I realize I'm going to hell for the bad HTML on this page, but I plead
that I haven't the time to do it right--so I just let MS Word translate
into HTML for me. Badly.
This is a relatively short--perhaps 2 or 3 hour game in which all of the
various players take on the roles of a bad murder mystery movie. There
are no dice in this game, though there are some character
stats of sorts, and some characters even have special powers.
The scene opens up: A posh country mansion, far away from civilization
as we know it. It's raining buckets outside, and the nearby bridge is
washed out from the flooding. The house is full of people:
| Professor Von Wolfstein | The owner of the mansion |
|---|
|
The professor has spent the last year or so working in his basement lab on
a cold fusion project which could easily change the world...if it works.
To date, he's not been able to come up with a working product, and word
is that his sponsors are threatening to cut his funding.
|
Clyde Von Wolfstein | The professor's son |
|
Clyde is a very intelligent young man who also happens to be a little
bit clumsy and doesn't have even the least bit of common sense. He
did remarkably well in school, but hasn't been able to hold down a real
job since graduating. Rumor has it that the professor was threatening
to cut off his funding if he didn't get his act together.
|
Lily Von Wolfstein | The professor's wife |
|
Whatever love was once in this marriage has long since vanished. Lily
has spent the last few years unable to leave the professor because of
his money, but completely miserable with him around. She has become
something of an alcoholic, and tends to end social events by making
a scene. She is hideously jealous of Scarlet, who gets all of the
professor's attention, and a fair amount of his money.
|
George Von Wolfstein | The professor's brother |
|
George is, for the most part, a useless sod who couldn't support himself
to save his life. For the last twenty years, he has sponged off of
The professor for everything. Any money he gets he gambles away, and
he has never won a poker game in his life. Except once...that one time
which keeps him going. Rumor has it that the professor threatened to
send him away if he gambled again. (This character can become
female if necessary, being renamed to Jane.)
|
Mike Milhaus | Lily's brother |
|
Quick of wit and temper, Mike hangs around because he loves his younger
sister so. He is not exactly wealthy, but he can live on his own,
should he want to. However, he has a room at the mansion because
Lily insisted on it, and he tends to do whatever Lily says, even if
he won't do so for anyone else.
|
Scarlet O'Malley | The professor's mistress |
|
Whoever coined the phrase Diamonds are a girl's best friend was
almost certainly talking about Scarlet O'Malley when it was spoken. This
girl loves jewelry, clothes, fine wines, and all of the trappings that
go with wealth. So, for her, the professor has been a gold mine. He
gives her anything she wants, and she only has to sleep with him. She
also takes great joy in snubbing Lily whenever possible.
|
Jackie Smith | The professor's colleague |
|
Jackie is a post-grad at the local University, working very hard on a PhD.
S/he is paid on The professor's grant and graduation is very dependent
upon some sort of results from the professor's project.
|
Greg O'Reilly | The professor's colleague |
|
Greg is another professor at the university, and he has been working
closely with the professor for the last few years, trying to make this
project work. He is a product of the sixties, something of a hippy,
and definitely was once (and perhaps still is) a drug addict. This doesn't
hamper his quick wit, however, but it does tend to make him that
much harder to understand when he starts rambling.
|
Vladamir Nbyeskvy | The professor's colleague |
|
Vlad recently got his PhD from Moscow University, and only six short months
ago did he join the professor's staff. His natural attitude toward
things American has been disdainful, and it has made him frightfully
difficult to get along with--especially when he is drunk, which is
fairly often. When he isn't working, he has a bottle of vodka nearby.
|
Yvette Prieur | The maid |
|
Yvette is young going on not-so-young, attractive and has a reputation
as something of a tramp. She is a pretty good maid, though, and
the professor seems to have a soft spot even when she is often
late for work because of being...indisposed.
|
Wadsworth Thumblebuckett | The butler |
|
Wadsworth is a proper English butler. He is unassuming and ever present.
He takes care of the daily tasks of running the house, and apparently
no small amount of the professor's financial matters as well.
|
Kyle McCorbett | A stranded traveller |
Melanie McCorbett | Kyle's wife |
|
Poor Kyle and Melanie were on their honeymoon when they got a flat tire
in the middle of the storm. They came to the house looking to use
the phone, and then found that the bridge was out, and are now stuck
until the storm is over.
|
The lights go out. After a few moments of tension, there is the sound
of a woman screaming: Melanie has found the body of Professor Von
Wolfstein. And the game begins.
There are almost no NPCs in this game; all of the interactions are
player to player. The GM is only necessary to resolve conflicts and
explain what you might find when exploring hitherto unknown parts of
the house. Shortly after the murder, Jacques Rousseau will arrive
as the Inspector determined to solve the case.