Perjury
Perjury is the indictable offence of lying or obfuscating the truth in a court of law. That probably means it’s illegal.
Summary
The purpose of the law is to achieve justice. This means that nobody should be convicted of a crime without sufficient evidence of their guilt, but what if it’s not that simple? Would you be able to tell, just by looking at someone, whether or not a person is innocent? Would their hands shake like so? This question came up during a recent high-profile criminal case, where everyone seemed to have something to say on the matter. The media was buzzing to hear all the details about this enigmatic story, enough so that the courts were pressed to make significant alterations to the upcoming court proceedings. That isn’t to say this tale didn’t receive the wrong sort of attention, either…
TL;DR
Summary
- This is a game and a roleplay. Remember to have fun.
- Players write their own characters using the template provided.
- Usually 1, or at most 2, characters are designated the Defendant. Everyone knows which character is the defendant, and their win condition is to be found innocent during the trial.
- Usually 1, or at most 2, characters are designated the Defence. They may represent the Defendant in court.
- Usually 1, or at most 2, characters are designated the Prosecution. They may attempt to prove the Defendant guilty of a crime.
- Journalists are responsible for providing a rundown of the case to the public. Witnesses are responsible for sharing testimony during the trial. You can’t prove that none of them are lying.
- Jurors are responsible for delivering the verdict of the case, and win if they manage to do so successfully.
- If any character dies, including any of the jurors, that player will lose. If the defendant is killed, the murderous character’s entire team loses instead. Feel free to use this to threaten and intimidate other players, but the goal is not to murder your enemies.
Perjury is a roleplay game with a light focus on RPG mechanics. This time, players can join the game by sending there character in a private message that will be provided upon signing up, using the same template seen below. Every character is randed as one of the game’s relevant roles, with priority for unique roles going to the players who request it, and those with the best relevant characters.
There are two primary win conditions: Survive to see the Defendant found innocent by any means necessary, and Survive to see the Defendant found guilty by any means necessary. All players know which character is the Defendant, and that their win condition is to be found innocent. Death is irreversible and, just like in real life, it isn’t worth throwing your own life away for the sake of someone else.
The jurors generally have a different win condition: Survive to evaluate the evidence and deliver a verdict. You might think this makes them neutral, and in a way it does: however, this also opens the door for jurors to be blackmailed or threatened into delivering a verdict a certain way, and not because they’re intended to be a survivor stand-in who can deliver a verdict in the first split second of the game and win immediately. This is not a necessary kingmaker situation, nor a spectator position.
If there aren’t enough players for a jury consisting of at least a few players, the role will be scrapped and replaced with the Judge. I bet none of you even went to law school!
Possible Roles
Summary
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Defendant:
A criminal case begins with the arrest of an individual accused of committing a crime, known as the defendant. All players know who the defendant is. This person has the right to give their version of facts under oath or to remain silent. Lying or obfuscating the truth in court constitutes an indictable offence known as perjury.
The defendant is not responsible for proving their own innocence. As long as they aren’t proven guilty, they win.
This is a unique role, unless this game ends up being larger than I expected. -
Defence Attorney:
The defence attorney is the lawyer who represents the defendant in court and is responsible for convincing the jury that the prosecution is unable to prove their case against the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt.
This is a unique role, unless this game ends up being larger than I expected. -
Prosecution:
The prosecution is the lawyer who is responsible for proving the defendant guilty of their crime. The prosecution will succeed if their case is supported by the evidence and a jury is satisfied that this has occurred beyond a reasonable doubt.
This is a unique role, unless this game ends up being larger than I expected. -
Witnesses:
A witness is a person who claims to have information which may be relevant to a court case. Lying or obfuscating the truth in court constitutes an indictable offence known as perjury, which is probably illegal. -
Jury:
The jury consists of everyday folk. Their responsibility in a criminal case is to evaluate the evidence from both parties and to deliver an unbiased verdict. Jurors are housed at the Monolith hotel during this court case. -
Journalists:
The purpose of journalism is to provide a public service by informing citizens about current events and issues. This may involve the act of exposing crimes, or preventing the public from being misled by an individual or organisation. Journalists must be trusted by the public to provide accurate information, although certain writers might misrepresent the truth.
Notable Locations:
Summary
- Crime Scene A burned down house on 11th street.
- City Hall The chief administrative building of a city, which a city council uses as its main offices.
- Courthouse A building in which courts of law are held.
- Monolith Hotel An establishment providing accommodation, meals, and other services for travellers and tourists. Jurors are housed at this hotel during this court case.
- Jailhouse A small prison used to detain persons who are in lawful custody.
- TV Network An office building that provides the web of television stations with various programs and shows.
- Police Station The office or headquarters of the local police force.
- Fire Station The headquarters of a fire brigade, where fire engines and other equipment are housed.
- Hospital An institution providing medical and surgical treatment and nursing care for sick or injured people.
- Bank An institution where people and businesses can keep their money.
- Library A public building where things such as books, newspapers, videos and music are kept for people to read, use, or borrow.
- Museum A building in which objects of historical, scientific, artistic, or cultural interest are stored and exhibited.
- Shopping Market An expansive building where consumers buy retail goods and services.
- Bad Side of Town A run down area of the city where more people live in a state of poverty and in which crime is more common than in other portions of the city. If you need to make a shady purchase without leaving a paper trail, this is where you can go.
Rolls and Statistics
Summary
The main dice used are traditional 6-sided dice, referred to henceforth as d6. When multiple d6 need to be rolled, the standard notation of Xd6 will be used, where ‘X’ is the number of 6-sided dice that should be rolled (i.e. ‘4d6’ would mean 4 six-sided dice should be rolled).
Once you have determined what your character is like, it’s time to give them stats. In this game, there are three stats, each assigned a value from 2 to 5, which determines how you roll. These stats are the following:
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Social: Calculates whether a character is more likely to evaluate situations with their logical, rational side, or their emotional, empathetic side. Rolling over your social stat gives a hit for Intelligence rolls, while rolling under gives a hit for Wisdom rolls.
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Charisma: Determines a character’s ability to convince others of the truth, versus their ability to lie convincingly. Rolling over your charisma stat gives a hit for Persuasion rolls, while rolling under gives a hit for Deception rolls.
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Presence: Indicates how you carry yourself and what sort of impression you give to others, be it approachable or threatening. Rolling over your presence stat gives a hit for Charm rolls, while rolling under gives a hit for Intimidation rolls.
In addition, there are six types of rolls that can be performed based on one of the three stats above. These rolls are the following:
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Intelligence: Determines a character’s ability to think logically and quickly using factual evidence.
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Wisdom: Determines a character’s ability to not only understand others, but read subtle clues, habits and other traits.
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Persuasion: Determines a character’s ability to utilise their leadership and appeal to lead others in the right direction.
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Deception: Determines a character’s ability to cheat and trick to lead others astray.
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Charm: Determines a character’s ability to appear innocent in order to discourage violence or defuse tension.
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Intimidation: Determines a character’s ability to utilise hostility or an off-putting nature to convince others they are capable of harm.
Whenever a character attempts an action that has a chance of failure, the host decides which of the six stats are relevant to the task at hand and have that character roll a 2d6. From there, the die count may vary depending on any of the following factors:
- Another d6 may be added if the action can be justified as being related to the character’s backstory, and the host allows it to come into play.
- Additional d6 may be added to a character’s roll if the character rolling the dice chooses to spend a point of Willpower.
- A d6 may be lost if any other characters present spend a point of Willpower. When this happens, the character spending the Willpower decides which die is removed from play.
Once all the dice have been rolled, and any additions or subtractions to that roll have been counted, the host decides the outcome based on the number of ‘Hits’, or the number of die that meet a roll’s requirement. The requirements for each type of roll are as follows:
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Intelligence rolls require rolling over your social stat; Wisdom rolls require rolling under.
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Persuasion rolls require rolling over your charisma stat; Deception rolls require rolling under.
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Charm rolls require rolling over your presence stat; Intimidation rolls require rolling under.
Once all the die have been counted, the host determines the degree of success. For uncontested rolls, where one character rolls to determine how a situation goes, this is the number of Hits:
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0 Hits (Failure): The character either fails the roll, or succeeds at a major cost.
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1 Hits (Partial Success): The character succeeds, but at a minor cost.
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2 Hits (Complete Success): The character succeeds at no cost.
Rolls may be affected by Willpower, a counter that represents each character’s discipline and self-restraint, and their ability to overcome immediate temptations in pursuit of long-term goals or objectives. This counter initially caps at 1, to represent your character’s desire to live for yourself, although it can increase as you build relationships and find other people to live for. (In a way, this could be considered a HP system, although it isn’t meant for that.)
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A character can spend a point of Willpower in order to roll an additional d6 for a roll. This can be done multiple times on the same roll.
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A character can alternatively spend a point of Willpower In order to subtract a d6 from another character’s roll. When this happens, the character spending the Willpower decides which die is removed from play.
Willpower Overhaul
During the course of the roleplay, characters may form positive or negative relationships with each other through interaction. A character’s relationship with any other character starts as neutral; improving your relationship with another character not only benefits the story, but also offers mechanical benefits. Each relationship between two characters is cumulative — as one character gains (or loses) a relationship level, so does the other.
Primarily, relationship levels increase when two or more characters have an important interaction for an extended period of time. However, not all actions yield relationship levels, and some may even lower a character’s relationship. The host has a final say on what gives or removes a relationship level between two characters, which should only happen when thematically appropriate.
When a relationship reaches a new level for the first time, each character involved in that relationship gains a point of Willpower, and the option to pick up new skills. Each character can gain up to 3 skills per relationship this way.
Character Template
Summary
Character Name:
Pronouns:
Height:
Weight:
Blood Type:
Appearance Description:
Motivation: (Optional)
Backstory: (Optional)
Preferred Role / Alignment
[X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X] [X]
Playerlist:
- Silviu200530
- ElizaThePsycho
- Squirrel2412
- Atlas
- Litten
- guavagudetama
- Leafia
- ShadyShamina
- Arogame123
- Iaafr
- Geyde
- Eevee
- Trochilidae
(No hard player limit.)
