2023 Day 26: Brindlewood Bay
Do you know how, according to fiction, certain places have a disproportionate murder rate? Brindlewood Bay (BB) gives an answer to that - and so can you, as you play Jessica Fletchers in your little tourist town.
Cover of Brindlewood Bay
Unlike most murder mysteries, BB is designed to be played as a campaign. In fact from the beginning it explains that you get a new murder mystery every session. At least it sets a cap on how many can be active at once. And because it’s a reflection of formulaic series like Murder She Wrote, each session has a formula (to keep it cozy). I will suggest that each group will need to update the formula since you will all have different pace and session lengths.
Although it’s (another) Powered by the Apocalypse game, it only has three basic moves that cover general situations. Two others, I would argue, are likely once-per-session group moves and the final one creates new moves relating to the supernatural elements the mavens uncover.
Oh yes. BB is supernatural, with Lovecraftian tones. But it’s all hidden to the characters until they slowly show it.
The other key element of BB is that the murderer is not pre-determined. Instead, when the players are ready they gather their clues together and come to a conclusion. On a successful roll, they are correct. It's a stunning way of running mysteries and massively influential on my own games.
There is good advice for the storyteller and plenty of opportunities for players to define the world they live in. And even to define the mystery. What they don’t seem to be able to decide is the clues: these are defined and handed out by the ST. Is that a problem? Maybe not. Certainly the structure of a mystery is simple enough that a semi-experienced SC could probably craft one in an hour, maybe less if you are prepared to improvise.
Brindlewood Bay recently had a successful Kickstarter for a second edition. Does it deserve the hype? I think so, yes. It captures the mood of its inspiration beautifully. It is a good balance of ST prep, ST improv and player-led interactions.The inevitability that the characters can reach the end, mostly intact, gives it the cosy quality advertised.
Pearl Dostard is a shrew. She doesn’t trust anybody, especially men. For no particular reasons, except the ones she has seen with her beady eyes. But the mavens are her friends so although she may silently judge them, she weighs them in a better light.
She had a weak-willed husband who dreamt of getting away from it all but ended up dying ignominiously from falling off a ladder. She has two children, one of which came from before her marriage. She refers to them as “the eldest” and “the youngest” and they are both functioning adults with their own families. Their spouses are always referred to derogatorily. Especially if they are male. (I suspect they are male and female respectively, and both gay.) She probably has a pug, who is the most loving animal despite the lack of fussing. (I think the children next door probably play with it when Pearl isn’t looking.)
And before she retired, Pearl was a Mum. At some point she started helping PTA and community events, and became chair of various groups (so that she could clamp down on unnecessary chat and silly ideas). The events were well organised but they weren’t fun to run. When her husband died, she worked as a housekeeper for a wealthy family near Brindlewood. There were feelings, but she kept there until she retired a couple of years ago. (Returning to this after choosing a move, she could have worked for Robin Masterton, the author whose crime books the mavens love so much.)
From these revelations, the other players should come up with objects for Pearl’s Cozy Little Place. There are no real examples of these, but they might potentially be useful once (and are otherwise colour).
I think her cosy activity is collecting a particular brand of really ugly figurines (“you can get them for a bargain”). All she’s missing now is a few rare ones, and some common ones which she is struggling to find in good condition.
Starting abilities are static, except you can increase one. So I’ll increase her Presence from 0 to 1, to reflect her intimidating stances.
And I choose to start with the Frank Columbo move. “Something about you causes the elite.. to not take you too seriously.” I mean, it plays straight into her housekeeper job, and gives her an additional clue if in a wealthy venue. I’d be interested to see if 2nd edition includes any move moves.
Part of the character sheet for Pearl
https://www.gauntlet-rpg.com/brindlewood-bay.html