Another Interest Gauging Thread - Dungeons and Wolfeudos?

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So, ever since I decided I needed a break from wolf, I wanted to try and find a game I could somewhat create from scratch taking on similarities to our forum hits of wolf and D&D while putting aside any concept of working AGAINST each other and instead working together towards a common goal, thus taking out true deception of wolf, that I don't care for. My immediate thought was in the form of a Clue style game.

Bare with me, it's still a VERY raw concept.

So, I took to Chat GPT to help me flesh out a concept, and I have the rough draft of an idea I think we may be able to pull off. I don't want to put a ton of effort in, though, if no one is going to be interested.

The idea combines aspects of Wolf, D&D and Clue in a social deduction game.

You will all be invited to a location/mansion. But things go awry immediately as there has been a murder. (The first murdered person is a Mr. Body type, an NPC if you will; while I will take on the role of a caretaker/narrator in the ilk of Wadsworth.) You all take on roles within the game. These roles will all have relevant powers within the game itself (like wolf). Unlike Clue, however, no one will get any clue cards to start the game. You will all start with zero knowledge of the killer, the weapon or the room. It is your collective job to work together (like D&D) solve the mystery of WHO the murderer is, WHAT the weapon is and WHERE the murders are taking place. The murderer WILL come from the group of players, like clue, but the killer WILL NOT KNOW WHO THEY ARE.

Observant people will note that is plural and not past tense.

The game will take place in multiple phases:

Suggestion Phase - You will be able to work independently. You are free to roam around the mansion and investigate rooms, using Suggestion Phase powers and searching for clues, if your role allows it. During this time, you will each, like Clue, be able to secretly make a Suggestion to me, choosing a person, weapon and location. Provided one of the three things you've guessed are incorrect, I will reveal ONE incorrect piece of evidence for you to cross off your clue sheets. The information obtained in this phase are private and you can choose what and to whom you want to reveal this information to.

Discussion Phase - You all will come together to discuss findings and and (possibly) share clues. At the end of this phase, you will come to a consensus and VOTE as a team on a person, weapon and location. Similar to above, provided at least one piece of evidence is incorrect, I will reveal to the ENTIRE group the contradictory evidence.

Night Phase - This is a short phase when you all return to your rooms. Some roles may have abilities that work during this time. During this phase, at RANDOM, one of the group will be murdered. The only person immune is the killer him/herself, but they will not know who they are, nor will they have input on the person killed. The murdered person will get access to a dead thread, and can continue to play along with the game, but will no longer be able to use powers or participate in the Discussion Phase.

Accusation Phase - When a player thinks they have the solution, they are able to message me and the next Suggestion Phase becomes an Accusation Phase instead. At this time, the player who called for the Accusation Phase will present his/her solution to the group. If they are correct, that player independently wins the game! If they are wrong, they are effectively banned from participating in future Suggestion/Team/Discussion/Accusation phases. They will still be able to be killed, but no longer can affect the outcome of the game. Unless they are killed during a Night Phase, they will not have access to the dead thread and cannot participate in votes or discussions, and cannot investigate. The murderer, like in Clue, can also participate in this phase and can win independently, just as any other player.

Team Accusation Phase - Nearly identical as above, but this can occur during the discussion phase. The remaining group can vote to have the Team Accusation Phase. Once enough votes occur, the Discussion Phase will end and the Team Accusation Phase will begin. As above, the GROUP will present their Accusation. If they are right, the investigators win! If they are wrong, the murderer wins!

Revelation Phase (Maybe) - After a certain amount of in game time has elapsed, this Phase automatically triggers and the group must submit their final accusation. If they are right, investigators win. If they are wrong, the murderer wins. I haven't decided on this yet, but I am thinking this may be a phase I implement if a certain number of people remain, because the less people there are the easier the solution becomes.

Like I said, this is a really rough draft, but if enough people show interest in this, I'll start concocting logistics.
 
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Lmao, leave it to you to be the first person to respond... the one with an aversity to reading :rofl
I actually just read it. I think you can probably condense the number of phases, but I like the idea a lot. Especially with the killer not knowing they are the killer and the dead being chosen/created at random
 
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I actually just read it. I think you can probably condense the number of phases, but I like the idea a lot. Especially with the killer not knowing they are the killer and the dead being chosen/created at random
The phases sort of intertwine. There is ostensibly only three. The others will replace phases when conditions are met.
 
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I think it's interesting, but I'm curious what the actual gameplay will be like. Will it just be random guesswork like Clue or will the mansion have clues that will point to certain people/objects/etc? I assume everyone will be assigned specific characters and there might be some light roleplay aspect along with the investigating of rooms and whatnot, but since you mentioned D&D, will people have skills or stats that they use at all?

Not sure if you've played it or not, but this reminds me a bit of the game Betrayal at House on the Hill as well. You have several characters with different stats exploring a haunted house, collecting items, and falling victim to random events. And while there's no objective for the first half of the game, eventually The Haunt begins and someone is revealed as the Traitor. The traitor will have a story-based objective they have to complete while the innocents all have to stop them. Might be something worth checking out if you haven't figured everything out yet.
 
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I think it's interesting, but I'm curious what the actual gameplay will be like. Will it just be random guesswork like Clue or will the mansion have clues that will point to certain people/objects/etc? I assume everyone will be assigned specific characters and there might be some light roleplay aspect along with the investigating of rooms and whatnot, but since you mentioned D&D, will people have skills or stats that they use at all?
As mentioned, I haven't fully fleshed it out, and unless there is interest where we could get a good chunk of players I won't waste my time, but yes, I've tossed around the ideas of clues in certain rooms, and making it a little narrative driven, hence it being like D&D.

Each player will take on yet to be created roles, yes. And each role should have some power to help them deduce SOMETHING. I'm thinking that certain roles may be more apt to find certain evidence. Like, a maid role may be better at discovering certain things about a room. A psychologist may be better at identifying the killer, etc. I'm just making those up on the fly. I haven't put too much thought into roles yet.

The first supporting idea Chat GPT had involved a group of saboteurs working against the team trying to identify the evidence, but I didn't want to do that because then it's just wolf in Clue's clothing. So, it helped me find a way to make it everyone working together. However, if this takes off, making a saboteur role in the way of an ADDITIONAL thing to figure out is something I'd be interested in. But like the killer, they'd be unaware of their role and what would happen would happen randomly.

I have HEARD of Betrayal at Hill House and always wanted to play, but my family is not big on board games and the people I do play them with I see maybe twice a year. I'll check out the concepts though and see if I can use any of it!
 

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Skimmed everything, but it's interesting. I've thought of running a wolf game with dice-rolls determining some random outcomes, but didn't flesh it out any. This could be a better application of "do you find the clue or not", etc.

I'd play, though.
 
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I'm not sure I like the killer not knowing who they are. It's basically random if the killer or everybody else wins, because the killer will be unwittingly helping their opponents.

Maybe instead, the group needs to find the answer within so many phases? So everyone wins or loses together.

Either way, I'd play just to see how it goes.
 
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I'm not sure I like the killer not knowing who they are. It's basically random if the killer or everybody else wins, because the killer will be unwittingly helping their opponents.

Maybe instead, the group needs to find the answer within so many phases? So everyone wins or loses together.

Either way, I'd play just to see how it goes.
Hmm, interesting. How would you feel then if all of the "suspects" were essentially NPCs then? And the goal would be to identify the killer, but you each are working independently to solve the murder. As opposed to identifying which of you is the killer?
 
Hmm, interesting. How would you feel then if all of the "suspects" were essentially NPCs then? And the goal would be to identify the killer, but you each are working independently to solve the murder. As opposed to identifying which of you is the killer?
This sounds interesting. Would this end up being a "play against the house" kind of game where either the team wins (minus people who tried to win on their own) or the game does?
 
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This sounds interesting. Would this end up being a "play against the house" kind of game where either the team wins (minus people who tried to win on their own) or the game does?

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This sounds interesting. Would this end up being a "play against the house" kind of game where either the team wins (minus people who tried to win on their own) or the game does?
Kind of, yeah. Or it could be every man for himself more where you learn info on your own except for the group learning. Could be a way to drop phases too. Shorten the game a bit?
 
I mean it sounds like a role playing ish version of Clue. And that sounds like a very fun game to play.
Wait is that what this is?

I was going to probably eventually read this (unlike the last one! lol) but that's totally unnecessary now.

Put me in!

It was definitely Mark in the Galley with the Bong. But in his defense, whoever he killed definitely had it coming.
 
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