To this end, the underground has birthed hundreds of ad-hoc Semiotic Unstandard dialects. Many of these are variants of the secret menu pattern, disguising terms as burger toppings.
The Secret Menu
Codeword | Translation |
---|---|
* | * |
Pick me up... | You come to me |
Do you want... | I come to you |
Let's go to... | Meet at location |
Takeout | Drop off |
Eat in | Stay where you are |
Drive through | Go to ground now |
* | * |
Fries | Friendlies |
Onions | Cops |
Mayonnaise | Men-in-Black |
Mushrooms | Unidentified |
Ketchup | Civilians |
Mustard | Underworld Denizen |
Fried egg | Occultist |
Bacon | Monster |
Texas toast | Phenomena |
* | * |
Honey mustard | No Danger |
Barbecue sauce | Low Danger |
Sriracha sauce | High Danger |
Jalapenos | Shots fired |
* | * |
Cheese | When you can |
Pickles | Needs done now |
Tomatoes | Emergency |
The Works | We're fucked |
* | * |
Nuggets | Money |
Ice cream | Occult Stuff |
* | * |
Extra... | Emphasis |
Hold the... | Presence unconfirmed |
As you can see, this is a pretty lightweight framework and is very easy to modify or hack for purposes at your own table. (Add it to my old Dungeon Hobo Signs!) Plus you can do fun stuff like sending text messages to your players and they have to use what they know to figure out what's going on.
Pretty basic for now.
ReplyDeleteAll I can think of now is a Burger King as the logistics center for the underground resistance.
ReplyDeleteOh I do love some good fictional slang!
ReplyDeleteYou ever read Base Raiders? The system was absolute dreck, but the setting was cool. The Underground there was similar to what you're doing with Lighthouse, in a good way.
ReplyDeleteI haven't, never really felt the urge to listen to those episodes of RPPR.
DeleteAs someone who loves UA, this is perfect. Reminds me of 'To Go' 100%.
ReplyDelete