Murder Mysteries

[Captain]

We have a local tradition of hosting SteamPunk murder mysteries so this is a place to cache more ideas.

Video

[Captain]

https://www.freeformgames.com/games/curse-of-the-pharaoh.php 

This is the murder mystery that I am running on New Years.  It plays like a simplified WWP larp using rock-paper-scissors for combat.  Extra people can die.  I need to read through the rules enough to post a FB page and take bids for characters soon. 

Since it is not my house I probably will not let the players run amok with NERF guns.  ;-)

This MM was selected some time ago by our hostess and should be fun.  I noticed this possibility for future games:  http://mymysteryparty.com/back-in-time-for-murder-time-travel-myste... 

[Captain]

Do we happen to have any Steampunk Murder Mystery writers here?  Otherwise, does anyone happen to have any recommendations for a New Years Eve SteamPunk Murder Mystery this year?  Probably 12-24 players in a roomy home with food.

[Captain]

This YouTube series (and last year's awful & expensive MM) is encouraging me to write my own MM scrip for this New Year's Eve Sp party.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWZ4YcCA3-0

Since none of my players are on W2SP, the story outline is an 1890s era SP party which is a Camelot-ish Murder Mystery.  So a murder mystery within a murder mystery.  Costumes can be SP, medieval, or SP doing mediocre medieval.  Thoughts? 

[Captain]

Slooowly fleshing out character lists.  Most SP players will also be playing Camelot characters.  I am making as many characters as possible male or female since we do not know who all is showing up. 

The Camelot victim is easy since most of Camelot wishes that he had drowned when he tried to walk across the Channel from France. 

I am tempted to make the only real death an actual suicide with the game within a game making everyone hyper suspicious.  Insults and accusations could be settled with tea dueling since all weapons will be checked before boarding the airship. 

One of the players made an off the cuff comment that made me realize that it is OK to make this way over the top SP like a dinner mystery on an airship with various borrowed historical and fictional characters.  Again, any suggestions? 

[Captain]

The New Years Eve SteamPunk Murder Mystery went well.  We accidentally got ourselves listed in the local newspaper so had about half a dozen unexpected players show up.  Since this is traditionally a gathering of the two different local SteamPunk groups as well as the improv group Cogs & Goggles, we were about half way through the night before we found that these folks were not part of one of the other groups.  They were dressed well and played well with others. 

In hind sight I should have given each player a "ask one question" card for the airship and Camelot game.  Some like Arthur, Merlin, and the other magic types would receive extra cards.  Of course they could have asked questions but hesitated.  This will cause more character interaction since the cards become commodities.

I counted on folks reading the short character write ups on FaceBook as general introduction but should have handed out a short character list at the game to help them identify the other roles. 

Morgan le Fey actually bamboozled other players into being hypnotized and playing her invisible imps.  Good for her.  She needs "spell" cards for this and "flirt" cards that only work on knights. 

Likewise Merlin needs "spell cards" that only work at certain times since his memories of the past and future are confused.  Dame Ragnelle transmutes into a beautiful (but ditzy) fairy by each midnight so she needs cards that can be used the later the time. 

The game could use more of the magical characters and ladies of Camelot. 

While the suicide was realistic it was not much fun.  There needs to be two murders. 

The widow Isabella Burton playing Dr "D" and "Big butch" Oscar Wilde playing Lancelot then the ghost of Lancelot stole a lot of the show.  Whoever's hyperactive 12 year old who played the Hellfire Club president as Mordred played almost too well. ;-)

They all had fun and like the prizes/bling. 

The problem spending time upgrading this game is that I can use it again.  Ideally I can find another home grown SP murder mystery to trade for.