mirror of
https://github.com/historicalsource/suspect
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213 lines
8.1 KiB
Plaintext
213 lines
8.1 KiB
Plaintext
M3: (Working Title: Deathmask)
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It's a wet and rainy Halloween night, and Veronica Ashcroft is giving
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her traditional Halloween party. Would you have accepted the
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invitation if you had known that in a few hours Veronica would be dead
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and you would be the prime suspect? Would you have rented that silly
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looking cowboy costume if you had known Veronica would be strangled with
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a lasso? Fortunately there are other suspects, but you have to think
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fast to forestall and quick and unfortunate ending this mystery!
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The Setting:
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Ashcroft Farm, a Southern mansion tucked away in the Maryland hunt
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country. Home of Michael Wellman and his wife, Veronica
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Ashcroft-Wellman. Veronica has secretly agreed to sell the Farm for
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real estate development, and plans this final Halloween bash to say
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goodbye to the old place. It's to be a grand costume ball with simply
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everyone invited.
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The manor house is a huge old southern style mansion, a la Tara, but
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more tasteful. There are stables and garages and a barn out back, and
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it's clear that this is horse country: paddocks, jumping equipment, and
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so on abound, and one room inside is crammed full of show pictures and
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ribbons. Veronica is a serious horsewoman, and when she was younger,
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she was a competition-level jumper and dressage rider.
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The main center of action is the ballroom of the manor. Most of the
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guests are here, but unfortunately most of the suspects were
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conveniently absent when the murder was committed. A band plays, a
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bartender dispenses drinks, and oddly costumed guests cavort on the
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dance floor.
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Other rooms include a library, a trophy room, bathrooms, a foyer, etc.
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The upstairs is off limits. There are also some outside rooms (paddock,
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stable, etc.).
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Characters and Their Costumes:
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You (the player); "cowboy"/"cowgirl"
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Michael Wellman; "sheik"
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Veronica Ashcroft-Wellman, Michael's wife; "Titania"
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Alicia Barron, Michael's lover; "harem girl"
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Richard Ashcroft, Veronica's brother; "werewolf"
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Linda Meade, Richard's girlfriend; "ballerina"
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Colonel Robert Marston, Administrator of the Ashcroft Trust; "explorer"
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Senator Alan Asher; "harlequin"
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William Cochrane, a local real estate developer; "astronaut"
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Samuel Ostmann, another real estate developer; "vampire"
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George Smythe, the butler; "gorilla"
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Jack Johnson, bartender; "domino mask"
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The Detective
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Sgt. Duffy
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Many other party guests (in various costumes)
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[Note that many of the costumes obscure the face.]
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Action:
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At the start of the game, you are in the ballroom, minding your own
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business, when Michael calls you over. Veronica is discussing one of
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her many horses when suddenly she spills her drink all over her costume
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(naturally the costume is white). Seriously annoyed, she storms out of
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the room (maybe she was a little drunk).
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A few minutes later, she is a little dead, as well. You can find her
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sprawled in the office among her horse trophies, strangled by your own
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lasso. The office is ransacked: perhaps she interrupted someone in the
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midst of a burglary, a search, or what?
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It is possible for you to be the first to discover the body. (If not,
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someone else will.) If you find it, several different lines of play can
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ensue. First, you can sound the alarm. This means the police are
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called, and since you are a prime suspect, you're in deep trouble.
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Second, you can try to hide the body and find the murderer yourself.
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Third, you can remove the lariat and leave. Still other possibilities
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might present themselves.
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Modus Operandi (Spoiler Warning!):
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Veronica is last "seen" after the murder was actually committed, because
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the murderer's accomplice (Alicia, who resembles Veronica in build and
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voice) appears briefly in the Ballroom wearing a duplicate of Veronica's
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costume. This confuses the time of death and gives the murderer
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(Veronica's husband, Michael) an alibi, while also casting suspicion on
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you.
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The murder weapon is fortuitous; you left it in the coat closet with
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your coat and Michael happened upon it.
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Veronica was lured away by Michael, and soon after they seem to
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reappear, but in fact, Alicia has donned her costume, and is
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impersonating her.
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Because the murder is committed with your lasso, the detective will
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suspect you, and you must avoid being arrested. You might even want to
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flee, but if you do, you will be caught or possibly even killed. Better
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is to find out who really did it so that when the police arrive, you can
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hand over the real murderers.
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Once the detective (yes, it's the player from Deadline or The Witness)
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and Sgt. Duffy arrive, you have a very limited time in which to get
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things fixed up to prevent your arrest. It might be better to hide the
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body or the lasso, but by the same token, being discovered while doing
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this is probably a sure ticket to the Big House.
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The Motive:
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Michael, Veronica's husband, is the murderer. He has been carrying on
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affair Alicia, who becomes his accomplice, and wants a divorce so he can
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to marry her. Veronica is willing to divorce, but without a property
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settlement. It turns out, according to Col. Marston, the administrator
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of the Ashcroft family trust, that Michael will inherit most of her real
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property if she dies. If she sells the farm before she dies, as she
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plans to, there is nothing for Michael to inherit.
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Suspects:
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Michael: Once you find out he has a lover, and wants a divorce, he's an
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obvious suspect. But if he kills Veronica, there seems to be no way he
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can get his hands on her money, and he's not the type to give up his
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affluence. Col. Marston can clear that up.
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Alicia: Her connection with Michael is unsuspected, but once you find
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out about it, she's an obvious suspect.
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Richard: Veronica has control of the Trust money, as oldest sibling,
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and rules Richard with an iron hand. Also acts nasty to Richard's
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girlfriend.
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Linda: Too common for Veronica, who constantly snubs her and insults
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her. She hates Veronica.
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Marston: Veronica thinks he's embezzling from the Trust money (he is),
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and once she gets proof he'll be fired. He sets the whole thing in
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motion by revealing to Michael that he inherits the farm if his wife
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dies.
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Smythe: Doesn't the butler always do it? He knows Michael has a lover.
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(The servants always know these things). He is loyal to Veronica in a
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family-retainer sort of way, but has discovered her plans to sell the
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estate: he's worked there all his life and resents the idea of leaving.
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Sam Ostmann: President of the firm Veronica is selling the Farm to. He
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has no motive, and is probably the one with the most to lose from her
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death.
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William Cochrane: President of a rival to Ostmann's firm. His company
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is close to collapse. Veronica's decision not to sell to him will ruin
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him. He reveals the sale to Michael, reinforcing the motive. On the
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other hand, at first he looks like he has the strongest motive.
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Senator Asher: He is in the room next to the room where her body is
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found.
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Bartender: Remembers who was drinking what. Perhaps Alicia doesn't
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drink what Veronica does?
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Clues:
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* Key to office, which is normally locked, and locked between the time
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of the murder and Alicia's entrance, but unlocked afterward. Alicia
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has to ditch the costume, then get back to the party by going around
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the outside of the house, and get the key back to Michael.
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* Michael disposes of the costume Alicia ditches. By appropriate
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sneaking you can watch him do it, or catch him in the act.
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* Alicia's overcoat is soaked, from her first, secret arrival, though the
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rain has let up at the time everyone think's the murder happened.
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* Receipt for Alicia's copy of Veronica's costume.
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* Where was Alicia before the impersonation?
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* Costume Veronica has on is different in some way from Alicia's.
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* How did Michael find out what costume Veronica would be wearing?
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* Loophole in family trust.
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* Michael's talk with Col. Marston about loophole.
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* Purchase and Sale Agreement on farm is found in the office on the
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desk. It's almost too obvious...
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* Col. Marston's embezzlement is known to Veronica, and that's what's
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really missing from the office; the evidence.
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Ideas for Package Elements:
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Mask: Your mask, an ordinary black or white mask.
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Receipt: The receipt from your costume.
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Invitation: The invitation to Veronica's party.
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[Needed is an anti-piracy element, if we think one is important.]
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