Murder in the Dark

[Lunepelt]

All the birds of the air fell a-sighing and a-sobbing,
When they heard the bell toll for poor c**k Robin.

A young girl is killed during a masquerade party, 1889. No one knows why, or who did it. All they know is that the killer is still in the house, and they're not allowed out...
So, who killed c**k Robin?

Introduction;

A dark night in the middle of winter, 1889. A storm rages outside, one so fierce there is no way of leaving the manor, nor anyway of getting in. It's getting late, but the manor is alive with music and laughter. Isaac and Maud Baxter have thrown a grand party, and congratulations, you received an invitation. You have dusted off your best ballgown, or formal wear, had a brand new mask made to suit the masquerade theme, and come along, ready for a good night of gossip, or maybe just a free brandy with the other men. You never expected a girl to get murdered.

As you are listening to a riveting tale about something trivial, you hear a scream. The entire room goes quiet, and a few of the men go to find out what has happened while the women talk in hushed whispers, clutching at each other in the way that silly women often do.

The men find a young girl in one of the bedrooms. She is young, maybe 17, very pretty, in a lovely white dress. They identify her as Charlotte Robinson, one of the guests. She has several stab wounds to the chest. In the main room, the guests hear the news, and the police are phoned. Due to the storm, they can't make it out until the following morning, and none of the guests can leave. Everyone is locked in the manor.
You have to spend the night with a murderer.
Can you figure out who it is?
Is it you?

Rules;

Alrighty~

Basically, we have a murder on our hands, and you have to spend one night with this person, as a guest in the Baxter household. But you don't know who it is, no one knows, save for the murderer themselves.

The murderer will sneak about, listening in on conversations, to see if anyone suspects them. But every one else is also wandering about, learning exactly who the other guests are. You need to save your own neck.
If the murderer finds someone who maybe knows too much, they can PM me, and request to kill that person off. I will then PM the person who has that person, and ask their permission first. And so on...
It works the same way, if you want to kill one of your characters off.

Submit the form, then when I think we have enough, I'll go through them. I'll pick the one with the best motive, and send them a PM telling them that they are the killer. That's right. You don't know it, but it might be you. I will also PM the rest of the players telling them that they are not the killer, but maybe a few details about what Charlotte Robinson did in the few hours before her death. Maybe she talked to you, and that makes you a suspect. Do not ASK to be the killer. I will disregard you almost immediately. It's even more fun if even you didn't know for a while.

If you think you know who the killer is, message me, and I'll tell you if you're right or wrong. You can then decide to publicly declare your knowledge, or you can keep it a secret until the police arrive in the morning. Be warned, if you can't back your story up with enough evidence, the other guests won't believe you and you may turn suspicions on yourself.

When you submit a character, there are a few things that you need to include;

Name;
Age; (Please, no one under the age of 18. It is rather late for such young children to be up and about)
Gender;
Physical Appearance;
Costume; (Masks are a requirement for this party. If you are house staff, you simple wear your black tuxedo/dress with a simple black mask)
Personality; (In depth, please)
Relationship to Host; (This can be a family member, a guest at the party, or a member of the staff)
Occupation;

Also; Motive. I cannot stress this enough - every character needs MOTIVE, something to gain from killing Charlotte. Instead of posting your motive on the boards, please send me a PM, with the subject being 'Motive - [Name]'
This way, I can deal them out when I send you all some information that may help you with the investigation.
　
Staff
Members of staff work in the manor. These can be cleaners, cooks, gardeners, hired waiters, maybe a nanny and ONE Butler. Only ONE. First come, first served. The staff know the manor better than anyone else, and would have no trouble getting about unseen, as opposed to those in their flamboyant costumes.

Guests
These are guests at the party who are not related to a.) the hosts or b.) the victim. Socialites, aristocracy, military, lawyers, doctors, academics and scholars. Any of these are good. The guests don't know the manor well, and wouldn't be able to get around in their costume as much, however it is much easier to hide a weapon when you're in costume. I'm sure plenty of guests have a knife or sword hanging from their belt.

Family
These are members of the family of either the hosts or of the victim. Members of the family may not know the manor as well as the staff, but maybe more than the guests, depending on how close they are to the hosts. They also would have more trouble sneaking about, especially being in costume, but the same applies with the weapons thing. Family members are more likely to have a stronger motive, usually there's more for them to gain.

The aim of this roleplay is not to solve the mystery the fastest, but to tell a good, complex, fun story. If it's figured out too quickly, the killer loses his game, and the story is over. This also applies to whoever ends up as the killer - Don't make it obvious! There's no fun in being caught, and hanged.

Well...umm...that's all I can think of...
PM me if you have any questions.

~ Lunepelt

EDIT; Okay, so there's been a few things when writing character profiles, so I just thought I'd clarify a few things.

1.) It's 1889, please take the era into account when creating your character.
2.) Your motive needs to be STRONG. As in... there's a possibility you would KILL Charlotte.
3.) Bear in mind that this party is very prestigious. You need to have a valid reason for being there. You are maybe a doctor or a lawyer, or maybe married to one.
4.) I will keep an up-to-date profile of the victim, helping with your motives. We can't have her sleep with the entire group - she's only seventeen, mind you.

Happy Roleplaying
x Lune  

[kefkadragon]

I'm definitely interested. Do pardon me for not filling everything out right away. It's late here and I'm tired.
Name: Langston hubris
Age: 30
Gender: male
Appearance:
Costume: mask jacket
Personality: witty, not exactly a socialite, partially insane, loves hunting and the thrill of controlling life and death
Relation: guest
Motive: An avid hunting enthusiast, he believes these people are destroying his hunting grounds.The partial insanity also plays in.
Occupation: blacksmith
I'll try to finish this up tomorrow. If need be post this in an OOC forum and pm me what I'm missing.  

[Rawwry]

Name; Natalia Serene
Age; 19
Gender; Female
Physical Appearance;
Costume; This
Personality; Quiet, Peepish, Studious. Talia spends most of her time exploring. She is curious, and really enjoys mystery. Kind and caring.
Relationship to Host; Cousin to Charlotte
Motive; Charlotte knows how she managed to get into her job, even though she hadn't much money.
Occupation; Apprentice Tailor

 

[iKinkii d a n c e r]

Name; Katerina Lockwood
Age; 21
Gender; Female
Costume; This~
Personality; Shes sweet, cares about most people she meets, tends to speak her mind more than she's supposed to, but sometimes she keeps to herself
Relationship to Host; She's a guest
Motive; She doesn't exactly know what to think
Occupation; No occupation, she is the daughter of a well respected and known judge

 

[Lunepelt]

Name; Charlotte Robinson
Age; 17
Gender; Female
Physical Appearance; [Photo - except she's been shot twice in the chest]
Costume; No costume. She wasn't supposed to be at the party. Maude Baxter's niece, staying the night. Snuck out to join the party. Vanished just before midnight, later found dead.



Also, these are some NPCs that you can interact with. They could be very useful.


Arthur Dancroft. Middle aged, and a doctor. Last person to dance with Charlotte before she died. He seems incredibly nervous that the police might suspect him. And is just generally a suspicious person. But he's weak - lacks the drive and motivation to kill someone.

Cecilia Hicks is a close friend of Maude’s, and also an avid gossiper. She knows everything about everyone. So, if you were to ask her who the murderer was, of course she could tell you. But there's no telling whether or not what she's saying is true. It's a gamble.

The next man is a waiter, Phillip Mackenzie. He's been wandering around the party all night, listening into conversations. He can be bribed for information. He also has lovely eyes, quite a handsome looking man.

There is ANOTHER waiter, Hugh Basil Gordon. And he was the first one to find Charlotte dead. There was no one else in the room. And he swears he didn't do it. He has been known to steal things occasionally, but he’s also a little spaced out. Not an obvious suspect.

Charlotte’s older brother – Matthew, and his wife, Lucinda. They are both devastated at the loss of their sister/in-law. Matthew is willing to put his own life in danger to find her killer, while his wife would rather just leave it, and move on with their lives. They have a small daughter – only six or seven, who is not present at the party tonight.

Finally; This is my character for the roleplay.

Name; Lady Maude Baxter
Age; Early thirties
Gender; Female
Physical Appearance;
A woman of average height, slender, but not too thin. Her eyes are wide, and a light brown. Her hair is a dark chocolate brown, styled into tight ringlets. As the night wears on, they probably fall into loose curls, a little way past her shoulders. High cheekbones, skin as pale as porcelain, a long neck and thin hands and fingers. Her dress is a dark blue, with gold detailing on the bodice, and on her feet are small blue slippers. Her hair is pinned on top of her head with a gold clasp, and around her neck is a little gold locket.
Personality;
Generally a shallow woman, enjoys gossip and scandal, unless of course it could possibly affect her own reputation. She is horrified at the idea of one of her guests losing their life at her party, in her house. Maude appears to be a caring, loving faithful wife, although she is having an affair with one of the guests at the party; a young lawyer. Her husband is not aware of this. She has an eye for beauty, and enjoys her luxury lifestyle.
Relationship to Host; She is the Hostess of the Party
Occupation; None. A socialite.

Dress:

Mask: