New Discoveries (October, Week 1 Resolution)

Explore the Basement of the Casino (John). Automatic Success

You and Ernesto decided to leave the basement for last: too much things required the attention of you both for the opening and the sooner you opened, the sooner the cash would flow in.
Now that the Casino is open, you have the time to check if you have an old Indian burial ground under your feet and considered that for some reasons you the key for those rooms weren't in the key you received with the buildings, it was time to user your skills: lockpicks for those with a working keyhole, a crowbar for anything else. Ghosts included, you thought with a smile.

The first door you open without a hitch after a couple of minutes and is pitch dark. You pick the flashlight of your phone and make light, finding the power unit of the room which, apparently, runs separately from your main one. That surely explains the discrepancy in the electric bill: your idea was that someone was stealing your current.

The room is full of machines and devices covered in dust, some you recognize from some previous jobs you did inside some scientific companies: lots of instruments to perform measurements or analysis. It's basically a very well-equipped lab and maybe Erné has an idea of what to do with this.


The keyhole in the second room has apparently already received visits and for you to notice, you assume that wasn't as good as you. Open and closed without the key, but was done carelessly. You enter and flick the switch on. Like the last one, a thin film of dust was everywhere, except the bookshelf against the wall. Looks like a reading room of some kind, but this doesn't explain why it's in the basement, behind a steel door. You investigate the bookshelf, finding clear indications that once it was occupied by more than the remaining five books. Wouldn't be too strange to assume that someone entered, stole the books and close the book behind them. If the third room is like this one, then this someone would know which door to open.
You pick one of the book and read the title: "Fundamental Occult Forces". Strange title, as the others, but this one was in the middle of the bookshelf on a small pedestal. Maybe it was worth more than the others? You can't tell and all this things is not exactly what you expect to find in the basement of an old Casino.


Then, you go for the third door. The keyhole has been tampered with, no way you can open it. Lucky you for already having a solution.
Five minutes of hard work and the door breaks.


Oh, it's not an old Indian graveyard, but not far from it. Ernest needs to see this.


When John reached you in your office - thank god the chairs have arrived - telling you "One of the rooms in the basement is haunted", your first thought was that he was fucking with you.

Then you both went into the basement and you confirmed that you have a haunted room in the basement.
No ghosts or other things, but you have what looks like a ritual circle painted around the door with something that looks like red paint and a short message on the other door in the room written with what is surely not red paint, with a smaller circle under it.

DO NOT OPEN.

"I assume that you didn't try to open it". You ask John.

"Well, if the message wasn't enough, the door has no keyhole. The only thing that I think could work is blasting it. But I don't think would be smart." John tells you with a shrug.

You nod in agreement, before putting your ear on the door, to hear yourself what John described as "haunting noises".
Sloshing sounds, but that doesn't sound like water, Is something more viscous? Then you hear the moans.


"H…el …p"


You can almost feel his pain as if it was yours.

You retract from the door in a flash, taking a deep breath. You have seen strange things in your life, but not as close as this.

(Result: Revealed the three rooms in the basement. John and Ernest lose 1 sanity each.)

Go Shopping (Ernesto) 9+2=11. Full Success

After several days spent on research and phone calls, you have found several options to replace the old junk in your casino. Of course, you don't expect to have the same options in the future, but you consider yourself lucky for this week and by selling your old junk to them, they offer you a bit of a discount.

Funds available: 20. Pick as many options as you like.

[ ] Elegant Bar Furniture: Quite expensive considering your current money situation, but from the photos, you have seen they would be money well spent and the style would improve the appearance of your bar. (9 funds, your Bar would provide +2 more funds per turn, for a total of +4).

[ ] Midnights Slots Machines: Midnights is the nickname of a company outside the City specialising in Casino furniture and machinery. It's not the top in fact of the quality, but their machines are quite good on the eye and surely an improvement to what you have. (6 funds, your Slots Machine would prove +1 more funds per turn, for a total of +3).

[ ] Gambler's Den Green Tables: Gambler's Den is a local company which produces tables for dice and card games, something that you currently lack and would represent a good attraction. (8 funds, you get a new upgrade which would provide +3 funds per turn).

(Result: Obtained several good options with a small discount.)

Get information on competition (Ernesto) 7+3=10. Full Success

So, you start looking at who could possibly become a problem now or in the future. You use the internet, you talk with some of your contacts and even with old employers of such establishments. At the end of the week, you are pretty certain that you know everything you can indirectly get about them without knocking on their front door.
In your opinion, even if there are several businesses like yours in the City, there are five of them that attract your interest in particular.

• If a normal casino is rolling in dough, the Eclipse is the equivalent of all the bakeries of the City put together. It's just the most famous, the greatest, with the most attractive to tourists. It's basically everything you want the Hell's Hearth to be in the future. For the moment, you don't think it will become a problem: you are just an ant compared to him, so you fly behind its radar. The strange detail is that even with all your research, you have no idea of who is running it. The legal owner is a figurehead and even ex-employees have no idea of who actually runs the business. Which sounds a bit strange in your opinion.
• After that, the second best place in the City comes in: the King in Yellow. Used to be the first before the Eclipse started cutting into his business and from some old newspaper, you are sure that the conflict between the two was quite violent, with "suspicious deaths" for both employees. Now it's the solid second best, run by the Favaro brothers: Francie, Marie and Vincent Jr. Visitors claim that the music they heard there was the best of their lives and that the lights make the place shine like it was always in daylight.
• In the middle range, you find the Pale Zenith. The only reason this place is famous among the locals it's due to being the place where the scum of the city is usually found. Strange voices surround this place and you actually weren't able to find an ex-employee, not for not searching enough. Lady Helen Burks is the owner, an older woman rarely seen in public.
• On the lower part of the middle range, L'Orchideè stands proud. Henry Poulin, a foreign from outside the City, thought that was a good idea to open a Casino in the Casinos City, which would be the equivalent to sell ice in the North Pole in your opinion. Except for this, the place is perfectly average: Poulin doesn't sound interested in expanding his business more than he already has and the client are just satisfied enough to come back. You are sure that Poulin has further motives to be in the City, even without proof.
• In the last place, the avenue that you think is your direct competitor at the moment, a Casino that has opened a month before you, the Pit. Little information are available for a place so young, except for the name of the owner: Dave "Full Tilt" Goldman. From your finding, he got his Casino by reading the fortune of its previous owner after a successful Poker match, which sounds interesting enough. Plus, he's apparently always present at the Poker table, ready for players who think that they can beat his luck.

(Result: Obtained valid information on your main competitions and who runs them. They hardly noticed the scrutiny.)

Explore the City (Security Guards 1) 4. Found Troubles

You were pouring yourself a stiff drink when someone knocked on the door of your office.

"Boss, do you have a minute?" It was Felix, the man in charge of one of your "security guards", the group that you sent to explore around for anything worth notice.

"Sure thing", you poured another glass for him and start sipping, waiting for him to start talking.

"We went looking around the neighbourhood as you ordered to get an idea of what's around us. Apparently, we have a problematic neighbour in the same block of our Casino."
He took a sip of his drink, before continuing: "From what we got, a gang of petty criminals has moved recently into an abandoned building complex, the houses two streets from here?" You nod to him, knowing which building he means.
"Okay, apparently they have been here for a week and they are already causing troubles: mugging and drug dealing, with a side in random vandalism. The definition of a problem."

You frown. Those men can represent an issue if they start attacking your employees or, even worse, your clients. No chance that the police will kick them out of there, so now it's your problem to solve before it grows worse.
You dealt in the past with these kinds of individuals and you are sure that, if they grow bold, they can be an extreme pain in the ass.

You finish your drink in a gulp. What a wonderful start for your business, isn't it?

(Result: A small group of petty criminals has taken residence not far from your Casino. +1 Experience of Security Guards 1. A clock will be added next turn with actions to deal with them. New Long Term Goal added.)

October, Week 1: Resolution Phase II and Ending Phase

Casino Random Event: 7 (Small positive random event)

Some of the first visitors praised the atmosphere of your Casino, defining it "Vintage and Retrò". Of course, you didn't clarify that it was mostly old junk and if some idiots end up helping you attract more customers, you can drink to those useful dimwits.

(Result: +2 additional funds)

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One problem solved, two to come (October, Week 2, Main Action Phase)

October, Week 2: Main Action Phase

You and John are in your office: you with your glass of Cerveza, John with a cigarette in his hand, in silence.

John is the first to break the silence.
"What do we want to do with the thing in the basement?"

You take a long sip, before answering: "Nothing."

John stares at you, with no trace of his usual humour: "Excuse me?"

"There's nothing we can do at the moment. I assume that the circles are to keep it inside and if they have held for years, I hope they'll hold for a couple of months until I come out with an idea".
Another long sip. "This doesn't mean that I'll do nothing. Maybe there's the answer in those books or at least some way to reach one. I don't know."

You both remain in tense silence. The thing in the basement, the letter … that's a lot for your first week.

"Guess that at least we have some nice chairs, uh?" John tries to break a joke. You chuckle a bit: "At least we are in the green. A bit closer to getting rich."

Neither of you hints at the idiots in your district: compared to the rest, that's a problem that you know how to fix. The question is: how do you want to fix it?
So many things to do … what do you want to prioritize? Getting further info on your competitors? Starting planning the downfall of those petty thieves? The books?

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QM Note: A couple of options changed and a lot more got added. The list is not exhaustive, but I come up with these. A lot of options, but there are also a lot of approaches)
All the actions, unless specify differently, are Small risk, Standard effect, Variable cost
Casino Management: (These actions can be performed only by the Main or a Named Character)

Competition:


Small gang:

Ernesto Specials: (Only Ernesto can do these actions)
Occult Actions:

Exploration: