Gina Marie’s Gun Emporium

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Today at Game Geekery is the first in a new series called “Tidbits,” a write-up of a small business, Gina Marie’s Gun Emporium, which can be easily dropped into most modern urban settings. The legitimate gun shop does a brisk trade, but primarily the Gun Emporium is a front for the much more lucrative business of selling and smuggling illegal arms. Below are a basic map of the premises, details of the locale, and stats for the major NPCs.

Summary

Gina Marie’s Gun Emporium has been a successful downtown business for years, providing competitive prices and a solid selection of civilian-available firearms (Legality Class 3, license required). The eponymous owner, Gina Marie, is a well-known local figure and active in the community.

The store, however, hides a secret: it is actually a front from which Gina Marie and her shady employees sell illegal weapons out of a secret back room. Their illicit roots go deep, and so far Gina’s well-paid “friends” (two beat cops, a detective, a court clerk, and even a judge on the payroll) have always kept them off of law enforcement’s radar.

Any character in the area looking to purchase an illegal firearm can find their way to the Emporium with a successful Streetwise-2 roll. If they ask an employee about the “friends and family discount,” they will be given a time (after normal business hours) to return to the store’s rear alley entrance. There they will be screened, frisked, and swept for electronics before any business is conducted.

Gina Marie keeps a wide variety of Legality Class 2 weapons (SMGs, assault rifles, even a few hand grenades) in stock. Given enough time and money, she can put her hands on certain Legality Class 1 weapons as well (whatever the GM allows, but usually things like grenade launchers, machine guns, maybe even LAW rockets/RPGs). She also sells LC2 and LC3 body armor.

Layout

• 1 – Display Floor: This is the only area accessible to members of the public, and only through the front double doors. The rear door to the alley remains tightly locked unless being used after hours to admit potential buyers. The store is kept clean and bright, with all merchandise secured either in glass display cases (handguns) or wall racks (rifles and shotguns). Each corner of the main room houses a video camera for security, all of which record continuously to a hard drive in the locked office (area 2).
• 2 – Office: Strictly employees only, this small office contains a computer (and separate external drive for the video cameras), a desk and a couple of chairs, filing cabinet, etc. A hidden door is built into the east wall which can only be opened via an encrypted and password-protected program on the computer (Computer Hacking-2 to find, Computer Hacking-4 to activate without the password). Gina Marie keeps four handguns and two shotguns loaded and secured on the south wall at all times.
• 3 – Bathroom: Also strictly employees only and kept locked, but otherwise normal except for a hidden wall compartment in the east wall that only the employees and Gina Marie know about (can be found with a Search-2, Architecture-2, or similar roll). This compartment holds a loadout of weapons identical to the one in Gina Marie’s office.
• 4 – Secret Armory: This hidden room is where anything illegal is stored; the items in the rest of the store are always keep 100% legal. These four walls are internally fortified to the equivalent of 8″ thick reinforced concrete (DR 96/HP 80; see p. 558). There is a safe in the north corner containing important documents/drives and $50,000 in cash (Lockpicking-4 to open without the combination). Anyone surveilling the Emporium might deduce the existence of this hidden room with an Architecture roll or similar.
• 5 – Store Next Door: This is simply the business the Emporium shares a wall with. Currently, it is a Ken’s Krispy Chicken.

Characters

Gina Marie

ST 10     HP   10     Thr/Sw 1d-2/1d 
DX 11     Will 11     Move (Basic Speed) 5 (5.5) 
IQ 12     Per  12     Parry  8 (Brawling)
HT 10     FP   10     Dodge  8

Advantages/Disadvantages
   Charisma
   Contacts (two beat cops, one detective, one court clerk, one judge,
      two gunrunners, one local capo, one local underboss)
   Luck (1x hour)
   Enemies (rival criminals)

Important Skills
   Accounting-12          Intimidation-13
   Administration-11      Knife-11
   Body Language-12       Leadership-12
   Brawling-11            Merchant-13
   Diplomacy-14           Persuade-13
   Fast-Talk-13           Public Speaking-12
   Guns (Pistol)-15       Streetwise-15
   Guns (Rifle)-13
   Guns (Shotgun)-13
   Guns (SMG)-13

Hand Weapons/Attacks
   Punch-11   1d-3 cr, Reach C, Parry 0
   Kick-9     1d-2 cr, Reach C,1, Parry No
   Knife-11   1d-3 cut/1d-3 imp, Reach C,1/C, Parry -1

Ranged Weapons/Attacks
   Auto Pistol (.40)-15
   2d pi+, Acc 2, Range 150/1900, RoF 3, Shots 15+1(3), ST 9, Bulk -2, Rcl 2

Gina Marie is from a Mafia family based in a different city, and runs the Gun Emporium as a form of “striking out on her own.” She remains outside of the local Mafia structure as an independent operator, so she does not “kick up” profits beyond paying off the expected monthly protection insurance. Relations between the local family and her own are cordial, so she enjoys a certain measure of respect.

Though Gina prefers to sell her illegal wares to other “organized” criminal types (Mafia or not), she harbors no illusions about the dirty nature of her business. The only customers she generally refuses to sell to are those who seem obviously unstable or mentally unhinged (junkies, someone hearing voices, etc.).

She has known Dominic since they were both children, and trusts him without reservation. He is not only her bodyguard but also her sole confidante. She trusts Peter and William as well, but only as solid employees, not family.

Gina Marie’s primary goal is to continue running the Emporium to remain self-sufficient and not dependent on her family’s money or name.

Dominic

ST 13     HP   13     Thr/Sw 1d/2d-1
DX 12     Will 10     Move (Basic Speed) 6 (6) 
IQ 10     Per  12     Parry  11 (Karate)
HT 12     FP   12     Dodge  10

Advantages/Disadvantages
   Combat Reflexes
   High Pain Threshold
   Bully
   Enemies (rival criminals)
Important Skills
   Fast-Draw (Ammo)-11       Intimidation-13
   Fast-Draw (Pistol)-11     Karate-14
   First Aid-12              Knife-14
   Guns (Pistol)-16          Stealth-12
   Guns (Rifle)-16           Streetwise-12
   Guns (Shotgun)-15         Wrestling-14
   Guns (SMG)-14

Hand Weapons/Attacks
   Punch-14   1d+1 cr, Reach C, Parry 0
   Kick-12    1d+2 cr, Reach C,1, Parry No
   Knife-14   2d-3 cut/1d imp, Reach C,1/C, Parry -1

Ranged Weapons/Attacks
   Auto Pistol (.44M)-16
   3d pi+, Acc 2, Range 230/2500, RoF 3, Shots 9+1(3), ST 12, Bulk -3, Rcl 4

Dominic grew up with Gina Marie. He is absolutely loyal to her and loves her like a sister. In fact, most of his adult life has been spent keeping her safe from harm.

Unfortunately, Dominic’s mother (now in her late 50s) has a problem with abusing prescription painkillers, specifically Oxycodone. After months of surveillance, the DEA quietly arrested her a few weeks ago. They are threatening to charge her with intent to sell, with additional penalties due to her home being within 1,000 of a playground, and are leveraging that threat to force Dominic to become their confidential informant (to gain dirt on Gina Marie and, ultimately, leverage her against her father).

The DEA won’t wait forever for an answer, and the stress of the decision is wreaking havoc on Dominic. While he has always treated Peter and William poorly, lately his behavior has become even more abusive. His relationship with Gina Marie has also become strained (though she assumes he simply has “something important on his mind” that he wants to deal with privately).

Peter

ST 15     HP   15     Thr/Sw 1d+1/2d+1
DX 11     Will 10     Move (Basic Speed) 5 (5.75) 
IQ 10     Per  10     Parry  11 (Boxing)
HT 12     FP   12     Dodge  10

Advantages/Disadvantages
   Combat Reflexes
   Enhanced Dodge 1
   High Pain Threshold
   Bad Temper

Important Skills
   Boxing-14                 Knife-12
   Fast-Draw (Pistol)-11     Streetwise-11
   Guns (Pistol)-14          Sumo Wrestling-14
   Guns (Rifle)-12           
   Guns (Shotgun)-12
   Guns (SMG)-12

Hand Weapons/Attacks
   Punch-14   1d+2 cr, Reach C, Parry 0
   Kick-9     1d+2 cr, Reach C,1, Parry No
   Knife-12   2d-1 cut/1d+1 imp, Reach C,1/C, Parry -1

Ranged Weapons/Attacks
   Auto Pistol (.40)-14
   2d pi+, Acc 2, Range 150/1900, RoF 3, Shots 15+1(3), ST 9, Bulk -2, Rcl 2

Peter is a stereotypical “bruiser,” hired by Gina Marie as security shortly after opening the Emporium. He rarely deals with the legitimate customers as his social skills are not the best and he is prone to losing his temper. He secretly hates Dominic and plans to one day “teach him a lesson.” Peter remains loyal to Gina mostly because she pays him well; he has no particular sense of honor or gratitude.

William

ST 12     HP   12     Thr/Sw 1d-1/1d+2
DX 13     Will 12     Move (Basic Speed) 6 (6) 
IQ 11     Per  14     Parry  11 (Brawling)
HT 11     FP   11     Dodge  10

Advantages/Disadvantages
   Combat Reflexes
   Daredevil
   Nosy

Important Skills
   Brawling-13               Knife-15 
   Fast-Draw (Knife)-14      Lockpicking-13
   Fast-Draw (Pistol)-11     Pickpocket-14
   Guns (Pistol)-14          Stealth-14
   Guns (Rifle)-12           Streetwise-14
   Guns (Shotgun)-14         
   Guns (SMG)-12

Hand Weapons/Attacks
   Punch-13   1d-2 cr, Reach C, Parry 0
   Kick-11    1d-1 cr, Reach C,1, Parry No
   Knife-15   1d cut/1d-1 imp, Reach C,1/C, Parry -1

Ranged Weapons/Attacks
   Auto Pistol (.40)-15
   2d pi+, Acc 2, Range 150/1900, RoF 3, Shots 15+1(3), ST 9, Bulk -2, Rcl 2

William has been living on the streets since a very young age, eking by as a low-level thief. One of the local mob soldiers is a friend from “the old days,” and recommended William to Gina Marie when she opened the Emporium. He keeps to himself, but has a keen interest in everything going on around him and is always watching and listening. Just a few days ago, he discovered the bind that Dominic is in with the DEA. William hasn’t yet decided how to turn this knowledge to his own benefit.

Customization

Gina Marie’s Gun Emporium could be modified for various genres and settings simply by changing the type of contraband she deals in (opium, blaster pistols) and the criminal organizations around her (Triads, The Venusian Brotherhood). All of the various “meta-plot” background — Dominic’s arrested mother, Peter’s desire for revenge, etc. — can easily be ignored to make the Emporium more of a background fixture for the PCs to take advantage of when needed.

As always, I’m curious to hear about any games you use this for and how things went, especially suggestions for making it better or things you’d like to see in future Tidbits. Enjoy!

 

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