I was thinking of shamlessly stealing the rough plot of Assault on Precinct 13 (or the original: Rio Bravo), where a facility is besiged by a gang of roughians. In this instance, the scenario would be a brothel on an old west planet. Why Brothel? One of my character's mother is a lady of ill repute (actually, I might promote her to Madam) and this is the first time the party is going to go meet her family.

The nearest town is a mining town run by a powerful family - an old childhood rival of the character from long ago who likes to lord over his subjects. Big fish small pond syndrome.

So, to sum up -

Character

Character's Madam mom

Character's childhood rival who runs the Company.

The 98 dollar question, the one I've been stuck on. Why would Big Fish cause trouble for the Brothel? What's a good hook for cause him to come do violence to the Madam and her charges? In Rio Bravo (and Precinct 13), the protagonists were guarding a prisoner that the antagonists wanted back. There's not really a MacGuffin like that in a brothel.

So, I'm willing to entertain ideas. What would you guys suggest for a MacGuffin?

Maybe the Rival has trouble with the Madam,

arguing over (protection) money,

prices for the girls,

maybe he or one of his men got too fresh/aggressive and he got kicked out,

maybe he wants to marry one of the girls but she does not,

maybe he wants the land since it seems to be above a new unexploited vein,

...

As to a reason why, check out the Heart of Gold episode of Firefly. The group protects a brothel from a local land baron. The land baron's son knocked up one of the girls and he wants the baby.

As to a reason why, check out the Heart of Gold episode of Firefly. The group protects a brothel from a local land baron. The land baron's son knocked up one of the girls and he wants the baby.

I was going to point this out, too. "Heart of Gold" uses almost that exact scenario, but with a pregnant lady (who gives birth during the assault, mind) as the prize being sought. Though I think it was the land baron's own child, not his son's.

But there are plenty of reasons. Maybe one of the girls or the Madam herself scorned or spurned the Big Fish (or both). It could be that the Big Fish doesn't like the idea of prostitution whether or not it's legal, and is trying to run them out of there by corruption or force, as necessary. You could run with the "Heart of Gold" idea, but instead of wanting custody of his son, he'd rather have the whole place obliterated to hide the evidence -- his father, perhaps, doesn't like the idea of the Big Fish cavorting around with ladies of ill-repute.

The sky's the limit, but if you have the chance, you could work another player's backstory into the reason. Maybe the Big Fish is trying to cozy up to a new criminal syndicate, and the brothel is owned by a rival syndicate. Either the aggressors of the defenders could be part of the syndicate someone on the crew works for, depending on which way you want to go.

There could be information too--maybe somebody working for the Big Fish revealed some kind of secret to one of the girls and the Big Fish wants to eliminate her.

One of the girls is rebel spy in hiding now.

Under the land is a deposit of Plotonium

the brothel is actually a store house or in between point for Imadeitupium

the brothel is actually a front for a meth(spice) lab

one of the girl is actually an II or ISB agent who knows a lot about this land baron dude guy

one of the girls is actually a dude...

one of the girls is a runway and her father is an important Imperial Governor and people found out

The servant droid is actually a girl...um, no i mean an espionage droid and big fish guy found out

*Jingle voice*"One of these girls is not like the other"

Hope this helps a little

Oooh, I like the Father tolerates the brothel because it's useful for controlling the miners (or at least keeping them happy), but when Big FIsh starts dipping his wick, Father goes with a scorched earth policy. The idea of bad blood between the two parties isn't bad either - she begrudgingly pays protection but has been loudly outspoken against his rule for some time. So things have been at a tipping point for a while now, and this is enough to send it over the edge.

I probably wont go with the "getting married against their will", because that trope is showing up an awful lot in my game as of late.

Secret, hmm. Perhaps Big Fish like the boys, pays very well for discretion and was found out by the cleaning lady. Instead of giving in to her extortion, he decides to eliminate the problem all together.

Mind you, I wouldnt use all of these ideas all at once - just brainstorming out loud what looks good. . . .

Speaking of secrets, if you have seen The Bank Job, that could also be a good setup. The Madam has been secretly keeping dirt on all her clients' "preferences"...maybe somebody robbed the vault where all this stuff was in a safety deposit box, and now that it's out...

Speaking of secrets, if you have seen The Bank Job, that could also be a good setup. The Madam has been secretly keeping dirt on all her clients' "preferences"...maybe somebody robbed the vault where all this stuff was in a safety deposit box, and now that it's out...

Or they found out she's been keeping records and are going to tear the place apart finding them.

Speaking of secrets, if you have seen The Bank Job, that could also be a good setup. The Madam has been secretly keeping dirt on all her clients' "preferences"...maybe somebody robbed the vault where all this stuff was in a safety deposit box, and now that it's out...

We only have Likes, so you'll have to make do with this:

Or they found out she's been keeping records and are going to tear the place apart finding them.

Okay, lets see - so one of Big Fish's men was in the act and accidentally discovered the camera (got rough and knocked over a flower pot or busted a mirror or something). That tips her hand that the Madam routinely records everything as an extra layer of protection, in case someone tries to take action against her or her place.

It's just one or two boys out for a night on the town, so they cant cause trouble (Madam does employ a small, token security presence) - but they run back to Big Fish with the news. Big Fish wants the blackmail material for leverage against the few citizens of the town - folks like the mayor, the sheriff - not directly under his control yet.

That's why he just doesn't blast it all to hell and be done with it. The smoldering ruins of a whorehouse wont give up it's secrets.

As to a reason why, check out the Heart of Gold episode of Firefly. The group protects a brothel from a local land baron. The land baron's son knocked up one of the girls and he wants the baby.

**** I wanted to post this first! I immediately thought of this episode and glimpsed ahead. You're a bastard for thinking the same thoughts I did.