A Speakeasy

Murder
Your character is:

Alicia ‘Angel-
Face’ O’Riley
Welcome to Fat Stan’s underground Speakeasy in
Chicago.
It’s been a busy night. One of Stan’s pals, Scabface, was
shot down by a masked assailant in front of everybody
during the interval.
The doorkeeper swears that nobody came in or out of the
only exit for the last hour, so the killer must still be in
here. Is it something to do with the Gang wars that have
been flaring up all over the city, or is Showbusiness the
motive?
And more importantly: will the killer strike again?
 Alicia ‘Angel-Face’ O’Riley,
Florence’s sister
You’re Florence’s younger sister, and you help her out with everything. She
looks after her husband Stan and supports him while he runs his
Speakeasy.
Well that’s not exactly true. That useless bum Stan couldn’t run a criminal
empire if his life depended on it! No, Florence is the real power behind the
throne here. She’s organised, clever and knows what’s going on. Stan would
have been washed up years ago if it hadn’t been for her. She runs
everything, and Stan just sits there and takes the credit for it, because
nobody believes that a woman could do it all! You’ve never got on with him.
In fact, to be honest, you really detest him. If only you could get Florence to
leave him…
Stan has been quite distant with Florence recently and you’ve used this to
lead her to share your suspicion that he’s having an affair. He’ll be in big
trouble if you find out he has been cheating on her, because she has a fiery
hot Irish temper! Florence suspects Lola, the star of her show. You know
that she is getting tired of the way Lola swans around like she owns the
place, and so she’s planning on holding secret auditions to replace her as
star of the show.
You’re certain that Stan was originally meant to be the victim of the shooting
today, or is that just wishful thinking? And it wouldn’t have been a bad
thing, in your opinion. Something must have gone wrong somewhere
though, unfortunately, because Scabface was killed instead. He was a good
friend of yours and you’re itching to get back at whoever shot him.
It couldn’t have been Linguini, because you saw that he and Stan were
trading insults in front of the stage at the time. Linguini is a rival gangster
and he’s always infringing on your turf, and tonight he actually turned up at
your Speakeasy and sat right at Florence’s table – the cheek of it! You’d love
to put him in his place, somehow. You’ve heard a few hints from your sister
that she’s been developing a secret weapon that should give you supremacy
in the gang-wars. That should show Linguini who the real Boss is!
As for Florence’s criminal empire: she runs a bootlegging operation through
Tony, she launders money through Roxy’s Department Store, and Jimmy
Smith and Tommy Davies are the muscle. You’re not above a bit of
assassination yourself, when necessary, although a more subtle poisoning
would really be the way you usually work.
Scabface used to run a horse-racing racket (fixed races, naturally): but
Sammy Snake-Eyes, the Head Croupier here, will have to run Stan’s Big
Race tonight instead. It’s the biggest race of the year, so you hope it goes
smoothly. You might need to help Sammy out a little, if things get too busy.
You’re very upset about the murder of Scabface. There’ll be trouble for the
person who did it if you ever find out who they are. You distinctly remember
that before the show Scabface wanted to talk to Stan. He looked very angry
and said he had something very important to talk about, but Jimmy advised
him to try again at the interval because Stan was too absorbed in his
argument. Now you’ll never know what it was he wanted to say. You wonder
if it was something about the killer, and if perhaps Scabface was killed to
stop him talking?

Your goals
 Solve the murder and get revenge on the lowlife scumbag that killed
Scabface.
 Get Florence to leave Stan. Find out if Stan is having a secret affair,
and if so then who with? That might help to persuade her to leave
him.
 Criminal empire: Make sure Linguini and Sugar don’t cause any
trouble and make sure the Feds don’t get wind of any of your dealings.
And clamp down on anyone trying to undercut you, or trying to
interfere with Florence’s business.
 Find a new Star. Help Florence to hold secret auditions that Lola
doesn’t know about and get a replacement for her. It has to be
someone good that will draw in the crowds, but not necessarily the
same kind of act. (See separate Audition Sheet for rules and
information.)
 Stan’s Big Race. Try and encourage as many people to bet on it as
possible, and see if you can help Sammy to ensure that it goes off
smoothly.
Other people
Stan – You just can’t stand him! You think he’s holding Florence back and
being unfaithful too, and you’ve been trying to persuade her to leave him for
years.
Lola – Far too pleased with herself, in your opinion. She can sing quite well
and she looks good, but she can’t dance at all and she’s far too
tempestuous. There are lots of other hopefuls out there who could easily be
the star of the show instead.
Sammy Snake-Eyes – Sammy is the Head Croupier and used to work closely
with Scabface before he died, and will also be taking bets for Stan’s Big Race
tonight.
Pickles – Pickles seems to do a lot for Florence behind the scenes. Pickles
cleans the floor and the bathrooms, helps with deliveries, does
administration and even takes over on the piano sometimes when Al needs a
break! What dedication…
Sugar – Linguini’s girl. You can’t stand her. She’s involved in the East Side
Gang, and you’re sure she’s here to spy on you. You’re as nasty to her as
possible.
Roxy MacDougall – Owner of Roxy’s the department store: a money-
laundering front for Florence.

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 Florence if there’s anything she needs your help with.
 Talk to Pickles about Stan’s affair – that cleaner gets everywhere and
could have seen something useful…
 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.

Spike drink
If you possess an alcohol Item, you can spike a
Ability

character’s drink with it (see Alcohol Rules). Give

the Item to the Doorkeeper, and the character will
be informed that they have to check off an extra
unit or units from their alcohol scale.
Permanent Ability.

Seniority
You are in the Management here and command
Ability

respect. After boasting to any non-management

staff or non-gangster customer about your
importance, you can show them this card and
they must show you their Clue.
Five uses: O O O O O

Eavesdrop
Ability

You’re very sneaky and good at hiding. Tell the

Doorkeeper which player you want to spy on, and
they will go and listen to their conversation for 30
seconds, and tell you what was being discussed.
Three uses: O O O
 Your Secret and Clue
Your Secret contains your guilty secret, while your Clue contains one or
more items of information you know. Both may be affected by abilities.
While you can show your Secret and Clue 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 Clue – it’s not that easy!)
Secret

You hate Stan, and you’re

trying to get Florence to leave
him.

Florence is tired of Lola’s

Clue

tantrums and is planning on

replacing her as the star of her
show.
 Rules for A Speakeasy Murder
The Doorkeeper’s Word is Law: The Doorkeeper is impartial. If
you have a problem or want to do something unusual, see the
Doorkeeper. The Doorkeeper’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 Doorkeeper 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 Speakeasy), see the Doorkeeper. They
will be able to tell you the outcome of whatever it is that you are
trying to do. (For example, the Speakeasy is underground and
surrounded by rock so you can’t dig 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.
Searching Rooms: If you want to search one of the other rooms
in the Speakeasy then see the Doorkeeper. It will take a few
minutes to search a room, and the Doorkeeper will then let you
know if you found anything.
Fighting: A speakeasy can be a rough place, and sometimes
harsh words are not enough! Your character may wish to come to
blows with any of the other characters. Should you wish to do
something along these lines, don’t just dive in! See the
Doorkeeper 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 Speakeasy: The only exit has been locked by the
Doorkeeper. Nobody can leave until the end of the evening, by
order of Stan!
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 Speakeasy Murder is played over three hours, with
extra time for reading your character etc. There will be breaks to
get drinks and food! The Doorkeeper will tell you when each
period starts and finishes.
 A Speakeasy Murder – Cast List
THE MANAGEMENT:
Fat Stan Belluccio – the big boss and speakeasy owner
Florence Belluccio – his wife
Jimmy ‘The Weasel’ Smith – Fat Stan’s right-hand man
Alicia ‘Angel-Face’ O’Riley – Florence’s sister
Tommy ‘The Horse’ Davies – one of Stan’s cronies
THE STAFF:
Pickles – the all-around dogsbody
Tony – the bartender
Sammy Snake-Eyes – the poker-faced head croupier
Al – the pianist
Sasha White – the double-bass player, always wears shades
Bobby White – the saxophone player, also wears shades
Lola – a singer, the star of the speakeasy
Mitzy – Lola’s backup singer and dancing girl
Tillie – a dancing girl
Phyllis – a dancing girl
THE CLIENTELE:
Officer Pilkington – a Rotten Cop
Velma Du Bois – a notorious socialite and good-time girl
Alfonso ‘Linguini’ Marino – a well-known gangster
Sugar Sands – a famous singer and Linguini’s current squeeze
Benny ‘Ankles’ Johnson – Linguini’s right-hand man
Mayor Trelawney – a politician
Kit James – the Mayor’s very tidy and serious secretary
Sofia Meers – the Mayor’s companion
Trilby Madison – a smart, fashionable writer, here to research a
biography on Stan
Laurie Evans – Trilby’s equally fashionable co-writer
Oswald Murphy – a famous Hollywood film producer
Ava Monroe – a star of the silent pictures in Hollywood
J. D. Oakey – Oswald’s personal assistant
Sly Swanson – a debonair gambler: a big hit with the ladies!
Reno Edwards – a newcomer on the scene
Roxy MacDougall – a rich client, owns a department store
Lady Patricia Fortescue-Smythe – an ageing English aristocrat

A Speakeasy Murder is copyright © 2014 Freeform Games LLP www.freeformgames.com