Scum: Clued Up

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"Ohmigod! Tracey, have you heard? Darryl's been killed!"

"Well, no sh*t, Cheryl."

"I reckon it was Reverend Green, in the Billiard Rooms, with the Candlestick."

"You dumb bint! It weren't Reverend Green, it were us here! We all kicked Darryl's head in, on that car park over there and then stuck him some with our knives!"

"Oh yeah, I fer-got. Why'd we do that then?"

"Because he let on that he was dealing scag, and had made ten grand, and was going to Ibiza with it, and we wanted his money, that's why!"

"Oh yeah, I fer-got that too. So why ain't we in Ibiza now?"

"Cos he didn't have the money on him, you stupid cow! Ain't you been listening? Now we gotta search round his local haunts and see where he hid it. You are so fick! I ought to stab you too!"

"Don't hurt me, Trace, I'm preggers!"

Overview

This scenario covers a twelve hour time period from 6pm to 6am. It starts in a nameless multistorey car park with the murderous Scum (aka the Players) stood around Darryl's dead body.

A few minutes earlier, Darryl was bragging that he had been dealing scag (heroin) and had made "loadsa moolah, like ten grand" (£10,000). He was boasting that with the money he'd be "leaving this dump and going to Ibiza to large it up" (translation: he was going to go to the famous holiday resorts in Ibiza in order to spend his fortune on drink, drugs and women.)

Unsurprisingly, his "friends" decided that they'd kill him and take the money for themselves. This is where the game begins.

As may be fairly obvious, the inspiration for this scenario is the board game Cluedo, though the up-front twist is that everybody knows how the murder took place - the goal is actually finding the money!

This ties us back to the piratical themes of the Scum game as well:

• This is a treasure hunt in the classic sense, with an X-marks the spot map, and buried loot in a hidden location.
• The "Hall" represents safe port - the tower block where Scum can go home, lock their doors, and hide from the world.
• The "Black Spot" is the same as the Loot - once you're carrying the loot, there's no safe haven, there's no place to hide! Are you scared yet?
• The story naturally starts with a "mutiny". The deceased Darryl is as close as we'll get to a pirate captain, and his death leaves a power struggle in the ranks!

Scenario Structure

The game starts at 6pm, and runs up to 6am the next day. As with all Scum games, it moves forward in half hour increments.

When the game begins, they players are at a nameless mult-istorey car park, not significant in any way save that this is where the dead Darryl is. Once the game begins, they'll have no reason to return here.

After initial roleplaying, each player can decide which location his Scum is headed to next. When they arrive, the game proper begins - it is six in the evening, and the search for the loot can begin.

The game ends at 6am - that is the last half hour of the game begins at 5:30 am.

Scenario Goal

The goal of the Scenario is to find the ten thousand pounds, and then successfully leave the estate. At 6am the Scenario ends - its presumed that with dawn light the police swoop into the estate in force, and round up all the usual suspects (who are the player characters, obviously). If no-one makes it out with the cash by 6am, then no-one wins!

Finding The Dosh

To find the money, a player character must first accumulate six different CLUES. He can do this in several ways:

• "Interviewing" an NPC.

Each NPC can potentially give up a clue on a successful attribute test against them, as detailed in the NPC section below. Interviewing an NPC is a standard half-hour action, and can be roleplayed out in part with the GM.

• Searching a Location.

Some of the locations can potentially give up a clue if searched, as detailed in the location sections below. Searching is a half-hour action that requires a successful Sneaky Bastard attribute test.

• Taking clues off other Scum.

With a successful and appropriate attribute test a player character can force another player character to give up a clue to them. Generally, the targeted Scum doesn't lose the Clue, but instead a copy of that clue is gained. The GM can rule on what sort of actions might or might not work, but might include such things as seducing the target, getting them drunk, beating information out of them or bribing them for information. Note that we don't worry about false clues and cunning deceptions - let's assume that Scum are too straightforward for intrigues of this level!

As soon as a Scum has six different clues, they are assumed to know exactly where the cash is stashed. The GM can pass them a secret note (a specific exception to the normal rule that there are no secrets in Scum), and they can then head to that location. When they get there, they automatically retrieve the £10,000.

If two or more Scum reach six clues at the same time, then they both arrive at the same location at the same time. A series of quick attribute tests (improvised by the GM, based on the player characters' actions) can then be used to determine who gets to take the money!

More ambitious GMs might want to have the clues be actual clues, rather than a conceptual score to track. In this case, they will need to prep a mass of information which can then be secretly handed to players in pieces when they achieve various clues. In this circumstance, there is no absolute number of clues to discover the stash - instead players have to work from their own deductive reasoning skills! This approach, however, is not the default, as it changes the nature of the game and is probably too cerebral for a game of Scum, as well as raising issues about dealing with player character death and the like.

Staying Alive with Ten Grand

As soon as a player character acquires the cash, it becomes common knowledge that they have it.