Gas Stations of the Uncanny Highway

Tags

1960s, 1970s, Americana fantasy, Gothic America, magic realism, Midwest Horror, modern fantasy, Prairie Horror, Road Crawl, Road Trip, Roadcrawl, Roadtrip, Seventies, Sixties, Small Town Horror, Southern Gothic, Urban Fantasy, Weird America

The ordinary Gas Stations of the Uncanny Highway are distinct from the Truck Stops (which cater to truckers, and have amenities such as showers, laundry rooms, and sleeping accommodations). On many stretches of the road, the Gas Station might be as close as a traveler gets to a grocery store. And as the legendary CB Guru Sri Jimmy Bob teaches in “White Line Enlightenment”, when the road is your Ashram, the Gas Station is your Temple!

Table 1: Gas Station Architecture

d20	The architecture of the station is…
1 – 3	plain brick
4 – 6	plain clapboard
7 – 9	stucco-faced brick
10 – 11	Old West “Boomtown” style.
12	Art Deco chrome.
13	Space-Age “Googie”
14	faux-Polynesian Tiki.
18	faux adobe.
19	a faux castle.
20	faux Chinese.

Table 2: Number of Pumps at a Gas Station

d6	This station has…
1	just 1 Gasoline Pump.
2	just 1 Diesel Pump.
3	1 Gasoline Pump & 1 Diesel Pump.
4 – 6	1d4 Gasoline Pumps & 1d4 Diesel Pumps.

Table 3: Quality of Gasoline and Diesel at a Gas Station

d12	The fuel is…
1	cheap, but high quality.
2	cheap, and average quality.
3	cheap, but low quality.
4 – 7	average price and quality.
8	average price, but high quality.
9	average price, but low quality.
10	expensive, but high quality.
11	expensive, but only average quality.
12	both expensive and low quality – a real rip-off!

Table 4: Gas Station Vending Machines

d8, 1d4 times.	Out front there is/are…
1	1d4 kiddie rides, which cost a dime to use.
2	1d4 gumball machines.
3	a soda machine.
4	an ice machine.
5	a machine that dispenses small toys in plastic capsules.
6	a potato chip and pretzel machine.
7	a candy bar machine.
8	no vending machines.

Repeated results indicate multiple examples of the vending machine type, or an especially large one of that variety.

Table 5a: The Gas Station Garage

d6	The Gas Station’s garage is…
1 – 3	nonexistent – this establishment just sells gas.
4	small, and can only handle one car at a time.
5	moderate, and can handle 1+1d4 cars at a time.
6	large, and obviously a major part of the business. Can handle 4+d8 cars at a time.

Table 5b: Services Offered by a Gas Station Garage

d10, 1d10 times.	Besides general tune-ups and oil changes, the garage also offers…
1	towing service.
2	tires for sale.
3	hubcaps for sale.
4	automotive parts for sale.
5	automotive body repair.
6	repainting.
7	glass repair.
8	engine repair.
9	brake repair.
10	muffler service.

Re-roll repeated results. An initial roll of 10 therefore indicates a Full-Service garage.

Table 5c: Gas Station Garage Mechanic

d6	The on-site mechanic is…
1	barely competent.
2	a mechanical genius who can fix anything cheap.
3	an arrogant a**hole who thinks he’s better than everyone else.
4	an ex-con out on parole.
5	rude and crude, but knows his stuff.
6	a shady character who will look the other way at anything illegal – for a price.

Table 6: Gas Station Bathroom

d20	This bathroom is…
1 – 3	clean and bright,…
4 – 5	clean, but drab,…
6 – 7	dreary,…
8 – 10	disgustingly foul, and looks like it is seldom cleaned,…
11– 12	very dimly-lit,…
13	covered in graffiti,…
14	covered in newspapers,…
15	in the middle of a renovation,…
16	oddly modern and fashionable,…
17 – 19	a mess, from what looks like a recent fight or struggle,…
20	spattered with fresh blood,…

d20	…and somebody has apparently left behind…
1	their wallet.
2	their pocketbook.
3	men’s underwear.
4	women’s underwear.
5	a sock.
6	their eyeglasses.
7	a wig or toupee.
8	a Christian religious tract.
9	a book about U.F.O.s.
10	a book about the coming Rapture, with many passages underlined.
11	a copy of “White Line Enlightenment” by Guru Sri Jimmy Bob of the Asphalt Ashram.
12	a bloody knife.
13	a recently fired handgun.
14	a wrench.
15	a wedding ring.
16	a briefcase containing bricks of drugs. d4: In the briefcase is 1d4 kilos of…1 = cocaine, 2 = heroin, 3–4 = marijuana.
17	a brown paper bag with 1d10 x 1000 dollars.
18	a brown paper bag with 1d20 uncut diamonds.
19	a message pleading for help, because the writer is being abducted (but was allowed to use the bathroom). d6: The message says her abductor is… 1 = a pimp, 2 = her ex-husband, 3 = her ex-boyfriend, 4 = a cop, 5 = her abusive parents, 6 = a complete stranger.
20	a suitcase containing a complete dismembered body.

Table 7: Also For Sale at a Gas Station

d100, 1d6 times.	Besides gas, this station also sells…
1 – 2	8-track cassettes.
3 – 4	barbecue. 10% chance it is not actually the meat advertised.
5 – 6	air fresheners.
7 – 8	bibles.
9 – 10	blankets & pillows.
11 – 13	packaged bread.
14 – 17	canned goods.
17 – 18	chili
19 – 21	chewing gum.
22 – 24	hot dogs.
26 – 27	keys
28 – 30	chocolates & candy (other than gum).
31 – 33	wrapped sandwiches.
34 – 36	comic books.
37 – 39	condoms.
40 – 42	dashboard ornaments.
43 – 48	cigarettes and tobacco products.
49 – 51	incense.
52 – 54	jerky and dried sausages.
55 – 57	knives.
58 – 60	magazines.
61 – 63	tire irons.
64 – 66	hubcaps.
67 – 69	newspapers.
70 – 72	tires.
73 – 75	tire repair kits.
76 – 78	painkillers, allergy medicine, & adhesive bandages.
79 – 81	paperback books.
82 – 84	wrenches.
85 – 87	potato chips, pork rinds and pretzels.
88 – 90	rope & duck tape.
91 – 93	seat covers.
94 – 96	flowers.
97 – 100	soda / pop.

Repeated results indicate an especially large selection of the item indicated.

Table 8: Gas Station Cashier

d6	The cashier is…
1	a flirty young woman in minimal clothing.
2	a thin and twitchy young man who never takes off his baseball cap.
3	a chain-smoking mature woman with badly-applied makeup.
4	a mature man who won’t stop talking about how much better things used to be.
5	an elderly man who tells bad jokes.
6	an elderly woman who is suspicions of everyone, and keeps her hand under the counter at all times.

75% likely there is a loaded pistol or shotgun under the counter.

Table 9: Gas Station Attendant

d6	The person will pump your gas and check your oil is…
1	just the cashier (or mechanic, if there is one).
2	an aggressive young man who takes offense at everything.
3	a shady young man who seems to be estimating the value of everything the PCs own.
4	a young man who is always listing to his loud portable 8-track player, and refuses to turn it off.
5	a mature man with a limp, who chews tobacco and spits it everywhere.
6	a mature man covered in faded blue tattoos, who asks if there’s any “other jobs” you need done.

Table 10: Secret of the Gas Station

d20	The secret truth about this gas station is…
1 – 10	it’s really just an ordinary establishment.
11 – 13	it’s actually a money-laundering operation.
14	it’s owned by an Extraterrestrial
15	the cashier is part of a serial killer team, on the lookout for victims.
16	it’s a front for a child abduction ring.
17	its the secret meeting place for Demon Hunters patrolling this section of the Uncanny Highway.
18	everyone who works here is actually a C.I.A. agent.
19	everyone who works here is actually a K.G.B. agent.
20	the cashier is actually an Angel in disguise, trying to help the lost and lonely.

Table 11: Gas Station Events

d20	While the PCs are at the gas station…
1	an Outlaw Biker gang pulls in – but just wants gas and snacks!
2	an Outlaw Biker gang pulls in – and wants trouble!
3	a tractor trailer pulls in – and out of it runs a woman screaming for help!
4	a Hitchhiker is left off at the Station. Determine their characteristics with the tables in HITCHHIKERS.
5	a PC is approached by a Hitchhiker looking for a ride. Determine their characteristics with the tables in HITCHHIKERS.
6	a bus full of nuns pulls in, singing songs.
7	a decorated bus full of Jesus Freaks pulls in, and they start playing guitar, singing, and preaching. 25% Chance one of them is an actual Miracle Worker.
8	a band’s tour bus pulls in, and the musicians stumble out (with their groupies). d4: The band plays…1 = Rock n’ Roll, 2 = Country & Western, 3 = R&B, 4 = Funk.
9	a cross-country coach bus pulls in, and d12 of the patrons exit to stretch their legs.
10	a man pulls in, and runs out of his car screaming that “They’re coming for me, and you can’t stop them!” d8: “They” are…1 = the Commies, 2 = the Aliens, 3 = the Werewolves, 4 = the Outlaw Bikers, 5 = the C.I.A., 6 = the Drug-Crazed Hippies, 7 = the Hell Hounds, 8 = everyone he killed in ‘Nam.
11	a cop pulls in, looking for a suspect. The description either matches someone the PCs have met on the road, or will meet.
12	a desperate Demon Hunter pulls in, and starts aggressively asking if anyone has seen his (or her) quarry. d6: They are hunting.. 1 = a Vampire, 2 = a Werewolf, 3 = a person possessed by a Demon, 4 = a rogue Fay, 5 = a Psycho Killer, 6 = a Driverless Car that’s been running other vehicles off the road.
13	d4+2 college kids in a decorated “Boogie Van” pull in, looking for clues to some mystery.
14	a smoking and sputtering station wagon pulls in, and a married couple with 1d4 kids exits just their car stops working altogether.
15	a pair of teenage lovers pulls in. 25% chance they are running away to elope.
16	a pair of newlyweds pulls in, on their way to their honeymoon. Or so they think!
17	a U.F.O appears in the sky overhead.
18	d20 Zombies, escaped from a government research lab nearby, surround the station and shamble in to attack.
19	a tanker truck is making a delivery of gas or diesel. The driver knows how to actually get off the Uncanny Highway, if the PCs are willing to follow him to the next intersection with the regular highway. There will be a delay at the nearest Truck Stop along the way, however.
20	a delivery truck pulls in to unload items for the shop. The driver knows how to actually get off the Uncanny Highway, if the PCs are willing to follow him to the next intersection with the regular highway. There will always be a delay at the nearest Truck Stop along the way, however.

The Engine of Oracles

~ Daniel James Hanley's Creations For Gaming. Home of the Ghastly Affair RPG.