murder mechanics

[rearranger]

Hey all!

There's been some discussion about the consequences for murder, etc. Right now, a character suffers the pain of the victim, loses their powers, and then post-counselor visit loses one memory. But since it came up, I though it was worth revisiting since I still realize this doesn't feel like much of a consolation and unfortunately we can't have a 10 body pile up in which we all just keep killing each other (probably.)

I've also had it suggested by a couple people that they'd like a scapegoat mechanic - i.e. if a person is "caught" that didn't commit the crime, they can be subjected to murder consequences. This would be opt in and players would have no obligation.

Finally, I'm also looking at incentive to actually solve the murders since right now it's just for the deed well done. I've seen merit points and small items suggested as rewards, but I'd love to hear thoughts on this one since I've been struggling with it a bit.

So, I was hoping I could get some thoughts, ideas, etc, on how people feel about it and what they might like to see! I've got my own idea that I'll drop in the comments.

Comments

[decrypter]

When this was brought up in Discord, I had an idea that I still think can work in regards for changing the mechanics - by now it's commonly known that everyone's in the afterlife, why can't we lean into a karmic aspect in regards to all of this, and have consequences that don't just affect you, but affect your world? Good karma, bad karma, that sort of thing. The setting itself can become the "why" in regards to how things are shifting - souls being here for long enough, there could be an element of stagnation that needs to be countered. Speaking as someone who plays a character who'd need her hand forced to even consider murder, there could be grander incentives at play than just merits, though that is dipping more into the classic murdergame elements. Trials and temptations, that kind of thing.

My thought is this - there could be some murder incentives that affect one's world back home (or at the least, this is believed to be so). Killing and getting away with it gets you something that you really need or need to preserve, but getting caught comes with dire consequences - not only do you lose it, but your world suffers for it. Conversely, the student body is also held accountable - if they do nothing and let the murderer slip away without a solid effort, that counts as bad karma for them, and then they have to suffer something for it. Curses, bad dreams, setting status effects, etc.

Beyond that, a thought about murders as a whole: though I just talked about punishment on both sides, I think we should be able to have balance between the desire to solve and the desire to just get mileage out of the plot in any kind of way when it comes to a murder - but it's important that we know which type is the organizer's goal, so that it isn't stressful for people who want to solve it vs. people who are happy with however things unfold naturally.

Being told we were playing by Knox commandments was a huge help for the current murders, since that gives us a framework to solve in. It doesn't tip too much information, but it lets us OOCly understand that while ICly power check might happen, it's ultimately not factoring into the case at hand. As it is, I don't think we need to "win" or solve everything, but to stave off timecube the idea of multiple shorter meetings to reconvene might be better than having to backdate and constantly have people's CR in limbo.