[CHAR] Wink Murder

[Jig]

[Jig]

Guide:

As those of you who've sent in sheets will by now know, I'm running this very carefully and specifically. This will continue once I start dropping private hints and such, and while I won't tell you 'how to do your jobs', I'm gonna put some stuff here about how I work and how I think this'll work best.

"May or may not":

At some point in the game, I'll sooner or later send you the details of a clue, which will be prefaced with 'You may or may not notice'. This means what it says on the tin. If you don't think your character is observant enough to notice/don't want to go down that path, you may not notice whatever it is, as it suits you. Incidentally, I may or may not be throwing red herrings into the mix as well, so beware being led on a wild goose chase. :P

Short Posts:

I'm, uh, not a fan. I won't mind one or two, but because of the nature of this game where there will be secrecy and obfuscation from everybody at all times, I feel like the rapid changing of POV that comes with short posts might make things messy and more difficult to follow. I don't expect every post to be war and peace, but, particularly where you have an extended conversation with another character, I would prefer you to collaborate on posts with other characters rather than backing-and-forth-ing one-liners. If you've seen my other game, Wolf Manor, that's a particularly good example of how collabs work, I think - it reads better, and doesn't flip-flop the POV, even if it can take a lot lot longer.

Mass Unguided Group Conversation of Doom:

This is what I call it when there are many characters in the room and all taking part in the same conversation. This is a nightmare in my experience, because it tends to suck the energy from the game, less active players get shut out, the conversation is unnatural, and it doesn't tend to actually get anywhere. I will be trying to find ways of preventing this from happening, but also brainstorming a way that, if it must be done, and it probably will happen at least once, it can be done better.

The GM Done Goofed

Maybe. But maybe not. If you find repeating to yourself the mantra ("Jig is always right") doesn't help assuage your concerns, if you think you've spotted an inconsistency in the game and would like to challenge it, maybe PM it to me rather than point it out in front of everybody. Firstly, it might not be an inconsistency at all, but skulduggery, and, secondly, if it is an inconsistency, I can secretly bodge it without anybody having to know I done goofed. ^^

Meanwhile, based on how Wolf Manor is progressing, I'll regularly ask at intervals basically if everybody is happy, and give you general options about how you'd like the game to progress. If you ever feel like you're not getting something from how the game is running or you're getting something you don't want, talk to me! I don't bite, and I'm happy to have this show on the road, so if I can make the ride better for youse, then I'll do my best.

"Jig, I have to drop out..."

Okay, it happens. It does. And I'll be sad, but if you have RL stuff, I don't want you to dick about on here while your actual life goes to shit, so I'll understand. What I would ask is, if possible, to tell me this privately and be prepared for one more post so that I can neatly murder you off. I'd really appreciate it if you'd do that (more than anything else).

[Jig]

Plot Details #1: Arrival

Welcome to Wink Murder, kids.

Today is June the 6th, and you've received an invitation. Well, you can call it an invitation if you like, but, in reality, it's more of a threat. Whoever this 'Mr. Jig' is, if you don't come to the Little Lyceum theatre in downtown New York for 9PM, he's threatening to spill your biggest secret. This man could ruin your life. You can either give in to his demands, whatever they may be, or stop him. There is no alternative.

You've been sent a theatre ticket along with directions, upon which states in bold print your name and the date and time you are expected to be there. The show, apparently, is Mr. Jig's Speakeasy: A Reality Extravaganza. But when you get there, it becomes abundantly obvious that the Little Lyceum does not have a current production running; the building is boarded up, posters and signs out of date and whittled to almost nothing by the weather.

But you haven't come all this way for nothing, so you knock on the door - and it's answered. A young woman, wearing very little beyond a scant facsimile of a theatre usher's uniform, answers the door and hurries you inside. She introduces herself as The Hostess, and explains that when all of the guests have arrived, Mr. Jig will make his appearance.

You are in the foyer, which, in such a small theatre, comprises both the bar, reception, and the box office, with seats scattered around. It was once an opulent building, with predictable reds, golds, and bronzes colouring everything, with deep woods and rich metals being the primary materials. However, it's significantly unkempt; it smells of damp, and there are dust and cobwebs everywhere. A few areas have clearly recently been used, so they are 'fresher'-looking, but, overall, it's a rather ramshackle affair. The Hostess offers you a glass of wine (apparently Mr. Jig wasn't kidding about it being a speakeasy) while you wait for the others to arrive.

• The Hostess is an NPC.
• For short/simple exchanges, feel free to write her dialogue yourself.
• For longer exchanges, please ask my to supply her dialogue for you.
• She is very scantily dressed; a red top with golden buttons that maximises her cleavage; a short, meshy pencil skirt; heels; a red and gold headscarf thing.
• Default personality is high on the flirty, medium on the professionalism.

[Jig]

Setting Details #1: The Diamond Killer

Any character that has been based in New York for any decent length of time will be aware of the infamous serial murderer, The Diamond Killer. What follows is common knowledge about the Diamond Killer. Your character may or may not follow of the news, so it's up to you how much of this stuff your character knows.

The Diamond Killer seems to appear to people of wealth or at the very least those wearing copious amounts of precious gems, hence the name. When the headline went out on April 19th, 1921 warning people about this fact, people in the area began to stop wearing precious gems. The killings, however, continued with the only hints of it being The Diamond Killer being removed diamonds from wedding rings, or missing bejeweled objects. Some even speculate that the killings could possibly not have even been from the same killer, thus making it only harder on investigators to pin down the target.

Other than the Killer's consistency in stealing jewels, there is no rhyme or reason to their victim pattern. None of the victims have a solid connection nor is there a common thread of method of murder.

Famous Cases:

Marilan Taff: bashed to death by blunt force trauma. A crime of passion, as even long after the girl would have been dead, the murderer continued on until the head is in the state it is now. Crime took place in Taff's home. All precious jewels had been lifted out of the precious metals they were set in, with no sign of the murder weapon.

A man with multiple stab wounds to the abdomen has curled into the foetal position and died in a disgusting alley. Blood had pooled all around his corpse.

A little girl in a flouncy dress lying crumpled in a heap on top of a building that sat next to a sky scraper. She had been pushed to her death. Her leg and neck sits at an awkward and unlikely angle, her fixed expression one of pure fear.

An old man surrounded by buckets of clams has had the specimens's he'd been shucking shoved into his eyes and mouth. The razor clams had cut off his tongue in the process, causing him to both bleed out and drown in his own blood on the beach sands. Several of the clams lay open beside him with their pearls, or the possibility of them having them, missing. This was the murder that began the panic surrounding the Diamond Killer.

A ballerina impaled with several glass shards. She lay on the stage in her ballet outfit, her glamourous gems missing from her attire.

There have been seventeen other murders, but these are the most high-profile.

[Jig]

Setting Details #3: Environment

This is a plan of the theatre for your future use. Attempts to explore right now will be met with locked doors.

Once the setup is complete and you're free(r) to explore, I'm going to ask you to tell me where you're going and I'll privately provide you with room details; once the room has been established, I'll leave room details in this tab for general reference.

[Jig]

Plot Details #2:

Bang. The murderer has been decided, and they’re sitting in the theatre with you right now. Oh dearie me, what a conundrum.

A couple of things to clear things up: this might be nonsense in the real-world, because I’m not a ballistics expert by any stretch of the imagination, so get your sense of disbelief suspenders on.

• Anybody can have done it. Mr. Jig was moving around on-stage before being shot, and anybody could have moved to shoot him. It being dark, you can’t know, even if you saw somebody move, who shot him. He has been shot straight in the chest, so anybody in the stalls can have done it; had he been leaning back to look up at the lights, which, of course, he might have been, anybody in the boxes could have shot him and he would look the same as he does now.
• You did not identify gun flash or locate the sound of the gun. It’s a theatre, specifically designed for amplifying noise, so the reverb and sheer volume makes it impossible to tell where the gun was fired. Or something. Feel free to make your own excuses. Since the flash would be a dead give-away, the murderer concealed the gun, perhaps by covering it with something or using a muzzle. Of course, you can suspect whom you like based on any reason you care to mention, but an objective observer of events would not have enough information then and there to work out who did it.

This is where the characters are located:

Mr. Jig - slumped backwards over the trunk on stage. There’s quite a lot of blood, and judging by its path and the sounds you heard, he was shot somewhere in the centre of the stage and staggered backward into/onto it.

The Hostess - not in the auditorium

Mr. Cyan - in the private box closest to the stage, stage-left.

Mr. Purple - second row, stage-right (close to the aisle)

Ms. Green - fifth row, stage-right (aisle-seat)

Mr. Orange - front row, stage left (at the far end of the row)

Ms. Yellow - seventh row, stage left (centre of the row)

[Jig]

Setting Details #4: Foyer & Auditorium

Coming soon. Need food.