It's inevitable at this point. Writing locations is slow going. Writing factions slower still. How to make those things punchy, engaging, and playable is actually pretty damn hard. I'm not one for the setting book approach. Know what is punchy and engaging? LISTS!
[HONEST GHOST] (Sleeve as Class):
Not a Nun on the Run. Just too weird for the cloister. Belongs to one of the Sisterhood's mendicant orders; where all the useful eccentrics ultimately end up.
- Traditional robes; titanium dioxide-white with a full face covering. [HONEST GHOST] has relearned a human gait and under the robe can pass as a human Mendicant Sister as long as she does not speak or move too quickly.
- A favorite brass parable tablet carved with raised lettering, smooth from wear. ("Return to the city, find the dealer of slaves, and buy him. He is all you need.")
- Hand-carved alms bowl (rarely used).
- Sturdy clay cylinder-book; inside is hollowed out and stuffed with fabric and dice. Written in a private cipher (lots of time to invent imaginary languages if meditation isn't your speed); contains simple rules for a TTRPG-adjacent game which she taught to her Little Sisters before her de facto exile.
- Fossil of an alien sea creature cut from the wall of her tomb/cell (trilateral radial symmetry with three long rear tentacles and three short fore tentacles -- a small, fast predator in its day).
- A legendary [DREAD HEART KNIFE] in a compact, utilitarian scabbard. Easily concealed beneath heavy robes. She always took to swordplay better than doctrine.
- Funerary implements; washing basin, cloths, incense, and everything else required to send the spirit on its way in peace.
- A credit stick linked to a personal bank account; she gets funny looks when paying for things with it instead of token money from the alms bowl.
- Bricks of paraffin wax flavored with various plant resins, turpentine, and salts of hydrogen cyanide. Essential trace metals mixed in in powdered form.
- Carbon supplements (bought from a specialty store with bright packaging); essential for any sleeve engaged in a regular life of violence; essentially just packets of charcoal dust to be mixed in with water or tea.
- Cellular phone; also gets funny looks when using it.
- Train tickets to the Great Southern Hall.
- Cheap wheeled suitcase bought from a local news agent -- it really sells the human disguise. Nobody walks normally when pulling a wheelie bag.
NUUL (Scientist):
An eccentric treasure hunter. Formally educated and book smart but black bag jobs are a new experience for him.
- Keys to a pressurized rover parked in a garage on the surface a thousand miles away. Bought sight-unseen three days ago.
- Hand-drawn map on pulp paper using craters as reference points. Designed to obfuscate the area it references.
- Firearms permit (doesn't own a weapon).
- Insulated suit (folded) and supplemental oxygen tank (unfilled) in a heavy duffel bag. For expeditions to the surface.
- Pickled wall-ear mushroom salad and grilled shrimp in a takeout box (half-eaten). Receipt still taped to the top of the box.
- Keys to a large train station locker.
- Three fake IDs and enough token money to buy a run-down house in a sturdy plastic briefcase (biometric locked).
- Burner phone (not connected to a network). Several preinstalled casual games and the music app are currently open.
- Very expensive wired headphones.
- Schlocky romance paperbacks bought from a train station bookstore.
- Academic's diploma-talisman (archaeology).
- Letter to parents on The Long Plain with a prepaid shipping label (first class space mail).
- Mistcoat -- the terraformed subterranean chambers are always damp and often rainy. For someone used to The Long Plain's arid topside weather, this is a major adjustment.
YENENKLEE (Teamster):
Forty years experience with odd jobs and petty crime. Heard of the dig site through underworld contacts and they found some people.
- Well-used stun baton; expensive spacer's model. It's seen dozens of barfights and back-alley brawls and hasn't failed its owner yet.
- Homemade stuffed mushrooms -- itinerant criminal or not, it's always important to have homemade food. This was grandad's recipe. He was a real bastard but definitely knew how to cook.
- Resistance band set -- important for any spacer who wants to stay in shape.
- Military-style frameless pack; mostly filled with warm, comfortable clothes.
- Portable shortwave radio -- powerful enough to talk to a spacecraft in low orbit. No permit for it.
- Large plastic bottle of beer from a spaceport pre-weigh shop. Made in the style of the Great Merchant Houses by a local producer. A poor imitation.
- Tickets to an underground music venue (punched, somebody's phone number scrawled on the back) with loud, controversial music blamed for corrupting the youth, cheap alcohol, and overpriced drugs. The hangover was worth it.
- Patch: belter clan emblem.
- Folding multitool designed for use in a space suit's gloves; well-cared for and expensive.
- Wallet containing local cermet token money (enough to buy a few stiff drinks and a long-distance train ticket).
- Mildly psychoactive tea and an elaborately decorated electric micro-kettle and small silver cups. Another custom from home.
- Utility knife, extremely thin but sturdy fullerene cable and a firestarter in a small compartment in the handle.
- Blood pressure medication (expired for one year but still seems to work just fine).
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