Night Shift: Halloween Approaches Edition

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I introduced this game to my old friends about 2 year ago, we only played it a few times before I had to move away. I'm back visiting, and they told me they still play it every week. I was thinking its time to play this with my new group so this thread was well timed. Ill be back in a bit with stories from my times playing.

>Night Shift video game
>Stranger Things meets Alien: Isolation
i need this

Storytime:
>alone on some saturday in winter
>snow piles up outside
>ready to get comfy once more
>music, hot tea, mp4 of a fireplace, electric room heater, sleeping bag, "the forgotten Soldier", and popcorn ready
>start reading
>suddenly: phone rings
>look at watch first
>7PM
>who_dares_disturb_the_mountain_king.webm
>pick up reluctantly
>a friend of mine, who has DMed a couple of times so far
>invites me over for a quick one shot he came up with
>really don't want to leave my room now, but this fag has a history of great one shots, and a real fucking fireplace on top
>if I go over now, the roads will be unsuable untill they are cleared tomorrow
>which isn't a problem, because no plans on Sunday anyways
>ask if I can bring my sleeping bag
>he is ok with it
>peel myself out of my comfythrone and pack some stuff
>get into car
>roads are already getting tricky to navigate
>around 30 kilometers of woods and nothing separate the two villages
>arrive an hour later, had to drive slow because of snow and darkness
>get inside
>warm and cozy, fireplace blazing, hot chocolate ready
>get back into my sleeping bag while DM sets up the story
>"So today I thought that we could run a game of 'Night shift'."
>fuck
>basically, I am a guy working at a gas station in the middle of Bumfuck-nowhere (Nevada)
>shift starts all right, not night time yet
(cont.)

Go on.

>watch the sun set over the desert landscape
>occasionally service a couple of customers
>some rednecks or whatever in their pickups hauling their game home before nightfall
>a trucker who wants to get to the next motel to rest
>some family fathers coming home from work
>all of them go home, continue my work
>we have a "service center" attached to the gas station, where employees look over your car and give you basic hints, maybe do emergency repairs to ensure you get out of the desert safely
>I am barely trained in mechanical shit, should be fine though
>nobody ever requests that service anyways
>and if they do, they just want their wiperwater refilled or whatever
>not sure what system the DM uses, he occasionally tells me to roll and tells me if I suceed or not
>he has a habit of making shit up as it goes, but it always turned out fun in the other games
>sun is already kissing the mountains on the horizon
>just finished an elderly couple on vacation in their mobile home
>a red pickup pulls up slowly
>some old indian dude gets out
>think nothing of it
>doesn't want a refuel, goes straight to the shop
>"Hello, welcome at In'n'outback, how may I help you?"
>Indian ignores me
>ok, rude customer, just let him continue
>mostly ignore him while I restock the shelves
>he seems to walk around the store aimlessly
>not looking at products, but at the floor, the ceiling, doors etc.
>creeped out, make a mental note to call the police as soon as I see him pull up again at night
>don't want to get robbed by some indian with a bow and arrow
>finish with the shelves and apporoach him again
>"Do you require assistance, sir?"
>doesn't even look at me
>insteead rambles something
>"No...no...the spirits..."
>ask him again if he needs any help
>he snaps out of it
>"No, young man. Stay safe tonight. The stars are angry tonight."
>turns around and leaves the shop
(cont.)

>drives off in the direction he came from
>try to peek at his license plate, but he is too far away already
>didn't notice that the sun had set while I was restocking
>warm orange and blue afterglow still shining in the sky
>it is getting colder though
>get back inside
>maybe I can rewind the security tape to look at the guys's license plate
>not sure why I decided to focus on him
>he seemed important
>anyways: check the security cameras
>we have a screen right next to the register and I can simply insert the tape into a compartment, while recording onto another one
>speed through the recording to the point where his red pickup pulls up
>too grainy to make out his plates
>decide to watch what he did inside the store too
>just aimless wandering as far as I can tell
>look out window
>sun is now completely down
>dark night surrounds the brightly lit gas station I am manning
>decide to grab a bag of chips and watch the tapes of the day again
>employees get 20% off on all products anyways
>DM actually bothers to describe what I am watching
>apparently two cute girls were inside the shop when I was servicing the old mobile home couple
>talked for a minute, then left just as I had finished
>where the fuck did those come from?!
>half concerned, half turnef on, I decide to look at the recordings of the entrance area
(cont.)

>the elderly couple pulls up
>gets out
>enters store
>I begin servicing their truck
>the two girls walk into the frame from a southerly direction
>one of them is wearing a white tanktop and hotpants
>other one a coloured dress
>the screen is black and white though, so I can't figure out it's actual colour
>the gas station is too far away to walk here
>my father had to drop me off on his way to work the nightshift in the hopital
>there is NO WAY these two girls could have walked here, especially not wearing sandals
>spooky, but they could have driven a car or scooter and parked it a couple of meters ahead
>"Yeah. That must be it." says the increasingly nervous teenager
>the girls didn't want to "box in" the mobile home while they were...doing what exactly?
>why stop at a gas station in bumfuck nowhere, just to wander around a store and leave without buying anything?
>check the recording again
>chicks enter store
>walk around while talking
>look at a couple of things...
>suddenly: "Bing!"
>doors slide open
(cont.)

>a family enters the shop
>middle aged man and woman with a sleepy little girl (looks like a 9 or 10 year old) and a baby on the female's arm
>jump up from seat, swallow the chips
>"Hello, welcome to in'n'outback! How may I help you?"
>the husband approaches me and says that they stopped to refuel and use the restroom
>show them the way to the shitters
>go out to refuel the car
>it's fucking cold now
>can see my breath in the air
>their tanks are almost empty
>they would not have made it to bumfuck-ville on what little fuel they had left
>vehicle is loaded with lots of luggage too
>they either planned their journey carefully ahead of time, or were very lucky to find a gas station in the the desert
>about to finish refueling when I hear the "bing" of the automated doors again
>turn around
>it's the two girls, entering the store again
>no vehicle to be seen anywhere
>hurry up with refueling
>get back inside
>see them talking to the little girl
(cont.)

keep going i'm reading

>"-en why are you out here all alone, little princess?"
>the one with the tanktop just finished talking to the girl
>they didn't notice me entering the store
>"I could ask you the same!" I say from behind them
>all three scared as fuck
>I didn't even try to be sneeki breeki, just came up with something witty to say
>little girl hides her face behind a teddy bear
>two others turn around to look at me
>the one wearing a (as I can now see it in live colour) green dress speaks first
>"Oh gee, we totally didn't notice you. That was scary...user."
>"HOW ON EARTH DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!"
>she points at my chest
>I look down
>'Hello, my name is:' badge with my name
>"Oh."
>pasta on the floor
>emergency recovery mode!
>"Hello! Welcome to in'n'outback. How may I helo you?"
>"Actually, we were about to leave..." the tank top wearing blonde says and continues to chew on a bubblegum I hadn't noticed until now
>the two push past me and head for the door
>one more "bing" and they are gone
>alone with the little girl and her teddy
(cont.)

>stare after the two, but the reflections of the lights in the store windows make it impossible to see where they are going
>don't hear or see a car though
>turn around to the girl
>she is still hiding her face behind her teddy bear
>no clue what to do
>"Hey, don't be afraid of me."
>try to calm her down
>knee down to be at eyelevel
>"See, I am just a norma-"
>notice she is softly crying into the stuffed animal
>shitfuckshit
>no clue how to deal with children
>when her parents come back and see their girl crying they will blame me
>I need dem tips man
>hop behind the counter and grab a candy bar I was saving for myself
>hand it to her, hoping she would calm down
>won't stop
>"Hey, do you know something cool? We got a security camera system!"
>lead her to the counter and show her
>she stops crying but still hides her face behind the teddy, peeking past it at the screen
>show her some scenes of the day
>the rednecks, some buissnessmen etc.
>she never puts her teddy away, but at least she isn't shouting either
>time passes, the two of us watching the footage
>begin to wonder why her parents are taking so long
>"You wait here, while I go check if your parents need any help, ok?"
>she nods
(cont.)

>head outside
>the shitters are behind the main building to not have the smells attract animals or distract customers
>still cold as fuck outside
>head towards the toilets
>see a coyotee outside
>it growls at me, but I know these fucks are all talk and no do
>just walk up to him and shout
>he runs off into the darkness
>approach the shitters
>notice the door is ajar
>light from inside is pouring out
>get closer
>can now see what the coyotee was doing at the door
>a puddle of blood is slowly growing
>fuckfuckfuck
>reluctantly get closer
>slowly open door
>the toilet seat is covered in blood, blood on the floor, blood in the drain, the toilet itself is filled with blood as well
>FUCKFUCKFUCK
>hurry back to call police
>"bing"
>enter shop through main entrance
>"Why you seem like you are in a hurry, young man!"
>the family stands before me
>mother, father and the two children, all look fine
>the girl still hides her face
>stammer something about blood
>"Hahaha! Oh you kids these days. I left you the money on the counter. Don't spend your tips on drugs!"
>and with that they leave
>count the money
>100$ tip
>not even mad

>at this point it was getting very late IRL too
>memory is hazy and we may have been very drunk too
(cont.)

>decide to check the toilet again
>jep, that's blood alright
>head back inside
>it's the two girls again
>"Hello, welcome to blabla"
>ask them what they are doing here
>green dress says they are waiting for a friend to turn up
>ask them how they got here in the first place
>"Ugh... we have been here like all day."
>"Yeah, didn't you notice?"
>confused and aroused, I offer them a coffee from the 'employee only' coffee machine
>they decline
>"I told you she wouldn't show up! She never does." the blonde says to the brunette in green
>I want them to stay for some reason, so I tell them that maybe today is the day she does
>blobe throws me a look that actually hurts me
>DM specifically says that I loose a health point
>"bing!"
>doors open
(cont.)

>in walks a redhead
>a gorgeous one at that
>dressed in emo clothes, black lipstick, torn hoodie, bright as fuck naurally red hair with pale skin and freckles, black jeans and sneakers
>brunette is super happy, blonde seems more annoyed
>greet eachother accordingly
>emo redhead is not reacting at all, keeps a plain expression on her face at all time
>I am still standing next to the entrance
>completely forgot that I wanted to call the police, or should be freaked out about these girls apparently being able to teleport here
>offer the emo a coffee too
>she nods
>not surprized
>walk to the counter and pour two cups
>when I turn around to give her a cup the three girls are already gone
>this time the door didn't even make a sound
>suddenly remember that I wanted to call the cops
>dial 911 on the phone next to the register
>"911, what is yo--wait a second. Is this a joke?"
>a woman with thick ebonic accent on the other end
>"uh...no?"
>"So you are trying to tell me that your number is six-six-six?"
>"Wait, no this is ano-"
>"Do you know that it is a crime to abuse the emergency services in the state of Nevada?"
(cont.)

>Is it?
>I ask the DM OOC
>he shrugs
>"Uh...no. But I really need so--"
>*click*
>line is dead
>try again immediately
>"911, what is your emergency?" a more pleasant female voice responds this time
>"Yes, hi. This is user, calling from the in'n'outback gas station on bumfuck-nowhere street, between bumfuck-ville and nowhere-town. I would like to report an incident. Could you send someone please? A cop or a ranger or whatever?"
>"We sure can do. What would you like to report?"
>"Well, there is a lot of blood in the outhouse. No clue where it came from."
>"Are you certain it is blood?"
>yes
>"How much blood?"
>"I don't know. Ten litres maybe."
>"That IS a lot. Are you OK?"
>"Yes."
>"Are you sure you don't know who'se blood it is?"
>"I have no idea."
>silly questions continue for some time, maybe ten minutes
>she finally says that a car has been dispatched to my location
>relieved I hang up
>look up at my now cold cup of coffee
>take a sip
>look arund for the other cup
>it's empty
>traces of black lipstick
>a dollar next to it with a smily face drawn on it
>cofused boner
(cont.)

>its already way past midnight IRL at that point
>slowly falling asleep in my comfy sleeping bag
>DM is having trouble reading his notes too
>say nothing and peacefully nod into the warm embrace of not having to work on Sundays
Originally we had plans to continue this "one shot" but as you all know it is hard to find a time when two adults have time.
So we delayed and delayed and procrastinated ans had other plans and eventually he moved away.
Still, he gave me a quick rundown of what would have happened:
>cop shows up
>toilet clean
>cop angry
>cop needs to take a shit
>wait inside while cop does his work
>option to watch security camera footage
>chance to revral some sort of tentacles coming from the baby go to the necks of the parents
>would reveal that the emo stood next to me and drunk her coffee, while I was on the phone
>she would just phase out of existence once I hung up
>eventually go check on cop
>find nothing but blood and his gun
>hear coyotee outside restroom
>option to take gun and shoot coyotee, if not coyotee attacks
>shot would attract other more "exotic" beasts
>very limited ammo, chance to find more in the cop car
>radio won't work
>phone won't work
>shadow beasts attack more frequently
>as I am probably about to die (or eventually set the place on fire with some stupid anti shadow beast gasoline trick) indian dude shows up
>performs some kind of ritual
>"I told you, the stars are angry tonight!"
>saves me
>sun rises
>store is trashed
>reads local news article about how a gang of bikers trashed a local gas station killing an officer in the process and leaving no trace
>teenage employee in psyciatric care
>in other news: three young women still missing after 30 years! The trio was last seen tramping on bumfuck-nowhere street.

Nice one

Planning to run some Night Shift on this Halloween for the first time. A few questions:
>How to make the players feel more attachment to the station?
>How to make sitting in the station more interesting, apart from throwing weird shit at the PCs?
>Any interesting ideas how could you lure the players outside?(assuming that they're thinking rationally as in "Why should we go to spooky woods when our job is running the station", not "Hey, something moved there in the darkness! I'll go investigate, what could possibly go wrong?")

Looks good user, nice work.

I'm fairly new to this general but I'll give your questions a go

> attachment to station
NPCs might help, like maybe a dog or something, or other employees, max one or two depending on party size.
Interesting/friendly regulars might work too, but that's for regular sessions I suppose.
> sitting in station more interesting
Giving the place personality and/or history might work. Give it some interesting areas, or some old security tapes, or maybe some music you could play in the background. Maybe a spoopy out of date weather basement with weird stuff inside. Closets also work.
Giving them other 'chores' to do around the place might work as well, like cleaning, fixing things, fixing signs and such. Maybe multiple players might have different jobs?
> luring players outside
Aforementioned loved doggo could take off when spooked, NPCs might disappear. Something important could be stolen. Could be some kind of emergency and cell service might go out (and any resident phones might not work due to outdated wiring).

Now that I think about it, allowing players to customize or fix the run-down station over time might be neat. But that also won't work well for one-shots.

>How to make the players feel more attachment to the station?
maybe expand more on the paycheck system, the better the station is at the end of the night the more money you get. Let players use that money in game for something.
>How to make sitting in the station more interesting,
We've had a lot of reoccurring npcs that make the place feel more alive, like a profane talking rock and a sensitive and emotional skeleton living in the closet.
> luring players outside
Smoke breaks. The longer you go without smokes the worse things get for you, and you aren't allowed to smoke indoors.

> smoking at a gas station

Well that just means you need to go even further away

Double sided playbooks for the Assistant Manager, Cashier, Stock Clerk, Pump Attendant, and Trainee.
I had one for the Drifter aswell, but couldn't decide on a Todo list for him.

Nice one mate, thanks

These look pretty good, but it says "+1 Paycheck if you have all items checked" for goals, and many of the goals are boolean, so you can't really ever have all of them.

Is that intentional?

Yeah my players pointed that out to me after, I was in a rush and pulled the lists from:
docs.google.com/document/d/1wku2x8PJoB0vMfAxHaEY0X06bkpLVmsDGnrWduBx7wc
docs.google.com/document/d/1PodrbvA3lTD7ahtnnXAGZ2avUkdPqP_LLuIf7oZQZuE

The plan was to change the mutually exclusive goals to "X or Y" in a single item so 100% list completion is possible.

While we have a thread, anyone have any ideas for what the Drifter's todo list would be besides "Don't get caught"?

You could have a goal to steal a normal/unhaunted snack from the shelves without getting caught.
Bumming/begging for free stuff from the actual employees.
Perform a number of helpful actions or helping other employees complete their goals without them noticing.

To-Do List:
Select 4 tasks off of other employee's To-Do lists.

If you are able to successfully complete the task without the employee taking note of it, check it off for both employees and take +1 Management.

If you are caught attempting, or fail to complete the task, take -1 Management.
Goal List:
-You Gave unsolicited life advice to one of your "fellow" employees.
-You Successfully bummed change, cigarettes, food, or alcohol off somebody.
-You helped an employee or bystander at risk of your own well-being or mental health, whether or not you survived the attempt.
-You succeeded at a task for which you were unqualified and should not have attempted.
-You spent more than half of the shift on one or more forms of mind-altering substance.

Since he's not an employee, I had his tasks work differently with respect to Management.

Since he has less tasks, he could either be a big source of Management (potential +4), but if he fails the attempt (even if the employee actually in charge of that task completes the task later) he can lose up to 4.

I don't know, balance-wise, if that's super fair, but it seems to fit with the wild card theme of the Drifter.

So glad to see another Night Shift thread!

I like the idea of him being a risky swing factor. Should add some decent conflict to things before the weirdness starts as well.

I'd probably not have it specifically be sexual, but instead "inappropriate, unnerving, or possibly illegal."

That's probably a good idea.
Changed and combined with the other playbooks. I've also removed the conflicting goals preventing 100% task completion.

My job involves making forms pdf-editable.
I've saved individual copies of each form, but did notice a few typos.

If you want to clean up the typos (since I don't have the raws), come Monday, when I have access to my editors, I can make a fillable version of each form for you.

Of course, somebody else could make them faster. I could also use like, a free shitty online version, but it's mind-charringly slow compared to the tools I have at work.

Sounds good! I did that for a sheet once and died inside for how tedious it was, I hope your tools are much nicer.
I've cleaned up what mistakes I could see so I'll reupload then stop spamming minor revisions.

If you're still around, do you have a clean of that Stop N Go logo? I wanted to make an Employee Application sheet that has some optional questions players can fill out for more background info.

here it is as .png, or would the vector be better?

Png works great.

Here's my attempt.

Let me know if anybody has any suggested changes.

That's a pretty nice logo.

...

>These look pretty good, but it says "+1 Paycheck if you have all items checked" for goals, and many of the goals are boolean, so you can't really ever have all of them.
>Is that intentional?

In the original document the list were pulled from, they worked that way :
>To-Do List - at the end of a shift, mark off one task completed (you may only mark off one task, even if you completed multiple tasks that shift). When you mark off a To-Do task, take +1 Paycheck.

The contrary goals were intentionnal because theyr were supposed to be completed indifferent shifts.

Just got done running my first session.

Our employees were:
Joe Mackey, Assistant Manager (Connections Background)
Jeff Gimbal, Cashier (Student Background)
and
Cassidy Jameson, Pump Attendant (Skeptic Background)

There was no player for the Stock Clerk, so I had them call in. Their tasks had to be done by the rest of the team.

The assistant manager filled out the paperwork to fire them as one of the first things he did.

They had to defend the station from a tribe of tiny elves living in the freezer, the Kingdom of Frigidaire.

They also had to contend with the Unleaded Basic pumps pumping blood, and the Four Horsemen arriving in the form of bikers, one at a time as they waited for the rest to arrive.

I'll storytime it tomorrow maybe.

A couple of ideas I've had:

The gas station's customers are exclusively Hollywood characters - Arnold, Marilyn Monroe, the Marlboro Man - getting progressively older references as time goes on. Once the players catch on they start getting weirder, like the entire Universal Monster stable arriving in one rickety hot rod, to the old cartoons like Betty Boop, Felix the Cat and that Peanut Vendor thing.

None are outright hostile; they're normal customers, although Dracula will want a bottle of crappy blood instead of crappy wine, the cartoons will wreck shit, etc.

Resolution: Dunno. Maybe nothing? Does "a bunch of weird shit happened with no heroics whatsoever" constitute an okay session?

-also-

Early in the shift, the power dies. There IS a backup generator in the stock room (a good notice roll will spot that it doesn't look much like a generator); but when activated it works fine.

Unbeknownst to the players, what it actually does is transport the gas station a century into the future.

There's a long wait until the next customers arrive, but when they do they're fucking stoked about the gas station and crawl all over it, marveling at how weird the toilets look and all the awesome candy and they're telling all their friends about it.

Said friends arrive before the first leave, and they invite their friends, and so on. Before you know it, the gas station's an overnight hipster sensation, as a neo-retro-kitsch-popup, with vintage everything and actual actors instead of robots, can you fucking believe this? I mean where did they even find half this shit? Only problem: card machines are down, so cash only, and no one in the future uses it.

Resolution: turn off the "generator." Anyone who thought to ask about sporting events in the near future gets +paycheck. If the generator is still running at the end of the shift, future!Management fires them all and replaces them with robots.

I personally like the idea of a society of ex-night shift workers making regulars meeting to help each other cope with the weird shit they've witnessed. They're also willing to help the rookies with some good advice, if they're contacted.

Instead of the dice system I use DREAD where the syatem is based on pulling jenga. You start by pulling one block for each player. Major actions require 1 pull or more depwnding on how difficult the task is. If the tower falls the rules say the player is removed from the game. I usually ignore that rule and give the player irl a handicap. Maybe pulling with one eye open or cant speak etc. Its a pretty fun system for a one shot.

Yeah, I was actually thinking about using Dread for this Halloween's Night Shift, haven't tried it before. How well do they work together? My main worry is that Night Shift setting usually rather doesn't offer many situations risky or uncertain enough to require a pull unless you're going full survival, so I'm kind of worried about whether the tower will even get thin enough to become dangerous.

...

Sounds interesting. The bikers were inspired by Good Omens, I'm guessing?

I am a huge Pratchett fan, so pretty much.

Will recap in another post

A few things I noticed:

Stock Clerk's Unique Move is right now objectively worse than the regular Check in the Back move, especially considering that "Pick 3" is worse in this instance than "Pick 2"

If you Pick 2, you can pick "There are enough" and "They are unbroken", but if you Pick 3, you also have to pick "It's not what you're looking for."

I would change the unique ability to something like:

"You search your locker or one of your private hidden stashes for something the Gas Station probably doesn't carry, using +Sharp.

10+: Pick 3
7-9: Pick 2, or Pick 3, but there's a complication.
6 or less: Pick 1

Pick from:
-There are enough of the item, it is complete, or it has plenty of fuel/battery/souls remaining.
-The item is not broken and works exactly as intended.
-The item is exactly what you were looking for, not just a similar replacement.
-The item is easy and safe to retrieve.
-GM'S Choice

Kind of iffy on the 7-9 choice, but I feel that they should have to make a choice even on a high roll.

I also added "The item is safe and easy to retrieve", which, if not picked, could be a good hook for the GM.

Maybe the item is in perfect working condition, but it's in the Stock Clerk's private stash in the crawl space above the store room. Maybe it's in the employee's lockers, but the Sphinx is parked in front of the lockers and you suck at riddles.

Also, given the work that goes into the Drifter's ability, it might be better to let them either just take +1 Forward or add the attribute AND Weird to the roll.

I play it more like an archies weird mysteries. Want to look for something specific or some general action that pertains to the story pull. Having pc keep their cool or trying to convince someone of something pull. The game becomes more narrative at this point. Generally up to you and play it by ear.

I also give people jobs as in 3 in real life things they have to do to get paid. Like tell 3 spooky jokes or have to jump 3 times or shake table once. Or even put a jenga piece back if they find something to heal themselves

Alright, so here's my first session of Night Shift.

>6 PM, Time for a new shift
>Jeff arrives first, is hassled by Chad Beefington, the Day Shift Stock Clerk.
>Joe and Cassidy arrive
>Valerie, the Day Shift Assistant Manager, tells Joe he had better make sure the coffee gets replaced, because she will, like, totally freak out if she doesn't get her morning coffee.
>Also, they need to restock the Freezy Pops.
>The Day Shift leaves, and their shift begins.

>Cassidy immediately lights up a cigarette and sits outside.
>A woman in a minivan pulls up, and demands he pump her gas.
>He does so, still smoking.

>Jeff goes to check on the coffee.
>It's full, but it's stale and watered down. They didn't change the grounds.
>He goes to the back to get more coffee grounds to refill it.

>Joe immediately goes into the office and shuts the door.
>Notices that it's colder than usual, and he sees that the "Hang In There" painting that normally hangs on the west wall is off its nail, sitting on the counter.
>Cranks the Thermostat (which is at 72) up, and blames Valerie.

>Jeff is in the storeroom, rolls a Check In The Back. He finds the coffee, but as he picks it up, it starts spilling out the bottom.
>There's a hole in the bag, but it looks like it was cut, not chewed or torn.
>Jeff blames that prick Chad Beefington for it, but also hears what sounds like little footsteps running in the roof.

>Mac, the (NPC) Stock Clerk calls up, calling in sick.
>Joe tells him not to drink the night before his shift, and Mac hangs up.
>Joe begins filling out the paperwork to fire Mac.

>Meanwhile, Cassidy notices something climbing on the Propane Tower, so he goes to get the broom, assuming it is raccoons.
>Can't find the good broom, grabs the crappy, feeble, indoor broom. Heads back out.
>A bald man is sniffing at the gas pump, looking irritated and confused.
>Cassidy goes out to meet him.
(cont)

I see you've never been to /b/

>The man says that something is wrong with the pumps. A drop of liquid falls from the pump and splotches on the ground, dark red.
>Cassidy does a "Well, There's Your Problem", and chooses "How to fix it", and "What is needed to fix it". He confirms that the problem is on all pumps, but only the Basic Unleaded, not on Premium or Supreme, or on Pump (6)6(6)'s Diabolical Unleaded.
>They don't know what is wrong with it, only that it seems like an issue with the supply. They'll need to call the distributor.
>The man is irritated that the Unleaded Basic isn't working, doesn't want to pay extra for the other varieties. He storms inside.

>Joe is in his office, when he hears some grinding coming from the wall, which he promptly ignores.
>Jeff reports the coffee situation to him, and both agree to leave the coffee for now and let the Day Shift handle it.
>Joe completes 1 of 3 sets of Paperwork needed.

>The bald man comes in to yell at Jeff.
>Jeff, being a textbook nerd, starts to explain how it's impossible to pump one type of gas at the price of the other type, and is shouted down by the man.
>Rolls a "Hostile Work Environment. Gets a 5.
>Customer is going apeshit, demands to see the manager.
>Jeff calls up the office, which is through the door immediately behind him.
>Joe picks up, and tries to skirt out of talking to the customer.

>Meanwhile, Cassidy is going back to the break room to find the distributor's number. He sees the fracas at the register.
>He finds the number, but the phone in the break room isn't working. He rolls and finds that the cord is cut.
>The end of the plug is still there, though, so he could probably rewind the cables together.
>It'll take 15 minutes, or he can rush it, but he elects to take his time.

>Joe opens the door and talks to the customer, remaining inside the office.
>Jeff sheepishly tries not to attract attention.
>Joe authorizes Jeff to discount him the difference and price, and recommends a coffee to the man.
(cont)

>Meanwhile, outside, a fat man rides into the station, on a sickly green and purple motorcycle. The motorcycle has a mane decoration.
>The man is enormous, greasy, with bloodshot eyes and a running nose. His skin is clammy, and he's stuffed into a leather jacket.
>He promptly vomits onto the ground, starts filling up with Unleaded Basic, then makes for the station.

>The bald man, smug in his discount, goes to fill up.
>Joe goes back to his work, and hears a "thunk".
>He turns to see a hole about the size of a half dollar in the wall, at about eye level.
>He swears and says "Not today you little shits, just let me have one day without this bullshit."
>He slams his hands on the wall, and hears tiny footsteps retreating.

>Cassidy finishes fixing the phone and calls the distributor.
>Distributor says they won't be able to come in until the morning, but could you get a sample so we can investigate it?
>He hangs up, and feels as if he is being watched.
>He ignores it and grabs the "Out of Order" signs and a bottle to put on the pumps.

>Meanwhile the fat man is making a damn mess in the station. He's cough and blowing his nose on his hand, getting phlegm and grease everywhere.
>He sneezes on the cooler door, getting snot and blood all over it.
>Notices there are no Freezy Pops in stock, asks for one.
>Jeff asks Cassidy, who is coming out, to grab some more.
>Cassidy sets down his out of order signs and tells Jeff to go put them on the pumps.
>Cassidy goes to the back to go to the Freezer.

>The man thanks him, and asks Jeff if it's alright if he hangs out, he's waiting for some friends.
>Jeff spaghettis a bit.

>Cassidy enters the freezer, and notices that it seems oddly silent.
>He grabs the box of Freezy Pops, and sees a small, bipedal shape dart behind another box.
>There's a sharp pain, and he looks down to see a french fry sticking out of his calf.
>He goes to leave, and a tiny humanoid figure pops up with a bow, french fry arrow at the ready.
(cont)

>Cassidy leaves the freezer, hearing a tiny victorious bellow, and writes it off as a hallucination, possibly from fumes.
>He stocks the Freezy Pops, and finds that a number of them are torn open, and eaten either partially or entirely. There is also what appears to be a tiny child-like humanoid in the box.
>He leaves the opened ones in the box with the child, then puts the box outside the freezer.
>He ignores the sound of the freezer opening and grabbing the box, and heads back out.

>Meanwhile, another motorcycle has pulled in. This one is a dusty brown, with a mane, and its rider is a very thin man with bristles and sunken eyes.
>He pumps Unleaded Basic, as Cassidy comes out and puts the signs up.
>Cassidy lets him know that Unleaded Basic is out of order, and the man tastes some and says it seems fine to him.
>Cassidy admits he's never tried that, and shrugs.
>As he gets closer to the Propane Tower, he sees that it is not a racoon, but a giant spider the size of a cat nesting on it. He'll need the bug spray.
>The fat man notices the thin man and greets him. The thin man comes in, then sees the food.
>The thin man's eyes go wide, and he drops to his knees, tearing open packet after packet of chips and ravenously consuming them.

>Joe puts a piece of paper over the hole, and it is ripped in. He gets some cardboard to put up, then hears a grinding sound about level with the table.
>He moves the painting and sees a tiny saw poking out of the wall, cutting a hole in it.
>He shouts and bangs on the wall. The sawing pauses, but then continues.
>Jeff calls Joe for help.
>Joe picks up the phone and opens the door to see the thin man ravenously consuming food. He's moved on from the chips to the peanuts now.

>Joe decides to use the Green Phone, and calls up Management.
>He explains the situation, as Jeff crawls into the office.
>Management authorizes him to unlock the bottom drawer in the desk.
>He opens it up and pulls out the Emergency Kit.
(cont)

>The Emergency Kit contains: A bottle of Holy Water, a Bottle of Unholy Water, a Derringer with 3 bullets, a wooden stake, a silver mirror, a small, unidentified device, and a candy bar with a skull on it. It also has some basic first aid supplies.
>Joe pulls out the candy bar and tosses it out the door, saying "This one's free."
>The thin man has already consumed the hostess treats and jerky, but now leaps onto it.
>He starts choking and sputtering after eating it.
>Meanwhile, a third motorcycle has pulled up, bright red.
>An enormous man on it, built like a brick house, takes off his viking-horned motorcycle helmet, crumples up the out of order sign, and starts pumping Unleaded Basic.

>Meanwhile, Cassidy is sweeping the gas station, veering around the pile of vomit.
>He finishes up, and goes to get the bug spray as the enormous man walks into the station.

>Joe is already back to paperwork, when a foot-wide section of the wall falls in.
>An army of tiny people, bearing banners, walking in formation with pikers and archers, drawing a tiny catapult laden with an ice cube behind them, marches onto the desk and claims the land in the name of Good King Amartus.
>Joe grabs a broom and lays into them. He swats the ice cube out of midair and routs the army, sending them screaming back into the wall.
>Inside, he sees a tiny bridge, that he destroys, leading to a 6 inch wide hole in the wall of the Freezer. Cold air is leaking out.
>He pushes the file cabinet up, mostly covering the hole.

>Cassidy gets the bug spray and attacks the spider with it, after the spider ignores his request to move.
>The spider bites him, but he whacks it and it runs off into the desert night.
>He proceeds to spray off the vomit.
>As he's spraying, some of the water hits one of the bikes.
>The enormous man booms out of the gas station and demands to know what the fuck he is doing.
(cont)

>The file cabinet in the office starts to rattle, and Joe ignores it to do more paperwork
>The thin man has regained his composure and apologizes to Jeff.
>Jeff tries to count the drawer and fill the cigarettes, but keeps getting distracted.
>An old lady comes in to do her lotto tickets.

>Cassidy and the enormous man discuss cars for a while, before the enormous man introduces himself as War.
>They shake hands, and Cassidy takes 1 wound as his hand is crushed.
>War goes back in to greet Pestilence (Fat Man) and Famine (Thin Man)
>They discuss their plans to ride out and end civilization, as soon as their friend gets here.

>The file cabinet is toppled over, and the army is back, with more troops, and cannons this time.
>They demand that "Ass Manager Joe" come with them to the Kingdom of Frigidaire.
>Joe tries to weasel out of it, then calls Management.

>Jeff stocks the cigarettes, and hears a click behind him.
>Cassidy sees a man in a ski mask run into the gas station, so he mutters a word of sympathy for Jeff and goes to clean the bathrooms.
>Jeff fills the man's bag with the till, and the man starts demanding his phone and wallet before War's giant hand crushes his head like a grape.
>The lights dim, even the stars and moon, and in the bathroom, they go out entirely.
>Cassidy hears Bloody Mary scratching at the mirror, and elects to leave rather than deal with her.

>He is just in time to see a last motorcycle pull up
>It's bright white, and the rider on it is in a long black jacket, with a white helmet. He seems to emanate a sort of Realness, and he walks past Cassidy, giving him a look that makes him feel hollow inside.
>Cassidy decides he's definitely hallucinating, and should go check the break room for a Mental Health contact number.
(cont)

I like that a lot more than the current one, I'll update the sheets when I get a chance.

>Joe tells the Frigidairians that he can't fit through the hole in the freezer. They say they will enlarge it, and will be back in an hour.
>Joe immediately shoves the filing cabinet back over the hole, and shoves the desk up against it.

>Jeff is catatonic at this point, staring emotionlessly ahead as the Four Horsemen discuss their plans to end all life.
>Cassidy peers at the mental health poster. It's hard to read from all the runes scrawled over it, but he makes out the number and goes to the register to call it (The break room phone is missing entirely now)
>He calls up and "Crazy Asylum" answers.
>He informs them of what he's seen, and informs them that no, he is not drinking.
>No, he has not injected any marijuanas.
>The attendant is out of ideas, but suggests that if he is seeing stuff when he isn't on drugs or alcohol, he should try doing drugs or alcohol, and see if he stops seeing stuff.
>Cassidy can't find any flaws in that logic.
>Gets a bottle of their cheapest, strongest booze, Fighting Hobo, and buys it, then starts drinking it.

>The file cabinet starts melting, and explodes. The frigidairians have made a stolen drill into a ray gun, and demand Joe to follow them.
>Meanwhile, Joe tells Management that he is being forced to Parley with the Frigidairians.
>Management tells him to either go or send somebody as emissary.
>Joe tells Cassidy to go as emissary.
>No, this isn't a promotion
>This is in your job description.
>Read the fine print.
>He finally leaves the office to go fill the change machine.
>Cassidy warns that he's very drunk, but Joe assures him it's not an issue.
>Cassidy goes to meet the King.

>The Four Horsemen are ready to ride.
>Famine asks Jeff if he has any regrets.
>Jeff considers it and says "Working here."
>The riders go out to their motorcycles.

>The King tells Cassidy that he demands the station bend the knee. His words are backed by all-consuming fire, as he indicates a miniature nuclear warhead.
(cont)

>Cassidy nods, and says that his own words aren't even backed by management.
>The king is curious and asks what "Management" is.
>Cassidy tells him it's his boss's boss, and it's in another town (about 50 miles away or so)
>The king asks how far that is, how many feet it is.
>Cassidy estimates it at about 500,000 or so.
>The king demands he ceases his lies.
>He will reward each of them graciously if they bend the knee, bequeathing unto them 5 square feet of land each.
>Cassidy claims he doesn't really have the authority to make that decision.

>Meanwhile, the riders are coming back into the station, irate.
>Their motorcycles won't start.
>That blood wasn't O-negative!
>They demand to see the manager.

>Joe and Jeff try to calm them down, War starts going apeshit, runs out to get his sword.
>The Horsemen are going to blame Jeff if they can't start the Apocalypse and end civilization.
>War demands to know how Joe is going to make it up to them.
>Joe says it's not his fault that they pumped gas from pumps that say "Out of Order."
>War attacks him
>Joe narrowly makes his Fate of All Life roll, and gets his hand lopped off.
>Starts berating War, telling him to fuck off.
>Another roll
>Joe rolls a 4, is bisected vertically.

>War is losing his shit, the other horsemen ask Jeff to calm him down. Suggest a Freezy Pop.
>Famine's already eaten all of the ones stocked.
>Jeff goes to the freezer to get more.
>Jeff enters and Cassidy asks what's going on.
>"Joe got killed."
>"Oh, why?" Cassidy asks
>The king wonders at who is in charge now, if the Ass Manager is dead.
>Cassidy, thinking fast, says "That big guy outside. the biggest one."
>The king nods, and Cassidy and Jeff head out.
>It's about 5 AM now, and almost end of shift.
>Jeff gives War the Freezy Pop, while the King sends a rider out demand an audience with War.
>The Horsemen realize there's a perfectly good civilization in the freezer, and head into it.
(cont)

>Cassidy manages to break the propane tower with the hose, then fix it and turn it off before his shift ends.
>Jeff locks up, as a tiny nuclear blast goes off in the freezer amidst the sound of screams and combat.
>The Horsemen come out of the back, laughing, and ask Jeff to call them a cab.
>Jeff calls them a cab, they wait outside, and he successfully locks up.
>Cassidy and Jeff clock out, while Valerie arrives
>She is shocked and horrified at the scene.
>"YOU DIDN'T FILL UP THE COFFEE??"

And that was the end of the shift.

They wound up with like -3 Management. Cassidy got all of his To-Do done, and all but one of his Goals done, while Jeff got about half of each done.

The Stock Clerk's tasks were not done.

They rolled the "Glad that's over", and got the worst condition. They set Joe up to be the fall guy, and as he was dead and unable to defend himself, he was summarily fired.

Mac wound up never being fired, as Joe was too dead to submit his paperwork.

Overall, a fun session.

What’s the crunch? How’s it all work? What kind of dice are used? At work myself so don’t have time to dig through the wiki.

It's pretty much the standard Apocalypse World fare, 2d6+attribute succeed on a 10+, succeed with a consequence on 7-9, failure on 6 or lower.

...

Stock Clerk ability replaced with "Personal Stash"
Drifter buffed to Roll+Attribute+Weird

Here's a fillable version of the Stock Clerk form.

I just realized something. There's no good reason to take the Day Shift background, since it only gives a negative effect. Sure it opens up some role play, but most people probably won't want to weaken their characters for it.

How does the timing of things work? Is there a structure or is it pretty loose. Like how long does it take to stock a shelf and do paperwork and whatnot?

I had that exact point brought up during character creation, turned to the player next to me and he had picked it anyway because the roleplay opportunity.

The Apocalypse Engine is meant to be used cinematically, so that roll can cover whatever length of time is appropriate for whatever you're doing.

Day Shift: Nobody likes you, and you're just trying to do your job. -1 when you try to Lend a Hand or somebody tries to Lend a Hand to you. +1 Forward whenever you successfully complete one of your To-Do list tasks.

Day Shift isn't used to this weirdo shit, they just do their job. Not their fault if all these Night Shift freaks don't like them.

Also, not too sure about the Dealer one. It's very verbose, and there's no given limit on how often you can use it.

It's also a little odd that somebody who is dealing as a background would still work at a gas station. Should its focus be more on "drug user or dealer" or on "Extra money/gambling" focus?

Or should we just leave it as is?

Also, here's the Cashier

Okay, let's brainstorm (Management discourages employees from engaging in neurological precipitation without adequate protection. In case of thoughts in excess of 65 mph, physical attachment to the structure is required).
If you're Day Shift, you're not supposed to be here. This means you're covering someone else's shift. THe following is wordy.
Day Crew working the Night Shift receive -1 to their roll when helping a team member or when receiving help from one. They suffer -1 to their Weird, but they cannot be fired unless the Assistant Manager is also Day Shift. Day Shift Assistant Managers must roll +Management to fire a Night Shift Team Member (7-9 means they suffer -1 Management). Additionally, Day Shift receives +1 Paycheck automatically for covering the additional shift.
If the Day Shift Team Member survives 3 shifts on the Night Shift, they are permanently transferred and lose the Day Shift background, retaining no abilities from it.

I'll post the rest of what I have. If we change the Day Shift or Dealer etc, I can update the fillable forms once we get those done.

...

Any way an Employee Handbook can be whipped up for a bare-bones explanation of the rules? I’d love to run this next week but I’m a bit cautious just because my players aren’t the best at responding to new systems without a cheat sheet.

Whoops, I only meant to delete the file, not the entire post.

Day Shift: Everybody hates you, and you're just trying to do your job. -1 When you attempt to Lend a Hand to others, or others Lend a Hand to you. +1 Forward any time you complete a task on your To-Do list.

Also, the Dealer one is a bit off, since it has no restriction on use. It's also a little weird that a full-time dealer would still be working at the gas station.

Would it be better to focus on "drug user/dealer" or "Money earning/usage"?

Or should we just leave it be?

I could give it a shot, although the guy who designed the character sheets would probably do a better job. It's mostly a matter of content and filler and such.

I could give it a go but can't promise I'll have the time. Anyone else wanting to give it a go would be welcome

I'll dump a couple of the handouts I dug out of the archives that helped me, can't promise all the rules meld happily.

Some scenario ideas someone compiled

Realized I forgot to post the rest.

...

Here also is a fillable version of the Employee Application I made.