Creating Contraband

[guygombaa]

Contraband. Illegal items. THOSE FOUND IN POSSESSION WILL BE PROSECUTED! Contraband can be anything from a food to a drug to a weapon to a kind of fish. Contraband can be virtually anything. And whats more important then what you can't have?

Your Goal is to take something, and ban it. Make it contraband.
And laugh as people within this culture try to resist breaking the law.

I got this idea because on a forum that shall remain nameless, I am making an adventure in which a poorly organised SWAT team has to hunt down all those in possession of bread, which is now contraband.
See, anything can be contraband!
​

• What is your Contraband? (Bread? Swords? Marijuana? Cats?)
• WHY is it Contraband? (Whats so bad about it?)
• How long has it been contraband?
• How did it become Contraband? (The story of how it came to be contraband. Different to WHY is it contraband in that you are not explaining the reasons, but the story.)

You now have your Contraband.
A short exercise, but it should be entertaining and, helpful to refining your world!​

 

[Minibit]

• What is your Contraband? (Bread? Swords? Marijuana? Cats?)
  Wood, sap, and other products of trees
• WHY is it Contraband? (Whats so bad about it?)
  Destroying trees destroys a Dryad's home, or, if the Dryad is not absent from the tree, injures or even kills the resident Dryad.
• How long has it been contraband?
  Four years
• How did it become Contraband? (The story of how it came to be contraband. Different to WHY is it contraband in that you are not explaining the reasons, but the story.)
  The Dryad (tree spirit/nymph) population is thin after an unwitting genocide because of the boom in the forestry industry. Realising this, the use of wood and wood products was immediately banned, and a tribute system set up to the remaining Dryads as a feeble recompense.

 

[Cortexiphan Girl]

• What is your Contraband? (Bread? Swords? Marijuana? Cats?)
• Everything that is the color RED.
• WHY is it Contraband? (Whats so bad about it?)
• It as superstitiously seen as a lethal color.
• How long has it been contraband?
• For the past 15 years.
• How did it become Contraband? (The story of how it came to be contraband. Different to WHY is it contraband in that you are not explaining the reasons, but the story.)
• The three previous rulers of the land all were murdered by items that appeared red in color. The first king drank poisoned wine, the second king was strangled with his own red bed sheets, and the most recent king had a very lethal allergy to chili peppers. The current ruler is quite superstitious and a constant worrier. As such, the first rule he made when he became king was to ban everything that was red.

This message is now being seized, by order of King Archibald the IV, for containing the color red.

 

[The Philosoraptor]

What is your Contraband?
Viral Contagion LHF (Lifeless Human Form) Apophis B-213.

WHY is it Contraband? (Whats so bad about it?)
B-213 was introduced into the international eye in the form of a bio-agent inadvertently created by the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta due to experimentation with various viral colonies, which later escaped from the facility (carried by a mentally unstable researcher with a death wish, who believed the virus was "the future") and began perhaps the worst epidemic in history: A zombie apocalypse. However, since the military actually weren't incompetent in this case and the nations of the world sent aid with the first mention of the word zombies, the outbreak was contained after the loss of Atlanta and most of Georgia, along with the construction of a massive wall around the state of Georgia, essentially turning it into the ghetto of the US.

How long has it been contraband?
20 years since the outbreak.

How did it become Contraband?
Some terrorist groups managed to replicate Apophis, and began to deploy it in concentrated outbreaks (quickly suppressed by local governments. A cure to the virus was actually found). However, if one group got it, another could. Mainly small-time dealers and cooks, as well as heavy hitters like the Mexican cartels, who found that the infected individual would turn within exactly 6 hours upon injection or bite, and 12 hours with consumption. The antidote took 5 hours to take effect. The virus slowly numbs and disables the human body to the point where it can be used as a narcotic, as the brain experiences something equivalent to being high. Injecting yourself exactly one hour after ingesting the virus through needle or bite (where the body is only then beginning to lose control and fall into ecstasy) will result in being cured as the critical moment comes. It is much more dangerous with ingestion via mouth, as for the longer buzz to really take you, the druggie would need to have enough self-control to inject the antidote at the 7 hour mark, where the virus has numbed your limbs, and is merely working on the internal bits. It works well as a relaxant for that reason, and was often used for medical practices to great effect, until recreational use was discovered. It was officially banned when outbreaks broke out inside and outside the Georgia wall, though these minor epidemics were quickly controlled. More break out every year across the globe as people who try to use Apophis recreationally find themselves unable to control it and begin infecting others. Governments have managed to claim and destroy several stockpiles of B-213, but never manage to completely destroy the public supply.

YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE, ROYAL COPPERS!

 

[Buio]

Mr V, that was probably the most original take on a zombie virus i've seen in years. *claps*

 

[Tanzinite]

Read the Newsflesh Trilogy then. The way the virus works is magnificent.

 

[The Philosoraptor]

Read the Newsflesh Trilogy then. The way the virus works is magnificent.

I haven't read it personally, but I looked it up, and the virus seems pretty cool, and the series great.

 

[Tanzinite]

Yup. I'm currently reading it between schoolwork and my own writing and rping haha. The whole blog thing present in the book is very interesting.

 

[Tanstin]

• What is your Contraband?: Buttons that when pressed, it puts YOU back 3 seconds in time, while wiping your memory
  
• WHY is it Contraband?: When you press it, you forget why you pressed the button, and you continue pressing it.
  
• How long has it been contraband?: It's not yet because the people who usually determine these things are busy pushing a button
  
• How did it become Contraband?: The man who had invented this saw as millions of people were put in an endless loop of button pushing as days progressed, with them not even knowing it, entire societies were destroyed by this, with no one being able to free themselves or others from the pushing of the button. The inventor had made it to the president's office, since the private security was stuck in the "button loop" Only to find that he himself was trapped, like every other man. The inventor weeped as he brought on the end of civilizations. Not even the great Nostradamus, or doomsayers could predict that the end would be the cause of a failed invention. And so, the inventor did the only natural thing. He took the button and pressed it. And pressed it. And pressed it. Until he joined the others in the sea of blind, button pushing ignorance.

 

[The Philosoraptor]

What?

 

[Tanstin]

Hm?

 

[The Watch Dog]

What is your Contraband? (Bread? Swords? Marijuana? Cats?)
Neurostash

WHY is it Contraband? (Whats so bad about it?)

This expensive drug has been frequently used in the past by employers and slavers to suppress the neural activity of the working personnel. The drug itself comes in two different forms; dust particles, which can be spread with the help of a simple ventrillation system, where breathing any quantity above 10mg is more than enough to send you to a comma, and liquid, colourless, tasteless, but with an alcohol-like odour.

How long has it been contraband?

Since 2035, under agreement by the Official Market Council in cooperation with the Department of Illegal Acts, Trafficking and Other Illegal Activities of New Massachusetts, established in 2039.

How did it become Contraband? (The story of how it came to be contraband. Different to WHY is it contraband in that you are not explaining the reasons, but the story.)

Past police examination cases reveal that employers and slavers have been actively dumbing large quantities of Neurostash into water tanks and espresso machines that were used by working personnel during Legal Working Times. Results of these post-dramatic exams have shown a decrease of 89% in employee filing complaint forms to their respective managers, and a 67% chance that each employee will never attend the Human Resources department of their respective working facility again.

 

[Lady Sabine]

• What is your Contraband?
  Jaguars. Live ones, pelts, teeth, the pattern of their fur, drawings, figurines- any jaguar-related product.
  
  
• WHY is it Contraband?
  The old royalty had a jaguar for a sigil animal. To break the spirit of the natives, and prevent any sort of resurgence, they have banned the symbol, in spirit squashing the pride of the people.
  
  
• How long has it been contraband?For about forty years, as long as the Megarran empire has claimed victory over the royals and dominion over Keim.
  
  
• How did it become Contraband?
  After the Megarran forces slaughtered the royal family, the jaguar symbol fell out of use. A few years afterwards, however, a new force sprang up, flying the colors of the royal family and proclaiming themselves the last of the jaguars. While this rebellion was dealt with in a matter of months, the symbol had resurrected a measure of pride in the natives. It kept appearing in situations the empire did not approve of, such as escape attempts, murders of salve owners and soldiers, destruction of imperial property... it didn't take them long to figure out that anything jaguar related meant bad news.
  Clearly, the problem there was the jaguar symbolism, so they banned jaguars rather than addressing the root of the issue.

 

[Sheridan]

What is your contraband: Old Magic Books
Why is it contraband: It was banned after the death of all the demons that came to earth so no one ever finds a way to bring them back and let them stay alive here.
How long has it been contraband: Two hundred years
How did it become contraband: Long ago demons from hell invaded the planet and enslaved everyone there thanks to mages that died and went to hell knowing spells that opened portals. When the demons found out about these portals after being told of the riches of earth they invaded and brought on an apocalypse. The harsh cold killed most of them and the others died because rain made their skin boil but there were so many spells before that all happened that now all old magic books are being destroyed so no one can ever find a spell to bring the demons back or help them survive here on earth.