- 1 -

Courier ServiceA solo adventure for Risus: The Anything RPG by S John Ross

Courier Service is an example of what is sometimes known as “Solo Adventures” or“Solitaire Game Books.” It is a way of playing a role-playing game (rpg) by yourself,eliminating the need for a referee or “Game Master.” The ruleset of choice is Risus: TheAnything RPG written by S. John Ross. It is available for free atwww.cumberlandgames.com.

Characters in Risus are built by dividing 10 dice among various clichés. These clichésare broad descriptions of skills, abilities, motivations, philosophies and demeanors. Anabsolute beginner cliché will have one (1) die assigned to it, while a Supreme Master willrank no more than six (6) dice. On average, competency is around 3-4 dice.

Whenever a character attempts any action, the player will choose the appropriate clichéfor the action. He will then roll the number of dice allocated to that cliché and try to beata target number assigned to the task. A target number (TN) of 5 is considered child’splay, while TN’s of 30 are superhuman.

If a character enters into a combat situation, then each contestant will roll the diceassigned to their appropriate clichés. The loser deducts a dice from his cliché and thenthe process begins again. Combat is over when one combatant is reduced to zero dice inhis cliché.

In Courier Service, you are controlling a 1930’s San Francisco Pulp Private Investigatorby the name of Peter Clarkson:

Peter Clarkson, Private InvestigatorClichés:

Pulp Era Private Detective (3)Leadfoot Driver (3)Cool-Hand Gunman (2)Smooth-Talking Rogue (2)

Your doors have been open a week. Your furniture is used, but serviceable, in keepingwith the image you want to project of a detective for the common man. Your files areimpeccably organized (they should be – they are virtually empty!), and you have madecertain that all of your pencils have been sharpened. Twice. Your doors have been opena week..

Its times like this you wish you had listened to what your mother had said. You try toremember what she said, but can’t; you weren’t listening.

- 2 -

Suddenly, the phone rings. You are shocked motionless. Even though you opened yourdoors a week ago, no one has ever called, not even a wrong number! You try to regainyour composure and reach for the ringing phone.

Roll either your Pulp Era Private Detective (3) or your Smooth-Talking Rogue (2)cliché. If you roll better than a 5, go to 13. If you roll less than a 5, go to 25

1111Their initial rush surprises you. You putup a valiant effort, but the three thugsare too much. You get in a few luckypunches, but in the end, the first onesinks his wicked-looking knife into yourtorso, followed by the others, bearing aknife and hatchet. In a few, bloodyseconds, the fight is over. They dumpyour mutilated body over the railing ofthe ship to be food for the sharks. Youradventure is over.

The End

2222You smile awkwardly at the two men.You ask them about places to go inChinatown. They point you to placesyou are already familiar with, but ofcourse, they don’t know that.

Roll your “Smooth-Talking Rogue (2)”cliché. If you roll a 6 or better, go to 12.If you roll less than 6, go to 17.

3333The Scarlet Dragon fires a shot, but youanticipated that, and duck behind a pieceof furniture. You pull your gun and thetwo of you trade shots. At last one ofyour shots misses wide, but at thatmoment, the lightship lurches, and theScarlet Dragon falls into the bulkhead,knocking him cold.

Cautiously, you move over to the proneform in red Chinese silks. Kicking hisgun out of the way, you examine the

figure after securing his arms and legs.Slowly, you remove the dragon maskthat hid the figure’s identity. You gasp,as all of a sudden you understand whythe muffled voice sounded so familiar:for laying before you is none other thanyour employer, Mr. Douglas LeRoux!

Go to 40

4444At last, the van stops and the men get outof the van. You count to twenty andcautiously open the door and get out toget your bearings. You are standing infront of a Chinese restaurant, the LittleChina Grill. Suddenly, a hunch seizesyou. You look at the scrap of paper youfound in the back of the van withLeRoux’s name. Turning the paperover, you notice that it was written on apiece torn from a menu of the samerestaurant you stand in front of now.

Go to 41

5555“May I see the letters?” you ask.

“But of course.” LeRoux walks to hisdesk, opens a drawer and pulls out astack of carefully-folded papers, whichhe then hands to you. You glancethrough them and note that they do warnLeRoux against selling the item toanyone other than the author of theletters, someone calling himself “theScarlet Dragon.” You hand the lettersback to LeRoux.

- 3 -

“Have you reported this to the police?”

LeRoux sighs and replies, “I’m afraidnot. As I said, I really would like this tostay out of the local papers. I’d preferthis to remain between myself, themuseum, and you, if you are interested.”Go to 15

6666You pull up in front ofwhat looks like a typicalChinese laundry in theheart of Chinatown. Thereis a door that leads into thebusy laundry directly infront of you, and off to theside, an alley thatapparently leads to an areabehind the building.

If you enter the laundry,go to 46. If you go behindthe laundry via the alley,go to 8

7777The voice on the other endof the line is smoothlycultured. “Mr. Clarkson,my employer, Mr. DouglasLeRoux, would like to hireyou on a matter of greatdelicacy. Could you cometo his house near Berkleytomorrow morning at10:00?”

You don’t have anything scheduled, buthe doesn’t know that. “Let me see…I dohave an appointment, but I can cancelthat easily enough. Tell Mr. LeRouxthat I will be there at 10:00 sharp.”

“Excellent! Mr. LeRoux will be mostpleased.”

Go to 24

8888You slip into the alley and around to theback of the laundry. As you round thecorner you see a sight that cause you todraw your breath quickly. A blackdelivery van with a dent in the exact

place it should be if it hadhit your car! Opening theback of the van, you look tosee if there might be anysign of the stolen figure.Inside, you see a number oflaundry bags. Justnoticeable, however, yousee a small scrap of paper.Picking it up, you read thename and address of youremployer, Mr. DouglasLeRoux.

Roll your Pulp Era PrivateDetective cliché. If you rolla 9 or less, go to 35. If youroll a 10 or better, go to 19.

9999You get out of your car andcarefully walk along thearea where the delivery vanwas. At first, you don’tnotice anything, but then, inthe brush, near a fresh tiremark, you see a small slipof paper.

Picking it up, you realizethat it is a laundry ticket

from “Quong Wing Chong Laundry, 866Sacramento St.”

If you report the theft and turn over theclue to the police, go to 16.If you decide to go to the Laundry andlook for clues there, go to 6.

- 4 -

10101010You watch dumbfounded as they driveoff.

If you want to drive return to the LeRouxhouse and report the theft, go to 16.

If you want to search the scene to see ifthere is a clue as to who the thieves are,go to 9

11111111You struggle to make yourselfunderstood for another few minutes. Atlast, you realize that you are not makingany headway, and you decide to leavethe laundry.

If you decide toexamine the alleybehind the laundry, goto 8. If you decide togive up the case, go to16.

12121212The two men smileknowingly as youfumble with yourchopsticks. You seemto have convincedthem that you are atourist. Eventually,you carefully guidethe conversationaround to the Chineselaundry van, and thethree men. You pull itoff by casuallymentioning that you are in need of somelaundry services, and that you noticed avan out front when you entered therestaurant. Would they recommend thelaundry? They emphatically nod yes.What about their route? They drivefrom the hotel areas, through Chinatown,and then end up at the docks. You thank

them for helping out an ignorant tourist.You pay your bill, and leave therestaurant and your two new friends.

As you walk out the door, you think youcatch a glimpse of the delivery vanrounding a corner and disappearing fromview.

If you choose to go to the docks and waitfor the van to show up, go to 48. If youarrived at the restaurant in your owncar, go to 44. If you arrived hiding inthe delivery van, go to 21.

13131313You assume anair ofprofessionalism.“ClarksonInvestigations,Peter Clarksonspeaking. Howmay I helpyou?” Yourmother would beproud of younow…Go to 7

14141414When your eyesopen, you realizethat you are faceto face with thepavement. Youscramble to your

feet, shaking your head in an attempt toclear the cobwebs.

You look around the alley, and with asick feeling, the awareness that the vanis gone slowly creeps into your poundingskull.

- 5 -

As you stagger around in the alley,trying to figure out what to do, youremember the scrap of paper you foundin the van. You look at your hand,which still holds the paper.

Turning it over, you see that the notewas written on a piece torn from a menufrom the Little China Grill on StocktonStreet.

If you decide that the case has justgotten too dangerous, go to 16. If youdecide to check out the Chineserestaurant, go to 34.

15151515“So what is thisartifact?” youask, carefullymasking yourenthusiasm.This will be apiece of cake!

“I am inpossession of acarving of aChineseWarlord thatdates from theTang Dynasty.”LeRoux stridesover to anornatelydecorated box on his desk. With the flipof a latch, he lifts the lid and slowlyraises an eighteen inch figurine intoview. It looks as if it had been carvedout of ivory, and inlaid with mahoganyand gold. He notices you staring at thestatue.

“Exquisite, isn’t it? Now youunderstand why I want a professional todeliver it. Upon a successful deliveryyou will receive a check drawn in the

amount of $1,000.00. Are youinterested?”If you take the job, go to 37. If you wantmore information on the job, go to 47

16161616You decide to give up and call thepolice. They take over, and the pressgets a hold of the story, two things thatMr. LeRoux did not want to happen.But you felt that you were just in wayover your head. You have managed toscore other cases, but even still, its goingto take a long time to pay off theinsurance policy you agreed to.

The End.

17171717Gradually, youtry to steer theconversationaround to thethree laundryworkers. Butthe two mendon’t seeminterested incontinuing theconversationany longer.You finishyour lunch in abrutal silence.Then you

leave and return to your office, at acomplete dead-end.Go to 16.

18181818You feel a little silly. But you decide togive it another shot. After all, you are aprofessional, and you are determined toget the figure back.Go to 12

- 6 -

19191919Although you are still intent on findingany other clue in the van, you hear softfootsteps padding their way into thealley.

If you decide to hide amongst someboxes and other debris in the alley, go to30. If take a chance and hide in the vanitself, go to 33.

20202020You open the door to one cabin andcome face to face with the three laundryworkers. But it seems they have beenexpecting you. They have some form ofbladed weapons drawn and rush youwith murder in their eyes.

The three laundry workers will fight as aGrunt Squad (for details see the RisusRules, p.3 PDF). Treat them as“Chinatown Thugs (2).” You may useeither your “Pulp Era Private Detective(3)” or your “Cool Hand Gunman (2)”cliché. If you reduce the thugs to zerodice, go to 29. If you are reduced ineither of your cliché dice to zero, go to1.

21212121You hail the nearest taxi cab. Afterdescribing the van you are looking forand telling him the general direction thatthe van was heading, you beginpatrolling the streets and alleyways ofChinatown. As you pass intersections,you crane your neck trying to catch sightof the van. Occasionally, you think yousee it, but as you get closer, you discoverit is the wrong van. After some time, thedriver looks back at you sympatheticallyand tells you that your fare is gettingpretty steep. Reluctantly you agree withhim.

If you tell the cabbie to take you to thedocks, go to 48. If you have decided thatthis case just isn’t worth the effort andrequest to be taken back to your office,go to 16.

22222222Looking around, you see a small dinghytied up at the same pier. Quickly, youloose the lines and push away from thedocks. Rowing silently, you approachthe lightship. Looking around theoutside of the ship, you become awarethat the only way to get aboard this boatis by climbing up the anchor cable.

Roll against your “Pulp Era PrivateDetective (3)” cliché. If you roll an 8 orbetter, go to 38. If you roll less than an8, then go to 36.

23232323Roll your Leadfoot Driver (2) cliché. Ifyou roll a 10 or higher, go to 43. If youroll less than a 10, go to 27

24242424The next day, you drive out to thecountry estate of Douglas LeRoux.After your telephone call, you did a littlechecking. It seems that Douglas LeRouxis one of the leading financiers in theSan Francisco Bay Area. He hasdealings in the stock market, banking,industry and the import-export business.

- 7 -

You pull up to the front door, and itseems that LeRoux has done pretty wellfor himself from the looks of the estate.Even the front door is impressive beyondbelief. You ring the bell and you wait.But you don’t wait long. The dooropens, and you are faced with adistinguished middle aged man dressedin a dark suit.

“Mr. Clarkson, I presume? Mr. Douglaswill be pleased you have arrived sopromptly. Please follow me.” The voicewas as cultured as the figure. It isapparent to you that this is the personwho called yesterday. You follow himto a room richly decorated with woodpaneling, heavy velvet curtains, leather-upholstered furniture and more booksthan you have ever seen in your life.

In front of a large window, stands afigure. His back is to you, hands claspedbehind him. He stares out the window,until the butler leaves.Go to 39

25252525You try to mask your excitement as youpick up the receiver. As soon as youopen your mouth, it all tumbles out.“Clarkson Investigations,” you squeak.

There is a noticeable pause on the otherend. “Is Mr. Clarkson available?”

You recover quickly. “Just a moment,”you reply with an affected squeak.Covering the mouthpiece of the phonewith your hand you clear your throat.“This is Peter Clarkson, how may I helpyou?”Go to 7

26262626You open a cabin and you are shocked atwhat you see. Standing before you is atall man, dressed in red Chinese robeswearing a dragon mask. On a table nearthe man you are coming to recognize asthe Scarlet Dragon, is the figurine youhave been charged with delivering to themuseum!

“Mr. Clarkson, it seems I have grosslyunderestimated your persistence.” Thevoice is muffled but something about itseems strangely familiar. “That is amistake I won’t make again.” Lookingat your adversary, it occurs to you thathe is holding a gun pointed directly atyou!

Roll against either your “Pulp EraPrivate Detective (3)” cliché or your“Cool Hand Gunman (2) cliché. Treatthe Scarlet Dragon as a “CriminalMastermind (3).”

If you are reduced to zero cliché dice ineither cliché, go to 42. If the ScarletDragon is reduced to zero, then go to 3.

27272727You turn the key repeatedly, but only geta grinding noise from the engine. By thetime you get the motor started, the van islong gone.

- 8 -

If you choose to contact the police andreport the crime, go to 16.If you decide to search the scene forclues, go to 9.

28282828You take a deep breath and say, “Mr.LeRoux, it looks like you have gotyourself a deal.” You signquickly and stand up.

By this time, he has alreadyreturned the figure to its boxand is standing before you .“Johnson will see you to thedoor.” As he hands you thebox, the butler appears.

You follow him to the frontdoor in silence. You beginthe drive back to the citywrapped in your ownthoughts.

About a mile from theLeRoux house, your reverie isinterrupted by a black flashand sickening metallic crack,followed by a hard jar to theright.

A delivery truck has rushedup around you while youweren’t paying attention,forcing you off the side of theroad. The car careens into astand of trees and abruptlyends its path at the trunk ofone in particular.

Stunned, you are barely aware of threemen dressed in Chinese silk garb pile outof the delivery van and rush up to yourcar. One of them reaches in and grabsthe box containing the figurine and allthree run back to the van and speed off

while you are still shaking the cobwebsout of your head.

Do you try to restart your car andfollow? If yes, go to 23. If no, go to 10

29292929One of the thugs lunges at you with a

wicked-looking knife. You trapthe blade against your body withyour arm and swing him aroundto collide with the second thug.The impact makes him drop hishatchet. You twist the knifefrom the grip of the first andwith two quick punches drop thefirst two in a crumpled heap onthe floor. The third watches inwonder, then drops his blade andruns for the railing of the ship,jumping into the bay to escape.Go to 26.

30303030Quickly, you move to the boxesin the alley and take a positionwhere you can see the van andthe entrance to the alley. Youwatch intently to see who iscoming. Unfortunately, you didnot see the person who stole upbehind you. All you know issomething crashes into yourhead, and then nothing.Go to 14.

31313131Addressing the two Chinesemen, you ask them what they

know about the three laundry workersand the stolen figurine. Almostimmediately, they avert their gaze andrespond only in Chinese. Any furtherattempts prove fruitless. Frustrated, yousit back at your table and await yourlunch order.

- 9 -

Roll your “Smooth-Talking Rogue (2)”cliché. If you roll 10 or better, go to 18.If you roll less than 10, go to 17.

32323232As you struggle to make yourselfunderstood, out of the corner of your eyeyou notice a worker fidgeting nervously.He attempts to slip out of the back of thelaundry unnoticed. But you notice. Youfollow the worker into the back,carefully dodging other workers andlaundry carts and jets of steam. Yourquarry slips through a door at the veryend of the work area. Close at his heels,you open the door. It leads out to thealley. The nervous worker is nowhere insight, but what is in sight draws you upshort: A black delivery van with a dentin the exact place it should be if it hadhit your car! Opening the back of thevan, you look to see if there might beany sign of the stolen figure. Inside, yousee a number of laundry bags. Justnoticeable, however, you see a smallscrap of paper. Picking it up, you readthe name and address of your employer,Mr. Douglas LeRoux.

Roll your Pulp Era Private Detectivecliché. If you roll a 9 or less, go to 35.If you roll a 10 or better, go to 19.

33333333As stealthily as possible, you climb intothe back of the van and hide amongst thebags of laundry loaded into the van.While you practice your impersonationof a statue, three Chinese men dressed insilk climb into the cab of the van. Theystart the engine, and as you hold yourbreath, they drive away.

It is impossible to know which way youare being driven, but you are reasonablysure you are still in the Chinatowndistrict.

Go to 4.

34343434Figuring you have nothing else to lose,you make your way to Stockton Street.So far, that is the only lead you have togo on. You park your car in front of theLittle China Grill and get out.Go to 41

35353535You continue to rummage around in theback of the van, hopeful that you canfind anything else. You are completelylost in your search when suddenly, yourhead explodes in a mass of pain and thendarkness.Go to 14.

36363636Slowly, you begin to make your way upthe cable, hand over hand. Abouthalfway up, your hand slips, and tryingto grab the cable, you lose your grip andfall with a very loud splash into the bay.You hold your breath for what seemslike an eternity, then swim to an areaclose to the hull cloaked in shadow.You wait for another twenty heartbeats,and then try to make the climb again.Go to 38.

37373737“I sure am!” You blurt out, and theninstantly regret it. You didn’t want toseem too eager.

LeRoux smiles and then speaks.“Excellent! I do have a contract here…”He produces the document, which he hasalready signed. You quickly scan it andnotice that there is an insurance clausethat requires you to pay LeRoux thevalue of the figurine if it does not arriveat the museum. The contract identifiesthe figure at $10,000.00.

- 10 -

This stops you cold. A thousand fordelivery, but a ten thousand dollarpenalty if you fail. Is it worth it?If you say yes, go to 28. If no, then go to45.

38383838You make it up the line without incident.Carefully, you begin searching thecabins of the lightship to find theworkers, the figure, or all of the above.

If you fell into the water on your firstattempt up the line, go to 20.

If you made it up the cable withoutfalling into the bay, roll against your“Pulp Era Private Detective (3)” cliché.If you roll a 10 or better, go to 26. Ifyou roll less than a 10, then go to 20.

39393939The gentleman turns and speaks. “Mr.Clarkson, I’m certain you are wonderingwhy I asked you here today.” You saynothing, but the reality is, you werewondering. After all, you are a new andas yet unproven gumshoe. With theresources at his disposal, why wouldLeRoux hire you?

“Let me share with you my thinking. Ihave decided to sell an old Chineseartifact to the San Francisco Museum.However, I do not wish to deliver it inperson. I would like for you to deliver itfor me. You are a relative newcomer,and have not had the opportunity tomake a name for yourself. You are theperfect individual to maintain a lowprofile.”

“I wish to maintain a low profile becauseI have received several threateningletters regarding my sale.”

Would you like to view the letters? Ifyes, go to 5. If not, go to 15

40404040With LeRoux safely in police custody,you take stock of your first day on thejob. Your employer turns out to be acrook, but you successfully delivered theTang figurine to the museum. Youdidn’t get the promised fee fromLeRoux, but the museum did agree toshell out $500 as a reward for securingthe item. More than enough to coveryour expenses and make a nice littleprofit. Not bad for a whole day’s work.

The End.

41414141Determined to find out where the figureis so that you can deliver it to theMuseum, and looking at the restaurant asthe next piece to the puzzle, you walk in.As your eyes adjust to the dim light, yousee that the restaurant is empty exceptfor two Chinese men sitting at a tableand the waiter who seats you.

You notice that as you look over themenu, the two men are eyeing youclosely.

If you speak to them directly, go to 31. Ifyou take your time, and try to win theirconfidence, go to 2.

42424242The Scarlet Dragon fires a shot beforeyou can react. The bullet slams intoyour body. You topple over and theroom becomes fuzzy as you begin tolose focus. Eventually, as your life ebbsfrom you, the whole world becomes stilland black. Your game is over.

The End

- 11 -

43434343The car roars to life, quickly, you backout onto the road. You see the trail ofdust fast disappearing ahead of you.You manage to keep them in sight all theway back to the City, and then down thestreets into the Chinatown district.

You manage to pull up close enough tothem to read the name on the side of thevan. It advertises a Chinese laundrycalled “Quong Wing Chong Laundry,”located at 866 Sacramento St.

At that moment, the van takes a suddenright turn. You can’t stop in time tofollow them. So you drive on down tothe next block and turn back. By thetime you reach the cross street, there isno sign of the van.

If you give up and call the police, go to16.If you decide to go to Laundry and lookfor clues, go to 6

44444444You jump in your car and start theengine. Quickly you pull away from thecurb and turn down the street where youlast saw the van. As you passintersections, you look down the streetsand alleyways trying to catch sight of thevan. Occasionally, you think you see it,but as you get closer, you discover it isthe wrong van. For some time, youpatrol the area, but you have lost thetrail.

If you decide to try the docks, go to 48.If you have decided that this case justisn’t worth the effort, go to 16.

45454545You stare down at the contract carefully.Then swallowing hard, you push it back

toward your host. “I’m sorry Mr.LeRoux. I just don’t think I’m the rightguy for the job.”

LeRoux looks at you for what seems aneternity. Then he speaks slowly. “Well,I’m sorry, too. I guess I overestimatedyour ability. Johnson will see you out.”At that, the butler reenters the room.You follow him to the door in silence.You are wrapped up in your thoughts asyou make the drive back to the city.

Over the next week you take other jobs,but nothing with the potential impact ofLeRoux’s offer. But then, one day youhappen to be scanning the paper, and thisheadline catches your eye:

Chinese Treasure Stolen; PoliceStumped

Reading the following article quickly,you realize that LeRoux had hiredanother gumshoe to do the job youwouldn’t do, and this guy had botchedthe job. You can’t help but wonder ifyou could’ve done a better job.

The End.

46464646You enter the laundry, and look around.There are several people here, bothcustomers and workers, Chinese andWhite. You begin to question some ofthe workers concerning the delivery vanthat ran you off the road, but quicklyrealize that these workers either do notspeak English, or have suddenlyforgotten how.

Roll your Pulp Era Private Detectivecliché. If you roll a 9 or less, go to 11.If you roll a 10 or better, go to 32.

47474747

- 12 -

You say carefully, “Well, Mr. LeRoux,that’s a mighty generous offer, but whathappens if I don’t make it?”

LeRoux smiles broadly. “I knew youwould be the right man for the job. Youdon’t leave anything to chance.” Hewalks over to his desk, opens a drawerand pulls out a piece of paper. I have acontract here. It stipulates that if thefigurine fails to arrive at the museum,and I don’t receive my payment, thenyou will be responsible for the value ofthe piece, which is set by the museum at$10,000.00.” He pauses while youabsorb the full impact of his words.“Think of it as an insurance policy.” Hesmiles again. “But I’m confident itwon’t come to that. I am certain I’ll bepaying you instead of the other wayaround. So, what do you say?”If you say yes, go to 28. If no, then go to45

48484848The docks have always been a trial onyour nerves. They are full of shadowsand blind spots where any number ofambushes could occur. Fortunately,there is only one way to arrive. You findwhat looks to you to be a safe placewhere you can observe the entrance andtake note of anyone coming and going.

You begin to lose track of the time youhave been there. You know it has beenseveral hours, but you’re not quite surejust how long. At last, about dusk, yousee what your eyes have been lookingfor: A black Chinese laundry deliveryvan, with a damaged front fender! Yourheart skips a beat as three men get outcarrying a small package.

Your gaze follows them as they descenda ladder over the pier. Shortly, you hearthe noise of a motorboat engine.

Stepping away from your place ofconcealment to get a better view, youwatch the boat pull away from the pierand head out to a boat anchored out inthe bay. You recognize the boat as alightship, used to warn other boats ofrocks near the shore. It has been out ofservice for several years, but no one hadever removed it from the bay. But now,you notice that it isn’t abandonedanymore. There are lights burning in theportholes!

If you feel like it is time to call thepolice, go to 16.

If you decide to look for a way to get onboard that lightship, go to 22.