What's A Fellow Got To
Do ToGet A Drink Around Here?
OK
here is a switch from your standard fantasy world, bars are almost nonexistent
in this city. So before you get the D.T.'s, let me explain that a bit more.
In some respects the guild houses serve as private clubs for members
of a specific guild, and that doing business with the guild at a particular
time. This is all well and good, but what if you are not a Guild member?
You sir will be forced down a few different paths. Firstly, you could take
a room in a common house. This will normally let you learn what is going
on outside Helsport because most people who end up in a commonhouse tend
to be newly immigrated. On the downside, you probably will not learn much
about the city you live in by doing this. Second option, join a"Social Club."
That's right, just as our world's Gambinos have their clubs, various groups
of people in Helsport have their own private clubs. These clubs tend to be
much as the stereotypical types found in the Godfather movies. It is often
ethnically and ganged based, although there are some that are extra professional,
meaning that while there may be a nice club for a guild member to normally
attend, there are times where he might want to be 'away' from his supervisors.
Such clubs are hard to locate and much less to be permitted to enter. Each
club will have to be judged by the player as to whether or not attempting
to become a regular is worth the hassle. For example some of these clubs
are intended only for being able to avoid one's spouse while becoming intoxicated.
However,some clubs may seem dedicated to spouse avoidal, but are in fact
hotbeds of revolution, and crime. So, while a person picked up by the watch
leaving the former type of club might just be roughed up a bit, leaving the
second type of club and being unfortunate enough to meet with the watch might
cause your untimely demise. Then there is another avenue thatr equires
its ownheading...
My, What Large And PlentifulEyes
You Have Citizen
One
of the nice things about this campaign is that I make the rules and the story.
Perhaps my favorite N.P.C. just might be the Beholder named "Sid Vicious."In
the original campaign of Hel's Port, the beholder was an individual who
was tempted into the city and persuaded to stay. He became a more distant
N.P.C.during the second campaign, but he did get his name during this time,
so I know he was still making an impact. Sid has the only official game in
town. Consider visiting his bar and casino as an event akin to winning the
Powerball Lottery, being waived into Studio 54by the bouncers during its
heyday, and having a first class passage on theTitanic with a guaranteed
lifeboat all rolled into one. Suffice to say,ifyou get into the "Dot Matrix"someonewants
youto be there.You will not likely ever be there by chance,and you will not
likely want to be there uninvited.This does not mean that you cannot go
there uninvited, but you are going to need plenty of chutzpah to pull it
off. Just remember this is the one place in Helsport recognized as a fair
and neutral area. Everseen the movie Casablanca? Well, consider the DotMatrix
a version of "Ricks." In this bar, you just might see a mage having a drink
with a Templar of Hel. In the past many diplomats who stayed at the White
Griffin were encouraged to visit Sid's bar and casino so that they might
be spied upon.Whether this still happens is hard to say,but I just wanted
you to be aware of that possibility.One thing you might want to remember
is that Sid is a beholder.So while you sit there drinking from Sid's privatestock
of LathanderLight(When you open the bottle, yes a brief flash like the dawn
is seen escaping from the bottle) and start to get hammered, be sure that
you do not point out the obvious fact that Sid is being treated like a human
while floating aroundhis bar.Sidis very consciousof the factthat according
to Helsport law he should be dead or worse, but he feels very proud of his
purple citizenship papers. As such a citizen of worth, please do not insult
him. The Dot Matrix was closed after one such incident for a significant
period of time,and Sid was seen wearing a blackeyepatch over his centraleye
for a significant time period following that incident. So what goes on at
this bar? Well, for starters, if you wanta libation this is the only legal
place you can visit. While most citizens do brew their own wine in small
batches, it is not permitted for sale to other households, hence the private
"socialclubs." But here in the Dot Matrix you can and will be able to find
just about any liquid you could wish to ingest.Well maybe not now, but you
could in the past. All liquors and wines were brought into Helsport through
trade, but there was one home grown beverage, Lothander Light.
T he brewery isnow somewhat defunct and its ownership
and guild rights are in questionstill, but Sid did manage to get all
thebottles andkegs that survivedthe Great Destruction. If thereis
anything that theHelsport citizensagree upon, it's the fact thatthe Lathanderites
knew how tobrew agood beer. Another oddity is the fact that Sid openly
sells many types of poisons, and liquids of even more devastating effects.
If you happen to be an assassin, per use his pharmaceutical tinctures.The
most famous is Sid's Tear Drops, which while deadly to humans, gives
elves and dwarves a delightful high. Then there is the gaming. It is unlikely
you will be invited to join one of the private tables for a game of
cut-throat cards, but you will find plenty to amuse yourself with.
Roulette and dice games are well represented, as is some one arm band its
of gnomish design. Sid runs a basically honest operation. Do be awareof the
following, he hates the slot machines ever since two P.C.'s fixed them to
pay out more than the cash value of the entire Dot Matrix. Sid was forced
to give them a partnership since he could not pay them their winnings,but
since the great destruction they have not been seen. Sid is scrupulous though
and posts their earnings from the casino in a glasscase. So far no one
has come to claim the partnership. If you are like most people though
you will not likely win or lose much. But lets say you bet the farm
and cannot pay the house what you owe. Well now we come to the bouncers.
Sid has mostly Orcs as employees, and the dishonest ones tend to disappear
in explicably.The bartenders tend to be humans, but in many cases they
look more like barbarians than bartenders. Then the pit bosses are another matter
altogether.They are big, blue, horned humanoids who seem to float more
than walk and who do not take American Express. As far as I know, no one
has ever been foolish enough to welsh on a bet placed in the Dot Matrix. So
what kinds of rumors will you learn about here? Think of it this way, most
traders pass here at least once a day, diplomats tend to waste their entire
days here, the government officials tend to show up here sometime after lunch,and
finally if you are a mover and shaker you are eventually bound to show up
here.The question is do you have the nerve to be brazen enough to enter the
Dot?