Tuesday, August 18, 2020

Semiotic Unstandard

Lesson 0 of the occult underground is that no communication is secure. Always presume that someone can hear you, leave no permanent traces of conversation, mask your words.

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



CodewordTranslation
 * *
Pick me up...You come to me
Do you want...I come to you
Let's go to...Meet at location
TakeoutDrop off
Eat inStay where you are
Drive throughGo to ground now
 * *
FriesFriendlies
OnionsCops
MayonnaiseMen-in-Black
MushroomsUnidentified
KetchupCivilians
MustardUnderworld Denizen
Fried eggOccultist
BaconMonster
Texas toastPhenomena
 * *
Honey mustardNo Danger
Barbecue sauceLow Danger
Sriracha sauceHigh Danger
JalapenosShots fired
 * *
CheeseWhen you can
PicklesNeeds done now
TomatoesEmergency
The WorksWe're fucked
 * *
NuggetsMoney
Ice creamOccult 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.

6 comments:

  1. All I can think of now is a Burger King as the logistics center for the underground resistance.

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  2. Oh I do love some good fictional slang!

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  3. You 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.

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    Replies
    1. I haven't, never really felt the urge to listen to those episodes of RPPR.

      Delete
  4. As someone who loves UA, this is perfect. Reminds me of 'To Go' 100%.

    ReplyDelete