At Concrete Cow, we playtested A Taste For Murder (the latest title of my murder mystery game). A good group of players: Scott, Robin, Jag, Mark and myself.

The mechanics are pretty solid, now, and there's little I'll change mechanically as a result of the playtest. There were difficult patches, with some Influence and Mystery Scenes floundering, which needs better guidance. Also, a couple of problems with how to make a relationship more sinister.

I have pages of notes! More accurately, I have a well-annotated printed set of rules. Here are my scribbles from during the game, expanded as I think about the game.

1. We had, as a starting relationship, "Secretly they have the same father". The "secretly", in that, doesn't work. I'll specifically state that starting relationships are known to all.

2. Influence scenes sometimes dragged, without pushing to a conflict. So more guidance is needed:

a. If you're the Protagonist, you need to keep pushing to get them to do something they don't want to do.
b. State it directly: "I want you to..." or "I want your character to..."
c. Make it simple. Not "This conflict is about whether you feel remorse about the blah blah blah" or "I want you to give me half the estate in the eventuality you inherit it" or "We know X is going to happen, but this is about whether you help me". It's "I want you to break down in tears", "I want you to sign this paper" or "Here's a knife, kill that dog".
d. When the Target agrees to do something, it sometimes causes problems: "Kill that dog!"; "Sure!". However, it sometimes causes the Protagonist to think of something even worse to get them to do. I'm not sure quite how to handle this.
e. As the Target, you eventually need to say no to something. That will cause the conflict.
f. The other players need to direct from the outside, looking for conflicts and bringing the scene to an end. They can make suggestions, too, or prompt with lines.

3. Similarly, Mystery Scenes sometimes floundered, so they need more guidance, too:

a. If you're the Protagonist, you need to ask about the Target's relationship with the Victim.
b. Many Protagonists did this indirectly ("So, I gather there was an indiscretion with you and your father? Something you'd like to keep quiet, hmm?"). That's fine, but, eventually, the Protagonist must put the question which will expose the truth:

• But that's not the whole truth, is it?
• Tell me the real story.
• But there was more to it than that, wasn't there?
• What do these documents say?
• There's something you're not telling me, isn't there?

That's the conflict.

c. The Protagonist mustn't suggest things: "But you were secretly having an affair with your brother, weren't you?". Just put the question.

4. Often, group scenes end with everyone in different locations. This Is Fine. But it can be good for everyone to return to the Group Scene, too.

5. Also, more guidance on Group Scenes is needed, especially after returning to a Group Scene from an Influence Scene. Something like: say whatever you'd naturally say. "Pass the salt." "Is there any more tea?"

6. The die table that randomly decides the next Group Scene doesn't work: it gave results that didn't fit (too many meals, things occurring in the wrong order). Not quite sure what I'll do, there. However, the new Weather Table is lovely.

7. Making up details about how the murder happened is fine.

8. As relationships get more fucked up, it's important not to worry too much about the details: "But how would I know...?". It sorts itself out. A couple of plot holes are fine.

9. It seems helpful, in Side Scenes, to go into new rooms you haven't entered before. I need a list of appropriate rooms. Setting a scene in "The Gallery" or "The Conservatory" can bring it to life.

10. You can ask for the Black and White Dice, if you think you deserve them.

11. Inspector Chapel needs a bit of guidance about entering scenes. It's fun when he does, but it mustn't divert the scene. It still needs to drive towards a conflict.

12. Sometimes, something will be decided in a conflict ("I want you to remain within the house for the next week!") that is contradicted in a later conflict ("I want you to leave! Now!"). The later conflict takes precedence.

13. Similarly, sometimes a revelation about a relationship ("And you are carrying your father's child!") will be contradicted by a later revelation ("But, unknown to him, it's really your uncle's child!"). This Is Fine.

14. With setting stakes in Influence Scenes, a bit of deprotagonisation guidance is needed. You can set stakes like "I demand you leave the house!", but it's understood it won't happen immediately (there will be time to pack).

15. Also, when setting stakes, don't worry too much about advancing the story. Some characters were pushing towards an occult ritual being performed. That's fine, if it happens, but not necessary. The game does the plot for you: it's about relationships being revealed. Often, "I want you to break down in tears" is better than something that would "advance the plot".

16. An interesting bit of feedback that contradicted feedback from an earlier playtest. Players said how much they liked the physicality of using actual dice and relationship sheets. When I asked whether they'd prefer to mark numbers on character sheets, using less dice, they said no; also, when I asked whether there were too many relationship sheets at the start, they said no. I'll give both options in the rules text.

17. Some players complained about tokenistic incorporations to get the Black and White Dice: for example, gratuitously smashing things to get the Black Die for Wanton Destruction. Personally, I quite like this, but I'll keep an eye on it. The question is, really, whether you can refuse to award the Black and White Dice because you thought it was a gratuitous thing.

So there we go. It's a solid ruleset, with lots of guidance and explanation needed. It's nice we're at the stage where I'm worrying about guidance.

Graham

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