Murder Most Foul (SECOND WANDER PHASE OPEN)

Started by Mandle, Mon 10/09/2018 15:07:06

Previous topic - Next topic

Stupot

Hank Fellowes

//Drains his drink. Then puts his head in his hands, shakes his head. Looks at the dead body again. Slumps back in chair and takes a deep breath

“Nnggghhh”

Kastchey

Penelope Lancaster
//Dashes out of the dining room, slams the door to a room nearby

Edit: Leaving the room approved by Mandle. Edit upon Mandle's request

Riaise

Mary Dorsey

//While pouring a glass of water from a jug on the table, she watches as Penelope flees the room, then places the almost overflowing glass in front of Penelope's empty seat.

I do hope Miss Penelope is all right... I feel I should go and check on her, but perhaps it would be best to let her have a few moments to herself?

Kastchey

Penelope Lancaster
//Returns to the room a few minutes later, pale and shaky. Takes the glass of water Mary left on the table and tries to sip it, spilling half of the contents.

T-thank you, Mary.

Mandle

GAME HOST NOTE: As the players all know, I'm way too busy right now concentrating on work to get the Chronicle Of Innsmouth: Mountains Of Madness demo ready for a fast-approaching deadline. I should have time on Wednesday this week to get the next phase of Murder Most Foul running. Thanks for the patience.

In the meanwhile you can check out some gorgeous screenshots in the Games In Production thread. Some of which I hadn't even seen yet!

Mandle

#85
THE INVESTIGATION BEGINS.

Spoiler

MURDER MOST FOUL
EPISODE #1:   A GOOD VINTAGE GONE BAD

The Time:   Evening, September 17th, 1921.
The Location:   Lancaster Manor, New England, USA.



The Situation:   
The stunned shock wears off and everyone starts throwing out options about what to do.

Several opinions state the obvious that the authorities should be contacted but Penelope Lancaster points out that, during such brutal Altantic weather, the Manor is cut off from the town of Applewick due to the flooding caused by storm-surges rushing in through the lower gullies, over-topping even the bridges.

As yet another volley of lightning and thunder crashes around the Manor, everyone realizes that there will be no outside help until sometime tomorrow.

It is up to them all to make the best of the situation until then, and maybe the crime can even be solved in the meanwhile...


Spoiler

The Guest List:








Angelica Crosley is a local writer, based in Applewick, but of nationwide reknown. She writes mystery novels, or at least tries to while avoiding autograph hunters on her way to buy the groceries.

Angelica is amused that a hand-delivered invitation has arrived at her door and expects an evening of staged entertainment to rival such novels of hers as:

"And Then There Were Nine." and "The Murder Of Dan Ackroyd".

Angelica is really looking forward to this dinner at Lancaster Manor!

Let the entertainment commence!
Benny Green is an ex-cop from New York City who moved to Applewick four years ago after having been discharged from the force on charges of corruption.

He now runs a disreputable P.I. business out of a shady upstairs office where mostly those with doubts about their spouse's fidelity tread.

Why a low-life like Benny was even considered on the list of guests to such an upper-class event is a mystery in and of itself to the other attendants.

Or is it...?
Dr. Gerald Killmurray is the only doctor in Applewick with the full credentials of actually holding a license to practice medicine.

Gerald is getting a bit on in years and his memory isn't quite what it used to be...

Not by a long shot...

He still recalls all of his medical training from his younger years but has a spot of trouble remembering, at times, exactly who the patient he is currently seeing is, and also remembering to turn up at dinners he is invited to.

However, he has written this one down and shows up on the right date...
Madame Sky, as she is now known as after having legally changed her name, is a self-acclaimed psychic.

The Great War was followed by a boom in the public interest of occult and psychic phenomena and there are just as many in Applewick that feel the Madame is a fraud, riding the wave of that interest, as there are those who believe in her "abilities".

Her past is a mystery, having arrived in town and set up shop only about two years ago. "Madame Sky's Emporium Of Arcane Wisdom" also had the wisdom, it seems, to provide an extra, and convenient, back-door entrance for those who were too shy to enter through the front door.
Ret. Col. Maximus Burnes is a heavily decorated colonel and a hero of The Great War, now retired.

The entire nation knows of his descisive, but ultimately tragic, charge against the Hun, which casued enough disruption in its wake to open the way for the enemy front to break and the Battle Of Hummenberg Province to be won.

The same nation grieved over the news that Colonel Burnes was the only soldier recovered alive from the battle and that he was pulled out from amongst the bodies of fallen comrades-in-arms kicking, and screaming out to bring them all back with him... Even though this was impossible and their final battlefield remains their graves to this day.
Graham Harlington wandered into Applewick perhaps somewhere around three years ago, mostly under everyone's radar.

Little is known of the man, except that he has been civil and polite within Applewick society, if a tad twitchy now and then, and, despite his ragged appearance, seems more than able to support himself financially. He bought a property and modest house on the outskirts of town where he lives alone. He is seen in town now and then taking meals at "The Applewick Cafe And Grill" and otherwise shopping for groceries in the normal fashion.

Mr. Harlington, however, has never seemed motivated to establish much of a social relationship with his new home of Applewick and, in turn, Applewick has neither sought such from him.

It's a bit of mystery, therefore, why he would be invited to a dinner at Lancaster Manor.

The Manor Occupants:





Penelope Lancaster, the sole offspring of James and April Lancaster, inherited the Lancaster fortune when her parents died in a yachting accident just over a year ago.

She also inherited the family debt.

Forced to sell off most of the Lancaster estates and business ventures, Penelope now lives at the family's old country retreat, albiet quite comfortably for a young unmarried woman.

She has kept on only two of the staff from the old days: Mary Dorsey, the maid who rose to Head Of Service, and Hank Fellows, the best of the groundsmen.
Mary Dorsey is the last remaining service staff of Lancaster Manor.

She has been employed at the manor for a little over a year, during which time her drive to provide the best possible cleaning and service both terrified the other staff and propelled her to the position of Head Of Service well ahead of male butlers and other maids who had been with the family for, in some cases, a decade or more longer than herself.

When the yachting disaster struck, killing Penelope's parents, and most of the Lancaster family empire collapsed, Mary was chosen to remain at the manor by Penelope, the Lancaster heir.
Hank Fellows, born a deaf-mute, is the remaining groundskeeper at the Lancaster Manor.

Despite no formal education, he has learned to lipread at an intuitive level and can understand what is being said, even during complex conversations.

He cannot, however, communicate except through gesturing and facial expressions.

Perhaps this is what grants Hank the greenest of thumbs in his gardening duties:

His immobile "friends" in the garden having similar limitations?
[close]
[close]
Player Character List:

VampireWombat is Dr. Gerald Killmurray, the town doctor.
CaptainD is Benny Green, the local PI.
tzachs is Madame Sky, the local psychic.
Riaise is Mary Dorsey, the Manor maid.
dayowlron is Ret. Col. Maximus Burnes, retired WWI vet.
cat is Angelica Crosley, local mystery writer.
Kastchey is Penelope Lancaster, the Manor owner.
Stupot is Hank Fellows, the Manor groundsman.
Mandle is Graham Harlington, the town loner.

WANDER PHASE!!! ONLY PMS TO GAME HOST PLEASE!!!

FIRST WANDER PHASE OPEN

The start of the first Wander Phase is now open.

At this time only the Manor rooms directly accessible from either the Dining Room or the Entryway are available for investigation. More options of rooms to go to will be available after the start of this phase has been resolved.

During this start of the Wander Phase each guest may PM to the game host which room they are going to in this fashion:

QuoteGo to >room name<

One other movement option available is:

QuoteFollow >character name<

This would land you in the same room as the followed character. The followed player may or may not be aware they were followed depending on which character they and you are playing and a random dice roll. If they are not aware of having been followed it will only appear as if you happened to choose the same room by coincidence, otherwise they will be notified via game host PM that they were deliberately followed by you.

The next step is to PM the game host with whatever action you may wish to perform in that room.

For example, some basic ones are:

QuoteSearch >hotspot<

or

QuoteHide >item< in >hotspot<

Note that a character hiding an item in a certain location will only appear to the other players present in the same room as if they were searching that location.

More in-depth searching/hiding gameplay will be available to players in the second half of this Wander Phase, as will more movement options and also private interaction options between players that find themselves in the same room together.

For now, here are the available rooms players can move to and perform a secondary Search/Hide action in:

NOTE THAT ALL MOVE, SEARCH, AND HIDE ACTIONS MUST BE ONLY SENT VIA PM TO THE GAME HOST AND MUST NOT BE MENTIONED IN THE THREAD!

AVAILABLE LOCATIONS:
Spoiler

DINING ROOM
Location: The dining room is a long rectangular room, running west to east, with an impressive dining table down the middle. The dining table is surrounded by chairs and is decked out with beautful flatware, silverware, condiment trays, and candelabras. There is a fireplace at one end but it is inoperative due to modern steampipe-heating having been installed throughout the Manor some years before. There is a glass case full of china ornaments, trophies, and other nicknacks against the south wall, between several high, curtained windows. An impressive wallnut dining-room cabinet lies against the north wall.

Graham Harlington slumps dead in his chair, face-down in the smashed chinaware he will now never eat off of. Foam bubbles from his mouth into the pool already soaking into the fine linen tablecloth.

Hotspots: Glass Case, Cabinet, Fireplace, Dead Body.

Exits: North to Kitchen, East to Entryway.



KITCHEN
Location: The kitchen of Lancaster Manor has an expansive island counter for the preperation of food, overhung by racks of pots, pans, and cooking utensils. Ranging around the available wall-space are units of lower drawers and upper cabinets. An oven complete with a brass-hooded chimney-flume above it sits against the west wall. On the east wall lies the door leading down to the cellar. A door to the back yard is set into the north wall, and the door to the dining room lies south.

Hotspots: Drawers, Cabinets, Oven.

Exits: North to Back Yard, Down to Cellar, South to Dining Room.



ENTRYWAY
Location: The entryway to Lancaster Manor is paved with a diamond-shaped checkerboard pattern of black and white tiles. The walls are of deeply, and expertly, stained oak. A sizable wrought-iron and crystal chandelier hangs over the center of the room. A staircase leads up to the second floor along the eastern wall, on the side of which is a storage closet door. Next to the impressive main door to the south is a rack of coat-hooks from which all the guests' overcoats hang. To the north is a door marked with a sign reading "W.C." and to the east an open archway leads into the parlour. A door to the west leads to the dining room.

Hotspots: Storage Closet, Coat Rack (If searching and/or hiding in coat rack then a particular guest's coat must be specified).

Exits: North to W.C., East to Parlour, South to Front Yard, West to Dining Room, Up to Second Floor.



W.C.
Location: The W.C. of Lancaster Manor is a spotless yet tiny room, ensconced tastefully next to the staircase of the entryway. Every surface gleams with cleanliness, from the polished brass tap fixtures over the china sink, to the gleaming toilet, and to the expensive-looking framed mirror. Under the sink is a cabinet. There is a small, wire trash can for the disposal of paper towels after hand-washing. The single door in the south wall leads to the entryway.

Hotspots: Sink Cabinet, Mirror, Trash Can.

Exits: South to Entryway.



PARLOUR
Location: The parlour of Lancaster Manor, draped all around with deep blue velvet hangings, is an intimate-feeling space despite its size. A lovely black harpsichord sits in the south-east corner. A gramophone on a delicate spider-like table lies in the south-west corner. A liquor cabinet presides over the north-west corner. And an elegant tea-table with four chairs lies in the center of the room. An open archway leads west to the entryway. A door leads north to the study.

Hotspots: Harpsichord, Gramophone, Liquor Cabinet, Tea-Table.

Exits: West to Entryway, North to Study.

[close]

Mandle

#86
INITIAL WANDER PHASE MOVEMENT

Initial Location: Dining Room.

Dr. Gerald Killmurray, the town doctor, exits east from the Dining Room, towards the Entryway.
Benny Green, the local PI, exits north from The Dining Room, towards the Kitchen.
Madame Sky, the local psychic, remains in the Dining Room.
Mary Dorsey, the Manor maid, exits north from The Dining Room, towards the Kitchen.
Ret. Col. Maximus Burnes, retired WWI vet, exits north from The Dining Room, towards the Kitchen.
Angelica Crosley, local mystery writer, remains in the Dining Room.
Penelope Lancaster, the Manor owner, exits east from the Dining Room, towards the Entryway.
Hank Fellows, the Manor groundsman, exits north from The Dining Room, towards the Kitchen.

These are the first movements made by all characters from the initial location of the Dining Room after the first Mingle Phase.

From here on in all movements and actions will only be visible to the players (via PM) and will not be visible in this thread.

This will continue until the next Mingle Phase opens to gather everyone back into the same room together.

UPDATE: Current game conditions have been sent to all players via PM. Awaiting all actions before moving on.

NO POSTING IN THREAD BY ANYONE UNTIL THEN PLEASE.

Mandle

GAME HOST NOTE:

All players should now be aware (via PM) that they have one last action available during this Wander Phase before everyone will regroup for a new Mingle Phase and may post and/or roleplay in the thread freely once again.

No movement is possible as spending a last action on a movement would be pointless, but during the next Wander Phase I will have a lot more time to GM it and more movement options will be possible, including moving to more than one room and also opening up as-yet unaccessable rooms.

The next Mingle Phase will open sometime between 12-24 hours from the time of this post, so get those last actions in while you can ;-)

STILL NO POSTING IN THE THREAD PLEASE

Mandle

#88
STOMACHS GROWL.

MURDER MOST FOUL
EPISODE #1:   A GOOD VINTAGE GONE BAD

The Time:   Nightfall, September 17th, 1921.
The Location:   Lancaster Manor, New England, USA.



The Situation:   
After a brief bout of wandering everyone realizes that they are getting quite a bit peckish, having not actually eaten any of the dinner they were supposed to be enjoying.

Gathering back in the Dining Room to pick at the plates of delicious, yet cooling, food that was to have been a pleasant and civilized dining experience, people look each other in the eye, or perhaps glance away, and the conversation begins with...

A CRASH OF THUNDER NEARBY OUTSIDE!!!


Spoiler

The Guest List:








Angelica Crosley is a local writer, based in Applewick, but of nationwide reknown. She writes mystery novels, or at least tries to while avoiding autograph hunters on her way to buy the groceries.

Angelica is amused that a hand-delivered invitation has arrived at her door and expects an evening of staged entertainment to rival such novels of hers as:

"And Then There Were Nine." and "The Murder Of Dan Ackroyd".

Angelica is really looking forward to this dinner at Lancaster Manor!

Let the entertainment commence!
Benny Green is an ex-cop from New York City who moved to Applewick four years ago after having been discharged from the force on charges of corruption.

He now runs a disreputable P.I. business out of a shady upstairs office where mostly those with doubts about their spouse's fidelity tread.

Why a low-life like Benny was even considered on the list of guests to such an upper-class event is a mystery in and of itself to the other attendants.

Or is it...?
Dr. Gerald Killmurray is the only doctor in Applewick with the full credentials of actually holding a license to practice medicine.

Gerald is getting a bit on in years and his memory isn't quite what it used to be...

Not by a long shot...

He still recalls all of his medical training from his younger years but has a spot of trouble remembering, at times, exactly who the patient he is currently seeing is, and also remembering to turn up at dinners he is invited to.

However, he has written this one down and shows up on the right date...
Madame Sky, as she is now known as after having legally changed her name, is a self-acclaimed psychic.

The Great War was followed by a boom in the public interest of occult and psychic phenomena and there are just as many in Applewick that feel the Madame is a fraud, riding the wave of that interest, as there are those who believe in her "abilities".

Her past is a mystery, having arrived in town and set up shop only about two years ago. "Madame Sky's Emporium Of Arcane Wisdom" also had the wisdom, it seems, to provide an extra, and convenient, back-door entrance for those who were too shy to enter through the front door.
Ret. Col. Maximus Burnes is a heavily decorated colonel and a hero of The Great War, now retired.

The entire nation knows of his descisive, but ultimately tragic, charge against the Hun, which casued enough disruption in its wake to open the way for the enemy front to break and the Battle Of Hummenberg Province to be won.

The same nation grieved over the news that Colonel Burnes was the only soldier recovered alive from the battle and that he was pulled out from amongst the bodies of fallen comrades-in-arms kicking, and screaming out to bring them all back with him... Even though this was impossible and their final battlefield remains their graves to this day.
Graham Harlington wandered into Applewick perhaps somewhere around three years ago, mostly under everyone's radar.

Little is known of the man, except that he has been civil and polite within Applewick society, if a tad twitchy now and then, and, despite his ragged appearance, seems more than able to support himself financially. He bought a property and modest house on the outskirts of town where he lives alone. He is seen in town now and then taking meals at "The Applewick Cafe And Grill" and otherwise shopping for groceries in the normal fashion.

Mr. Harlington, however, has never seemed motivated to establish much of a social relationship with his new home of Applewick and, in turn, Applewick has neither sought such from him.

It's a bit of mystery, therefore, why he would be invited to a dinner at Lancaster Manor.

The Manor Occupants:





Penelope Lancaster, the sole offspring of James and April Lancaster, inherited the Lancaster fortune when her parents died in a yachting accident just over a year ago.

She also inherited the family debt.

Forced to sell off most of the Lancaster estates and business ventures, Penelope now lives at the family's old country retreat, albiet quite comfortably for a young unmarried woman.

She has kept on only two of the staff from the old days: Mary Dorsey, the maid who rose to Head Of Service, and Hank Fellows, the best of the groundsmen.
Mary Dorsey is the last remaining service staff of Lancaster Manor.

She has been employed at the manor for a little over a year, during which time her drive to provide the best possible cleaning and service both terrified the other staff and propelled her to the position of Head Of Service well ahead of male butlers and other maids who had been with the family for, in some cases, a decade or more longer than herself.

When the yachting disaster struck, killing Penelope's parents, and most of the Lancaster family empire collapsed, Mary was chosen to remain at the manor by Penelope, the Lancaster heir.
Hank Fellows, born a deaf-mute, is the remaining groundskeeper at the Lancaster Manor.

Despite no formal education, he has learned to lipread at an intuitive level and can understand what is being said, even during complex conversations.

He cannot, however, communicate except through gesturing and facial expressions.

Perhaps this is what grants Hank the greenest of thumbs in his gardening duties:

His immobile "friends" in the garden having similar limitations?
[close]

Player Character List:

VampireWombat is Dr. Gerald Killmurray, the town doctor.
CaptainD is Benny Green, the local PI.
tzachs is Madame Sky, the local psychic.
Riaise is Mary Dorsey, the Manor maid.
dayowlron is Ret. Col. Maximus Burnes, retired WWI vet.
cat is Angelica Crosley, local mystery writer.
Kastchey is Penelope Lancaster, the Manor owner.
Stupot is Hank Fellows, the Manor groundsman.

SECOND MINGLE PHASE OPEN

The start of the second Mingle Phase is now open.

Everyone has gathered back into the Dining Room to eat some of the dinner that would go to waste except for the basic human need to either fuel our bodies or collapse.

Same rules as the previous Mingle Phase: All players may now talk openly by posting in the thread, and also may attempt any other action previously available, such as Examine >character<, Whisper >blah blah blah< to >character<  , or anything else they might like to try, via PM to myself, the Game Host.

AVAILABLE LOCATIONS:

DINING ROOM
Location: The dining room is a long rectangular room, running west to east, with an impressive dining table down the middle. The dining table is surrounded by chairs and is decked out with beautful flatware, silverware, condiment trays, and candelabras. There is a fireplace at one end but it is inoperative due to modern steampipe-heating having been installed throughout the Manor some years before. There is a glass case full of china ornaments, trophies, and other nicknacks against the south wall, between several high, curtained windows. An impressive wallnut dining-room cabinet lies against the north wall.

Graham Harlington slumps dead in his chair, face-down in the smashed chinaware he will now never eat off of. Foam bubbles from his mouth into the pool already soaking into the fine linen tablecloth.

Hotspots: Glass Case, Cabinet, Fireplace, Dead Body.


Mandle

To be clear:

SECOND MINGLE PHASE IS NOW OPEN AND PLAYERS MAY CONTINUE TALKING FREELY IN THE THREAD.

All characters are now back in the Dining Room to both eat and publicly discuss anything they wish.

cat

My dear doctor, it's good to see you back. I was sure that you, as a physician, would take a closer look at the body. But instead, you hurried to the Entryway. How come?

VampireWombat

Dr. Gerald Killmurray
E-entry room? Did I? As for the body... I-I don't generally deal with people who are already dead. I can tell you he is dead. Beyond that, I'd be unable to tell you a thing without the proper equipment. Most of which I don't have. The rare times I am in need of tests, I just send off the blood or other sample to a lab. D-do you want me to take a sample to send to a lab or something? I-I'm not sure that I could even legally do that without permission from the next of kin. A-actually I think if I even touched the body I would be breaking the law.
// Becomes clearly shaken up and eyes glaze over.

Kastchey

Penelope Lancaster
//Still pale but appears to have regained composure. Gaze fixed on the fireplace

I apologize for my earlier outburst, that must have looked... highly inappropriate. I had just... ah...
//Involuntarily glances at the body

Can someone-
no, the Doctor is probably right that we should not move the body until the authorities arrive, and given the weather that will not happen soon.
Mary... find something to cover him with, please. This is... so very, very disturbing.

Riaise

Mary Dorsey

Of course, ma'am.

//Finds an old tablecloth in the cabinet and drapes it over the body at arms length.

cat

Angelica Crosley

It seems we will have to wait some time until the weather calms down before we can either leave or contact the authorities.
I suggest that we try to find out what has happened here in the meantime.

Madame Sky: I saw that you investigated the crime scene. Did you notice anything suspicious? Or did you experience any premonitions, visions or other supernatural events?

Mandle

#95
Madame Sky steps forward and places her hand upon the head of the corpse under the tablecloth.

What happens as a result of this will now be sent to all players via PM.

EDIT: All PMs have now been sent. Regular Mingle Phase gameplay may now continue for all players except for any instructed otherwise.

DINING ROOM
Location: The dining room is a long rectangular room, running west to east, with an impressive dining table down the middle. The dining table is surrounded by chairs and is decked out with beautiful flatware, silverware, condiment trays, and candelabras. There is a fireplace at one end but it is inoperative due to modern steampipe-heating having been installed throughout the Manor some years before. There is a glass case full of china ornaments, trophies, and other knickknacks against the south wall, between several high, curtained windows. An impressive wallnut dining-room cabinet lies against the north wall.

Graham Harlington slumps dead in his chair, covered respectively with a fine linen tablecloth.

Madame Sky lies motionless on the floor next to the corpse's chair.

Hotspots: Glass Case, Cabinet, Fireplace, Dead Body, Collapsed form of Madame Sky.

Riaise

Mary Dorsey
//Frets around the collapsed Madame Sky.

Madame Sky! My goodness, how awful! Do you think there's anything we can do for her? Doctor, do have anything with you that may help? What on earth do you suppose she saw? What did she mean by "mud and blood"? Unless...

//Glances at Penelope and Hank.

VampireWombat

Dr. Gerald Killmurray
I-I don't think so. I don't have a medicine bag on me. Smelling salts would be best. But it's possible holding a bottle or rag soaked in strong alcohol near her face could wake her. I-I don't think I could do it myself. My hands are shaking too much.

cat

What a drama! I couldn't have written that better in one of my novels.

Mandle

Dr. Gerald Killmurray kneels beside Madame Sky and is examining her, taking her pulse, and checking her breathing and eyes.

Angelica Crosley whispers something to Mary Dorsey.


SMF spam blocked by CleanTalk