The Nebulous Void, Curio Shop For A Tabletop Roleplaying Game

 

Tickhill antique shop, early 1900s

The Nebulous Void looks like the antique shop where you would find a cursed item, or a great treasure. Packed on the shelves of the main room are curiosities from everywhere. There are always items the customers, here and now, have never seen before. Scattered throughout the shop are the mundane, the artistic, the rare, and the extraordinary.

A sign sits on the counter opposite the front door that reads, "Be careful of what you touch." If the proprietor is asked what that means he responds with a smirk and "Many of the pieces are fragile and irreplaceable. It is up to the person looking to ensure they do not have to buy something they don't want or can't afford."

This elderly shop owner has an age defying look. He has strabismus, his light blue eyes don't look in the same direction. His right eye looks to the upper right of while his left looks slightly to the left. This doesn't affect his vision in any way, but it is hard to tell where the man is looking. When he is talking it is hard to tell who he is looking at. His grey hair is still streaked with some black. It is pulled back and held at the base of his skull by a ribbon. The ribbon's color is always changing, sometimes it's different when he re-enters the room. His hair and eyes seem to contrast with the smoothness of his skin. There are few wrinkles on his face and his hands look like they belong to a young man.

The proprietor's wardrobe is a broad collection of fashions. It includes pieces from the past and from all over the world. There are times his ensemble is coordinated for a specific look and then are other days where it appears he was dressed by the combined efforts of toddlers.

When referring to himself, the elderly man calls himself The Proprietor of the store, or another similar title. He never gives his name. If pushed, he will simply claim there is power in a person's true name. If they need to use a name call him Mister Void and changes the subject.

Market in Zanzibar

The Proprietor has the uncanny ability of seeming to know what a person in his store is looking for. It is almost like he has listened in on the plans the people made to visit him. Many times he states he doesn't have what they are looking for, but he has something else they would be interested in. Something he has just set out in the back room.

There are two public rooms in the Nebulous Void. The front room contains a wide assortment of items that range in value and description. It is something that these items remain on the shelf, but every person has the feeling that they should not even try to take something they haven't purchased or been given.

The back room is behind a curtain of an old patterned blanket. This is where people are ushered to look at a specific item or items The Proprietor has deemed they would be interested in. The back room has a door leading out the back of the building and a staircase leading to the second level of the building. Inside the room are a couple of tables. All of the tables except for the one in the middle of the room are scattered with items. It looks like the old man has been sorting through the items. Again, it appears there is stuff from many different times and places.

The center table has a couple of odd items and the main pieces he wants to show to the particular customer he thinks will be interested in. It is never known for sure what The Proprietor will have laid out on the table for display.

If people are interested in seeing what is happening at the Nebulous Void, they can watch it from outside. It doesn't appear The Proprietor ever leaves. Food and drink are delivered on a regular bases from different markets and a person shows up every couple of days to take garbage out the back door. None of these people can add any additional information about the shop.

There never seems to be many people visiting the store. When someone is in the Nebulous Void, it is a rare event another enters. One of the mysteries that may be seen is someone entering the store and then doesn't leave. They may also witness a person leaving they never saw enter.

If a person is hired to watch the store, the report is even vaguer. The person didn't see anything except a customer or a delivery being made where the person entered and left a few minutes later. If they are hired over a few days, the daily reports are almost identical for each day.

The Nebulous Void is also a place where oddities can be sold. Basically anything can be sold there at a fair market value. But once something is sold there, the person will not see it again. They may try to go back and purchase it, but will be calmly told it is no longer available.

Game Master Notes

The Nebulous Void is a place that can be used in practically any game setting and be manipulated in many different ways. It is a place that could be in different campaigns in completely different places and still be the "same" place. Some ideas that can be used in your game are:

The Nebulous Void is an intersection of time and space. The Proprietor manages this gate for travelers. He doesn't share the information readily. However, the players may be given information that will allow them to gain the help of The Proprietor and his abilities to get them someplace else.

The Nebulous Void doesn't fully exist on this plane of existence. It is a place that is there when it is needed. At other times it cannot be found. The Proprietor is an existential being that is only partially grounded in existence and inhabits time and space in a manner that other creatures are unable to fully comprehend. It could just be that the artifact he just purchased is unavailable because he placed it back in time so it could be found when it was needed.

There are many ways The Proprietor and The Nebulous Void can be twisted to fit that oddity needed to give rise to the level of the unexplained.

 

Market in Shanghai

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