[SR] Shadow Clue

[MooCow]

Chicago people stop reading. This run may be one you do, and it will be greatly spoiled if you read this.











I'm playing around with some ideas for an RP intensive one shot. Partially IC's idea, partially mine, I've got an idea for something along the lines of Clue (the board game). Essentially a bunch of characters, not neccesarily shadowrunners, are invited to a mansion via some mysterious invitation. If they refuse the invitation, the player ends up doing beer runs for the rest of the night.

That's really all I've got for now. Right now I'm brainstorming, and could use any ideas you folks have. A few basic questions I need to answer:

1. Why are they there? Are they all connected somehow? Does "Mr. Body"secretly want them all dead?

2. How do you force a group of shadowrunners to work together? Have a thought to poison them all in some fashion. The rest of the adventure being trying to find the antidote (After Mr. Body dies without revealing it)

3. Should one of them secretly be Mr. Body?

4. How about one of them in fact be the killer? Assuming I go with the base plot of Clue.

Any thoughts and suggestions you all have would be greatly appreciated.

[lordhellion]

You can make it into an involuntary Astral Quest, a la Harlequin's Back. Plus, with the uncertainty of the Astral Plane, you can force them into it by making people going out the front door come in the back, forcing them out of the game if they guess the wrong person, even make the solution a totally random outcome like clue.

If you aren't comfortable with the whole Astral Quest thing, you can make sure Mr. Body has an implant like memory that they need too recover, and solving the details of the crime is the only way to locate the body. Set up a mansion murder mystery scenario you can find in any creative writing class.

Set the group up as guests at a nice ball hosted by Mr. Body. Body goes missing (or if they're going after the memory just the head goes missing, leave the body in the pool ), the run is screwed, and the only chance for recovery is to locate the corpse.

What I would do at this point, is write a handful of scenarios out on seperate sheets of paper, and hand one out to each player. Each one should give them a personal anecdote about what they did over the course of a few hours, having just enough holes in it that they can't be sure that they weren't the killer. The obligatory lightning storm knocked out the security system while the murder took place, but it's back active now, so it will record for local security anyone admitting to or providing evidence towards any one else being the murderer. This forces the runner's to attempt to locate the body, having to figure out which room it's in, and figuring out who and how he was killed so they know where the body's hidden.

Naturally this is going to take some psychological skill from the runners to have the killer's identity be hinged to where the body's located. And the story behind the whole murder won't be light work, it'll take a lot of hours to get the story together right, and guaranteed that the runners will somehow screw up the delicateness (they always do). Also, I'd throw some NPC party goers (possibly with names like Col. Mustard, Miss Scarlet, etc.) that are also suspects and trying to solve the murder themselves. It'll take a lot of work, but it doesn't feel as cheap as the Astral Quest storyline.

[Ancient History]

It was Sam the Street Sam in the Armory with the monofilament garotte weapon focus!

[Serious Paul]

Essentially a bunch of characters, not neccesarily shadowrunners, are invited to a mansion via some mysterious invitation.

This was the key to CLUE's success. Although the characters seem unrelated they are indeed all related via Mr. Body right? Why shouldn't your game be the same? I'd make them anything but Shadowruuners, but if you insist on Shadow folk, okay.

I'd have them brought in the same basic way. Someone they know invites them-hell I wouldn't give them the option of refusing. I'd just start the game out witht hem arriving. This lets you control what they're bringing too. (What do you mean I left my Panther Cannon at home? I never leave that by itself!)

I'd also pregenerate the characters if I could-if not I'd force them all to take a contact (Mr. Body) and make sure they knew to keep him secret. Maybe through emails I'd make a history on this guy-maybe he is blackmailing some of them or maybe not.

• 1. Why are they there?
• Are they all connected somehow?
• Does "Mr. Body"secretly want them all dead?

Obviously the answer to why they are there is Mr. Body thinks its time to reap what he's sewed. He thinks he can do something for some reason. If its black mail he intends to collect. If its revenge he intends to serve it up.

I'd have all but one of them connected. One guy should be the straight man. Totally unconnected. This could help heighten the suspscion.

If he does want somebody dead, maybe the "mansion" is home turf, maybe he has had time to prep it with traps and spirits. (I like the idea of Mr. Body being a twisted Shaman or Insect Shaman,but I'm that guy...)

• 2. How do you force a group of shadowrunners to work together?
• Have a thought to poison them all in some fashion. The rest of the adventure being trying to find the antidote (After Mr. Body dies without revealing it)

You don't. But by giving them a common bond-Mr. Body- and placing them in a similar situation you encourage team work pretty healthily.

Posion? How about nanite cutters?

3. Should one of them secretly be Mr. Body?

Can they handle that?

4. How about one of them in fact be the killer? Assuming I go with the base plot of Clue.

Can they handle that? I mean sometimes players get resentful of the guy who does the secret plotting with the GM. I personally like keeping my players unified against me.

Any thoughts and suggestions you all have would be greatly appreciated.[/quote]

[MooCow]

Great ideas folks. Thanks. Shall read this and process it more over the next few days.

[FlakJacket]

Might want to consider adding a couple NPC's to the group, that way it adds to the range of people it can be. Of course they start thinking it's one of the NPC's - if they think of it - and that's when you pull the switch by it being one of the PC's. Also allows you a little more in-game control and scope to play with.