the hotel heist

[whereinthefloors]

WHO: Intrepid Gumshoes (that's you!)
WHERE: The Restaurant Formerly Known as Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville
WHEN: Early March
WHAT: The end of the rash of thefts around the hotel.
WARNINGS: Gambling, alcohol, geography. Please let me know if anything else needs to be added.

THE FINAL INVITATION

Sometime in early March, the hotel server will receive a final post from the mysterious, glitched-out UNKNOWN user:

The stakes have never been higher, and all bets are off.
To see if you can win against the house, come back to where it all began.
Bring a friend, but make sure you both can keep a secret before you visit me in my new HQ. What happens here should stay here.

Those who correctly determine that they are being invited back to the location of the former Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville are correct. They’ll find that the drab remaining façade of “-Ville” has further deteriorated into flickering florescent lights and a path leading into the restaurant shell, painted in blacklight paint. The remaining illuminated sign has seen better days, too, now reading only “V I L E.” Following this path will lead the curious to an old-timey detective agency door concealing a dark portal that looks like…a roulette wheel.

Do you dare to step inside?

THE COAT ROOM

Need an excuse to dress your blorbo up? Don’t worry; we’ve got that here.

Passing through the portal will dump guests in a large coat room. An attendant will immediately swarm them and demand they adhere to the strict dress code. But don’t worry! They’ll also provide tickets for reclaiming any clothing items left behind, and the dress code to enter only demands that guests are dressed to impress. All manner of fancy tuxedos, gowns, regalia, jewelry, and accessories from any imaginable region are available, so guests may select a look that suits them…as long as it is fancy. Once they’re dressed, they’ll be allowed to proceed into the casino.

THE GAME FLOOR

And what a casino it is.

Beyond the coat room is a veritable indoor Vegas. Those familiar with the city of sin will recognize several essential landmarks, like the Bellagio fountains and the Sphinx and Pyramid (flanked by familiar palm trees, of course). The music pumped through the speaker system includes an astounding amount of Jimmy Buffet. Plenty of the casino’s layout is clearly Caelum-inspired, but several landmarks from tourist attractions around the multiverse are also stuffed into this sensory overload. Feel free to get creative! Is M****y M****e here? Maybe! That copyright sure expired!

Everything is—surprisingly—free, including the coffee, the appetizers, and the alcohol. This would be an excellent opportunity to try a house margarita or moonshine cocktail. There’s no shortage of games for gamblers. Successful play rewards chips that can be exchanged for surprisingly familiar basic amenities and items one might recognize from the hotel or even their inventories, like some super fucked up Chuck-E-Cheese. Like any casino experience, it’s easy to lose a lot of time here if one loses track of why they came in the first place…but the ride will surely be fun.

THE HEIST

The unlimited games and drinks might be enough to hold attention for a time, but many guests may have come here to regain something that was taken for them. Play long, hard, smart, or pathetic enough, and you might just be offered a special prize at the counter—entry into the high-rollers club. This is allegedly where the boss keeps her stash of most prized items. Guests are encouraged to bring a +1 to the VIP experience.

If this offer is taken, a velvet rope-drop will invite the new high-rollers into a distinctly film noir-inspired back hallway, lined with portraits of famous gangsters and criminals throughout history and dotted with century-appropriate décor.

It’s not a straight shot to the boss’ office. Guests will work through a veritable maze of self-same corridors with crackling radios and nested CRTVs. Every so often, when it seems someone’s come to a dead end, one of these devices will crackle to life. To open the barrier and reveal a new door or hallway, everyone must correctly answer a geography trivia question or three about a world they know. Hopefully, they paid attention in school!

Combat-minded individuals might instead find themselves getting into the occasional brawl with trench coat-wearing, sunglasses-indoors type mobster individuals, who, when bested, will give them a new directional clue for navigating the halls. Maybe there are lasers to dodge or a stealth sneak section or an obstacle that requires wit, guile, fake flirting, or sleight of hand? All obstacles that can be overcome by such an intrepid group of investigators.

THE END

To finally retrieve the last of the missing items and reclaim the coffee and the Margaritaville (and any other missing hotel fixtures), guests must enter the boss’ office after completing the maze of geography quizzes and mooks.

Busting into the final agency-style door at the end of the final hallway, the proud heroes will find…an office, completely laden with artifacts both familiar and inexplicable, along with no shortage of strange contraption controls that seem to be the key to returning the stolen items that are too big or too abstract to be delivered by hand.

Equally inexplicable is the broken window (in space?), the red trench coat on the coat rack blowing mysteriously on the breeze (in space???), and the fading purr of a helicopter fleeing the scene of the hoard (IN SPACE?!?!).

Congratulations, Gumshoes. You’ve solved all of the riddles and reclaimed the missing objects. Feel free to sort through the treasure trove and return things to their rightful owners, or try skimming a little off the top if you're brave. Now enjoy your vacation in pseudo-Vegas in peace.

OOC

I hope everyone enjoys the end to the plot heistline (for now....?)! While Carmen got away, her plans were thwarted, so everything in the hotel will go back to normal, and people who opted to have their characters lose things will now be able to reclaim them. Please let me know if you have any questions, but feel free to treat this casino as your sandbox of classy Vegas fun! Thanks for playing!

Comments

QUESTIONS

[whereinthefloors]

If I missed anything or can help in any way, please let me know or grab me, Shay, on the Discord! I hope everyone has fun with it!

[animated]

one. 📚 DRESS THE PART

[ The moment Charlie steps into the coat room in his jeans and not at all fancy t-shirt, he’s accosted immediately by the attendant, who shoves an armful of clothes at him. This person isn’t letting him choose so much as choosing for him. ]

Whoa, hey! Do you mind?

[ It’s at that point he’s given the spiel about the dress code and told to go change. There’s a curtained-off area for just such things and away he goes, emerging a few moments later in his new fit. Did his hair get magically styled while he was in there, too? Damn. ]

[ He straightens out the sleeves of his jacket, glancing over at whoever happens to be around. ]

They got you too, huh?

two. 📚 IT’S ALL FUN AND GAMES

[ Charlie has actually spent quite a bit of time in Vegas, thanks to a friend of his who runs an establishment there, so the replicas are indeed impressive. Though, knowing who they’re dealing with, he’s not so sure they’re really replicas either.

For a bit, he simply takes in the sights, scooping some kind of cocktail off the tray of a passing server to wander around with. But then he heads to the game tables. He understands the point of this is to play and play well enough to get to the high-rollers area, and presumably find their thief, so it’s not exactly in Charlie’s best interest to play fair.

That’s right, he can be a little spicy!! ]

Hey.

[ This, said lowly to one of his fellow guests nearby. ]

Got a second? I’ve got an idea.

three. 📚 ABSOLUTELY A-MAZE-ING

a. [ Getting to the high-rollers club was not, in fact, the end of this adventure. After a biut of wandering, Charlie and his +1 (that’s you!) get to their first geography question, at which point the wizard grans and scrubs a hand over his face. ]

I was kidding about being taught geography, you know!

b. [ Or, alternatively, they round the corner and come face to face with one of the sunglasses-wearing goons who instantly rushes Charlie and tries to scoop him up in a bear hug (not the good kind). The wizard yelps and quickly drops to a crouch, which means the goon is tripping over him and going flying right at you! ]

Heads up!

four. 📚 PICK YOUR POISON

[ Obligatory wildcard! You can hit me up in the disco for plotting! ]

[airdnd]

[ Of all the ensembles given to her by the coat room staff, Sumina chooses a gown that's quite different from her appearance at last winter's masquerade. She doesn't want to deal with any leg slits now, and her heels aren't made to be deadly this stime. A win-win! ]

1. game floor

[ This sort of scene isn't the innkeeper's speed at all, both in that she's really not a gambler by choice (?), but she's also not usually one to partake in such quests. She'd sooner end up becoming one of the bartenders on duty.

But, there's something she needs to get back, and it's not just the coffee. (Though a big part of it is the coffee.) And that much is clear with the sort of determination that guides her steps as she makes her way through the game floor to find a game table to settle in at...

...It turns out, the innkeeper is surprisingly good at poker. Three-Dragon Ante is a staple at the Elderflower Inn's tavern most nights, as it turns out.

Catch Sumina fresh off of a big win as she fans herself with her hands and then ties her long hair up into a loose (but elegant!) bun, heaving a deep sigh of relief as the dealer begins pushing chips her way. ]

Goodness, that got quite intense! Ahaha. A pleasure playing with you all.

[ Said with as close to a shit-eating grin as anyone is likely to get from someone like her! ]

2. heist

a;
[ All those hard-earned wins at poker and she doesn't get to talk to the manager straight away? Ridiculous... An adventurous life truly is not for her.

All to say, she's definitely a bit out of her depth as someone's partner-in-crime while navigating these labyrinthine hallways, and at the next possible obstacle, whether it's lasers or puzzles or riddles, she just sighs deeply. ]

Another one? This is feeling a bit punitive, isn't it?

b;
[ If said obstacle happens to be a group 'o goons, however, she's even less enthused but considerably more distraught, because she is Just A Little Guy*. Sumina presses herself to the nearest wall, trying to take up as little space as possible. ]

Oh, dear. I really shouldn't have had that second cocktail, ahaha—! Oh!

[ *whose self-defense training kicks in only when she is drunk. ]

3. the end

[ When all is said and done, though, they're all left with the sight of their mystery master thief making their grand escape (into space!?)... ]

Ah, they got away...

[ Then, quickly turning to you: ]

Well, then! I've a family heirloom I need to find. I can keep an eye out for whatever you're looking for, too, if you'd like.

3. the end
( hmu on discord with any other ideas if you'd like!! )