A Will to Murder

Your character is:

Doctor Barker
Welcome to A Will to Murder!
A Will to Murder is set in the 1930s in Albion House, a stately
dwelling in the small English village of Highthorpe. Albion
House belonged to Roy O’Leary – who was murdered yesterday
afternoon.
Roy O’Leary was an elderly and wealthy man, and there are
several family members who may benefit from his last will and
testament. O’Leary’s lawyer has asked the family to gather
together at Albion House, the day after the murder, to hear the
reading of the will.
The police are also present – because the O’Leary family are the
prime suspects in the murder case.
Everyone listens respectfully, as the Lawyer reads out the will.
The main clause is very simple, as O’Leary must have had a
premonition or warning of his dreadful end. The whole of Roy
O’Leary’s splendid fortune is left to whoever identifies his
murderer!
 Doctor Barker – local physician
and old family friend
You are the village medical practitioner, and have tended the
community of Highthorpe for many years now, rich and poor
alike. You have treated most of the people here today for some
complaint or other, and counted yourself a friend of the late Roy
O’Leary. He was a grumpy man, continually complaining about
his family’s lack of appreciation for him.
Janis O’Leary is the only family member whom you’re currently
seeing regularly. She has developed a rather serious medical
condition, fascular ennolium scaphopathy, which if not treated
soon will rapidly devastate her good looks. Unfortunately,
treatment is extremely expensive; and when you last spoke to
her about it, she hadn’t yet mustered the courage to ask her
husband for the money. To spare her further upset about the
condition, you’ve encouraged her to leave your surgery by the
back door – she doesn’t want her family to know how ill she is.
As a former actress, she is good at concealing her condition, but
it will soon start to show. You would really like to be able to help
her more.
Regina and Cornelius Khan also attend surgery every now and
then, although there’s not much really wrong with either of them
– they both have a touch of hypochondria. When she last called
at the surgery, Regina accidentally dropped a note from her
husband, which you later found. You plan to give it back to her,
but its contents are rather disturbing: it suggests that Gillian
and Alan Trode are manipulating the account books of their
respective sculpture and motorcycle businesses. Might that be
illegal? You don’t know, but it certainly sounds immoral.
You attended the body of Roy O’Leary yesterday, and you were
able to tell the police that the death occurred at 5:45pm or
thereabouts. The look of horror on the old man’s face suggested
to you that his assailant must have been known and trusted.
Also, the killer must have been quite strong.
Roy is not the only one of your patients to have met a gruesome
end, though. Many years ago, you treated a Lady Henrietta
Crane, who lived not far from here. She had a terminal illness,
and begged you for poison so she could end her pain. You
wrestled with your conscience and your Hippocratic Oath, and
eventually gave her the poison, which she added to her tea and
died. To your horror, her servant Atkins (who now works for the
O’Learys) was charged with the murder. Fortunately, the case
fell apart because of lack of hard evidence. It’s bad enough
having a death on your conscience, without having an innocent
person executed!
In memory of Lady Henrietta Crane, you’ve long wanted to
establish a hospice to provide palliative care for those with
terminal illnesses. You need money, though, to set it up. If you
can find Roy’s killer, and so inherit his fortune, that would be
ideal – you’re sure that’s what he would have wanted.
Presumably the O’Leary children already have plenty of money
of their own.

Your goals
ƒ Support Janis: Look out for your patient Janis, and do what
you can to help her deal with her devastating illness.
ƒ Find Roy’s killer, and inherit: You need at least a half share of
the money – to build your long-planned hospice.
ƒ Decide what to do about the note: You should return it to
Regina. But does a higher conscience demand that you act
upon its contents? And if so, what should you do?
ƒ Protect Atkins: It occurs to you that as Atkins was charged
with the Henrietta Crane murder, the old retainer might also
be considered a suspect in this one. That would be terrible –
you can’t allow Atkins to suffer so again.
ƒ Help the police: Alongside Inspector Harris, you are the
representative of civic society here. Help out with the murder
investigation (and any others that come up).
 Other people
Alan Trode: Regina’s husband seems to be a healthy sort; you’ve
had little contact with him.
Corey O’Leary: a sturdy enough young soul, but should probably
eat more greens. All that time Corey spends out in the wilds
observing animals doesn’t sound very healthy.
Cornelius Khan: takes good care of himself, and if anything is
something of a hypochondriac.
Gillian Trode: a tough no-nonsense woman whom you’ve treated,
on and off, since she was a baby. These days she only needs
treatment if she gouges her thumb with a chisel.
Regina Khan: like her husband, a regular attender at surgery,
but there isn’t really much amiss with her. You are intrigued to
know how she comes up with the gripping murder plots for her
‘Detective Daventry’ novels.

Tips for beginners

If you’ve not played a Freeform Games murder mystery game
before, then we suggest you start by doing the following:
ƒ Ask Janis whether there’s anything you can do to help her in
this difficult time.
ƒ Ask Inspector Harris who the main suspects are, and whether
you can help at all with the investigation.
 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.

Let’s gossip!
After speaking briefly to another player, point to another
person. They must then tell you everything that their
Ability

Other People section says about that person. If that person

isn’t mentioned there (and not everyone they have
information about is), then they must tell you about
another person of their choice.
Three uses: O O O

Confidentiality
In your profession, you have to be able to keep your mouth
Ability

shut. Show this when another player uses an Ability to

look at your Information or Secret. You give nothing away,
and the attempt fails. They must still check off a circle.
Two uses: O O

Trust me, I’m a doctor

Ability

Your professional status inspires trust. After speaking

briefly and professionally to another player, show them
this Ability and they must show you their Secret.
Three uses: 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!)

Many years ago you gave

poison to one of your
Secret

patients, Lady Henrietta

Crane, so she could end
her painful life.
Information

Janis has a serious

medical condition, which
will disfigure her if not
treated.
 Rules for A Will to Murder
The Lawyer’s Word is Law: The Lawyer is impartial. If you have
a problem or want to do something unusual, see the Lawyer. The
Lawyer’s power is absolute – and cannot be affected by Abilities!
Winning and Losing: You can achieve most of your goals simply
by talking to people. The Lawyer 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 set fire
to the curtains), see the Lawyer. The Lawyer knows everything –
and will be able to tell you the outcome of whatever it is that you
are trying to do. (For example, the furnishings may be
fireproofed.) 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.
Politeness and Fighting: Civilized behaviour would be expected
at a sombre occasion such as a will-reading. Any fisticuffs or
tussling is quite outside the spirit of the evening.
Leaving Albion House: The constabulary have requested that no-
one leave the premises while Roy O’Leary’s death is still under
investigation. A discreet police presence around the grounds
insures that escape will be impossible.
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 Will to Murder is played over three hours, with extra
time for reading your character etc. There will be breaks to get
drinks and food! The Lawyer will tell you when each period
starts and finishes.
 A Will to Murder – Cast List
• Janis O’Leary: Roy O’Leary’s widow, his second
marriage – formerly a model and actress

• Gillian Trode: Roy’s oldest child, she is a professional

sculptor

• Alan Trode: Gillian’s husband, who owns a motorcycle

sales and repair business

• Regina Khan: Roy’s middle child, a well-known writer

of detective novels

• Cornelius Khan: Regina’s husband, an accountant

• Corey O’Leary: Roy’s youngest child, an amateur

naturalist, who still lives at home

• Atkins: the O’Leary family’s old retainer

• Dr Barker: the local physician and an old family friend

• Inspector Harris: the police detective investigating the

case

A Will to Murder is copyright © 2010 Freeform Games LLP www.freeformgames.com