Grave Robbers Inc
Sometimes there are jobs that are
necessary but are considered to unsavory for most people to do. One
such job is exhuming the dead. Now there may be all sorts of reasons
why you need a body dug up, ritual components, resurrection, feeding,
whatever... but it's a dirty backbreaking job that just seems to have
a bad taint about it. But there is a demand, so of course there are
those willing to do the work. That's just what this little posse of
losers has done. After being outcasts in a niche of society that is
pretty much composed of outcasts these folks got together and carved
out their own little pocket by doing what nobody else will do. No
questions asked. For the right price.
Of course their prices aren't cheap but
what's the alternative, doing it yourself? Nobody wants to do that.
So as a base rate to pull a fresh body out of the ground and have it
picked up at a location of their choosing you will pay an easy five
grand. Add another grand for every week it's been buried. Add a grand
if the customer chooses the pick up location. Tag on another two if
they have to move the body from the transport and into a location.
Just need specific parts of a body? Well that's a grand each.
These guys don't take plastic so be
ready to pay cash in hand or bitcoin. On a very rare occasion they
have been willing to do the deed for a trade. But whatever you are
offering it had better be pretty valuable AND be something they
really want.
One thing though, getting in touch with
them isn't that tough. If you ask around the various occult circles
enough you will hear about them and somebody will hand you a phone
number. On the other end of that number will be the sweetest voice
you’ve ever heard.
Significant NPC's
Tim Price, aka The Boss
Tim is from a long family line of
morticians. He has all the education and apprenticeship necessary to
follow that path as well. But he decided to spend some more time in
college while chasing after lost bits of occult knowledge. While he
possesses no magical or supernatural abilities himself he does know a
great deal more than most others and has a nearly photographic memory
to boot.
He's the one who started Grave Robbers
Inc up. Having the know how and access to the equipment needed for
the job put him in the position of being in charge.
Chrissy, aka The Voice
When you need to meet GRI to discuss
business this is who you will talk to. All of five feet tall, dressed
in black from head to toe with combat boots, she is the stereotype
appearance of modern goth. Until she speaks. Her tone and inflection
are perfect and anyone listening to her feels immediately at ease,
calm and don't have an angry bone in their body. Some say she from a
bloodline of muses, but nobody knows for sure. She may not even know
herself.
Other members of the crew tend to vary.
From a few outcasts just looking to earn some money on the side to
jocks from the local college hoping to impress Chrissy. Just
disposable guys to work the shovels and do the dirty work.
Artifacts of Note
Privacy Lantern. This appears to be an
old turn of the century railway oil lantern. Very worn, dinged up and
dented but still functional. When filled with oil, lit and a bit of
magic is used it creates an optical illusion. Anything activity
within the circle of light is rendered invisible from outside
viewing. Used while digging up a grave so that casual passer by or a
police patrol can't see the activity happening. This illusion is
broken if the lantern is moved more than a few inches.
Piece of your Mind Pipe. This appears
to be a long smoking pipe made to resemble a Native American 'peace
pipe' or at least what they looked like on television. This is
activated when a person loads the pipe up and lights then takes a
puff while spending a bit of magic. Then when they hand it off to
another and they take a hit that’s when the person who lit the
thing says out a number of a days and the person will pass out. When
they wake back up they will have forgotten most of the specified
number of days. Only some very foggy and faint images will remain.
Story hooks.
If you have a group with player
characters who are down on their luck and needing money well here is
an option. Tim is always looking for a few good folks to do the heavy
lifting. The more they know about the occult and supernatural goings
on the more he’ll like them. So time to see if your players can
handle a bit of graveyard desecration.
The Graverobbers have dug up the
remains of somebody very important. Now there is a price on their
head until the body is returned preferably intact. Maybe your group
will be the ones hunting them down. Or maybe GRI is paying the
characters to get the body back from the people who had them dig it
up in the first place. Maybe they didn’t even dig it up in the
first place and they are being framed.