Liquidation
A Fiasco Playset
Credits
Written by Ewen Cluney.
Thanks to Mike Bom and Mike Mallon, whose stories, combined with my own, formed the basis of this playset.
Boilerplate
This playset is for use with Fiasco, a role-playing game from Bully Pulpit Games ([Link]). The
playset itself is ©2011 by Ewen Cluney. Fiasco is ©2009 by Jason Morningstar.
The Score
Crossings is one of the biggest bookstore chains in the country. Due to a changing market and (according to some)
mismanagement, the company has been in pretty bad shape for a while. Now the other shoe has finally dropped,
and Crossings has declared bankruptcy. All of the stores are closing, just as soon as they can liquidate enough of
their merchandise. In the midst of it all, you’re going to become some of the employees and regulars, out to get the
best deals (or steals), settled grudges, or maybe just get your life in order before the inevitable end.
1
Relationships
1. Work 4. Loitering
1 Supervisor and worker 1 Manga hobo1 and otaku rival
2 Longtime co-workers 2 Homeless guy and security guard
3 Temp help and supervisor 3 Wannabe novelist and eternal naysayer
4 Veteran and rookie of the retail wars 4 Working and nonworking college students
5 Manager and favorite snitch 5 Lonely old person and pestered staff
6 Ranting partners 6 Wingnut and a staffer who listens for
entertainment value.
2. Dirty Deeds
1 Wannabe con men 5. Romance
2 Vandals out to decimate the store 1 Illicit tryst
3 Pranksters with a common enemy 2 Pure romance, doomed to fail
4 Selling stuff on the side 3 Ex-somethings
5 Shared guilt for something really bad 4 Sexual harassment
6 Drug dealer and customer 5 Creepy stalking thing
6 Fuck buddies
3. Friendship
1 Gaming buddies 6. History
2 Lunch buddies 1 Blackmailer and blackmailee
3 Friends since high school 2 Family of some kind
4 Fanboys, ever competing in obscure trivia 3 Bitter past rivalry
5 Bibliophile and book dealer 4 Had a band together
6 True friends since forever 5 Former business partners, until Crossings
ruined it
6 Childhood friends reunited at a crap job
...at a big bookstore
that’s about to close
1 This being a term for those tweens who hang out in the manga
aisle reading manga for hours on end.
2
Needs
1. To Get Even 4. To Steal
1 …with the manager 1 …anything that isn’t nailed down
2 …with the customers. All of them. 2 …some choice valuables
3 …with a co-worker 3 …the manager’s prized sales award
4 …with the guys at Games Boutique next door 4 …something insanely big
5 …with the security guard 5 …someone’s car
6 …with an asshole customer 6 …someone’s boyfriend/girlfriend
2. To leave 5. To Get Laid
1 …this city and go home 1 …before the store closes
2 …retail work. Forever. For real this time. 2 …with the hot chick from the music
3 …before they realize what you did department
4 …for a better job 3 …because it beats working
5 …and just keep going 4 …and finally lose your virginity
6 …this relationship 5 …because you’re so damn horny
6 …to dull the pain
3. To Get Respect
1 …from that hottie 6. To Find
2 …from your parents 1 …a significant other
3 …by doing something spectacularly illegal 2 …where they hid the money
4 …of some kind, dammit 3 …where they hid that book you really wanted
5 …by getting published 4 …your meds
6 …from your S.O. 5 …a reason to go on
6 …the one who wronged you
...at a big bookstore
that’s about to close
3
Locations
1. Store Attractions 4. Nearby
1 The Seattle Café 1 ATM
2 The bathrooms 2 Games Boutique (video game retailer)
3 The manga aisle 3 The Sizzler
4 Information kiosk 4 Drug store
5 Reading area with comfy sofas 5 Safeway (with a staff of hooligans)
6 Famous(ish) author’s reading and signing 6 The university
2. Behind the Scenes 5. Departments
1 The manager’s office 1 eBook Reader Display
2 The warehouse 2 The bargain book aisles
3 The janitorial closet 3 Music & DVDs
4 The break room 4 The magazine racks
5 The shipping docks 5 The children’s section
6 The roof 6 Religious Fiction
3. Downtown 6. Further Afield
1 A scummy fast food place 1 The manager’s house
2 A trendy coffee shop 2 An employee’s crappy apartment
3 Surf Pizza 3 Read To Live, an independent bookstore
4 The parking garage 4 A dark alley
5 The First Pentecostal Church 5 Read and Read Again, a used bookstore
6 The train station 6 A seedy motel
...at a big bookstore
that’s about to close
4
Objects
1. Books 4. Lost and Found
1 Teen paranormal romance bestseller with a fake 1 A wallet with $2,000 in cash
autograph 2 Something left in the back of the fridge
2 Nude photography book 3 A working cell phone
3 Rabid right-wing bestseller 4 A sex toy
4 Expensive programming textbook 5 A bag of weed
5 2012 apocalypse book 6 Nunchucks
6 Teen wizard bestseller boxed set
5. Retail Necessities
2. Weird Merch 1 A pricing gun
1 Disturbing anime plush 2 A pallet of gift cards
2 Magic wand flashlight 3 The Customer Appreciation Bat
3 Sparkly vampire pillow 4 The nightly deposit bag of cash and receipts
4 Novelty ice cube trays 5 A roll of discount stickers
5 Unintentionally suggestive children’s toy 6 The staff’s penultimate paychecks
6 Henna tattoo kit and book
6. Just Weird
3. Secret 1 A box of condiment packets
1 Secret stash of prime merchandise 2 A really offensive tattoo
2 The store’s cooked account books 3 A suitcase full of underwear
3 A copy of the store’s master key 4 A water bottle of yellow liquid
4 Manager-only memos 5 An obviously terrible movie script for
5 The alarm disarm code “Paleolithic Park”
6 A surveillance tape 6 NSFW novelty candy
...at a big bookstore
that’s about to close
5
Liquidation Insta-setup
Relationships at Crossings
For three players…
Work: Temp help and supervisor
Loitering: Wannabe novelist and eternal naysayer
History: Childhood friends reunited at a crap job
For four players add…
Dirty Deeds: Pranksters with a common enemy
For five players add…
Romance: Sexual harassment
Needs at Crossings
For three or four players…
To get even: with the customers. All of them.
For five players, add…
To find: your meds
Locations at Crossings
For three, four, or five players…
Store Attractions: Famous(ish) author’s reading and signing
Objects at Crossings
For three players…
Books: Teen paranormal romance bestseller with a fake autograph
For four or five players, add…
Lost and Found: A wallet with $2,000 in cash