A Heroic Death

Your character is:

The Russian
Welcome to the SuperHeroicJusticeDoomSquad’s secret base, located
inside a dormant volcano near CityVille, United North America’s
capital city.
It is the year 2108 and the world is in jeopardy. Again. As usual, it’s
the SuperHeroicJusticeDoomSquad’s job to save the day.
Unfortunately the Squad was partying hard last night, celebrating
something that nobody can now quite remember…
… and this morning the Squad’s tireless manager Bernard is lying
dead in the living room, the ‘World in Danger!’ warning light is
flashing in the control room and the base is locked so that nobody
can leave. What is going on – and what happened last night?
 The Russian, New Group Member
How you see yourself: A genius of disguise!
How other people see you: Very mysterious and enigmatic.
You are The Russian, a mysterious SuperHero who joined the squad about a
month ago with some very impressive references. Nobody knows why you are
called The Russian, as you have a French accent.
Actually, that’s not entirely true. You’re not a superhero at all – you’re a
journalist in the pay of the evil supervillain ReptoMan. You go by the pen-name
of Red Sunset, and you are normally based in Paris (the capital of New Europe),
writing articles trying to make ReptoMan look tragically misunderstood. Your
mother was the supervillain Lady Vengeance (killed by Captain Amazing! over a
year ago), so you have always despised superheroes.
ReptoMan has sent you here to the squad’s base to try and discredit the
superheroes. As you’re normally based in Paris he’s confident that none of the
American superheroes will recognize you in your disguise as a mysterious
Russian crimefighter. Unfortunately you’ve never been able to master a Russian
accent, but you didn’t want to admit that to ReptoMan.
ReptoMan was recently captured by Captain Amazing! and thrown into New
Alcatraz prison. However, that’s just part of ReptoMan’s plan to take over
CityVille – he has another undercover agent here at the base who last night
was going to shut down the computer so that the squad would be trapped
leaving ReptoMan to escape from prison and take over CityVille. Certainly the
shutting down of the computer appears to have happened, but you’re not sure
about anything else as you have a dreadful hangover from last night’s party
and you can’t remember anything about it.
You’re not sure how Bernard died, but if it was foul play you really don’t like
the idea of being trapped in the squad’s base with a killer on the loose. You’re
very fond of your own life – so you need to find the emergency startup code so
that you can leave the base (leaving the others trapped inside if possible.)
Puss-in-Boots joined the squad about two weeks after you did. A few years ago,
when you were working on a newspaper in Bruges, you wrote an article
denouncing Puss-in-Boots for being a freak and an abomination, and as a result
Puss was exiled from Belgium in disgrace. You’re pretty confident that Puss
doesn’t know your face, but you’re not planning on letting anyone know who
you really are anyway. Just in case.
Unfortunately, somebody does appear to know who you are. This morning you
received a note demanding CV$ 5,000 to keep the fact that you work for
ReptoMan secret! You’re being blackmailed! Where are you going to get that
sort of money? You’re always willing to take bribes, so maybe you need to find
someone that wants you to write good publicity – or find out a secret that
someone doesn’t want published…
Your mother, Lady Vengeance, committed the famous CityVille Bank Robbery
with a friend two years ago. She told you about the gold bullion they stole and
hid in a vault in a secret location. Only her friend knew the location of the vault
and your mother’s talisman was the key to opening it. (That way both your
mother and her friend were needed to recover the gold, which they planned to
do once the fuss had died down.) Sadly your mother was killed by Captain
Amazing! before this could happen. She bequeathed you the Talisman of
Diarma, which you have with you, but unfortunately, you have no idea where
the vault is or who your mother’s friend is.

Your goals
 Discredit the squad: You are here because ReptoMan needs you to discredit
the superheroes. You suspect that Shaman is a fake, and it’s possible that
someone killed Bernard. But you’re sure you’ve only scratched the surface.
Try to find out as much incriminating evidence about the superheroes as
possible, which you can publish later...
 Find the computer startup code: Get the computer startup code so that you
can leave the base and trap the others inside.
 Recover your memory: You can’t remember anything about last night’s
party because you have a bad hangover. Try to cure your hangover and find
out what happened at the party.
 Get some money: Somehow get CV$ 5,000 so that you can pay off the
blackmailer and keep your secret identify safe. If you could find out the
identity of your mother's friend too, and thus the location of the Gold
Bullion, then you'd be rich!
 Find ReptoMan’s other agent: You’re not the only agent that ReptoMan has
placed in the squad. Find the other agent and team up with them.
 Incriminate Captain Amazing!: Captain Amazing! killed your mother – you
desperately want revenge, so do your best to find something to incriminate
him with.
Other people
Shaman: Shaman claims to have visions and be able to talk to the dead – but
you suspect that’s a lie and you’d like to prove it.
Puss-in-Boots: You are terrified that Puss might find out that you’re the Red
Sunset and take revenge. Avoid the cat as much as you can.
Captain Amazing!: You hate Captain Amazing!, as he killed your mother, Lady
Vengeance! You will have your revenge on him somehow…
Miguel: Miguel is the cleaner and is probably privy to a lot of secrets that the
other superheroes have accidentally let slip. If you can befriend him then
perhaps he will tell you some of those secrets and you can publish them.
WhizzoGirl: The queen of self-promotion, and very conscious of her image in the
newspapers. If you need WhizzoGirl to help you, you might be able to bribe her
with good future publicity.
Bloody Mary: Bloody Mary is known for her potions – and she supposedly makes
a good hangover cure.
S.: S. looks familiar to you, but you’re not sure why.
Doctor Robot-Neck: You saw Dr Robot-Neck in a travel agent’s yesterday early
afternoon, when you were out buying a new notebook and pen. After he’d
gone, you interviewed the agent and discovered that he had bought a one-way
ticket to Hawaii. How mysterious – there must be a story in that.

Tips for beginners

If you’ve not played a Freeform Games murder mystery game before, then we
suggest you start by doing the following:
 Ask Doctor Robot-Neck about the Hawaii plane ticket that he bought.
 Talk to WhizzoGirl and Miguel to find out what they know about any of the
other superheroes.
 Abilities
You have three abilities, as shown below. Each ability explains how
many times it may be used – check a circle each time you use it. Once
they are all checked, you may no longer use that ability.

Nose for a story

Ability

You have a knack of digging out all the juicy stories.

If you talk to someone alone for a minute, they
must show you their Secret.
Three uses: O O O

Talisman’s Protection
Your mother bequeathed you the Talisman of
Ability

Diarma, which stops offensive superpowers from

ever working on you. You wear it around your neck,
which makes it very difficult to steal.
Permanent ability

Talisman’s Insight
Ability

The Talisman can also sense special powers. If you

talk to someone alone for a few minutes, they must
show you their Superpower.
Four uses: O O O O
 Your Secret and Information
Your Secret contains your guilty secret, while your Information
contains one or more items of information you know. Both may be
affected by abilities.
While you can show your Secret and Information to whomever you
like, you will probably not want to reveal your Secret too often.
(Please note that you can’t solve the murder by looking at everyone’s
Secret and Information – it’s not that easy!)
Secret

You are not a superhero at all.

You’re really a journalist known
as Red Sunset.
Information

Doctor Robot-Neck has bought a

one-way ticket to Hawaii, but
you’re not sure why.
 Rules for A Heroic Death
The HOST’s Word is Law: The HOST is impartial. If you have a
problem or want to do something unusual, see the HOST. The HOST’s
power is absolute – and cannot be affected by ability cards!
Winning and Losing: You can achieve most of your goals simply by
talking to people. The HOST will announce when the game is over. If
you haven’t succeeded by that point – you’re too late! Be warned –
not everyone here will want you to succeed!
Doing Stuff: Ordinary actions are resolved by simply carrying them
out. If you want to try something unusual (such as trying to tunnel
your way out of the base), see the HOST. The HOST knows everything
– and will be able to tell you the outcome of whatever it is that you
are trying to do. (For example, the base is surrounded by thick rock
and you can’t break through it.) Do use your imagination, though! –
this is a very flexible game, and you can do all sorts of things beyond
what’s listed in these rules.
Fighting: It’s against the SuperHeroicJusticeDoomSquad’s code for
superheroes to fight one another. However, you may instead wish to
use your superpower on another character. Should you wish to do
something along these lines, don’t just dive in! See the HOST first and
tell them what you plan to do so they can oversee and give you more
detailed rules if it’s necessary.
Leaving the base: The Base is completely locked down. Nobody can
leave until the security system has been deactivated, and the blast
doors have opened.
Item Cards: Any items of importance within the game are
represented as Item cards – and the only items that can affect the
game are those detailed on the cards. If you do not have an Item card,
you do not have that item with you.
Time: A Heroic Death is played over three hours, with extra time for
reading your character etc. There will be breaks to get drinks and
food! The HOST will tell you when each period starts and finishes.
 A Heroic Death – Cast List
The SuperHeroicJusticeDoomSquad Register:
Captain Amazing! – Charismatic and photogenic, Captain Amazing! founded
the SuperHeroicJusticeDoomSquad (along with The Masked Crusader).
Superpower – Martial arts and can dazzle enemies with his whitened teeth.
Doctor Robot-Neck – The squad’s second in command and its brains. An
industrial accident left Dr Robot-Neck with a mechanical neck. Superpower –
Flexible, extendable mechanical neck.
Bloody Mary – Bloody Mary likes fighting villains and drinking cocktails, and
sometimes mixes them together. She’s also known for her potions. A long-
standing squad member. Superpower – Super strength.
WhizzoGirl – WhizzoGirl often acts as the Squad’s spokesperson and media
liaison. A long-standing squad member. Superpower – Flying.
InvisoGirl – Unusually shy, InvisoGirl is known for her mischievous sense of
humour. Superpower – Invisibility.
Shaman – Once a librarian, Shaman is possessed by the spirit of a powerful
Native American shaman. Shaman joined the squad 18 months ago. Superpower
– Can contact the dead and also has visions when drinking special ‘firewater’.
Puss-in-Boots – A talking cat that wears clothes and walks on hind legs, Puss-in-
Boots is a recent addition to the squad and joined about a month ago.
Superpower – claw attack.
S. – The squad’s newest member, S. only joined yesterday and really likes
snakes. Superpower – venomous bite.
The Masked Crusader – The squad’s co-founder, The Masked Crusader rejoined
the squad a month ago following five years of fighting crime in South America.
Superpower – Energy bolts fired from the hands.
Ice Queen – The proud and haughty Ice Queen appears to be made entirely of
ice. A recent recruit. Superpower – Icy blast.
The Russian – A mysterious character with a surprisingly French accent. The
Russian joined six weeks ago. Superpower – Classified.
The Staff Register:
Miguel – A bespectacled cleaner with a poor grasp of English but a strong work
ethic.
Bernard – Bernard was found dead on the sheepskin rug this morning, with a
blue face but no blood spilt. Bernard was the squad’s manager. He ran the base,
coordinated missions, recruited new heroes and organized everything so that
all the squad had to do was fight crime and save the world. He will be missed.
HOST – The computer’s back-up system. A 3-D projection created to assist the
superheroes when the main computer is down.
A Heroic Death is copyright © 2011 Freeform Games LLP www.freeformgames.com