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[Serial Homicide Unit] Killer Body Count: 1/Civilian Scenes, Round 2 (Grunts Ghosts)
AlfredR
I take weekends off from the internetRegistered User regular
I take weekends off from the internetRegistered User regular
There is a killer out on the streets tonight. He is hunting and he knows his prey.
Tomorrow all the papers will be talking about him and the things that he did. This game is about tonight.
This game is about the people he hunts, lives full of hopes and dreams.
Who are these people? What were they like before they became a serial killer's next victim?
There is a killer out on the street tonight. He is being hunted and knows it not.
Tomorrow all the papers will be talking about him and the things that he did. This game is about tonight.
This game is about the men and women who work together as an investigative team to end his killing spree.
Who are these people? What did they learn that prevented a serial killer from taking his next victim?
They are the
What This Is
Serial Homicide Unit is a story-game RPG designed by Kathryn Miller and Michael Miller, occupying a seat in the rather sparse genre of "police procedural" gaming. In this game, a serial killer begins their terror spree, drawing in the elite SHU. They race to collect the clues and identify the murderer, while all along the bodies stack up. If the investigation takes too long, the serial killer will sate their appetites, and disappear for good. Meanwhile, the killer's potential victims - ignorant of the threat that stalks them - just try to live their lives and be with their loved ones.
How's It Work
3 to 6 Players first vote on a killer 'profile' - the category of people which the killer exclusively targets. Players then each imagine a Civilian that falls into this category and fleshes them out with a Name, and a Hope the Civilian want to fulfill. Each player also creates an Obstacle for every other Civilian character - an Obstacle being any situation that stands between the Civilian and what they Hope for out of life.
Each Player takes a turn spotlighting their Civilian in scenes from their everyday life, struggling to get closer to their Hopes despite the Obstacles they have to overcome. Other Players are chosen, as necessary, to bring to life the supporting cast members and embody the Obstacles in these scenes.
Inevitably, someone will die.
Players then take on one of six investigative Roles with the SHU and play out a briefing scene where the team comes together and reveals what clues they've found. One Player will portray the Lead Investigator - the team's point man or woman - who takes the facts the rest of the team finds and interprets what they really mean, spinning stories and building theories out of the clues. The Lead Investigator build chains of evidence that support their theories, and uses these to indict a suspect.
The game continues like this in cycles: a series of Civilian scenes following the daily struggles of our unwitting victims, a grisly murder, a scene wherein the SHU puts together the pieces and tries to bring the killer to justice. Repeat until the team succeeds, or the killer escapes.
What This Is Not
This is not Candyland, Chutes n' Ladders, Carebears, or something else cute and sweet. I mean, I'm not saying this game is horribly disgusting or unsafe or whatever - but it's a crime procedural game, so I figure we'll be seeing stuff about as bad as what you see on CSI, Bones, Law & Order, NCIS, or the like. You may not enjoy SHU if those kinds of details bug you.
This is not an adventure game; there are no thrilling chase scenes, no shoot outs, or the like - at least, none of this happens "on screen." We play out the mundane, but meaningful, moments in our Civilian's everyday lives - and we play out the meetings, the bits where we learn the clues and make theories, as Investigators. It will never turn out that one of us were the killer all along. That's all. You may not enjoy SHU if you want high-octane police action.
This is not a "cop drama" game; we're not playing out deep and meaningful interpersonal relationships between our investigators... I mean, you can build up a rapport in your dialogue and descriptions of Investigators during the briefing scenes, but we're not running scenes of your Investigators dating, or your Investigators learning the true meaning of friendship. This game is about Civilian drama... the heart - and the stakes - of this game lies in the civilians we make beforehand. You may not enjoy SHU if you don't invest emotionally in our Civilians' emotional investment.
This is not a complex game. The only dice we use are D6s and we predominantly only count out Evens or Odds to measure success. You may not enjoy SHU if you prefer your murder mysteries to have more mechanics driving them.
This is not a game where we roll on tables or check inside a scenario booklet to find out who the killer is, what the killer did, or how the killer did it - we invent all of these things at the table. It's all ad lib. When the Lead Investigator asks the Photographer what they found out: the Photographer Player has complete authorial discretion (within their Role's job) to introduce Clues into the game; these Clues become real. The Lead Investigator, and every other player, now build on those details themselves - using them as inspiration to suggest more and more of the mystery we're trying to understand. Like adding one bit at a time to a puzzle, we're inventing the constraints of our fiction and guessing at what is going on inside it at the same time. Only when we finally roll to Indict will we know what really happened. You may not enjoy SHU if you think this kind of 'looking for shapes in the clouds' gameplay is disingenuous or poorly conceived.
What Is Needed
The game is available in an audio-teaching format and associated PDFs in the Epimas Ghost of Christmas Present Bundle. You do not have to buy this to play - I own the game and will dole out the necessary information to who needs it and paraphrase the rest to help guide the game. That said: it is the Holiday season and funds from the Epimas bundle support the designers involved - plus, any bundle you buy is given freely to you and your purchase is sent to any of your friend's email addresses. You get to gift your gaming buddies, you get games out of it, you support designers, and you get several games for really cheap... it's a solid, all-around, positive karma deal.
I would like 2 players to join me for this game, please, but I am totally open to getting more than that if peeps are up for it. If we get enough people, I'll even be open to reserves just so there's a support net to keep the game going if folks have to drop.
I'd like people who are able to post at least every couple of days, especially if it's just to say that you're really busy and you'll get around to it. That kind of head's up is totally appreciated, especially going into the end of the year. This game is very "vignette-focused" in its play-style, so short and simple posts are completely fine, which I think will make commitment to the game easier for some.
SO! All that out of the way... if you are interested in trying out Serial Homicide Unit, and you're willing to get emotionally invested in one another's Civilians, go ahead and sign up by telling me your !Favorite Procedural.
Pics here grabbed off the now long dead d20 Modern art gallery on the wizards website, and the SHU website.
AlfredR on
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PSN: TheBrayster_92
So, that's four players total (with me). That's not bad at all! I'm still open to more people, but that's enough to get the ball rolling with a some chatter and game talk.
Firstly, The game's script tells us that the killer prowls for a certain sort of individual - we recognize this category of person as a "Profile" in game parlance. As players, we're supposed to put some thought into a "single, unifying characteristic that all the civilian characters will share." The rule reference sheets are nice enough to give us a handful of examples that we can either directly pull from or just use an inspiration - whichever we feel like. The bottom line, though, is that "it is very important that all players care about the profile. If even one player is indifferent to the profile, the group must alter it in some way until all players are interested."
The Profile examples that the rules reference rattles off include:
•Divorceés
•Single parents
•Artists
•Authority figures
•Students
•Homeless
Earlier, I was wondering if a Profile like "Musician" might make for interesting Hopes and Obstacles.
Though if our session turns into an episode of CM, L&O:ATA (all the above), NCIS, CSI, CKY, NTSF:SD:SUV, YYZ, or ABC, I'll be disappointed.
Anyway, its Friday and I'm all done in the office so let's roll with who we've got now.
Players
@AlfredR
@Grunt's Ghosts
@The Brayster
@Nocren
So, let's go. The actual SHU rules are found on a series of MP3 tracks, teaching the game while you play. I'll be summarizing relevant chunks here, and more specific stuff I'll PM as we get farther into the game.
Game Begin
Track 1: The Killer has a "stealth rating" in Serial Homicide Unit. The idea behind a Killer's "Stealth" is that it represents their anonymity - how resourceful and cunning they are at avoiding the authorities, how well they conceal their actions, their movements, their identity, and the like. It's the difficulty for closing the case and getting the indictment that we want. The Killer's "Stealth" is always equal to the number of players. So, given that there are four of us, our Killer has Stealth:4.
Now that we know our Killer's stealth, we decide as a group on the Killer's profile. This is who the killer hunts, and it sets a unifying theme for each of the civilians we'll be portraying. I've included some examples up above for Profiles, so each of us need to voice our opinion on what trait connects all of the people the Killer is preying on. I'm still partial to a Profile of "Musicians," but whatever we do needs to be something everyone agrees on. If you don't think a given Profile works for you, doesn't resonate, doesn't interest you - say so, no harm no foul.
Edit: I kinda like the idea of a super hardcore fan that kills cover band members because they aren't as good as the real thing...
PSN: TheBrayster_92
Track 2: Time for Civilians. We each need to make up a Civilian - a well-realized character with dreams and a life of their own who might, hopefully, survive our game. This Civilian, obviously, falls into the Profile of our serial killer.
We each need to give our Civilian a Name, and a Hope. A Hope is a positive statement that begins "I Hope..." and ends with an achievement or goal they want out of life. Something like "I hope my girlfriend marries me," or "I hope that my book gets published." They shouldn't be too easy, and we should be able to see Civilians working toward their Hopes over several scenes.
Examples from the rules reference sheet include:
• … I get that promotion.
• … I get that scholarship.
• … I find my birth parents.
• … my beloved agrees to marry me.
• … I win the Pulitzer Prize.
• … I get a car for my birthday.
We're supposed to discuss our Civilians and their Hopes as a group, because we are all supposed to be interested in each other's character. Its not that we have to get each other's permission to make a particular character, we just have to put them out there. See, at the end of the game, your character's fate will be decided by the other players - so, sympathetic characters with interesting stories are in everybody's best interest.
So, I'm thinking...
Dennis Lee is a 26 year old violinist. He's graduated from conservatory high in his class, though he wasn't the best. His specialty is rural American violin styles, on top of his classical training. He's moved to the city, has an apartment that he shares with his boyfriend, and he's even landed his dream job of playing with the Metro Ensemble Symphony. It's not easy, it doesn't pay too great, but he's doing what he loves. The next step for Dennis? Well, the Metro Ensemble occasionally opens a submission period where its musicians can showcase their own compositions, with approval from the conductor and senior musicians.
Dennis Hopes that the Metro Ensemble will be impressed by his composition, and it will debut on their stage!
If someone else was thinking orchestral performer and really wanted it, let me know and I'll cook up something else. I do have an unfair advantage, as the guy showing off the rules and steps of play.
Write up to follow when I'm home.
Lady Sapphyre or as her driver's license says Sara Marrin is a 23 year old club DJ. Originally from the midwest in a small town that celebrates 2 seasons; football and farming, Sara wanted to get away from it all and be her own person in the city's most prestigious university. So it was with tearful goodbyes and lots of shouting that she moved to the metropolis and had her eyes opened. Her first couple of years could be akin to a metamorphosis, being labeled the "county bumpkin" among all the socialites of the city's university. It wasn't like high school where she could fade into the background. So she decided with the help of her sophomore roommate to change her life around. By the end of the year, Sara had become somewhat accepted at the university. While attending an event during the summer, she fell for the party's DJ and during the summer break he taught her how to mix, scratch, and cut. However her country naivety got the better of her and what she thought was something special ending up as nothing more than a summer fling. While mending a broken heart she bought her own mixer and started performing during the latter part of her junior (and last) year of college. Realizing that she was making decent money performing as Lady Sapphyre, she decided to working through various basement get togethers, high school gym dances, and group parties she finally landed a semi-regular gig at a local club where she's been performing for 2 years now. However her past as caught up to her and those student loans are starting call and she isn't making nearly enough as she thought she would. She only hopes that some other producer will notice her set and ask her perform in Rio or even Ibiza, away from her debtors.
Sara/Sapphyre Hopes that she will be discovered and that some producer will make her a lucky girl and take her away from the city.
Jacob hopes that his son will make contact once again.
PSN: TheBrayster_92
We've got three of our four Civilians, so we just need one from @Grunt's Ghosts and we can jump right over Track 3 and get into Track 4 of the rules.
Alice hopes that one day she will finally become a professional singer and travel the world on tour.
Track 3 is shuffling Civilians for later, which doesn't apply to a play by post, so we move on to Track 4.
Track 4: Obstacles are whatever crap is keeping out civilians from waltzing up and accomplishing their hope, one-and-done, easy-peasy. They don't have to be complicated or involved, they just have to be something that stops the Civilians.
What we do is we each go ahead and write one obstacles for every other Civilian besides our own. So, I will write one for Alice, Jacob, and Sarah - but each of you will write one for Dennis and the rest.
So whatever everyone else writes, that's the drama in your Civilian's life. You absolutely don't have to use an Obstacle if you really don't like it, but it is a sign of what ~sort~ of challenge another player was interested in. So, just a thing to keep in mind.
Examples include...
• Manager does not like you
• Poor grades
• Court records burned up
• Beloved's old flame is in town
• Plagiarism scandal
• Parents are broke
So, I think...
• Sarah Marrin's Obstacle is the club is going "in a different direction" and 'Lady Sapphire' just isn't a good "fit." Bye bye employment.
• Jacob Henderson's Obstacle is leading the band in a giant performance honoring Central High's 100 years of history . Can he keep his act together and look good in the paper?
• Alice Green's Obstacle is that a big exam in one of her nursing courses is coming up the morning after an important gig where a recruiter will be watching. She can't skip the gig - but that exam? How is she going to juggle this?
So yeah! Go ahead and make up an Obstacle for each Civilian you didn't create.
Hopefully I'm not being too forward with this. With each obstacle, I'm also throwing in a possible tool or assistance that the person could use, should they actually acknowledge it.
Jacob Henderson has a proven track record of being hard working and delivering memorable routines for the band (even if his strict practice regimes were unpopular, everyone loved the results), however the stress of lack of contact from his son and stress from the pressure of the school's anniversary has caused him to slip a little further into the bottle, and has shown up slightly drunk at times. Currently this is being swept under the rug as a couple of his colleagues are trying to council him as best they can.
Alice Green has the looks to be the next top pop idol, but unfortunately not the talent. But she doesn't care. She's not bad per say... but she's also not great either. A few singing lessons would help, but she always dismisses these claims as "not recognizing true talent when they see it". Luckily because of her looks and the energy she puts into her performance she has a few fans.
(also Grunt, it's "aspiring" ;P, unless she sings to motivate people)
Dennis Lee is currently trying to fine tune his composition and spending a lot of time away from home, which is driving a wedge between him and Josh. Dennis is this close to fulfilling his dream, but Josh seems to be on the verge of leaving because of the stress.
Obstacles:
Dennis Lee: A Senior Musician of the Ensemble he is trying to impress has had a bad history with Dennis
Sara Marrin: Janet Hall, a close friend of Sara since moving to the city, is extremely ill. Janet stood by Sara through her woes, but Sara leaving for a better life elsewhere would leave a grievously ill friend alone without help.
Alice Green: A pretty well respected critic is aware of Alice, and has written many negative reviews of her performances, which hound at the success chances of Alice's endeavors.
PSN: TheBrayster_92
Jacob Henderson- The wife is calling it quits, and divorce papers have been severed. He hasn't signed them yet, they are currently sitting under a half drunk bottle of whiskey. But if she divorces him, she's most likely going back home, too far for Jacob to drive and see his son. This isn't helping his alcoholism any.
Dennis Lee- Recently, Dennis cut his hand he holds the bow with. The wound is healing but he's been asked to give the violin a rest while it does. But Dennis can't quit now. He's still practicing, and it's hurting the hand more.
Edited it into my post up above, and I've also put together a Note Sheet for our Killer, and Civilians and their Obstacles.
With those done, we move on to the next track and the beginning of the game!
Track 5: So, we have Civilians, we have Hopes, and we have Obstacles! We now begin play, focusing on each of our Civilians in a series of spotlight scenes. Specifically, we go in order from Player 1 around, but we generally are free to jump around to any player who has an idea for a scene already in their head. No need to wait around for someone blanking, and no need to feel the pressure or time crunch to churn something out immediately.
The steps on your turn are as follows:
Any supporting characters that show up during these scenes are worth keeping track of (and I figure we can do that with the SHU Notes I linked) because they can show up repeatedly, in different scenes, and even during the investigation of the murders. Who knows, someone's boss or lover or co-worker could turn out to be the killer?
When the scene is done, the next player in the list plays out a scene for their own Civilian and we continue on down until everyone has had a turn. Then, once we've all played one scene we break into the Investigation Scene, which I'll detail when it comes up.
Sound good? So for turn order, I figure sign-up order works, which would make it
@AlfredR
@Grunt's Ghosts
@The Brayster
@Nocren
With that all squared away, I'll spring back over here and make a scene in a bit.
I kinda want to combine all 3 for Sara, though that would require some editing...
If not I'll pick one.
Also, should we do it all post-by-post, or kinda play things out in PMs then post it here so it's a little more readable?
SO, if you want, you can kind of weave them in and reference and foreshadow and all that happy literary blah blah crap - but aim to only really highlight a problem brought on by one of the Obstacles per scene.
As for format: I figured play by post is the most straight forward. One person frames the scene, specific others respond, and play with an eye to wrap it up quickly, then move on to the next player's scene.
Action!
Dennis fumbled with the wine - bottle in his left hand, corkscrew in his tightly-mummified right hand - and waved off any attempts to take it from him, for a good and l o n g 30 seconds. When he finally did surrender, it was with a wincing face and sharply inhaled breath through his teeth as he handed the bottle and screw off to Josh. "Ouch-! Here, wouldya take these, babe?"
Massaging his gauze-and-taped palm with the other hand, Dennis winced and had to wonder if that stain was blood or the sauce from Josh's dinner. It was probably fine, whatever it was, and so he didn't concern himself about it. Instead, shouting from the tight kitchen into the next room at Gwen, Dennis asked: "You'll have a glass, right? You have to - we're celebrating tonight!" All grins and smiles, he collects three wine glasses from the cupboard before gliding into the earth-tone and DIY-decorated sitting room, shining with enthusiasm.
"My piece, the one that's been driving me absolutely *crazy* the past six months? I did it! I've broken through my creative block, and I'm just - I don't know - just *vomiting* notes all over the page, it's just happening, and it's incredible. I think I've really, really got something here."
And Dennis' eyes, Gwen, keep darting from you to his violin case sitting in a chair in the corner of the room, practically begging to be begged to play.
I can't wait to hear what you've got Dennis! I've been looking forward to this. I really felt you were building up to something beautiful before.
Gwen is all smiles and encouragement to Dennis, despite his hand and oblivious to Josh's looks of anger and pleading.
"I get that you're excited Dennis, but come on!"
Josh takes a deep sigh.
"That hand is getting worse and you know it. Don't damage yourself for no reason"
PSN: TheBrayster_92
Gwen takes a long sip from her wine glass.
"Really Josh, you dot over him like a mother."
"Josh, sweetie, my hand is doing fine, it's getting better--" And Dennis hesitates to unlatch the case. It's just one song; one piece of song, in fact! Not a full routine, so he'll be fine, right? Right.
Geth roll 1d6
"--honest. I'm doing better. I just... Its important to me, Josh. I want you both to hear it."
Dennis undoes the latches, flips the case open, and pulls out the violin. He stands up from where he was crouching before, turns on his heels with grace and professionalism to face Josh and Gwen. And draws the bow across the strings. He plays for only a minute or two, teasing the most recent addition he's made to his composition - before his hand spasms.
It spasms and the violin slips from his grip; he has to catch it with his offhand, clumsily mashing it against his chest and racing it to the floor. And on the neck of the instrument, facing Josh and Gwen, a smear of red matching the stain pooling in Dennis' wrapped palm.
@Grunt's Ghosts is next up to run a scene, unless someone else has an idea for one right this instant.
45, 48, 51, 56, 61... Alice and Trisha count their tips after the dinner closes. It was a busy day, yet those assholes tipped light, if they bothered to tip at all. Alice had already burned through her karaoke winnings from last weekend and she still had lights to pay. Alice sung one of her favorite songs that night, "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" by Pat Benatar and blew out some drunk girl trying to ad-lib her way through "Anaconda" by Nicki Minaj. That $200 prize lasted long enough to get her rent paid. "So America's Got Talent is doing auditions again this week. I'm going to get it this time. They got rid of that British ass who said I sounded like a dying canary. I still can't believe that when Christina Aguilera said I was one of the best she'd heard on the show, ever!"
"Listen hon, I want you on that show this year, but I think you need to listen to both of them. You've got talent and you draw people in. Hell, I ain't seen no one work a crowd like you while keeping her clothes on, but honey, you can't hit those high notes. Look, my cousin has a little studio he rents out, he knows people... They can get you so that can sign your heart out."
Alice is obviously upset about what her friend said about needing lessons.
"Plus, maybe you can cut a deal with him and put out a single or something?"
Trisha writes down a number on her order pad and hands it to Alice then goes back to rolling silverware.
"Just talk to Daryl and see what he has to say. I would rather you go on the show fully prepared then just winging it. Besides, if you show improvement since the last time they saw you, the judges might be a bit more sympathetic and give you a shot."
Alice looks at the number and shrugs. "Fine, I'll go check him out. Can't hurt me anymore then I'm already hurting." Alice says as she gathers the money from the tips and splits it with Trisha. "But I'm still not blowing a rapper."
(OOC: I believe that's it for the scene. Alice over came her Obstacle and will see this Daryl guy soon for lessons. Does she get a new Obstacle to replace her old one now?)