Adventure Hooks: Shipping & Receiving

It's a mysterious void in space-time, that place where things go, exchange hands, and <maybe> come out again.  All manner of checkpoints have it, from simple packages being loaded onto a truck, to a country's customs office recording each face that passes through.  It's always where the trail ends cold.

Bookkeeping is the key to running a successful Shipping & Receiving.  Everything that comes in, gets recorded.  Everyone who works that day, gets recorded.  Everything that's loaded up and out, gets recorded.  We need to know everyone, everything, and everywhere that's involved in our area.  If we don't, the void creeps in.

What happens when a receiver slips a letter into his pocket? What happens when the scanner doesn't recognize those vials in that unmarked package?  Why was this shipment late?  How did no one notice the demon that came through the hell portal?

Traveling is a natural part of adventure, and checkpoints can act as a natural plot pinch.  They're a great beginning to a story (e.g. that shipment of nukes didn't come into port), great sources of trouble (e.g. one of our heroes ordered a magical trinket... but it never got here), and a great way to bring the party back together (e.g. we all need to get fake passports to get through customs).  They are a source of power and mystery, and as such make for great roleplaying scenes where the heroes can explore the people and places around them, learning valuable information about the world and events surrounding them.

Things and people go missing, and the records never tell a straight story.  There are so many opportunities for investigation, stealth, heists, and intrigue.  How will you use checkpoints to further your NPCs goals? What simple slip up could have devastating effects for the PCs?  There's a reason everyone meets in a bar: it's a hub of free information as it's shipped from one receiver to another.