixer for killing Kelly (high Cash increase), enraging Dale as she realizes what has happened. The Fixer has broken a contract and betrayed a friend, suffering a decrease to Favour, and Dale may become an enemy further down the line.
If the Fixer didn’t kill Monterey or Kelly, Dale is disappointed and assumes the Fixer is more squeamish than she thought. The Fixer receives no Cash and a small decrease in Favour.
If the Fixer killed Monterey and Kelly, Dale is baffled and a little annoyed at this senseless campaign of violence; not only is she not getting paid, but neither is the Fixer. The Fixer receives no Cash, a small decrease in Favour, and a significant increase in Infamy.