Bureaucrat scuffs dream of homeless shoe shiner

Summary

June 4, 2009: A homeless man saves enough money shining shoes on the street to get his own apartment only to lose it all paying for a permit to shine shoes. Interestingly enough he'd never been approached about the missing work permit until he'd saved enough money to purchase it…[1]

Source

Bibliography

1. Original San Francisco Chronicle Article

Game and Story Use

• This is the classic example of how a GM gives toys to the Play group and then takes them away. Your players are at their best when there are problems to solve, and issues to work through - it's the point of playing in an RPG. And this poor guy is living it.
  • A humane GM lets his players have some fun playing with the toys for a while before he takes them away.
    • Or better yet, finds ways to create dramatic tension that doesn't suck XP and Equipment off your Character Sheet.
• It's a conspiracy! The Government was waiting till he had the money, then they bushwhacked him!
  • And if the PCs are anything like the A-Team, the shoe-shiner will ask them for justice.