Fancy Monkey
12-14-07, 12:19 PM
Take a deep breath. They're long, but there's a reason we're posting them 2+ weeks before the game actually starts. Feel free to use this thread to post any questions you might have. -- FM
I. Overview of Murder Mystery Theatre
Murder Mystery Theatre: Murder on Craphole Island is both a game and a play. Forum members sign up to portray various Lost characters as these characters set out to investigate an island murder, all while doing their best to keep their own secrets from being revealed.
II. Object of the Game, Times Two
Since this is both a game and a play, there are two simultaneous “Objects of the Game.” The object of the “game” element of MMT:MOCI is to be the first player to correctly identify the murderer before the raft sails. The object of the “play” element is to be the player whose portrayal of their character is deemed the best by those who have been watching.
At the end of the game, there will be two awards handed out: Champion Investigator, and Best Actor. The winners of each of these awards are considered the official winners of the game.
The Champion Investigator will be the player (or team) who first successfully accuses the actual murderer, before the raft launches. In order to levy a successful accusation, you will need to conduct an investigation by moving around the Island gathering clues, and eliminating other characters from your list of possible suspects until only one suspect remains. If no one brings a successful accusation before the raft launches, the murderer will be declared the Champion Investigator.
The Best Actor will be the player (or team) who most successfully takes on the persona of the character they play for the duration of the game, regardless of the success (or lack thereof) of their investigation. This Award will be voted on by other players, narrators, organizers, and the peanut gallery, after the game is over.
III. General Rules of Play / Conduct
Before we come to discussion of the specific rules for how to play MMT:MOCI, there are a few general rules to keep in mind.
A. Obey forum rules
Always, no matter what else happens, players are expected to obey forum rules. No game play rule supersedes your responsibility to be a good forum citizen, and if any player runs afoul of the real law, the organizers of this game will have no sympathy and promise no accommodations.
B. Narrators' decisions are final
The decisions of the narrators and organizers of the game are final. Any dispute over any ruling should be taken up via PM, rather than via threadjack.
C. Continuity between Lost and this story
The events of MMT:MOCI take place on the Lost Island, but are not intended to synch up with the actual Lost experience*. Consider the universe of this game to be a creative reimagining of the Lost world, which is essentially the same in character, though it may differ in some of the details. For example, in this story, Bernard never went to the bathroom at the back of the plane, and so crashed with the Fuselagers right from the beginning.
In other words, treat this as Craphole Island, but don’t get your panties in a bunch if the events of the island don’t match up exactly with what was seen on the show, and don’t bother studying timelines or maps to point out our inconsistencies.
*Nor with the actual “Lost Experience,” copyright NeillT006.
IV. Rules of the Game
A. Characters
Everyone who signs up to play the game will be portraying a character. There are sixteen character roles in this story, including the murderer and the victim, and you may play a character individually, or in a team. For the purposes of this game, the word “player” refers to the Lost-TV forum member who signs up to play, and the word “character” refers to the role they have taken on within the fictional MMT:MOCI universe.
Once everyone has signed up (either individually or in teams) and stated their preferred character to portray, all character roles will be assigned. We will do our best to honor your preferences and generally respect first-come-first-served signups, but we make no guarantees that you will get to play the part that is your first choice. If 12 people want to play Hurley but no one wants to play Bernard, that’s going to be a problem.
Note on playing as a team: It is allowed, and even encouraged, for you to play on a team (preferably 2-3 people per team, depending on how many people sign up). If you play as a team, you must make your decisions together and communicate them as a unit. This is a great option for people who really want to play but aren’t sure they’ll have time to do well on their own. If you can team up with someone whose time on the forum is somewhat different than yours, all the better!
1. Dossiers
Once you’ve been assigned your character, you will receive a dossier listing all pertinent information that you need to know about your character for the purpose of this game. Public versions of the dossiers, with all confidential information blacked out, are currently available in the signup thread.
2. Secrets and Alibis
Included in each dossier will be your character’s Official Secret. Each character has a secret that they do not want anyone else on the island to find out. For one of the 16 characters, that secret is that they did, in fact, commit this murder, but for everyone else, your secret is inextricably linked to your Alibi, which will also be provided in each dossier. Your character is highly motivated to do everything he or she can to keep their secret just that. They would even rather remain suspects in a murder investigation than let these dangerous secrets out.
3. Stuff
Each character possesses a set amount of “stuff” that can aid in their investigation. “Stuff” items are:
a. Bamboo Torture Sticks
Each player has one set of Bamboo Torture Sticks which can be used in certain situations to forcibly acquire information from another character. These sticks, once used, must be discarded, so this advantage can only be used once. (More information about how and when these interrogations take place below.)
b. Tail
Each character has a special “Tail” which enables them to secretly track the movements of another character for one full day. (More on movement around the island below.) Like the Bamboo Torture Sticks, the Tail may only be used at one point during the game, and only under certain circumstances.
c. Player’s Choice Item
As soon as you are assigned your character, each player (or team) will get to choose one of three helpful items to carry with them throughout the game: either the Sickness Antidote, Smokie Repellant, or Others Camouflage. Each of these items will help to shield you from one potentially dangerous Island force which could derail your investigation, but each character may carry only one such item, and you may not trade your item in once you have chosen it.
B. Clues
Each innocent character has a deep, dark secret he or she does not want exposed, which is directly linked to his or her alibi. It follows, then, that if you discover someone else’s deep, dark secret, you discover their alibi, and thus, can cross them off your list of Suspects. Each alibi can be corroborated by one and only one clue hidden somewhere on or around Craphole Island.
1. Your own clue
Your private dossier will include a note that tells you where your own clue can be located that clears your name but also reveals your secret. No one else will know the location of your clue.
2. Other characters' clues
The chief object of your investigation will be to find the clues which clear the other characters’ names and reveal their secrets, thus enabling you to cross them off your list of Suspects. Every innocent character has a clue hidden somewhere around the island at one of the locations on your map. Please note that some locations may contain more than one clue. (In other words, just because you know where your clue is, doesn’t mean you don’t need to go to that location to make sure someone else’s clue isn’t also there. Decisions, decisions…)
3. Clues are conclusive if we say they are
Don’t go playing CSI on us. Maybe you think the clue offered hardly constitutes “proof” of someone’s innocence, but if we say it is, then it is.
C. The Island and Navigation
Your investigation will be conducted by traveling over, across, and around Craphole Island. This section of the rules explains how you will do that.
1. The Map
Everyone will have access to the official Map of Craphole Island. This map may bear only a passing resemblance to anything Danielle or yung23 has come up with, but it has the advantage of bearing a strong resemblance to a game board. This map is divided into 440 grid squares (20x22) of various kinds of terrain, which all have different rules for how you can move across them.
2. Normal Exploration
Much of your travel will be “Normal Exploration.” This includes all the Jungle (green) and Beach (yellow) squares. Your rate of travel over normal terrain is 8 squares per Island Day, assuming you do not stop anywhere along the way. You may travel to any adjacent square (left, right, up, down, or diagonal) to the square you are on.
3. Special Terrain and Other Rules of Movement
There are, however, several other kinds of terrain to keep in mind, and your rate of travel across these areas will vary:
a. Mountains (tan squares) – When you first “step onto” a mountain (enter it from a lower-elevation square) it takes you twice as long due to the climb (two steps must be spent entering a tan square). Once you are up on the mountain, however, you may travel normally (one step per square, as long as you are going from one tan square to another), and there is no delay coming back down from a mountain (tan square to any other color).
b. Rocky Shore (gray squares) – This terrain is especially treacherous and so you must proceed especially slowly across it. Each square of Rocky Shore counts as 1.5 steps on regular terrain (for example, 2 steps on Rocky Shore costs you 3 steps of regular travel).
c. Ocean (dark blue squares) – These squares must be swum across. Each square of Ocean counts as 3 steps of regular terrain.
d. River (light blue squares) – You may cross the river any time you like (travel from a land square to a river square to another land square) at the same rate of your normal exploration. However, you may not travel up or down the river (step from one river square to another) on foot.
e. Dharma Stations (red squares) – These are treated just like normal terrain.
f. Cliffs (thick black borders around any square) – Cliffs cannot be crossed; you must go around them.
4. Overnight Dangers
At the end of each day of travel, you will have to sleep for the night at the last place you ended up. With the exception of certain Safe Spots (below), you are exposing yourself to Overnight Dangers whenever you bed down for the evening:
a. The Sickness – You could catch The Sickness overnight. If you get The Sickness, unless you can be healed before your next day’s journey, you will lose 2 steps of travel at the beginning of the next day in order to recuperate.
b. Smokie Scan – You might be scanned by Smokie during the night. If this happens to you, the most recent clue you acquired in your investigation will be gathered up by Smokie and could be revealed to your competitors if they are in the right place at the right time.
c. Kidnapping – The Others could kidnap you overnight. If this happens, you will be randomly deposited somewhere else on the board to start the next day. Where you end up will be chosen at random and beyond your control; it could help you cover some ground, or it could seriously derail your plans.
At the end of the day, each character’s fate will be chosen at random between the above three options, or a fourth option, nothing happening to you. Because one of the items in your Stuff is a Player’s Choice Help Item which combats the effects of one of the above three dangers, you will have a 50/50 chance each night of having some sort of catastrophe befall you. The only way to guarantee that you’ll be safe from the above three dangers is to make sure you land at a Safe Spot at the end of your day.
5. Safe Places to Sleep
The following spots on the board are considered Safe Places to Sleep. Anyone who spends the night on any of these spaces cannot be harmed by the Sickness, Smokie, or the Others:
a. The Beach Camp (H17) – This is where everyone starts the game.
b. The Caves (J14)
c. The Grove of Banyan Trees (K9) – In addition to providing safety from overnight dangers, this spot also allows you to avoid interrogations and tails from other players.
d. Any Unoccupied Dharma Station – Some of the Dharma Stations may have people living there. Some may be empty. If you find an empty one, you can sleep there without fear.
6. Secrets and Surprises
The map has been marked with many locations that will be of interest to you as you explore the island, but there are also spaces which contain secrets and surprises that may significantly help (or hinder) your investigation as you cross them, which are not marked at all. Keep that in mind as you plan your route.
D. The Timeline
Everything in MMT:MOCI takes place within roughly a week’s time frame, from the time of the murder until the launching of the raft. Please note that “island time” does not equal real time. It will generally take about three days in real time to complete one day of island time. This could be because the island is in the past, or the future, or inside a tesseract, or some other such thing, but it’s mostly because it will take us longer to tell this story than 7 real-time days will allow.
1. The Murder
The play begins with the murder of one of the sixteen characters at the hand of another of the sixteen characters. The following day, the investigation begins. Each player will have seven “island days” to conduct an investigation into the identity of the murderer. After the completion of those seven days, the investigation is over and accusations will be filed (more on that below).
2. The Raft Launch
The looming point of no return is the launching of the raft. If the murderer is able to make it onto the raft launch without being successfully identified, that character wins the game. Every point of the investigation must be completed by the time of the raft launch.
E. Plotting Your Investigation Day by Day
Each player or team will need to plan their investigation carefully. Each day’s travel will consist of eight “steps” across the game board (minus any time spent investigating specific locations), but you will not be able to submit your moves one step at a time. Instead, you must submit your itinerary for investigation one island day at a time (or, eight steps at a time).
1. Daily Exploration
Each island day you will submit, to the narrator(s), your itinerary for the day ahead. (If you are working in a team, you will need to appoint one member to be in charge of submitting the itinerary, so as to avoid confusion.) Your itinerary will be a list of the eight steps you plan to take that day, in order, referenced by their grid locations. You must obey all travel rules, including stepping only onto an adjacent square, not crossing a bold black border (cliff), and traveling at the appropriate rate for each particular terrain (see above, Special Rules of Movement).
a. Travel
Any time you move from one space to another on the island (game board), this is considered “travel.” With the exception of surprises and roadblocks (see below), when you are traveling, you are simply on the move, and you learn no new information. In order to investigate (find clues), you must stop, giving up one space of your day’s travels.
b. Investigation
If you are not traveling, that means you’re investigating. To investigate, you simply stop on a location and use one extra step of your itinerary. You will then find out any information that location has to provide (be it a clue that clears another character of suspicion, some other piece of information that could help your investigation, or a big fat load of nothing). Once you have investigated a location, you will learn everything that location has to tell you; you will not have to investigate it again.
You have the option of investigating any square you travel across, but you may also choose to “run right over it” and skip it in your quest to get somewhere else. You will have to decide whether it’s worth it on any particular day to cover more ground, or to work slowly but methodically.
2. Planning and Submitting Your Itinerary
At the end of each day you must submit your itinerary (8 spaces) for the next day. This will include your travel and your investigation. So, for example, assuming all travel is over jungle (normal travel), your itinerary might look like this:
1. Space 1
2. Space 2
3. Space 3
4. Investigate Space 3
5. Space 4
6. Space 5
7. Investigate Space 5
8. Space 6
Here you traveled to six spaces, investigating two of them, and wound up at Space 6, which is where you will be sleeping overnight.
3. Crossing paths with other players
If your itinerary puts you on the same space at the same time, you will probably be required to perform a scene depicting your interaction at that location. If this is a place that you're investigating for a clue, the actual clue you receive will not be revealed to the viewing public. (See below, about what information is public and what information is private, for more discussion of this point.)
4. Staying the Night
Wherever you end up on your last space of the day, that location is where you will end up sleeping for the night. This is important, because not only are some spaces safer than others for sleeping (see above), but certain other options available to you (such as using your Interrogation Sticks, or your Tail) are dependent upon where you and other players stayed overnight.
Also, while most of the time your daily travel plans will not be made public (see below), at the end of each day the narrator(s) will give an update that includes the locations of where every character is staying the night. So while no one else will be able to see how you got where you got during the day, everyone will know where you ended up.
5. Using Your Stuff
If you want to use any of your “Stuff,” you must decide to do this at the beginning of the day, and must alert the Narrator(s) at the same time that you send in your itinerary.
Specific rules governing when you can use certain items, and on whom, will be discussed below.
6. Surprises and Roadblocks
When it comes to locations that are labeled on the map, you must stop and investigate them (using one step that could’ve otherwise been used for travel) in order to gain the information they provide.
There are, however, several spaces on the map which contain either a Surprise or a Roadblock. In these instances, if you cross over that space as part of your travel, you do not have to stop there to get the information. You will simply find out “free of charge” as you go on your way. Surprises can be information or items which could give you a decided advantage in your investigation. Roadblocks can hinder you. There are only a handful of these secret spaces on the board, but most are well worth discovering, so the more you have opportunity to travel across different spaces (as opposed to doubling back over terrain already covered), the more likely you are to find one.
7. Forks in the Road
Occasionally your journeys will bring you to a Fork in the Road. A Fork in the Road is a place where you will have to make a decision about whether to take something with you and/or alter your itinerary. These are the only opportunities you will have to change your itinerary mid-day. Sometimes these forks in the road will occur at locations that you investigate; other times they will come in the form of surprises. In either case, if you encounter a fork in the road, you will be notified as soon as we are able to and given the information you need to make your decision as to what you’d like to do next. You will only be allowed to modify your route from the point at which you encounter the fork in the road moving forward, and only amongst the choices offered by each fork in the road.
If a Fork in the Road is tied to a particular location, and you come across that location a second time, you will be expected to remember your travel options, and will not be given another chance to change your route.
F. Interactions
A significant part of this game revolves around not simply your movement around the island/board, but also your interactions with other characters. Remember that how well you play your part will determine whether you win the Best Actor award. Here are the rules governing your interactions with other players and with the narrator(s).
1. No cooperation, public or private
The cardinal rule of this game is that you are not, under any circumstance, to cooperate, share secret information, or make deals with other players or with members of the peanut gallery. Private messages, off-board chats, and posts revealing any such information or any attempts to pry this information out of another player will all be viewed as a violation of the rules and will subject you to immediate disqualification. The other players are your competitors, and this is not Survivor. There should be no attempts to form alliances. Even those who are not playing could be used as third parties to funnel information, and this practice would simply violate the spirit of the game. All of your interactions about the game with other players and with non-players should be public, in character, and above board.
The one obvious exception to this rule is if you are playing as a team. If two or three of you are working together to play the role of Charlie, for example, then you are completely free to talk privately and at complete liberty within the members of your team. But under NO circumstances should any outside party other than the narrator(s) be brought into those conversations.
You are also at liberty, and at times required, to discuss things privately with the narrator(s). This rule simply applies to communication between two or more competitors, and between competitors and non-players. If you see or suspect any of this activity going on, please report it to the narrator(s) immediately, as it is the one behavior which has the potential to totally undermine the game itself. If you can’t tell, we’re serious about this one.
Addendum: There may be occasions where the narrators instruct one character to send a PM to another character, copying the narrators on that PM. Obviously, in these cases, as long as the PM is copied to the narrators and has been explicitly allowed in advance by us, it's okay.
2. Interrogations
Within the game, you may have opportunity to interrogate another player. An Interrogation is an opportunity to ask three questions to another player where they are forced to answer. All Interrogations are public and thus available for everyone to see. Interrogations are initiated by the use of your Bamboo Torture Sticks from your Stuff, and thus, you may only interrogate one other player once during the game.
a. When You Decide to Interrogate
Your decision to interrogate another player must be made at the time you submit your itinerary for the next day’s travel. At that time you must also announce that you are using your Interrogation Sticks, which player you choose to interrogate, and what your three questions are for that player.
b. Who May Be Interrogated
You may interrogate any player, even if they have already been interrogated by another player, as long as you are within two steps (in any direction) of them at the start of the day that the interrogation takes place. Because everyone’s sleeping locations are announced publicly at the conclusion of the day, you will know who you have the ability to interrogate, and who you don’t, before you have to make that decision. If there is someone you ultimately want to interrogate, you will want to make sure you position yourself near enough to them to get the job done.
Interrogations do not cost either party involved a space of travel, since, for our story purposes, they take place early in the morning, before the day's travel has begun. (This is true even though the actual interrogations, in real time, won't play out until after that day's travel has happened - suspend your disbelief with us, won't you?)
c. What Questions May and May Not Be Asked
Because you are one of the Losties, you can’t just come right out and ask questions that make sense. (No, not even you, Sayid.) There are certain restrictions on what you can ask other players because, let’s face it, when was the last time someone asked all the right questions?
You may not ask someone directly whether or not they committed the murder. You may not ask someone directly to confirm or deny an alibi. You may not ask someone directly to reveal what they learned at a specific location.
You may ask someone whether they have been to a specific location. You may ask someone whether there was a clue at a specific location. You may ask someone to name a location they plan to stop on during their next day’s travel.
Your questions will be reviewed by the narrator(s) before you will be allowed to ask them, and the narrators’ decisions about their propriety stand. If the narrators reject your questions, you may submit revised questions (we will do our best to explain why a question is rejected), or you may choose at that point to save your interrogation for later.
d. Answering Interrogations
Of the three questions asked of you, you must answer two of them truthfully. One answer may be a lie. The interrogated player will see all three questions before having to answer any of them, and does not have to tell which answers are true, and which are not.
3. Other staged scenes
Throughout the game there will be many other “staged” scenes that you will be expected to participate in. These are scenes where you will be prompted by the narrator(s) with a general idea of what has to happen in the scene, and provided with a thread in which to post, in character, to allow that scene to unfold. These scenes are designed to help convey the story to the rest of the people watching, and you will never be required (or even allowed!) to reveal secret information during the scenes. But this is Murder Mystery THEATRE, and so there needs to be some actual theatre to it. These type of scenes are considered “closed set” and will be posted in the closed set thread, which should not be used for other discussion by either players or “redshirts.” If comments or threadjacking appear in this thread, they will be deleted.
4. Interacting with the Redshirts
You will also be able to interact in “open set” discussions with other players and redshirts. You should remain in character when posting in these threads, but you will not be cued by the narrators and can feel free to post in them at any point during the game. Just because Sawyer and Claire, for example, are on opposite sides of the game board, doesn’t mean they can’t talk freely in the “open set” thread. Keep in mind that even here, the rules about sharing secret information apply, but assuming you’re sticking to those rules, you can feel free to craft whatever tales, strategy, and communication you like. Redshirts (members of the peanut gallery who aren’t playing the game itself) should feel free and encouraged to attempt to stir the pot!
5. Lying and Staying in Character
In “open set” threads you can feel free to lie as much as you like. Only in “closed set” scenes and interrogations are you going to have restrictions placed on what you can and must say, and even then, you won’t always have to tell the truth (see above).
You should do your best to stay “in character” as much as you can. Try to think like your character, respond like your character would, and interact with the other characters that your character would have a natural affinity towards. (Similarly, feel free to develop rivalries with characters that your character might not get along with so well.) Your ability to stay in character throughout the game will go a long way towards determining who wins Best Actor.
G. Making Your Accusation
Here are the rules about making your accusation, which is the official filing of your choice for the guilty party.
1. Everybody gets one and only one
Every character (whether played by one person or by a team) gets one and ONLY ONE accusation. If you guess wrong, you are out of the game from that point forward. And while you will still be able to mingle amongst the redshirts and aim for Best Actor, you will no longer be able to move around the board, gather clues, or be involved in the official story. If you make a false accusation, we will find a way to “write you out of the story.”
2. Accusations are Private
When you feel like it’s time to make your accusation, you must first PM it to the narrator(s). We will let you know whether or not you are right, and write a scene for you that either reveals your triumph (and thus ends the game), or takes you out of the picture (and thus ends YOUR game). Only through that scene will it be revealed that you have made your accusation.
3. Accusations must take place at the raft launch
In order to make your accusation, you must first return to the Raft Launch site. With one exception (below - after the end of Day 7), no accusations will be accepted from any other space on the board.
4. Accusations before Day 7
There will be seven total Island Days of investigations (moving around the board, gathering clues) available to you in the game. If you believe that you know who the murderer is before the beginning of Day 7, simply go to the Raft Launch site as part of your travels and, once there, announce to the narrator(s) via PM that you would like to make an accusation. You will PM us your choice, and we will craft a scene based on whether or not you are right. Either way, your game is over at that point, because everyone gets only one chance at an accusation. If you are wrong, you must sit on the sidelines for the rest of the game. You will not be able to investigate, travel, look for clues, interrogate, or tail anyone. You will also no longer be eligible to be interrogated. You will still be free to post in the open set thread (in character, of course), but it will be as if you’re just another Redshirt in that you can no longer win the Champion Investigator Award.
If two people land on the Raft Launch site on the same day and want to make an accusation, the accusations will be accepted in the order in which that character landed at that square. So if one character arrives there on the fourth step of their daily itinerary, and another character arrives at step 7, the first one there is the first one whose accusation counts. If both characters arrive at the Raft Launch Site on the same step, the next tiebreaker will be the order in which the accusations are PM’d to the narrator(s) in real time.
In the case of false accusations, no one else will know who was accused, simply that the accusation was filed, and it is false. As you can see by now, you do NOT want to make a false accusation.
5. Accusations on Day 7
Accusations on Day 7 will be treated exactly the same as on previous days. The same tiebreakers will be used, all the way up through the very last (eighth) step of travel for that day. If you are unable (or choose not) to make it back to the Raft Launch Site by the end of your investigations on Day 7, you will still have a chance to make an accusation, but it gets tougher.
6. Accusations after the end of Day 7
You may be in a situation, by choice or not, where it is impossible to make it back to the Raft Launch site by the end of Day 7. This does not rule you out from winning, however. At the end of Day 7, rather than everyone going to sleep out in the woods, because of the urgency of the raft launch, we will treat every character who’s not back at the site yet as “running back” until you get there. Your accusations will be accepted in order of how close you are (how few steps it would take you to get back to the Raft Launch Site) at the end of Day 7. So if one character is 5 steps away, and another character is 8 steps away, the 5-stepper’s accusation will be accepted first. Since all investigations would be over at that point, there is no risk to making a false accusation after Day 7 is over. So even if you cannot make it all the way back to the Raft Site, there is still benefit to being closer to home than other players. Obviously, if someone else pegs the murderer before you (or before the end of Day 7) it’s a moot point, because the winner is the FIRST person to nab the murderer, but you will see when you look at the map that there’s a lot of terrain to cover, and that is a tall order.
There is one catch, however. Any and all accusations that are made by characters who actually DO make it back to the Raft Launch site in time will be accepted in the order they come in. And once someone gets it right, the game is over. (Note, however, that since no one will know whom the objects of false accusations are, it is possible for many players to guess wrong, and even for more than one player to falsely accuse the same character.)
BUT, for those who do not make it back to the Raft Launch Site in time, there is an additional factor to weigh. If the murderer makes it back to the raft launch site by the end of Day 7, then all of the accusations submitted by players who did not make it back in time will not count. You can be 100 percent right but it won’t matter. The murderer will get away on the raft before you can get back. In addition, if the murderer does not make it back by the end of Day 7, then accusations submitted by anyone who is farther away from the Raft Launch Site than the murderer is will not count, either. Note that, even if the Murderer arrives at the Raft Launch site early, all accusations filed by people who make it back before the end of Day 7 will be accepted, regardless of whether they arrived before the Murderer or not.
Perhaps an example is in order for how this endgame will work. Let’s imagine a version of this game with six characters: Michael, Jim, Pam, Dwight, Angela, and Toby. Let’s imagine that Pam is the Murderer, though of course only Pam knows this. On Day 7, Michael arrives at the Raft Launch Site on his third step of the day, and files his accusation: Toby. Dwight arrives on the very last step of his Day 7 travels and makes his accusation: Jim. Both are wrong. The other four characters are not back yet when Day 7 ends. Jim is 1 step away, Pam is 3 steps away, Angela is 5 steps away, and Toby is 20 steps away. Now because Jim is closer to the Raft Launch Site than Pam (the real murderer), if he correctly identifies Pam in his accusation, then Jim wins the game. If not, then Pam wins the game, even if Toby or Angela knows that she’s the killer.
Re-imagining that scenario, let’s say Pam arrived back at the Raft Launch site on her first step of the day, before even Michael. Michael and Dwight would still get to make their accusations, even though the murderer beat them there, because they got there before the end of Day 7. Everyone else would be out of luck.
You can no doubt see that the way you play the end game, and how you balance squeezing every last ounce out of your investigations and travels versus getting “home” on time, is a very significant strategic decision in this game.
H. Special Rules for the Murderer
The Murderer in this game is really playing an entirely different game. See, the Murderer is not out to solve any mystery. For this one character, it’s 15-on-1, and they only win if everyone else loses, either by failing to accuse the right person, or by not making it back to the Raft Launch site in time.
Because of that, all of the rules above may or may not apply to the Murderer. We as the narrators reserve the right to make exceptions in anything or everything for the Murderer. Obviously we will do nothing to expose his/her secret, but when all is said and done, if you look back and say, “Hey, the Murderer got special treatment because he/she was able to _____________ or didn’t have to _____________,” well, don’t say we didn’t warn you. They’re a murderer, after all. You expect them to play by the rules?
That said, Murderer, you’ll be briefed on any situations or rules that you’re exempt from. If you don’t hear explicitly from one of the narrators that you don’t have to follow a certain rule, assume that it applies to you as well.
I. Public and Private
Wrapped your head around this game yet? We hope that these extremely exhaustive rules will help answer all your questions, and we are confident that, once the game starts, it will no doubt make a lot more sense than it probably does after you’ve just finished reading this tome. Stick with us, there are only a few more odds and ends that need to be dealt with. The first has to do with what is public vs. private, in terms of information revealed to you by us.
1. Clues are always private
When you receive a clue that clears a suspect from us, this will always be done privately. The only exception will be if someone is Tailing you (see below), and even in that instance, the clue does not become public, it is simply revealed to more than just you. The results of all of your investigations, even the red herrings, will be treated as private as well.
2. Travel is usually private
Where you go during the day is also usually private information. As mentioned previously, no one else will be privy to the knowledge of where you traveled during the day (with the exceptions of landing on the same space as another player at the same time, and using your Tail, below).
a. Where you go during the day – private
Your first seven steps are stealthy. People will know where you started and where you ended up, but not how you got there. The only exception to this is that, if you cross the same space as another character on the exact same move during the day (for instance, your fourth step), you may be required to perform a scene interacting with this other character. (We say you MAY be required because, especially very early on the first day, this might be happening quite a bit. Final discretion on who has to perform a scene together is up to the narrators.)
If you are required to perform a scene interacting with another character, you will not lose any space of travel. If this scene takes place while you investigate a location for a clue, whether or not you receive a clue will not be revealed in the scene.
b. Where you stay the night – public
Unless you tailed someone the night before, your place of bedding down for the night is public information. You’ll be able to see where everyone else is sleeping, as well.
If you are the victim of Kidnapping during the night (see above), both your original ending location AND your next day's starting location will be revealed.
c. Exception: using your Tail
The one exception to the public/private rules is for anyone who is using their Tail. Your Tail, standard issue amongst your “Stuff,” enables you to secretly follow another character of your choosing for one full day, without anyone knowing about it. The advantage to this is that you will see everything this character sees, receive all clues they receive, and know about any secrets they uncover along the way. The person you’re tailing will have no knowledge that they’re being tailed, much less who is tailing them. The disadvantage is, you will be at the mercy of someone else’s itinerary for one full day. If they decide to go somewhere that you’ve already been, you’re out of luck.
To use your tail on someone, you must begin the day within 2 spaces of them on the game board. Then, when you submit your itinerary, you simply announce to us that you wish to tail Character X, and you’ll be whisked along with them on whatever magical journey they’re on. If you decide to tail someone who in turn also decides to tail a third party, you’ll gain access to all the information the third party has, PLUS you’ll know that the person you’re tailing knows that info as well. If two characters decide to tail each other on the same day (or any circular tailing scenario takes place), they will be notified that they’re tailing each other, and will be forced to come up, together, with an itinerary that both characters will explore together for the day, or risk not getting to go anywhere. If that happens, we will alert you further as to how to proceed.
If two characters each decide to tail the same third party, each will be aware of the other's existence, but the third party will remain in the dark.
At the end of your Day o’ Tailin’, you will stay the night at the same location as the person you tailed, and you will be subject to the same overnight fate that they're subject to. If they get the sickness, so do you. If they're kidnapped and shipped somewhere else, so are you. If Smokie scans them, Smokie scans you. (Note: whichever of these three you're immune to thanks to your "Player's Choice Stuff," you remain immune to.) Even if you are kidnapped, your powers of invisibility will remain in effect until the next morning, meaning that even though you've been deposited somewhere else on the island, no one else will know it. It will be like you disappeared into thin air, only to reappear the next day somewhere else, with no explanation. In other words, you’ll be like Season 2 Sayid.
J. Timing and the Real World
So how, you might ask, will this game be played, in terms of real time? Good question!
1. Three Day Cycles
Each Island Day will take three days of real-time to play out. Here is how that will work, generally speaking:
Day 1: Plan your route and submit your itinerary via PM to the narrators by the deadline
Day 2: Narrators synthesize everyone’s moves (this will take a while because there are so many characters and we want to make sure we get it right), announcing the results of your investigation, including all clues received, to each player individually within 24 hours of itineraries being submitted
Day 3: All “closed set” scenes are played out, including any interrogations that took place during that Island Day. Planning begins for your itinerary submission for the next Island Day.
And repeat seven times. Note that Open Set discussions are always just as their name suggests: open. Only the Closed Set scenes, which we prompt you on and regulate, will be limited to Day 3 in the cycle.
2. Deadlines
The deadline to submit your Itineraries will be 5:00 PM ET on Day 1 of each cycle. If you have not submitted it via PM by that time, you will be out of luck, and stuck in your same spot for the full day. We strongly recommend you try to get it in even earlier than that, because one mistake on this front could essentially cost you the game. Losing 1/7 of your investigation time just because you couldn’t get your PM sent by a certain time would be a crippling blow.
If you are playing as a team, you need to appoint one person on your team to be responsible for submitting the itinerary, and let us know who that is. We will not accept multiple itineraries per team, as this would cause our heads to explode.
We will have all moves plotted on our super secret master game board, and all clues disseminated, by 5:00 PM ET the next day. We will do our absolute best to notify you of any Forks in the Road as soon as we can, so that you have time to adjust your route if need be.
3. Tiebreakers
There may be spaces on the board (labeled or secret) where the very first person to arrive there gains a special privilege or advantage. In these cases, if two characters arrive at that spot on the same day, the tie will be broken by who got their on the earlier step within that day. If two characters arrive at that space on the same step of the same day, the tie will be broken by whose itinerary we received first, in real time.
4. Weekends
We will not include Saturdays or Sundays in the timeline. The 21 days of actual game play will only be weekdays.
K. Questions
We’re sure you have questions. Please post or PM them and we’ll do our best to clarify, both before the game starts, and during the game. Thanks for sticking with us in reading through the rules which, we acknowledge, are extremely long. (Page 16 in MS Word! Woohoo!) We needed them to be in order to be as thorough as possible.
Now, put on your sleuthin’ hats and get ready for Murder Mystery Theatre: Murder on Craphole Island!
I. Overview of Murder Mystery Theatre
Murder Mystery Theatre: Murder on Craphole Island is both a game and a play. Forum members sign up to portray various Lost characters as these characters set out to investigate an island murder, all while doing their best to keep their own secrets from being revealed.
II. Object of the Game, Times Two
Since this is both a game and a play, there are two simultaneous “Objects of the Game.” The object of the “game” element of MMT:MOCI is to be the first player to correctly identify the murderer before the raft sails. The object of the “play” element is to be the player whose portrayal of their character is deemed the best by those who have been watching.
At the end of the game, there will be two awards handed out: Champion Investigator, and Best Actor. The winners of each of these awards are considered the official winners of the game.
The Champion Investigator will be the player (or team) who first successfully accuses the actual murderer, before the raft launches. In order to levy a successful accusation, you will need to conduct an investigation by moving around the Island gathering clues, and eliminating other characters from your list of possible suspects until only one suspect remains. If no one brings a successful accusation before the raft launches, the murderer will be declared the Champion Investigator.
The Best Actor will be the player (or team) who most successfully takes on the persona of the character they play for the duration of the game, regardless of the success (or lack thereof) of their investigation. This Award will be voted on by other players, narrators, organizers, and the peanut gallery, after the game is over.
III. General Rules of Play / Conduct
Before we come to discussion of the specific rules for how to play MMT:MOCI, there are a few general rules to keep in mind.
A. Obey forum rules
Always, no matter what else happens, players are expected to obey forum rules. No game play rule supersedes your responsibility to be a good forum citizen, and if any player runs afoul of the real law, the organizers of this game will have no sympathy and promise no accommodations.
B. Narrators' decisions are final
The decisions of the narrators and organizers of the game are final. Any dispute over any ruling should be taken up via PM, rather than via threadjack.
C. Continuity between Lost and this story
The events of MMT:MOCI take place on the Lost Island, but are not intended to synch up with the actual Lost experience*. Consider the universe of this game to be a creative reimagining of the Lost world, which is essentially the same in character, though it may differ in some of the details. For example, in this story, Bernard never went to the bathroom at the back of the plane, and so crashed with the Fuselagers right from the beginning.
In other words, treat this as Craphole Island, but don’t get your panties in a bunch if the events of the island don’t match up exactly with what was seen on the show, and don’t bother studying timelines or maps to point out our inconsistencies.
*Nor with the actual “Lost Experience,” copyright NeillT006.
IV. Rules of the Game
A. Characters
Everyone who signs up to play the game will be portraying a character. There are sixteen character roles in this story, including the murderer and the victim, and you may play a character individually, or in a team. For the purposes of this game, the word “player” refers to the Lost-TV forum member who signs up to play, and the word “character” refers to the role they have taken on within the fictional MMT:MOCI universe.
Once everyone has signed up (either individually or in teams) and stated their preferred character to portray, all character roles will be assigned. We will do our best to honor your preferences and generally respect first-come-first-served signups, but we make no guarantees that you will get to play the part that is your first choice. If 12 people want to play Hurley but no one wants to play Bernard, that’s going to be a problem.
Note on playing as a team: It is allowed, and even encouraged, for you to play on a team (preferably 2-3 people per team, depending on how many people sign up). If you play as a team, you must make your decisions together and communicate them as a unit. This is a great option for people who really want to play but aren’t sure they’ll have time to do well on their own. If you can team up with someone whose time on the forum is somewhat different than yours, all the better!
1. Dossiers
Once you’ve been assigned your character, you will receive a dossier listing all pertinent information that you need to know about your character for the purpose of this game. Public versions of the dossiers, with all confidential information blacked out, are currently available in the signup thread.
2. Secrets and Alibis
Included in each dossier will be your character’s Official Secret. Each character has a secret that they do not want anyone else on the island to find out. For one of the 16 characters, that secret is that they did, in fact, commit this murder, but for everyone else, your secret is inextricably linked to your Alibi, which will also be provided in each dossier. Your character is highly motivated to do everything he or she can to keep their secret just that. They would even rather remain suspects in a murder investigation than let these dangerous secrets out.
3. Stuff
Each character possesses a set amount of “stuff” that can aid in their investigation. “Stuff” items are:
a. Bamboo Torture Sticks
Each player has one set of Bamboo Torture Sticks which can be used in certain situations to forcibly acquire information from another character. These sticks, once used, must be discarded, so this advantage can only be used once. (More information about how and when these interrogations take place below.)
b. Tail
Each character has a special “Tail” which enables them to secretly track the movements of another character for one full day. (More on movement around the island below.) Like the Bamboo Torture Sticks, the Tail may only be used at one point during the game, and only under certain circumstances.
c. Player’s Choice Item
As soon as you are assigned your character, each player (or team) will get to choose one of three helpful items to carry with them throughout the game: either the Sickness Antidote, Smokie Repellant, or Others Camouflage. Each of these items will help to shield you from one potentially dangerous Island force which could derail your investigation, but each character may carry only one such item, and you may not trade your item in once you have chosen it.
B. Clues
Each innocent character has a deep, dark secret he or she does not want exposed, which is directly linked to his or her alibi. It follows, then, that if you discover someone else’s deep, dark secret, you discover their alibi, and thus, can cross them off your list of Suspects. Each alibi can be corroborated by one and only one clue hidden somewhere on or around Craphole Island.
1. Your own clue
Your private dossier will include a note that tells you where your own clue can be located that clears your name but also reveals your secret. No one else will know the location of your clue.
2. Other characters' clues
The chief object of your investigation will be to find the clues which clear the other characters’ names and reveal their secrets, thus enabling you to cross them off your list of Suspects. Every innocent character has a clue hidden somewhere around the island at one of the locations on your map. Please note that some locations may contain more than one clue. (In other words, just because you know where your clue is, doesn’t mean you don’t need to go to that location to make sure someone else’s clue isn’t also there. Decisions, decisions…)
3. Clues are conclusive if we say they are
Don’t go playing CSI on us. Maybe you think the clue offered hardly constitutes “proof” of someone’s innocence, but if we say it is, then it is.
C. The Island and Navigation
Your investigation will be conducted by traveling over, across, and around Craphole Island. This section of the rules explains how you will do that.
1. The Map
Everyone will have access to the official Map of Craphole Island. This map may bear only a passing resemblance to anything Danielle or yung23 has come up with, but it has the advantage of bearing a strong resemblance to a game board. This map is divided into 440 grid squares (20x22) of various kinds of terrain, which all have different rules for how you can move across them.
2. Normal Exploration
Much of your travel will be “Normal Exploration.” This includes all the Jungle (green) and Beach (yellow) squares. Your rate of travel over normal terrain is 8 squares per Island Day, assuming you do not stop anywhere along the way. You may travel to any adjacent square (left, right, up, down, or diagonal) to the square you are on.
3. Special Terrain and Other Rules of Movement
There are, however, several other kinds of terrain to keep in mind, and your rate of travel across these areas will vary:
a. Mountains (tan squares) – When you first “step onto” a mountain (enter it from a lower-elevation square) it takes you twice as long due to the climb (two steps must be spent entering a tan square). Once you are up on the mountain, however, you may travel normally (one step per square, as long as you are going from one tan square to another), and there is no delay coming back down from a mountain (tan square to any other color).
b. Rocky Shore (gray squares) – This terrain is especially treacherous and so you must proceed especially slowly across it. Each square of Rocky Shore counts as 1.5 steps on regular terrain (for example, 2 steps on Rocky Shore costs you 3 steps of regular travel).
c. Ocean (dark blue squares) – These squares must be swum across. Each square of Ocean counts as 3 steps of regular terrain.
d. River (light blue squares) – You may cross the river any time you like (travel from a land square to a river square to another land square) at the same rate of your normal exploration. However, you may not travel up or down the river (step from one river square to another) on foot.
e. Dharma Stations (red squares) – These are treated just like normal terrain.
f. Cliffs (thick black borders around any square) – Cliffs cannot be crossed; you must go around them.
4. Overnight Dangers
At the end of each day of travel, you will have to sleep for the night at the last place you ended up. With the exception of certain Safe Spots (below), you are exposing yourself to Overnight Dangers whenever you bed down for the evening:
a. The Sickness – You could catch The Sickness overnight. If you get The Sickness, unless you can be healed before your next day’s journey, you will lose 2 steps of travel at the beginning of the next day in order to recuperate.
b. Smokie Scan – You might be scanned by Smokie during the night. If this happens to you, the most recent clue you acquired in your investigation will be gathered up by Smokie and could be revealed to your competitors if they are in the right place at the right time.
c. Kidnapping – The Others could kidnap you overnight. If this happens, you will be randomly deposited somewhere else on the board to start the next day. Where you end up will be chosen at random and beyond your control; it could help you cover some ground, or it could seriously derail your plans.
At the end of the day, each character’s fate will be chosen at random between the above three options, or a fourth option, nothing happening to you. Because one of the items in your Stuff is a Player’s Choice Help Item which combats the effects of one of the above three dangers, you will have a 50/50 chance each night of having some sort of catastrophe befall you. The only way to guarantee that you’ll be safe from the above three dangers is to make sure you land at a Safe Spot at the end of your day.
5. Safe Places to Sleep
The following spots on the board are considered Safe Places to Sleep. Anyone who spends the night on any of these spaces cannot be harmed by the Sickness, Smokie, or the Others:
a. The Beach Camp (H17) – This is where everyone starts the game.
b. The Caves (J14)
c. The Grove of Banyan Trees (K9) – In addition to providing safety from overnight dangers, this spot also allows you to avoid interrogations and tails from other players.
d. Any Unoccupied Dharma Station – Some of the Dharma Stations may have people living there. Some may be empty. If you find an empty one, you can sleep there without fear.
6. Secrets and Surprises
The map has been marked with many locations that will be of interest to you as you explore the island, but there are also spaces which contain secrets and surprises that may significantly help (or hinder) your investigation as you cross them, which are not marked at all. Keep that in mind as you plan your route.
D. The Timeline
Everything in MMT:MOCI takes place within roughly a week’s time frame, from the time of the murder until the launching of the raft. Please note that “island time” does not equal real time. It will generally take about three days in real time to complete one day of island time. This could be because the island is in the past, or the future, or inside a tesseract, or some other such thing, but it’s mostly because it will take us longer to tell this story than 7 real-time days will allow.
1. The Murder
The play begins with the murder of one of the sixteen characters at the hand of another of the sixteen characters. The following day, the investigation begins. Each player will have seven “island days” to conduct an investigation into the identity of the murderer. After the completion of those seven days, the investigation is over and accusations will be filed (more on that below).
2. The Raft Launch
The looming point of no return is the launching of the raft. If the murderer is able to make it onto the raft launch without being successfully identified, that character wins the game. Every point of the investigation must be completed by the time of the raft launch.
E. Plotting Your Investigation Day by Day
Each player or team will need to plan their investigation carefully. Each day’s travel will consist of eight “steps” across the game board (minus any time spent investigating specific locations), but you will not be able to submit your moves one step at a time. Instead, you must submit your itinerary for investigation one island day at a time (or, eight steps at a time).
1. Daily Exploration
Each island day you will submit, to the narrator(s), your itinerary for the day ahead. (If you are working in a team, you will need to appoint one member to be in charge of submitting the itinerary, so as to avoid confusion.) Your itinerary will be a list of the eight steps you plan to take that day, in order, referenced by their grid locations. You must obey all travel rules, including stepping only onto an adjacent square, not crossing a bold black border (cliff), and traveling at the appropriate rate for each particular terrain (see above, Special Rules of Movement).
a. Travel
Any time you move from one space to another on the island (game board), this is considered “travel.” With the exception of surprises and roadblocks (see below), when you are traveling, you are simply on the move, and you learn no new information. In order to investigate (find clues), you must stop, giving up one space of your day’s travels.
b. Investigation
If you are not traveling, that means you’re investigating. To investigate, you simply stop on a location and use one extra step of your itinerary. You will then find out any information that location has to provide (be it a clue that clears another character of suspicion, some other piece of information that could help your investigation, or a big fat load of nothing). Once you have investigated a location, you will learn everything that location has to tell you; you will not have to investigate it again.
You have the option of investigating any square you travel across, but you may also choose to “run right over it” and skip it in your quest to get somewhere else. You will have to decide whether it’s worth it on any particular day to cover more ground, or to work slowly but methodically.
2. Planning and Submitting Your Itinerary
At the end of each day you must submit your itinerary (8 spaces) for the next day. This will include your travel and your investigation. So, for example, assuming all travel is over jungle (normal travel), your itinerary might look like this:
1. Space 1
2. Space 2
3. Space 3
4. Investigate Space 3
5. Space 4
6. Space 5
7. Investigate Space 5
8. Space 6
Here you traveled to six spaces, investigating two of them, and wound up at Space 6, which is where you will be sleeping overnight.
3. Crossing paths with other players
If your itinerary puts you on the same space at the same time, you will probably be required to perform a scene depicting your interaction at that location. If this is a place that you're investigating for a clue, the actual clue you receive will not be revealed to the viewing public. (See below, about what information is public and what information is private, for more discussion of this point.)
4. Staying the Night
Wherever you end up on your last space of the day, that location is where you will end up sleeping for the night. This is important, because not only are some spaces safer than others for sleeping (see above), but certain other options available to you (such as using your Interrogation Sticks, or your Tail) are dependent upon where you and other players stayed overnight.
Also, while most of the time your daily travel plans will not be made public (see below), at the end of each day the narrator(s) will give an update that includes the locations of where every character is staying the night. So while no one else will be able to see how you got where you got during the day, everyone will know where you ended up.
5. Using Your Stuff
If you want to use any of your “Stuff,” you must decide to do this at the beginning of the day, and must alert the Narrator(s) at the same time that you send in your itinerary.
Specific rules governing when you can use certain items, and on whom, will be discussed below.
6. Surprises and Roadblocks
When it comes to locations that are labeled on the map, you must stop and investigate them (using one step that could’ve otherwise been used for travel) in order to gain the information they provide.
There are, however, several spaces on the map which contain either a Surprise or a Roadblock. In these instances, if you cross over that space as part of your travel, you do not have to stop there to get the information. You will simply find out “free of charge” as you go on your way. Surprises can be information or items which could give you a decided advantage in your investigation. Roadblocks can hinder you. There are only a handful of these secret spaces on the board, but most are well worth discovering, so the more you have opportunity to travel across different spaces (as opposed to doubling back over terrain already covered), the more likely you are to find one.
7. Forks in the Road
Occasionally your journeys will bring you to a Fork in the Road. A Fork in the Road is a place where you will have to make a decision about whether to take something with you and/or alter your itinerary. These are the only opportunities you will have to change your itinerary mid-day. Sometimes these forks in the road will occur at locations that you investigate; other times they will come in the form of surprises. In either case, if you encounter a fork in the road, you will be notified as soon as we are able to and given the information you need to make your decision as to what you’d like to do next. You will only be allowed to modify your route from the point at which you encounter the fork in the road moving forward, and only amongst the choices offered by each fork in the road.
If a Fork in the Road is tied to a particular location, and you come across that location a second time, you will be expected to remember your travel options, and will not be given another chance to change your route.
F. Interactions
A significant part of this game revolves around not simply your movement around the island/board, but also your interactions with other characters. Remember that how well you play your part will determine whether you win the Best Actor award. Here are the rules governing your interactions with other players and with the narrator(s).
1. No cooperation, public or private
The cardinal rule of this game is that you are not, under any circumstance, to cooperate, share secret information, or make deals with other players or with members of the peanut gallery. Private messages, off-board chats, and posts revealing any such information or any attempts to pry this information out of another player will all be viewed as a violation of the rules and will subject you to immediate disqualification. The other players are your competitors, and this is not Survivor. There should be no attempts to form alliances. Even those who are not playing could be used as third parties to funnel information, and this practice would simply violate the spirit of the game. All of your interactions about the game with other players and with non-players should be public, in character, and above board.
The one obvious exception to this rule is if you are playing as a team. If two or three of you are working together to play the role of Charlie, for example, then you are completely free to talk privately and at complete liberty within the members of your team. But under NO circumstances should any outside party other than the narrator(s) be brought into those conversations.
You are also at liberty, and at times required, to discuss things privately with the narrator(s). This rule simply applies to communication between two or more competitors, and between competitors and non-players. If you see or suspect any of this activity going on, please report it to the narrator(s) immediately, as it is the one behavior which has the potential to totally undermine the game itself. If you can’t tell, we’re serious about this one.
Addendum: There may be occasions where the narrators instruct one character to send a PM to another character, copying the narrators on that PM. Obviously, in these cases, as long as the PM is copied to the narrators and has been explicitly allowed in advance by us, it's okay.
2. Interrogations
Within the game, you may have opportunity to interrogate another player. An Interrogation is an opportunity to ask three questions to another player where they are forced to answer. All Interrogations are public and thus available for everyone to see. Interrogations are initiated by the use of your Bamboo Torture Sticks from your Stuff, and thus, you may only interrogate one other player once during the game.
a. When You Decide to Interrogate
Your decision to interrogate another player must be made at the time you submit your itinerary for the next day’s travel. At that time you must also announce that you are using your Interrogation Sticks, which player you choose to interrogate, and what your three questions are for that player.
b. Who May Be Interrogated
You may interrogate any player, even if they have already been interrogated by another player, as long as you are within two steps (in any direction) of them at the start of the day that the interrogation takes place. Because everyone’s sleeping locations are announced publicly at the conclusion of the day, you will know who you have the ability to interrogate, and who you don’t, before you have to make that decision. If there is someone you ultimately want to interrogate, you will want to make sure you position yourself near enough to them to get the job done.
Interrogations do not cost either party involved a space of travel, since, for our story purposes, they take place early in the morning, before the day's travel has begun. (This is true even though the actual interrogations, in real time, won't play out until after that day's travel has happened - suspend your disbelief with us, won't you?)
c. What Questions May and May Not Be Asked
Because you are one of the Losties, you can’t just come right out and ask questions that make sense. (No, not even you, Sayid.) There are certain restrictions on what you can ask other players because, let’s face it, when was the last time someone asked all the right questions?
You may not ask someone directly whether or not they committed the murder. You may not ask someone directly to confirm or deny an alibi. You may not ask someone directly to reveal what they learned at a specific location.
You may ask someone whether they have been to a specific location. You may ask someone whether there was a clue at a specific location. You may ask someone to name a location they plan to stop on during their next day’s travel.
Your questions will be reviewed by the narrator(s) before you will be allowed to ask them, and the narrators’ decisions about their propriety stand. If the narrators reject your questions, you may submit revised questions (we will do our best to explain why a question is rejected), or you may choose at that point to save your interrogation for later.
d. Answering Interrogations
Of the three questions asked of you, you must answer two of them truthfully. One answer may be a lie. The interrogated player will see all three questions before having to answer any of them, and does not have to tell which answers are true, and which are not.
3. Other staged scenes
Throughout the game there will be many other “staged” scenes that you will be expected to participate in. These are scenes where you will be prompted by the narrator(s) with a general idea of what has to happen in the scene, and provided with a thread in which to post, in character, to allow that scene to unfold. These scenes are designed to help convey the story to the rest of the people watching, and you will never be required (or even allowed!) to reveal secret information during the scenes. But this is Murder Mystery THEATRE, and so there needs to be some actual theatre to it. These type of scenes are considered “closed set” and will be posted in the closed set thread, which should not be used for other discussion by either players or “redshirts.” If comments or threadjacking appear in this thread, they will be deleted.
4. Interacting with the Redshirts
You will also be able to interact in “open set” discussions with other players and redshirts. You should remain in character when posting in these threads, but you will not be cued by the narrators and can feel free to post in them at any point during the game. Just because Sawyer and Claire, for example, are on opposite sides of the game board, doesn’t mean they can’t talk freely in the “open set” thread. Keep in mind that even here, the rules about sharing secret information apply, but assuming you’re sticking to those rules, you can feel free to craft whatever tales, strategy, and communication you like. Redshirts (members of the peanut gallery who aren’t playing the game itself) should feel free and encouraged to attempt to stir the pot!
5. Lying and Staying in Character
In “open set” threads you can feel free to lie as much as you like. Only in “closed set” scenes and interrogations are you going to have restrictions placed on what you can and must say, and even then, you won’t always have to tell the truth (see above).
You should do your best to stay “in character” as much as you can. Try to think like your character, respond like your character would, and interact with the other characters that your character would have a natural affinity towards. (Similarly, feel free to develop rivalries with characters that your character might not get along with so well.) Your ability to stay in character throughout the game will go a long way towards determining who wins Best Actor.
G. Making Your Accusation
Here are the rules about making your accusation, which is the official filing of your choice for the guilty party.
1. Everybody gets one and only one
Every character (whether played by one person or by a team) gets one and ONLY ONE accusation. If you guess wrong, you are out of the game from that point forward. And while you will still be able to mingle amongst the redshirts and aim for Best Actor, you will no longer be able to move around the board, gather clues, or be involved in the official story. If you make a false accusation, we will find a way to “write you out of the story.”
2. Accusations are Private
When you feel like it’s time to make your accusation, you must first PM it to the narrator(s). We will let you know whether or not you are right, and write a scene for you that either reveals your triumph (and thus ends the game), or takes you out of the picture (and thus ends YOUR game). Only through that scene will it be revealed that you have made your accusation.
3. Accusations must take place at the raft launch
In order to make your accusation, you must first return to the Raft Launch site. With one exception (below - after the end of Day 7), no accusations will be accepted from any other space on the board.
4. Accusations before Day 7
There will be seven total Island Days of investigations (moving around the board, gathering clues) available to you in the game. If you believe that you know who the murderer is before the beginning of Day 7, simply go to the Raft Launch site as part of your travels and, once there, announce to the narrator(s) via PM that you would like to make an accusation. You will PM us your choice, and we will craft a scene based on whether or not you are right. Either way, your game is over at that point, because everyone gets only one chance at an accusation. If you are wrong, you must sit on the sidelines for the rest of the game. You will not be able to investigate, travel, look for clues, interrogate, or tail anyone. You will also no longer be eligible to be interrogated. You will still be free to post in the open set thread (in character, of course), but it will be as if you’re just another Redshirt in that you can no longer win the Champion Investigator Award.
If two people land on the Raft Launch site on the same day and want to make an accusation, the accusations will be accepted in the order in which that character landed at that square. So if one character arrives there on the fourth step of their daily itinerary, and another character arrives at step 7, the first one there is the first one whose accusation counts. If both characters arrive at the Raft Launch Site on the same step, the next tiebreaker will be the order in which the accusations are PM’d to the narrator(s) in real time.
In the case of false accusations, no one else will know who was accused, simply that the accusation was filed, and it is false. As you can see by now, you do NOT want to make a false accusation.
5. Accusations on Day 7
Accusations on Day 7 will be treated exactly the same as on previous days. The same tiebreakers will be used, all the way up through the very last (eighth) step of travel for that day. If you are unable (or choose not) to make it back to the Raft Launch Site by the end of your investigations on Day 7, you will still have a chance to make an accusation, but it gets tougher.
6. Accusations after the end of Day 7
You may be in a situation, by choice or not, where it is impossible to make it back to the Raft Launch site by the end of Day 7. This does not rule you out from winning, however. At the end of Day 7, rather than everyone going to sleep out in the woods, because of the urgency of the raft launch, we will treat every character who’s not back at the site yet as “running back” until you get there. Your accusations will be accepted in order of how close you are (how few steps it would take you to get back to the Raft Launch Site) at the end of Day 7. So if one character is 5 steps away, and another character is 8 steps away, the 5-stepper’s accusation will be accepted first. Since all investigations would be over at that point, there is no risk to making a false accusation after Day 7 is over. So even if you cannot make it all the way back to the Raft Site, there is still benefit to being closer to home than other players. Obviously, if someone else pegs the murderer before you (or before the end of Day 7) it’s a moot point, because the winner is the FIRST person to nab the murderer, but you will see when you look at the map that there’s a lot of terrain to cover, and that is a tall order.
There is one catch, however. Any and all accusations that are made by characters who actually DO make it back to the Raft Launch site in time will be accepted in the order they come in. And once someone gets it right, the game is over. (Note, however, that since no one will know whom the objects of false accusations are, it is possible for many players to guess wrong, and even for more than one player to falsely accuse the same character.)
BUT, for those who do not make it back to the Raft Launch Site in time, there is an additional factor to weigh. If the murderer makes it back to the raft launch site by the end of Day 7, then all of the accusations submitted by players who did not make it back in time will not count. You can be 100 percent right but it won’t matter. The murderer will get away on the raft before you can get back. In addition, if the murderer does not make it back by the end of Day 7, then accusations submitted by anyone who is farther away from the Raft Launch Site than the murderer is will not count, either. Note that, even if the Murderer arrives at the Raft Launch site early, all accusations filed by people who make it back before the end of Day 7 will be accepted, regardless of whether they arrived before the Murderer or not.
Perhaps an example is in order for how this endgame will work. Let’s imagine a version of this game with six characters: Michael, Jim, Pam, Dwight, Angela, and Toby. Let’s imagine that Pam is the Murderer, though of course only Pam knows this. On Day 7, Michael arrives at the Raft Launch Site on his third step of the day, and files his accusation: Toby. Dwight arrives on the very last step of his Day 7 travels and makes his accusation: Jim. Both are wrong. The other four characters are not back yet when Day 7 ends. Jim is 1 step away, Pam is 3 steps away, Angela is 5 steps away, and Toby is 20 steps away. Now because Jim is closer to the Raft Launch Site than Pam (the real murderer), if he correctly identifies Pam in his accusation, then Jim wins the game. If not, then Pam wins the game, even if Toby or Angela knows that she’s the killer.
Re-imagining that scenario, let’s say Pam arrived back at the Raft Launch site on her first step of the day, before even Michael. Michael and Dwight would still get to make their accusations, even though the murderer beat them there, because they got there before the end of Day 7. Everyone else would be out of luck.
You can no doubt see that the way you play the end game, and how you balance squeezing every last ounce out of your investigations and travels versus getting “home” on time, is a very significant strategic decision in this game.
H. Special Rules for the Murderer
The Murderer in this game is really playing an entirely different game. See, the Murderer is not out to solve any mystery. For this one character, it’s 15-on-1, and they only win if everyone else loses, either by failing to accuse the right person, or by not making it back to the Raft Launch site in time.
Because of that, all of the rules above may or may not apply to the Murderer. We as the narrators reserve the right to make exceptions in anything or everything for the Murderer. Obviously we will do nothing to expose his/her secret, but when all is said and done, if you look back and say, “Hey, the Murderer got special treatment because he/she was able to _____________ or didn’t have to _____________,” well, don’t say we didn’t warn you. They’re a murderer, after all. You expect them to play by the rules?
That said, Murderer, you’ll be briefed on any situations or rules that you’re exempt from. If you don’t hear explicitly from one of the narrators that you don’t have to follow a certain rule, assume that it applies to you as well.
I. Public and Private
Wrapped your head around this game yet? We hope that these extremely exhaustive rules will help answer all your questions, and we are confident that, once the game starts, it will no doubt make a lot more sense than it probably does after you’ve just finished reading this tome. Stick with us, there are only a few more odds and ends that need to be dealt with. The first has to do with what is public vs. private, in terms of information revealed to you by us.
1. Clues are always private
When you receive a clue that clears a suspect from us, this will always be done privately. The only exception will be if someone is Tailing you (see below), and even in that instance, the clue does not become public, it is simply revealed to more than just you. The results of all of your investigations, even the red herrings, will be treated as private as well.
2. Travel is usually private
Where you go during the day is also usually private information. As mentioned previously, no one else will be privy to the knowledge of where you traveled during the day (with the exceptions of landing on the same space as another player at the same time, and using your Tail, below).
a. Where you go during the day – private
Your first seven steps are stealthy. People will know where you started and where you ended up, but not how you got there. The only exception to this is that, if you cross the same space as another character on the exact same move during the day (for instance, your fourth step), you may be required to perform a scene interacting with this other character. (We say you MAY be required because, especially very early on the first day, this might be happening quite a bit. Final discretion on who has to perform a scene together is up to the narrators.)
If you are required to perform a scene interacting with another character, you will not lose any space of travel. If this scene takes place while you investigate a location for a clue, whether or not you receive a clue will not be revealed in the scene.
b. Where you stay the night – public
Unless you tailed someone the night before, your place of bedding down for the night is public information. You’ll be able to see where everyone else is sleeping, as well.
If you are the victim of Kidnapping during the night (see above), both your original ending location AND your next day's starting location will be revealed.
c. Exception: using your Tail
The one exception to the public/private rules is for anyone who is using their Tail. Your Tail, standard issue amongst your “Stuff,” enables you to secretly follow another character of your choosing for one full day, without anyone knowing about it. The advantage to this is that you will see everything this character sees, receive all clues they receive, and know about any secrets they uncover along the way. The person you’re tailing will have no knowledge that they’re being tailed, much less who is tailing them. The disadvantage is, you will be at the mercy of someone else’s itinerary for one full day. If they decide to go somewhere that you’ve already been, you’re out of luck.
To use your tail on someone, you must begin the day within 2 spaces of them on the game board. Then, when you submit your itinerary, you simply announce to us that you wish to tail Character X, and you’ll be whisked along with them on whatever magical journey they’re on. If you decide to tail someone who in turn also decides to tail a third party, you’ll gain access to all the information the third party has, PLUS you’ll know that the person you’re tailing knows that info as well. If two characters decide to tail each other on the same day (or any circular tailing scenario takes place), they will be notified that they’re tailing each other, and will be forced to come up, together, with an itinerary that both characters will explore together for the day, or risk not getting to go anywhere. If that happens, we will alert you further as to how to proceed.
If two characters each decide to tail the same third party, each will be aware of the other's existence, but the third party will remain in the dark.
At the end of your Day o’ Tailin’, you will stay the night at the same location as the person you tailed, and you will be subject to the same overnight fate that they're subject to. If they get the sickness, so do you. If they're kidnapped and shipped somewhere else, so are you. If Smokie scans them, Smokie scans you. (Note: whichever of these three you're immune to thanks to your "Player's Choice Stuff," you remain immune to.) Even if you are kidnapped, your powers of invisibility will remain in effect until the next morning, meaning that even though you've been deposited somewhere else on the island, no one else will know it. It will be like you disappeared into thin air, only to reappear the next day somewhere else, with no explanation. In other words, you’ll be like Season 2 Sayid.
J. Timing and the Real World
So how, you might ask, will this game be played, in terms of real time? Good question!
1. Three Day Cycles
Each Island Day will take three days of real-time to play out. Here is how that will work, generally speaking:
Day 1: Plan your route and submit your itinerary via PM to the narrators by the deadline
Day 2: Narrators synthesize everyone’s moves (this will take a while because there are so many characters and we want to make sure we get it right), announcing the results of your investigation, including all clues received, to each player individually within 24 hours of itineraries being submitted
Day 3: All “closed set” scenes are played out, including any interrogations that took place during that Island Day. Planning begins for your itinerary submission for the next Island Day.
And repeat seven times. Note that Open Set discussions are always just as their name suggests: open. Only the Closed Set scenes, which we prompt you on and regulate, will be limited to Day 3 in the cycle.
2. Deadlines
The deadline to submit your Itineraries will be 5:00 PM ET on Day 1 of each cycle. If you have not submitted it via PM by that time, you will be out of luck, and stuck in your same spot for the full day. We strongly recommend you try to get it in even earlier than that, because one mistake on this front could essentially cost you the game. Losing 1/7 of your investigation time just because you couldn’t get your PM sent by a certain time would be a crippling blow.
If you are playing as a team, you need to appoint one person on your team to be responsible for submitting the itinerary, and let us know who that is. We will not accept multiple itineraries per team, as this would cause our heads to explode.
We will have all moves plotted on our super secret master game board, and all clues disseminated, by 5:00 PM ET the next day. We will do our absolute best to notify you of any Forks in the Road as soon as we can, so that you have time to adjust your route if need be.
3. Tiebreakers
There may be spaces on the board (labeled or secret) where the very first person to arrive there gains a special privilege or advantage. In these cases, if two characters arrive at that spot on the same day, the tie will be broken by who got their on the earlier step within that day. If two characters arrive at that space on the same step of the same day, the tie will be broken by whose itinerary we received first, in real time.
4. Weekends
We will not include Saturdays or Sundays in the timeline. The 21 days of actual game play will only be weekdays.
K. Questions
We’re sure you have questions. Please post or PM them and we’ll do our best to clarify, both before the game starts, and during the game. Thanks for sticking with us in reading through the rules which, we acknowledge, are extremely long. (Page 16 in MS Word! Woohoo!) We needed them to be in order to be as thorough as possible.
Now, put on your sleuthin’ hats and get ready for Murder Mystery Theatre: Murder on Craphole Island!