Murder Mystery Mansion (Rules, Weapons, Rooms & Suspects)

[Remiel]

image courtesy of Kendra

Quick Reference
Rules
Weapons
Rooms
Suspects

I

t was a party to die for, they said.  Slate Grey, trillionaire investment banker and one of the richest men in the world, in order to celebrate his 60th birthday party, hosted a gala grandiose at his sprawling Rhode Island mansion.  Only a select handful of close friends and relatives were invited, although in typical flamboyant fashion, Mr. Grey treated his guests to an extravagant bash that spanned the entirety of his estate.

The evening went horribly wrong, however, when the guests began to notice Grey had gone missing from the party.  As the hours stretched by and his absence became more and more conspicuous, they decided to look for their eccentric host.   The search was, at first, fruitless, and the question on everyone's minds was "Where did Mr. Grey go?"

The question was soon horribly, shockingly answered soon enough.  A bloodcurdling scream from the direction of the groundskeeper's shed brought everyone at a run.  Mr. Grey--or at least his remains--had been found in the hopper of the groundskeeper's industrial mulcher.  Although only bones and viscera remained, Grey's personal signet ring, found amongst the carnage, was enough to verify his identity.

The police were quickly summoned.  The groundskeeper, naturally, was sought for questioning, but it soon became apparent that he could not possibly have committed the grisly crime: he had contracted a crippling stomach flu the week previous, and had been hospitalized for the past few days.

The mansion was quickly quarantined as the guests were questioned and interrogated.  Unable to leave, the festive atmosphere long forgotten, Mr. Grey's guests loitered about, uncertain and dazed, until the police detective, Seargeant Teal, issued a troubling announcement:

"Good sirs and ladies, I'm afraid our investigation has not turned up any clues.  The body has been mutilated beyond our ability to determine the cause of death; we do not know what the murder weapon was, nor who did it.  We know only one thing, and that is that the murderer cannot possibly have had time to leave the premises.  Ladies, gentlemen, I'm afraid the murderer is still among us. He--or she--is, in fact, one of you."

Among the gasps and cries of horror, Sgt. Teal held up a hand.  "I'm afraid I must ask you to help us.  We need you to search the mansion for any vital clues that will let us shed some light on the vile deed.  We need to know where the murder took place and how it was done.  And, most of all, we need to know who did it."

And so the race began: the innocent guests spread out, searching the mansion for clues, while the murderer walked among them, eager to make sure that no one would survive long enough to solve the mystery.

Would they be able to deduce the identity of the culprit in time?  Or would Mr. Grey's killer go free?

[Remiel]

Murder Mystery Mansion will be a Mafia game based on the board game Cluedo.  In it, players will explore a spooky New England mansion, looking for clues to their host's murder.  Through the process of deduction, they will compete with each other to be the first to discover where the murder took place, how it was done, and who the killer was.  However, they will also need all their wits to survive, as the murderer walks among their midst, seeking to eliminate those who get too close to the truth!

First, each player must choose an honorific (Mr., Mrs., Miss, Dr., Prof., Sir, Colonel, etc.) and a color (Scarlet, Mauve, Mahogany, Sunflower, Pearl, Raspberry, Peach, Lime, Maroon, Periwinkle, Indigo, Coffee, etc.) for their character's name. 

Example: Mr. Pink was one of Grey's guests; he is just as shocked and horrified as anyone else when he learned about the murder.  With an ominous sensation of lurking disaster looming just behind, he sets about the mansion.



During each "round" of the game, the players will move to one of the Rooms of the Mansion.  They must designate the room in bold somewhere in their post.  They are free to move to a different room before the round has elapsed, but once it has elasped their "current location" will, for all intents and purposes, be the last room mentioned.

Example: Mr. Pink decides to begin his exploration in the Kitchen.  He wanders among the ovens and cutting blocks, looking for any signs of anything out of the ordinary or any signs of a struggle.

Mr. Pink is free to move to another room before the round ends (at this juncture, each round will last approximately 5 days of real time).  However, if he does not, he will officially be considered to be conducting his investigation in the Kitchen.  If he changes his mind and goes somewhere else when the round ends, he will be considered to conduct his investigation in that room.



At the end of the round, once a character's location has been established, the player will send the GM a Private Message with his or her suspected Murder Weapon, the Room that he or she is currently in, and the name of a character whom the player thinks committed the murder.

Example:  Mr. Pink, after studying the racks of utensils and equipment and happening to notice a butcher's cleaver missing, suspects that the murder weapon was the Cleaver.  Since he is in the Kitchen, he assumes that the murder has happened there.  As for suspects? Well, he's been getting some strange feelings about Miss Scarlet and thinks she may have had a hand in Mr. Grey's demise.



Once the player has submitted his or her suspicions to the GM, he will find out if any of his guesses are correct.  If none of his guesses are correct, he will be told as much.  If one of his guesses are correct and the other two mistaken, he will learn what the correct guess was.  If more than one of his guesses are correct, however, he will only discover one clue--which will be selected randomly from the correct guesses.    Only new information will be presented (the player does not have to worry about learning already known information).

Example: Mr. Pink has guessed correctly about the Cleaver and Miss Scarlet, but he is wrong about the Kitchen. Although the cleaver was in fact used, the murder took place in another room.  The GM flips a coin and lets him know that he guessed correctly about the Cleaver. Mr. Pink's suspicions of Miss Scarlet will have to wait for another round.



Meanwhile, the Murderer, selected at random from among the interested players, will act like the other guests, pretending to conduct an investigation of her own.   Like the other guests, she will travel from room to room.  However, her motives are far more sinister: instead of looking for clues, she is trying to isolate victims so that she may silence them--terminally, of course--if they discover too much.

Example: Miss Scarlet can't help but notice Mr. Pink wandering off alone.  He's been giving her strange looks all evening, and she worries that he might have discovered her role in Grey's murder.  In her post, she says:

Miss Scarlet, too, finds herself in the Kitchen. Noticing Mr. Pink there, she approaches him.  "Who could have done such a horrible deed?" she wonders aloud, looking pale and shocked.    Stepping closer to him, she leans in to whisper her suspicions.  "You know, I've never really liked Dr. Green.  I'm just glad he's not here with us now.  But if he was, I know that a big, strong man like you would protect me."

Miss Scarlet has given nothing away, but established that her location is in the Kitchen, just like Mr. Pink is.  If Mr. Pink does not leave before the end of the round, he will be vulnerable to her attack.



At the end of the round, the murderer may, if she wishes, choose to kill one person who shares the same room.  She does not have to exercise this option; she may choose to let him live.  This is wise in some circumstances; for example, if Mr. Pink turns up dead the following hour and everyone knows that the only other person in the Kitchen was Miss Scarlet, they will rightly assume that she is the killer.  For this reason, it is in the best interest of the innocents to distribute themselves evenly among the rooms; conversely, it is in the best interest of the killer to find a room with as many people in it as possible. RULE UPDATE! The murderer can only kill a player who has correctly guessed at least one clue.  If a player does not know any clues so far, he or she is safe from the murderer.

Example: No one else enters the Kitchen that round.  Miss Scarlet has the perfect opportunity to kill off Mr. Pink.  But, as several of the guests saw them both going to the Kitchen together, she knows that it would probably be a better idea to let him live--at least for now.



At the end of the round, after all the suspicions have been confirmed (or dispelled), the Murderer will be informed how many clues the other guests have learned.  She will not know which clues--only the number of clues per person.

Example: After Miss Scarlet decides not to kill Mr. Pink, the GM informs her (privately, of course) that Mr. Pink has learned one clue.  She does not know if Mr. Pink has learned that the murder was done in the Master Bedroom, that the Cleaver was used, or that she was the killer.  She privately resolves that if she ends up in the same room as Mr. Pink again, he will meet an untimely demise.



After all surviving players have learned whether any of their guesses are correct, and the Murderer has decided whether or not to kill her victim, the next round starts.  All players are free to move to another room as they please, or stay in the same one they are currently in. 



Accusations:  Any player may, at any time, make a formal Accusation, stating who they think killed Mr. Grey, how they did it (which Murder Weapon they used) and where they did it (which Room).   A player need not have to have all of his guesses confirmed in order to make an accusation.  In other words, he is free to make an Accusation based on merely intuition and guesswork.  But be careful! If the player is incorrect, he is immediately removed from the game (in other words, he is considered to be "killed").  If you suspect that the murderer may have sets her sights on you, and you may not live to see the next round, it may be worth making an Accusation as a final, desperate tactic.

If a player's Accusation is correct--if he is right about the Room, the Murder Weapon, and the Suspect--then the game ends and he is the winner.  If the Murderer manages to eliminate all of the guests, either by killing them or tricking them into making an incorrect Accusation--then she escapes and wins the game. Rule update! Alternatively, if no Player has made a correct Accusation by the end of round 10, then the Murderer wins the game as well.

Example: Mr. Pink has managed to elude Miss Scarlet and has learned that she was indeed Slate Grey's killer.   He knows that she used the Cleaver and that the act took place in the Master Bedroom.  Now that the final piece has fallen into place, he brings his evidence to the Sergeant.

"Sergeant Teal," says Mr. Pink, "I think I know now who did it.  I would like to make a formal Accusation.  My suspicions were first aroused when I discovered the Cleaver missing from the Kitchen cutting board; later, I discovered a carpet soaked in Mr. Grey's blood rolled up and tucked under the bed in the Master Bedroom.  Only Miss Scarlet had the motive and the opportunity, and I can prove it.  Her fingerprints are all over the murder weapon, and if you check Mr. Grey's documents you will find a generous life insurance policy in his name with Miss Scarlet as the beneficiary.  I am positive that she is the culprit."

Mr. Pink's logic is good enough for the Sergeant, and Miss Scarlet is arrested.  Mr. Pink, since he was the first guest to make a correct Accusation, is the winner of Murder Mystery Mansion.


11/12 Rule Update: The Murderer can only eliminate a player who has guessed at least one clue.  Players who have not yet guessed any clues correctly are safe from being killed.

11/27 Rule Update: If no Guest has made a correct Accusation by the end of round 10, the Murderer goes free and wins the game.

[Remiel]

From the Report of Sergeant Teal:

Weapons:

The following items are common household objects which nevertheless carry the potential for foul play.  We have reason to suspect that the murder weapon was one of the following:

		The Fireplace Poker is one of the more rare implements of murder, but people often forget that it is, when you get right down to it, a long, tapered rod of heavy iron with a vicious hook on the head.  The murderer need not have been inordinately strong in order to wield it; one well-aimed blow with the poker could easily cave in a skull.
		Piano Wire is rather an unconventional weapon, but being a length of fine gauge metal cord, it can be used as a very effective garrote.
		Arsenic is not commonly used as Rat Poison these days, but an empty bottle of it was found on the premises.  Arsenic poisoning is a gruesome and painful way to die; whoever utilized it must have severely disliked Mr. Grey.
		The Butcher's Cleaver is an extremely sharp, deadly weapon -- and it is found in the kitchen of any home.
		This Derringer pistol is a Civil War-era relic, but Mr. Grey kept it in perfect working order.  Its absence from its glass case in the Trophy Room is patently suspicious.  It is possible, I suppose, that Mr. Grey simply sent it away to be serviced.
		Mr. Grey, like many billionaires, was eccentric, and shaved only with a traditional Straight Razor. The blade's edge was more than sufficiently sharp to be able to cut open a man's throat.
		Although heavy, the Marble Bust of Plumbeous Grey, Mr. Grey's distant ancestor, could have been used to bludgeon him to death.  If so, the irony of such an end would be undeniable.
		Although the Letter Opener looks like a dagger, it is usually too dull to be much of a danger.  Nevertheless, in knowledgeable (or perhaps desperate) hands, it could conceivably be used to impale a victim.

[Remiel]

From the Report of Sergeant Teal:

Rooms:

Based on the interviews of the suspects and witnesses, I deduce that the crime must have happened in one of the following locations:

Mr. Grey kept an extensive Library, containing books on all manner of subjects.  He seemed to have a penchant for eclectic subjects, including Norse mythology, West African customs and superstitions, and Roman haruspicy.  He was an avid collector, as well; many important historical documents, including an early printing of the Magna Carta and some of Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses, were kept here. 

Although the mansion was built in the early 19th century, Mr. Grey recently had the Kitchen remodeled.  Structured around the stone hearth, which he kept largely intact, the kitchen presently contains no less than four full-size ovens, a walk-in freezer, and an eight-hundred-square-foot pantry.  A full-time kitchen staff of five ensured that his dinner guests never went hungry.

Mr. Grey was particularly proud of his Wine Cellar, which boasts some of the most expensive vintages in the world, including a 1787 Chateâu Lefite Bordeaux.   Padded chairs and divans ensured that he could treat his guests to a tasting in utmost luxury.

Although he did not practice taxidermy himself, Grey was nonetheless fond of the practice, and purchased a large amount of animal heads for his Trophy Room.  Some of these were stags, elk, and deer actually shot by Grey during his frequent hunting trips; others were simply acquired for their size or apparent disposition.

The Master Bedroom is where Grey and his mistress, one Miss Scarlett Rose, slept.  Mr. Grey met Miss Rose while in Milan on business, and the two began an eight-month-long affair that only in recent weeks started to turn sour.  Naturally, we sought Miss Rose for questioning, but her alibi checks out: during the night of the murder, she was in the company of Mr. Grey's estranged half-brother, Smoky Grey, at a nightclub in Los Angeles.  Several witnesses attested to their presence there the entire night.   

Mr. Grey made several trips to the Far East in his youth.  In his memoirs, he noted that he was impressed by the tranquility and serenity of the gardens he saw while visiting the Emperor's Palace in China.  He tried to replicate that aesthetic in this  Conservatory.

[Remiel]

From the Report of Sergeant Teal:

Suspects:
Below is a list of suspects for the murder of Slate Grey.  All were present at the scene when Mr. Grey was murdered, and all had both the opportunity and motive to commit the crime.  Though I do not know which of them did it, I have deduced that the culprit must be one of the following:

Suspect				Played By
Major Mustard				MCsc
Miss Plum				Kendra
Master Indigo				Eden
The Red Baron				Lord Mayerling
Chef Sage Green				Ryven
Dr. Emerald				Saffron
Lady Lavender				Beguile's Mistress
Miss Rainbow				Geeklet
Miss Scarlett				Josietta
Dr. Silver				Leorobin
Miss Brown				Niferbelle
Professor Verde				Valerian
Professor Mauve				Foamweber
Madame Mocha				That Girl Analise