As someone that ALWAYS GETS HER PERP, I, the detective, am here to teach you some tips and tricks to make sure the right sus with a mo gets thrown in the slammer. Note: most of these tips and suggestions work best with established or competitive groups, as being a detective can come off extremely sus. Being sus on any level in pub games is an airlock out. So know who you’re playing with.
I’ve been thinking of new ways to play 5e(or pretty much any game with a handful of bestiaries like Pathfinder) and I would like to propose a new set of rules for your scrutiny!
Here’s the basic idea: you don’t play classes or anything like that. Instead, you play exclusively as the creatures you find in the Monster Manual / Tome of Foes / Guide to Monsters / anywhere else you can find a creature. How it works is that you play as ‘Shifters’ or ‘Changelings’ or literally any being you think of that can completely change its form.
You start off with a limited number of forms but eventually grow into someone capable of changing into more forms than a druid can ever imagine. For the purposes of this write up I’ll be using the term ‘shifters.’
As you might know, if you’ve been following my recent burst of Umineko content, I wrote a gameboard/forgery for Umineko titled ‡Figments of the Golden Witch‡.
In this time I’ve received a lot of great theories! I’ve been extremely pleased to see folks attempt at it despite not being able to give everyone a Red-Blue Truth battle as they might like. That sort of privilege I’ve only given to the beta testers. If you’re interested in beta testing my next game, let me know in the comments! I just might invite you to try it next time~
That said, with that under the way, you might also know that I still want to make this mystery a downright NIGHTMARE for all you would-be witch hunters out there. Can’t let you have your easy victories without a fair fight. So, in lieu of the Red-Blue Truth battles you might see in Umineko, I’ve come up with this ‘Red Bomb’ system where I just post up additional red to shut down the more outrageous or remarkably clean theories I’ve received thus far! I hope this forces you all to rethink your various truths~
So I’m rereading Twilight and I’m getting more invested in this theory of Lambda being an expy for the reader’s role.
What do I mean by this?
Note: this write-up has a LOT of spoilers and most certainly answers to a large portion of Umineko’s major mysteries. PLEASE BE ADVISED. DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU HAVE NOT COMPLETED THE SERIES.
Welcome back to Rokkenjima. Those that chase the witch
have come to usurp the gameboard, all to rip it apart
and play with its pieces.
Are you fully rested? Have you eaten well? A shame.
You might as well throw it all up as all you’ve eaten
till now has turned to ash within your stomach.
Can you pierce the illusion of an island of lies and deceit?
The difficulty level is extreme.
Even then, you’re at a disadvantage.
Provide a challenge won’t you?
Thank you for coming! Welcome to my gameboard. I know I’m a bit past the Umineko heyday but I believe that so long as you’re willing to write one, no Umineko fan will turn down a challenge. I plan to give this the old “Question Arc treatment” where I will not give a definitive answer to what actually occurs here. What I will offer are what I call ‘Red Bombs’ or ‘Red Supply Drops’ where I will give additional Red Truths based on theories I see that have formed. Furthermore I’d also like to add to a list/future post a series of satisfactory theories on the gameboard.
Welcome back to Rokkenjima. Those that chase the witch have come to challenge the territory lord, reversing the laws of cause and effect.
Have you eaten well? Are you well rested?
You might as well as throw it all up as the meals you’ve had till now have turned to ash within your stomach.
Can you pierce the illusion of an island of lies and deceit?
The difficulty level is hard.
You even have a handicap.
Provide a challenge won’t you?
It might come to no surprise to anyone to know that I am a fan of Umineko: When the Seagull’s Cry. It’s a series that’s shaped and formed me for nearly a decade and has been a major factor in improving my critical thinking. So I wanted to perhaps give back to it a little bit.
Umineko 7: Requiem of the Golden Witch features a character, Willard H. Wright, that uses Van Dine’s 20 Rules. If you know anything about Will it’s that he’s kind of over using Van Dine’s 20 because they were particularly brutal and rigid. Of the 20, only 6 are ever really used by Will in the story (1, 7, 8, 11, 12, and 16). Umineko does a retelling/paraphrasing of Knox’s Commandments and Van Dine’s Rules in order to make it fit more in the story. It shortens them and makes them more punchy in order for them to be used.
Much like how I attempted to resolve Knox’s 5th Commandments, I want to do the same for the rest Van Dine’s 20… Just minus the accompanying essay for each decision. :3c
You can find another modernized take of Van Dine’s 20 Rules here: [S.S. Van Dine’s 20 Rules]. You can also find the original rules here: [Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories].
You create a line of sticky silk, joining two distant objects or surfaces together. This thread is strong enough to handle 200lbs of weight if climbed on. [1 AP]
The silk can handle an additional 100lbs per 1 AP used. [+x AP]
You fire a series of webbing capable of ensnaring a foe. If targeting a creature with this, Roll the Dice.
11-20. You successfully entangle your target, leaving them unable to move unless they succeed at freeing themselves on their turn.
6-10. You partially entangle them, preventing them from leaving the scene, but they may still move around and act.
2-5. You fail to entangle anyone.
1. You become entangled in the webbing instead. You or another creature may free you with an action on your turn.
[2 AP]
You’re able to freely walk and run on silk webs and threading you make, ignoring weight limitations or the stickiness so long as you have not been personally entangled in it. This also partially ignores gravity, allowing you to run along it even when upside-down.
You imagine an object and spin a solid construct of it into existence. When you create this object you may choose as to whether or not it is sticky. You may spin into existance an object no larger than a watermelon. [1 AP]
The item cannot be larger than an elephant and it can hold up to 300lbs of weight. [3 AP]
When you create any sort of threading, its strength becomes that of stone and can no longer be broken with cutting tools or weaponry. It can hold an additional 300lbs of weight. [+2 AP]
You’re able to attack enemies at a distance, as well as grab items or objects within range and pull them to you. The snappy motions makes it difficult to finely manipulate objects.
You fully shift your form, taking a different appearance until you drop the Guise. You may mimic the form of someone you’ve seen before, or choose 3 of the following changes per shift: taller up to 2 feet, shorter up to 2 feet, skin tone, add or remove 1 limb(including tails or tentacles), increase weight up to 100lbs, decrease weight up to 100lbs, facial details(lips/nose/brow etc), eye color, hair color, hair length, primary or secondary sexual characteristics.
This change is permanent until purposefully dropped or another form is taken. Being knocked out, killed, or in a zone of anti-magic also doesn’t drop it. You may also drop the Guise without paying additional AP. [2 AP]
You grow wings and are capable of flight for 24-hours. The form of these wings can be from whatever flying creature you’ve seen. You can fly as fast as you can run without getting tired. Taking 4-or-more damage at once damages the wings and you lose the ability to fly. [3 AP]
You fully shift your form, applying deadly and nightmarish traits onto your body. This change might be an enlarged mouth and teeth for biting, deadly scythe bladed arms, sharpened antlers for charging, hooves for trampling, spider legs for piercing, or anything else you can imagine. Your basic attacks deal 6 damage and you may attack twice for up to 1-hour. [6 AP]
