------------------- Ahnenerbe ------------------- General Description: Ahnenerbe is a coffee shop that exists in all Type-Moon worlds, including Kara no Kyoukai , Fate, and Tsukihime. It is possible to use this cafe as a meeting place in between dimensions, and characters that exist in totally different realities can meet each other here. In the Fate universe, it can be found under a large bridge in Fuyuki City. For some reason, the cafe seems to smooth over discrepancies in reality, so if characters from one work come across characters from another, each character appears to be the same age he was when he was first introduced. The characters will never notice this strange plot convenience themselves. ------------------- Theme/Mood ------------------- The cafe is a sort of hideout from the city, and it normally has only a few customers in it (roll 1D8 and D66). The D8 roll determines how many customers are in the cafe when the player characters come across it. If the D66 roll yields 64-66, one or more of the customers is a major character from one of the Type-Moon main universes. Keep in mind that while the players may be very knowledgable about these people and their worlds, their player characters will probably not be. The cafe is in operation seven days every week, from 9:00 to 19:00 on weekdays and 10:00 t0 18:00 on weekends and holidays. If the characters notify the staff in advance, it may be possible to rent out a table ahead of time. The cafe accepts payment for meals in yen but also can take credit cards. It is forbidden to bring cats into the restaurant. If one is in one of the areas where the cafe manifests, it can be found if one looks for the metal sign, which hangs outside. ( http://www.heavens-feel.com/starlitmarmalade/465361_ahnenerbe.jpg ) The design of the cafe is pleasing to the eye, and it is decorated with various antiques. Lighting is limited, due to minimal usage of hanging overhead electric lights. The kitchen measures about three meters and has soundproofed doors, which means any backstage business stays backstage. The cafe is a popular spot for meet-ups and dates. The cafe is western-style, with tables that sit up to five people, wooden chairs, and a bar. A small bookshelf with back issues of popular magazines stands to the side of the bar. ( http://www.heavens-feel.com/starlitmarmalade/Ahnenerbe.jpg ) The menu offers coffee which is always served extremely hot, as well as other kinds of drinks (black tea, iced tea, chocolate milk, earl grey tea, and red wine) and desserts as well as snacks. Popular items include the George's homemade pies. If one of them is ordered, the pie may arrived slightly singed. The raspberry pie on the menu is the best dessert, but there are other items available, such as strawberry pie, orange pie, orange and sunflower pie, grapefruit, Valencia oranges, lemon tea, clubhouse sandwiches, pork curry, meat pies, cheesecakes, mixed greens salad, pasta with mushrooms, English-style fish and chips, and pasta with mushrooms. The curry prepared is so popular that the cafe's owner and cook, George, prepares a huge pot of it in the morning, which is empty by the time his part-timers leave work. The curry comes with a salad as part of a meal, and the curry dish itself can be customized with different ingredients (squid rings, etc.) Ciel will infrequently visit the cafe to partake of this sumptuous dish. She is such a fan of the place that she called it a 'concealed village where curry lovers meet in secret', or Moonlight Splendor Village (月光華麗村, gekkou karei mura). Her choice of 華麗 【かれい】 [ splendor, splendour, magnificence] for the name is a pun, for it sounds like curry. Though Kotomine Kirei once commented on a Chinese meal they served with mappo tofu, Katsuragi had never heard of it. The arrival of important Type-Moon characters may 'color' the menus, changing the names of dishes so that they refer to events and key places from respective Type-Moon worlds (Obtained Origin Pasta, Spiral Apartment Hamburger, Triple Barrier Sandwich, etc.) The average cost of a dessert is 400-500 yen, and entrees are priced from 700 to 1500 yen. Dishes that use rare ingredients will of course cost more. ( http://www.heavens-feel.com/starlitmarmalade/cp3_2.jpg ) ------------------- The Lord ------------------- The cafe is run by a man named George, who has a strong resemblance to popular voice actor Nakata Jiouji. George specializes in Italian cuisine, and runs the cafe with two part-timers named Hibino Hibiki and Katsuragi Chikagi. Katsuragi is rather cold to most of the clientele, while Hibino is warm and friendly to everyone, including Katsuragi. Hibino is also a fan of Yumizuka Satsuki's Afterschool Alleyway Alliance, though she struggles to remember the name of the group. Additionally, Saber and Lancer may have worked as part-timers in the cafe at some point. No statistics are provided for George and the ST is encouraged to make up any if they are needed. George will certainly have a high Domestic (Italian Cooking) skill but he may be in possession of inflated statistics, strange abilities and talents, and magical artifacts. In addition to the ruined door to the Great Cat's Village, he also has a 'pot of happiness', a small object that expels a gas that causes people to laugh. Fighting George is probably a bad idea - in some of the manga featuring the cafe (AATM), Lancer and other high-profile characters from Type-Moon works were afraid of George when he was mad. Perhaps George could copy a power or some abilities from any of the characters Nakata Jiouji played, which means George is someone you want to be on the good side of. ------------------------- General Modifiers ------------------------- For some reason, it is impossible for customers inside the cafe to leave until a new customer arrives. This can be determined by a die toss or simply happen due to ST fiat. On a busy day, a new customer will come in on a roll of 4-6 on 1D6, with the test happening every 30 minutes of in-game time. On a slow day, the check will happen every hour of in-game time. The cafe has a very relaxing atmosphere. In addition to enjoying the food and beverages available, PCs and NPCs in the cafe will be at +1 to all their Social tests so long as they remain inside the cafe and relax. The mood is also therapeutic - any injured people who eat a full meal in the cafe will later heal back an additional 1D4 Life Points after they also get at least eight hours of sleep. The books arranged on the bookshelf might have the occasional rare tome - George won't lend out his collection but won't care if someone orders something to eat and/or drink while leafing through the volumes. Some of the things on the shelf will be doujinshi/zine items, the contents of which can be quite strange. ------------------- Mini-Locations ------------------- The kitchen had a special door which was painted black. This door provided a way to access the Great Cat's Village, which contained NEKO spirits. The door has since been destroyed. The ST can decide that destroying the door left behind a crater in the wall that opens into a tunnel, from which one can access the Great Cat's Village. Traveling through the tunnel should be a mind-bending, psychedelic experience. The ST is recommended to look at the various tunnels from Silent Hill 4: The Room to see how the bizarre energy of the tunnel would affect a non-Neko Spirit's consciousness as he or she passes through the tunnel. -------------------------------------- How to Get the Territory: -------------------------------------- Obtaining the territory can be accomplished by getting George to sign over the deed to the property, but how that can be done is unknown at this time. Holding onto the property will require potential owners to pay the wait staff, buy food, cook and prepare it, and so on. The cafe also comes with the Obligation flaw - and if the new owner can't manage to meet that, the cafe will somehow end up back in possession of George. George may 'deputize' someone to hold down the fort if he goes out of town. That would be one way to temporarily possess the cafe, but George would be out of sorts if he came back to a messed up place. With great power comes great responsibility. ------------------------------------------------ Any unusual things to note ------------------------------------------------ George is at +2 to all his Domestic (Italian cooking) skill tests so long as he makes use of the kitchen in the cafe. Additionally, George is likely to know all kinds of unusual stories from the strange and powerful customers he has who frequent the cafe, though whether anyone thinks to ask him and whether he decides to share what he knows is something for the Storyteller to decide. Since the cafe exists in multiple locations, George doesn't have to deal with a lack of ingredients, as he can get fresh pasta from Italy, rare peppers such as the ghost pepper or trinidad scorpion moruga, cheeses from Switzerland, etc. George can probably use the cafe to go from one place on Earth to another, and may even be able to use the cafe to physically cross between different Type-Moon worlds. When the humans have left and the sun has set beneath the horizon, Neko Spirits tend to appear in the cafe and make themselves at home. These include Neco-Arc, Neco-Arc Bubbles, Neco-Arc Chaos, Neco-Arc Destiny, and Neco-Arc Evolution. The Neko Spirits are interested in the happenings around them but for the most part do not (and possibly can not) interfere with these events. If it were somehow possible, listening to their conversations would reveal cynical and possibly fourth-wall breaking commentary, assuming listeners understood what they were talking about. STs who want to somehow use these characters might decide the cafe makes people quickly forget about the Neko Spirits as a way to return her Story to a serious atmosphere after her PCs meet the Neko Spirits. PCs should not be allowed to use the cafe to go to different realities, as they will most likely be unaware that it's even possible to use the cafe for such purposes. Most people think of it as a place to get a good meal, not a TARDIS. The cafe itself may be a kind of stable, perpetual Marble Phantasm, and how this was accomplished is a mystery that may never be solved.