Introduction to the Host:


A Birthday Surprise is the complete text of a
murder mystery which was written by Gordon
Dean, and first produced by Kenneth Brown
and Gordon Dean in 1986.  The final version
was produced the following year.

This introduction is intended to be a short
technical introduction to the work, which will
give you all the information you need to know
to successfully entertain a group of your
friends (or enemies) for an entire evening.

In general, it will help if you already know
something about Live Action
Roleplaying (LARP) or Interactive Drama,
which is what a live play without a script of
this sort is.  But don't despair if you haven't
ever heard either of those terms.  Birthday
Surprise is a fairly simple event, and
everything you need to know is supplied
below.

I. General


In this text you will be referred to as the
"host" of this Interactive event, even though
you may be putting it on at a location owned
by someone else.  This term was picked
deliberately to avoid the use of the LARP term
"gamemaster" which implies something
altogether different.

You will probably be assuming the character of
Grant Cochran, and his brother Thomas, after
Grant's mid-evening demise.  You may also
choose some other role, and leave the role of
Grant to someone you trust.  More about this
later, under Casting.  Grant Cochran is too
pervasive a figure to render versions in two
genders, so Grant is written as a male.  Aside
from being an ex-lover of Margot Matthews
nothing major predicates that Grant be played
by a male, however you may also want to
consider playing Margot Matthews, who is
equally important as a host.



What you will need:

Photocopying:  You may elect to hand out
the character sheets included with the game
copy, or you may choose to copy them and
keep the originals.  Express permission is
given by the author to copy any material
included, so long as you do not violate the
amateur provision in the licensing agreement. 
You will be making a copy of the
Introduction, Rule Book, and Last Words for
every player.  That is 8 pages per player,
which should cost $0.66 per player, or a
total of just under $10.00 inclusive.  In
addition, you may want to run a few copies
of the Item and Location Cards.  Even if you
use high priced "chain" photocopy services,
your entire production cost for the game
should not exceed $15.00.

Venues: (pronounced to rhyme, not
surprisingly, with "zoos") are, in Interactive
Literature parlance, "Where events are run." 
Your venue will probably be a private house,
though you could run the game in a
condominium party room, or some other
location.  The larger and more diverse the
space, the more interesting the game will
prove.

Properties:  these are dealt with more
extensively later on.  For now, let it suffice
that you do not have to purchase any
properties for the game, though there are a
few that can be useful.   

Dinner: the murder is structured for a
dinner, but in reality, it could be run at an
afternoon barbecue, or as a party, with light
refreshments, as your budget dictates.  We
have found that a charge of $10.00 per guest
allowed for ample purchase of food and
properties.

II.  Setup


Invitation:  Birthday Surprise is limited to
fifteen players, though you may be able to
expand it just a bit, if you really need to.  For
this reason, you should carefully consider who
you are going to invite, beforehand.  You may
wish to send out formal invitations, or you
may want to advertise your event in some
other way.  Formal invitations were not
included in this kit, because they may vary so
wildly depending on whether or not you are
holding a dinner, and whether or not you are
charging money.  A sample invitation may be
suitable to your needs, if you "white out" any
irrelevant information.  Most greeting card
stores sell small boxes of invitations quite
inexpensively, and these can be hand written in
any manner you desire.  Be sure to include the
following:

1.   Date
2.   Time
3.   Place
4.   Whether or not there will be Dinner
5.   Exactly who is invited (IE: Mr. and
     Mrs.)
6.   Whether or not you would allow
     "guests" as observers (this is not
     recommended, but may be necessary
     under some circumstances.)
7.   RSVP Address and Phone for
     directions
8.   Any contribution required
9.   Anything your guest is expected to
     bring
10.  Attire expected

How Many Guests:  Birthday Surprise can
accommodate up to fifteen guests, including
yourself, but that doesn't mean you will want
to actually invite that many.   Eleven,
including yourself, is a nearly ideal number. 
The mix below is reflective of the usual break
up of sexes attending, and is biased to roughly
2/3 males.  In several runs of the game, this
has not yet been a problem, but you may
substitute Linda Kane for Matthew Allen
Carter and Leda Deerden for Avery Carson if
you need an even count of guys and gals.  In
addition, both Jeffrey Saxon and Oliver
Stewart could be played as Jehanna Saxon and
Olivia Stewart.  In addition, they could be put
together as a male-female couple.  There is
some intimation in the existing game that
Stewart and Saxon are gay lovers, but it is not
written anywhere, and should be suggested
only if the players are very comfortable with
the idea.

Very Important
Grant/Thomas Cochran
Gary Morant
Margot Matthews
Mike Ballistis
Craig Webber
Emily Breezewood
Margot Matthews

Important
Avery Carson
Toni Randall-Smith
Mort Nicholson
Matthew Allen Carter

Secondary
Leda Deerden                              
Linda Kane                                
Dr. Roger Pierce                                  

Tertiary
Jonathan Drake                                    
Sarah Lamont                              
Jeffrey Saxon                             
Oliver Stewart                                    

Dinner: it is not in the scope of this guide to
provide you with complete details on how to
hold a dinner party.  Many excellent books are
available on the subject from many sources
including the library.  We do not recommend
taking this occasion to prepare a very
complicated meal, unless you will have plenty
of help.  It is perfectly possible for almost any
of the characters to help prepare food on the
pretext that they were requested to by Ms.
Matthews (who is throwing the party for
Grant.)


Cost: you may or may not want to charge for
the event, or solicit donations.  You should
decide this in advance, and specify

Casting: is a theatre term which means, in
simplest terms, "to cast players into roles."  In
other words, this refers to which character you
give to which person. once you have
confirmed your guest's attendance, you may
wish to mail them a copy of the rules and their
character in advance.  You should not mail
your only copy of the characters, as someone
will forget it, and leave a gaping hole in the
event.  If you are putting on the mystery with
a regular group of friends, you may wish to
get together the week before in order to pass
out character sheets.

Casting any Interactive event is very
important.  I have cast quite a few events, and
there are always mistakes.  A player that
seems "perfectly cast" miscarries, while a
character who was a desperation casting
performs flawlessly.

There are three rules that you should follow if
you want to have a game that is successful for
everyone.  This is one of the only points in
this guide where I will tell you that you
absolutely should do something, or in this
case, refrain form doing something.  

Uncle Gordon's absolute advice on casting:

1.   Don't cast based on friendship.  Tell
     all of your friends that you will try
     and cast them in the best role possible. 
     Most of the roles in Birthday Surprise
     are potential "starring roles."  Some
     require more force of personality than
     others.  If you go out of your way to
     cast your friends "just right" making
     special provisions, leaking them
     information, or God forbid, LETTING
     THEM READ THE CHARACTERS
     AND PICK!, you will have a game
     that they will enjoy...
 
     ...And everyone else will hate you for
     it, will feel they are second class, will
     play accordingly, and your game will
     go badly.  There are easier, and less
     expensive ways to make enemies.

2.                                   Don't cast to screw someone over. 
                                     Birthday Surprise is a small game.  It
                                     should not be too hard to screen
                                     applicants you don't feel like playing
                                     with.  But the time eventually comes
                                     when you are left with someone in the
                                     game that you had rather not run it
                                     for.  When this happens, the worst
                                     thing to do is to go out and antagonize
                                     them.  A brilliant casting mistake is to
                                     take a character who is in a weak
                                     position, and thus requires superior
                                     playing (Matthew Allen Carter, Gary
                                     Morant) and give them to a weak
                                     player you don't like, insuring that
                                     they will fail.  

                                     They will whine, snivel, waste your
                                     time during the game, and afterwards. 
                                     If you feel a player is no good, cast
                                     them as one of the neutrals, which
                                     have the option to become involved,
                                     but will not damage the game if they
                                     don't. If you don't like a player for
                                     personal reasons, don't antagonize
                                     them.  Try and keep clear, and deal
                                     with them as little as possible, while
                                     giving them little to complain about.

                                     A subclause of this is: "don't
                                     typecast."  Don't try to cast someone
                                     as the character you think they are
                                     most like.  The idea here is
                                     "roleplaying."  If you cast someone as
                                     a snivelling wimp, and they are a
                                     snivelling wimp, you will get a non-
                                     performance.  If you cast an excellent
                                     and indomitable actor, who is not
                                     ashamed of showing weakness, as a
                                     snivelling wimp, you may get a
                                     character who truly impacts the other
                                     characters and the game.  In the
                                     original run of Birthday Surprise, the
                                     very "weak" character of Gary Morant
                                     was excellently portrayed by a very
                                     strong actor who was not afraid to
                                     break down and show fear and
                                     weakness.

3.   Don't cast to play matchmaker. 
     Sometimes people get together at
     events, and end up going out.  It isn't
     the job of a good host to force it. 
     Think of it as a scale limitation. 
     Playing matchmaker is manipulating
     reality.  So is running an Interactive
     Event.  Don't bite off more than you
     can chew.  A soured job of this can
     really screw a game up but good.

How Do I Cast?  The characters in this game
are uniformly unpleasant people.  They suit
every requirement for a group of murderers -
by and large they are venal, self interested,
and amoral.  The people this game is about are
a real social strata.  They arrived too late to
benefit from the moral lessons of the 1960's
but not to miss out on the sex and drugs. 
They moved into college in the mid seventies,
with a disdain for everything, and saw the
faltering of the Carter presidency in time to be
the people who put Ronald Reagan into power. 
Like many of his followers, these young men
and women did not believe in him, but a
dichotomy between their practices and their
preaching is of little consequence. 

We examine them almost ten years later, in
1987, when the sins of the past are buried
beneath a facade of morality and decency. 
They know each other's secrets and are
comfortable with the hypocrisy, but not with
the exposure.  They turn on each other,
seeking to eliminate ties to the past that
constitute threats.  

They are at the core of the YUPPIE
movement, without conscience or imagination,
and they flock to the one person that knows
them all, and is not a part of them.  They are
a generation that gave us crew cut movie stars
whose moral lesson was that winning is right. 
Whoever they finally reveal as the murderer,
as Hercule Pirot discovered aboard the Orient
Express....they all did it.

Everyone has different ideas on how to cast an
Interactive event.  I would suggest that you use
common sense and acting ability as a
guideline, and rule out most personal
observations, with the exception of
performances in other dramatic events.  Below
are some hints about what type of traits each
character has.  Remember, you are not
necessarily trying to match real-life traits to
roleplaying traits, but to find a player who can
play the traits as written.

Mike Ballistas:  a wealthy international
consultant with impressive offices downtown. 
Ballistas has numerous prominent government
contacts, and is generally known to be an
influential businessman.  He donated heavily to
the Reagan Campaign.  Ballistas is a self
assured and suave arms smuggler, who may
well take a hard fall at the end of the game. 
This character should go to someone who can
handle not "winning" in the end, and who
has the guts to start a gunfight if necessary,
but not to anyone who might be trigger-
happy.

Emily Breezewood: a college friend of Grant
Cochran, and a prep-school friend of Margot
Matthews, Emily is the daughter of Senator
Breezewood of Connecticut, a very powerful
senior U.S. Legislator.  Emily was married to
Matthew Allen Carter, and divorced him, in a
particularly messy case during which Mr.
Carter was represented by Gary Morant.  They
are reported to be on barely civil speaking
terms now.  Emily is living with Mike
Ballistis.  Emily Breezewood is important to a
number of plots, but does not require a great
deal of acting ability.  The character is
somewhat tormented, and the victim of two
men, though she also has a great deal of
information that she could use against them. 
She should be played either as very
manipulative or very naive.  

Avery Carson: attended George Washington
University and has many acquaintances from
that period, and immediately afterward.  Avery
met most of Grant's circle of friends in the
seventies while they were working in
Washington after graduation.  Mr. Carson
occupied a position in the staff of the late
Darrington Ripley, U.S. Ambassador to
Sweden.  Currently employed by the State
Department, Avery Carson is rumored to
actually work for the Company, or No-such-
agency.  Avery is a skeevy smuggler, but has
a certain suave character.  He could be
played very clean-cut, or more in the style of
"Uncle Duke" in American Samoa.

Matthew Allen Carter:  A well known
mystic, Carter is associated with decadence,
drugs, and bizarre mysticism.  It is unclear
where his money comes from, though he is
known to be at least moderately wealthy, and
eccentric.   M.A Carter provides spiritual
consultation to some of Washington's most
prominent social figures.  He has appeared on
several area talk shows, notably Panorama in
July 1979 where he was involved in an
altercation, and declined to appear on Good
Morning America in August of 1982 on the
topic "Senators who follow the Horoscopes." 
He has assisted Federal authorities as a
consultant on "Cult Related Cases", and
appeared before a Senate Subcommittee Special
Hearing in 1983 to discuss "Cult Phenomena
and Crime."  If the person who plays Carter
is not spooky, this character will come off as
a meaningless crackpot. 

Grant Cochran:  Grant Cochran is a horror
writer whose early work brought him wealth
and recognition.  His first acclaimed work was
a collection of short stories in 1977 entitled
Look Ma, No Hands!  Grant achieved a more
limited success with The Sickness in John
Harrol, 1977; The Collection, 1979; but his
mainstream horror novels  Dark Symbols,1980;
and Trinity, 1982; were extremely successful. 
His Lovecraftian fantasy-horror The Sightless
King, 1984 was universally panned.  Grant
also wrote the screenplay for the 1981 film The
Blinding. Numerous short stories including The
Metallic Taste of Blood Omni, Feb 1982.

Grant's work has tended more towards the
occult and fantasy side than Stephen King, and
his success has been less marked, but his early
novels were commercially successful.  Born
1955 to a wealthy Virginia family, Grant
graduated from George Washington University
in DC in 1975, aged twenty.  Writer and
playboy, known to have inherited some money
from parent's death in 1974. He is widely
rumored to have been hospitalized recently for
rehabilitation.  Grant should be played by
either the host, or someone you trust utterly. 
Grant has no character information per se, as
he is a reflection of the views that others have
of him.  You should establish what Grant
knows by thoroughly reading the other
characters.  Grant, and later Thomas can be
used to drop "hints" during the evening if the
participants are stalled.  Grant is obnoxious,
and torments his friends, but not to the point
of lunacy.

Thomas Cochran:  Grant's failure of a
brother.  Thomas dropped out of school, and
was deeply involved in drugs.  He narrowly
avoided jail on larceny charges.  He lost his
share of the family wealth, and is currently
employed by his brother as a handyman. 
Thomas is a second character for whoever
plays Grant, and an important source of
information for the players, as well as a
significant red herring. 

Leda Deerden: A New York author, or visual
artist, guest of Grant's Publisher.  Ms.
Deerden is known for her terra cotta figures,
which are widely sold in gift shops in the
Village, and her work at the 42nd Street
Gallery, but is a newcomer to the writing field. 
Her first project is projected to be a
collaboration with Grant Cochran.  Leda is an
"all color" character.  Because she is involved
in nothing underhanded, it is entirely possible
she could solve one or more of the mysteries
involved.  She should be played by someone
who is capable of very good character acting,
and not afraid to be flamboyant and
annoying.  This character can be cut without
damaging the plot, but generally, she is too
much fun not to cast.

Jonathan Drake: Publisher of Grant Cochran,
Drake is Editor of Horror at Electra
publishing, a division of Robert W. Thormond
and Sons, Inc., one of the nations largest
publishing houses.  Despite the failure of
Cochran's latest novel, Drake is reported to be
successful and on the rise.  He handles many
other writers including Anthony Blaine, and is
also in charge of titles under the smaller, but
profitable Medea imprintaur, for occult
paperbacks, which includes the works of
Jeffrey Saxon.  Drake is a highly secondary
character, whose presence is peripheral, and
can be cut.  He is probably the least vital
character.  Because he knows little or nothing
of the others present, he could be held in
reserve as a "back up" character for someone
who is killed unexpectedly during the game.

Linda Kane:  Parapsychological researcher for
the Institute for Parapsychological Studies,
1567 23rd St. NW.  Graduate of Columbia
Prep, and Mary Washington College.  M.A.
Barnard.  Kane is a literary agent for Matthew
Allen Carter and is rumored to be his lover. 
Linda Kane is a fairly stodgy character who
knows a lot of information, but probably
doesn't realize how important it is. 

Sarah Lamont: Sarah Lamont is an old Prep-
school and College friend of Margot
Matthews, Linda Kane, Emily Breezewood and
others.  Sarah went to work for Gary Morant
as a paralegal, and is now his chief secretary. 
The least important female character, Sarah
SHOULD be held as a second character for
someone who is killed off early.

Margot Matthews: Margot was a friend of
Grant Cochran, and several other attendees in
college, but went on to become a prominent
Washington socialite who rose out of the ranks
of minor political followers due to her
connections with the late U.S. ambassador to
Sweden Mr. Darrington Ripley.  Margot is
giving this party in honor of Grant Cochran's
birthday.

Margot is currently employed by the
Department of State, where she is rumored to
the mistress of a powerful political appointee. 
She was mentioned in People magazine shortly
after the inaugural ball, and her fortunes have
definitely been on the rise with the Reagan
government.  Margot is the co-host.  She is a
prima donna, and openly manipulative, but
she must also be able to put on an appearance
of being friendly.  Dale Carnegie's "How to
Win Friends and Influence People" is
probably Margot's most important reference
work.  Margot should have good manners.

Gary Morant:  Washington Attorney. 
Graduated from George Washington University
in 1974, GW Law in 1978.  Formed Morant
and Steele with Harlan Steel in 1980.  Known
for handling some of the messiest and most
prominent divorce and lawsuit cases in the
Washington social spectrum.  Morant is a
rising star in the social constellation of
Washington, and is Grant Cochran's attorney,
and is currently representing him in all of his
sordid legal affairs.  Gary must be played well,
because he is the murderer.  Gary should be
a confederate who has the host's confidence,
because the murder will need lots of
cooperation and planning to go off as
scheduled.  In addition, much of the
responsibility for a good ending relies on Gary
giving himself away, and you cannot impress
this too heavily on the player.  

Mort Nicholson: a well known private
detective.  Nicholson has worked for Gary
Morant, and was a research reference for the
character of Detective George Panopalous in
Grant Cochran's Trinity.  Mort is a colorful,
interesting character, who should not be
terribly hard to play.  Make sure the person
you choose has a very rudimentary
understanding of the distinction between
police and private investigators, and has
heard of citizen's arrest.

Roger Pierce: a Professor/practitioner of
Psychology at George Washington University. 
Young but promising, for several years his 400
level course on Personality Disorders has been
considered the "most fun" class in the entire
psych department.  Many of Dr. Pierce's
associates consider him to be "that strung out
quack", Dr. Pierce considers himself a
"perceptually enhanced alternative
practitioner."  It is obvious that Dr. Pierce
either has something on the University, or has
tenure.  "Psychological disorders can be not
only instructive, but entertaining as well..."
(American Psychiatric Yearbook, 1980).  Roger
is a lot of fun, but should be easy to play for
someone who is inexperienced.  The better the
player, the more colorful he will be.


Tony Randall-Smith:  Olympic Equestrian
Medalist, winning two Silver and one Bronze
medal at Los Angeles in 1984.  Native of
McLean Virginia, the child of a former
ambassador to England.  Personally acquainted
with Princess Margaret, has appeared in Sports
Illustrated, and network television.  Currently
holds American and European Championships
in several categories of jumps.  Professional
status has been called into question, but intends
to compete in 1988.  Toni is a fairly important
character, and should be played by someone
who is at least slightly athletic, though
roleplaying ability is to be valued over looks. 
She is independent and headstrong.

Jeffrey Saxon: A noted Parapsychology/Occult
writer and Astrologer, author of Health Signs,
Astrology for You, and Psychic Defense, and
several other successful books published in
paperback.  Jeffrey is rumored to be
practically the only person in New York who
does not suffer from an incapacitating drug
addiction.   Jeffrey exists solely for the
entertainment of the masses, though he might
end up solving one of the mysteries.  He
should be played by someone who likes to play
the straight man, and cast in team with Oliver
Stewart. 

Oliver Stewart:  A comic-book author and
illustrator for Universal Comics, a major
competitor of Marvel and D.C. 

Oliver responsible for the satirical Captain
Flapjack miniseries, but is best known for his
work with Blood Hound, a revitalized 1960's 
Superhero, and with Revenant, a dark-horror
miniseries.  Stewart handled a graphic-novel
adaptation of Grant Cochran's Sightless King,
which was somewhat more successful than
the actual novel.  Oliver is a New Yorker,
but has maintained a friendship with horror
writer Grant Cochran, and has come down
with some of his other New York
acquaintances to make his birthday an
interesting affair.  Oliver is the comical side
of a pair, with Jeffrey Saxon.  Oliver should
be energetic and entertaining, and will come
out best if played by a really superb
roleplayer.  He is a colossal gossip, and
should be encouraged to ramble on at
length about anything he hears that is
potentially embarrassing.

Craig Webber: An acquaintance of Margot
Matthews, Mr. Webber is a well-to-do local
business consultant, rumored to have
connections to smuggling and the
underworld.  Webber is said to be a business
partner of Avery Carson.  Webber is
important, but not a difficult roleplaying
challenge.  He needs to be able to keep a
secret, and should be sensitive to the fact
that he is operating on the fringes of the
law.


III. The Murder 


How to make it happen:  Once you decide on
a location for the murder, and the murder
weapon, you should pre-write a set of
Information cards in two separate colors, one
containing the ballistics information (type of
gun, rough range of the shot) if a gun was
used, and one containing the relevant forensics
information (the angle of shot, range, type of
wound, rough time of death, etc.)

I found it useful to give players who can look
at Information Cards (see the rules) a card of
the color that they can look at with the words
"you can look at _______ colored cards)
printed on it.  

Other than that, It will take Ballistas and Toni
putting two and two together about money, or
someone buying off or badgering Gary's legal
assistant.  

Gary should break down when confronted with
reasonable certainty.  

In addition, it is advantageous to set it up so
that only Gary could have done it physically,
but that is trickier.  If Grant is murdered in a
closed room, it could be set up so that only
Gary had the key to the room, etc.  In the first
murder, characters were given complex
instructions to go to see Grant at a certain
time, so that they all missed each other, but
that two people saw the body, and hurried
away rather than risk being found with it. 
Despite the fact that from location, footsteps
and times it should have been possible to
establish who the killer was, no one had the
slightest idea.  This leads me to believe that
most murder mysteries bases on exact
timetables are bullshit, but you can try the
idea.  

In the first run, only eight players were
involved and it was possible for each player to
be assigned a bedroom.  This allowed a
complex series of confrontations as three
players discovered the corpse before anyone
actually raised an alarm.  In addition, the
power was out for the entire evening, so the
entire game was played by flashlight and
candle-light.

In the second version, there were not enough
rooms to assign one to each player, and the
murder took place during a brief period when
the lights were out.  The corpse had been
secreted in a closet and was allowed to fall out
onto the floor while the living player stepped
into the closet.  Again, the places where
people were standing when they heard the
body fall should have made it possible to
determine who the murderer was, but 

In the third murder, Grant was shot in the
basement, where he had slipped away to get a
drink.  The murderer used a silencer, and
while it should have made some noise, we
skipped the noise in order to make sure that he
didn't get caught.  Remember, it is very
important for Morant not to get caught
committing the murder, as it ends the event
rather early.  

Clues:  The critical difference between this
murder and the standard box game set is that
while it has a number of clues, it is virtually
(but not entirely) impossible to solve the
murder in a logical fashion and demonstrate
"proof."  The game is a psychodrama, and
revolves around the proposition that the player
who is Gary Morant will, when confronted by
reasonably maintained suspicion, eventually
burst and either attempt to shoot his way out,
or have a breakdown.  This provides a
satisfying dramatic conclusion.  To this extent
it is vital to brief the Morant character in
advance as to the expected behavior.  

In general, there are not a distinct set of clues
that lead to the murderer, other than that if
Morant uses a gun, Weber can tell that it has
been fired recently, and probably identify it as
the murder weapon from the exit wound. 
(Morant's gun is described as small, and
should be a 22 or 32.)  He can definitely
establish it was not either of the arms dealers
guns, which should be 9mm.  Dr. Pierce can
discern the relevant forensics information to
tell where the shot entered and where it came
from, though he is no forensics specialist.  

Birthday Surprise is a roleplaying game, not
Clue.  People should ferret.  In real life
detectives have to largely ignore motive, and
concentrate on opportunity.  In mysteries,
detectives often concentrate on motive, then
manage to construct some chain of reasoning
for the opportunity.  Morant's nervousness is
included to allow the game a logical conclusion
once motives have all been sorted out.  Only
Gary has a really good reason to want to kill
Grant rather than just hate him.  Once the
players realize that, they should begin to crank
up the pressure, and Gary should crack.  

There is some information on how to distribute
various clues under Properties.


Timetable:  In an ideal situation, the murder
tends to run pretty close to this schedule. 
Don't succumb to the temptation to have the
murder right away, or right after dinner.  It
may unsettle the stomachs of your guests.

6:00      arrivals
8:00      dinner
9-10      conversation, by now players
          are off guard, may even have
          forgotten they are in a murder
          mystery.
9:45      murder
10:00     discovery of body
12:00     resolution

The Body:  In all of these games, Ken Brown
and I made a rather complex papier-mache
corpse, with a sophisticated head filled with
soft pulpy "brain" and corn-syrup blood.  The
body could just as well be a traditional
"Halloween-style" dummy made of cloth or
scrap stuffed into old clothes.

Many professional films, and forensics
departments, use Karo and Red food coloring
for blood.  It has almost the same viscosity as
natural blood, and it looks rather realistic. 
Alas it does not dry brown.  Red food coloring
will stain a lot of things, though if you use
cold (never hot) water it will clean off of many
things as well.  Test for colorfastness
overnight if in doubt, not just for a few
minutes.

In the first game I achieved a particularly
stunning effect by having the corpse have been
shot in the back of the head with an exit
wound in the front of the head which had
dumped the brains into the keyboard of a
typewriter (which didn't work very well to
begin with.)  

The use of a can of Campbell's condensed
tomato soup and Welsh's grape jelly for grey-
matter and packing material produced an
interesting moist-warm  sensation in the room,
similar to that when a corpse has cooled.  In
addition, I found that plastering a few bits of
hair on the wall along with blood-spackling
made for a corpse that brought the concept of
murder home quite viscerally to our guests.  

In the third running, Ken constructed a really
superior corpse, and I went all out.  I got a
roll of white banner paper, and covered a wall
with it, then rehanged the pictures over it, so
that it was barely noticeable.  Then I took an
old carpet, which I had vacuumed to the point
of being remotely clean, and put it down on
the floor.  (A throw rug would do just as
well).  Carpet is porous, so plastic garbage
bags underneath were a real necessity.  A
head, similar to our first two, was constructed
by molding flesh colored clay over a plastic
model of a human skull.  For eyes, I took
shiny white plastic spoons, and cut out life size
retinas from a cigarette ad in a color magazine. 
I used clear fingernail polish to shellac the
retinas to the spoons, then placed them over
the eye-sockets, and molded clay over them. 
The result was admirable.  A suit of salvation
army clothes (similar in color to my own suit,
but polyester, not wool) completed the setting. 
Inside the skull, I packed raw pork brains
(wash your hands before preparing food or
touching your mouth, to avoid trichinosis) 
The brains spattered out of the brain cavity 
when the head hit the floor.  I slopped a little
on the wall, as well, more for atmosphere
than authenticity.  Several of the guests were
truly disturbed.

On the simplistic side, a dummy with a
paper-bag head and some red construction
paper cut in the shape of a pool of blood is
good enough for most people, and does not
require all the special handling to avoid
damaging furniture or carpet.

There is no major reason that the murdered
player could not be represented by the body
of the actual player provided they could hold
still for some time, but it could be rather
boring. 

IV. Gamemaster Functions


Adjudicating Combat:  At some point during
the game, you may be called on to adjudicate
combat between the participants.  I suggest
keeping two principles clearly in mind:
fairness, and drama.

The combat system as generally described
simply allows for players to point toy pistols at
one another, and open fire.  This requires a
decision from you on who hit first, etc.  In
most cases, it should be assumed that anyone
who took reasonable aim and fired at another
person, hit them.  You may rule them to be
dead, or assess them to be wounded.  The
wounded should be made to lie down, and if
they decide to go strolling around, told that
they have fainted.  This is not a tabletop
Fantasy game, and participants should not
expect gunshot wounds to be a minimal
inconvenience.

In general, if someone is killed by a fairly
well-planned shot, you should probably rule
them dead, especially if you have one of the
prepared characters still available for them to
pick up.

In cases where you did not see who shot first,
you may wish to carry a die, and roll, or have
the opponents roll to see who took the first
shot.  I would not recommend carrying the
system beyond that point, as it would tend to
interfere with the drama of the game.  


Try not to play favorites, but if someone is
doing a particularly good job of portraying a
character, or was shot by someone for a stupid
reason, (particularly if they were shot by a
player who was "bored") consider minimizing
the injury.  Remember, your word is Law. 
Do not accept argument from players.

Most of all, avoid "re-running" events.  There
is nothing more frustrating than to corner
someone, shoot them, then be called back
because they forgot they had a gun and could
defend themselves.  If players forget some skill
or ability, or property, just let it pass.  If you
make a bad ruling,
stick with it, and give the person who you
disadvantaged an advantage later to make up
for it.  But a game where events are constantly
being recalled can quickly become a travesty
of rules hounding that is antithetical to the
atmosphere of A Birthday Surprise.

Gamemastering:

From time to time during the evening, you will
be called on to act in capacity as a
"gamemaster" who must interpret things in the
universe for the players.  Usually this will
pertain to either a character's past, or the
environment. 

Example of an environment situation:  The
back door was originally marked with a
location card saying "This is a blank wall."  In
the course of the evening it has fallen down
and vanished.  A player notices, and wonders
if
this means there might have been a secret door
that is now visible.  He or she asks you:

"Is there actually a door here?"

You quietly reply:

"No something must have happened to the
card."

This sort of question is called a metagame
question, because it is a question that pertains
to the mechanics surrounding the game, rather
than something within the game.

In another situation, perhaps Dr. Pierce has
begun to suspect that Gary Morant has been
replaced by someone who is only pretending to
be Gary Morant.  He asks you:

"Does Gary still look like he did when he was
in school.  Is it possible he could be a different
person?"

You think about it, and recall that Dr. Pierce
has met Gary several times since then.  You
nod negatively:

"You know Gary pretty well.  You've seen
him a few times since school, and he hasn't
changed that much.  He doesn't look the same,
but it would take really drastic plastic surgery
for anyone else to look this much like him. 
You are pretty sure that it is the same Gary
you have always known."

This hopefully should give you a fair idea of
what you will be doing.

V. Mechanical Systems - Cards


Location Cards:  These cards are used to
modify the playing space into a useable area. 
For example, when the murder was run in a
private home, there were two persons watching
television upstairs who were not playing, and
a downstairs office that contained private
papers that was off-limits to participants.  A
location card posted on the stairwell read:

                                     This area is a small upstairs
                                     which contains two bedrooms,
                                     one belonging to Grant and
                                     one belonging to Tommy.  A
                                     search of each room reveals
                                     nothing of any interest.

Downstairs, a card on the office door read:

                                     There is no door here.  This is a blank
                                     wall.

Use these cards to protect your bedroom,
store-room, crematorium, or any other place
you do not want the participants wandering at
large.  

Information Cards:  These cards, described in
the Rules, are a device for giving your
participants knowledge that their character
would have, but that they may not be able to
discern for themselves.

It is recommended that Knowledge cards be
printed in two colors.  One color will represent
ballistics information, and one color will
represent forensics information.  You may
want to write up a card that says "You can
read Green Cards" etc. for every player who
can read a particular color of card.

Each gun should have an item card (more
about that in a moment), and a ballistics card
stapled snugly behind it.  The ballistics card
can be read by anyone who examines the gun
for a few moments.  The card should have the
exact caliber of the gun written on it, and does
not need to have any other information unless
the gun is broken, or otherwise damaged, or
unusual.  The murder site should have a
colored card on which the caliber of the bullet
used is printed (if a bullet was used).  This
will help in narrowing the potential suspects
and identifying the murder weapon.

The murder site should also have a forensics
card, which describes roughly how the corpse
was killed.  Dr. Pierce is not a forensics
expert, but has some basic knowledge of
medicine which will give him a fair idea of the
situation.  If Grant was killed with a bullet, the
direction and range should be indicated (IE:
"from the doorway, shot through the right
temple") and if he was killed by stabbing or
bludgeoning the rough height and strength of
the killer should be established.  Obviously, it
is a good idea not to cast Gary Morant as a
person who is four feet tall when all the other
players are 5'11", and then ask him to stab
Grant.  

You could invent new types of knowledge if
you wanted.  For example, you could print
yellow cards which represent "Psychic"
knowledge and give the ability to look at them
to M. A. Carter, Linda Kane, and Jeffrey
Saxon.  Such a card might be affixed to the
murder weapon and say "This weapon was
used to take a human life" or to a doorway "a
man passed through here with murderous
intent."  The possible uses for knowledge cards
is nearly limitless.   Wine tasting.  Drug
Quality.  etc.  

Special Cards:  There is no use for these
cards.  They are included in case you decide
to invent some system that is not covered by
the other cards, and are intentionally generic. 
For example, you might wish to give some
player an unusual ability.  You could write
on the card "the person holding this card is
able to make small objects levitate for a
period of thirty seconds.  Non-transferrable" 
This would allow M. A. Carter (presuming
the participant does not have the actual
ability to levitate small objects) to
demonstrate his magical prowess.  

Craig Webber might have a card reading "the
person holding this card can demonstrate the
trick behind simple illusions such as making
small objects levitate, and thus debunk those
who appear to be able to perform such
miracles.  Non-transferrable."

Use these cards for whatever seems useful.

VI Properties:  


Properties can be a major stumbling block to
productions, if they are too expensive, or
difficult to obtain.  Interactive events often
overcome this problem by using Item Cards. 
These cards represent an item, but no attempt
is made to make them look like the item.  In
many cases, this is not a problem.  These
cards are the cheap solution to trying to buy
the requisite props for the game.  Below, we
suggest how you can fabricate the various
props required.

Guns should always have an Item Card, even
if they are represented by a real gun, unless it
is possible to exactly match the caliber of the
toy weapon to the caliber of gun the character
is supposed to have.  The Item card should say
"large gun" or "small gun," and a ballistics
card should be stapled to the back giving the
exact caliber.

Properties List: 

Hidden: 10 kg of "coke" (Table sugar is fine,
fructose from a health food store is better.) 
Given to Grant by Randall, hidden in the
house.

Hidden: Blackmail evidence - photocopies,
and originals of embassy documents forged by
Avery Carter.  Given to a Grand Jury, they
would at least be enough to bring him to trial. 
 If Drake is being played as a main character,
it is suggested that you put these in a sealed
envelope, with "Hold, do not open" written on
the outside.  This could have been mailed to
Drake by Grant for safekeeping.  

Hidden - copy of Grant's will favoring
Tommy 

Hidden - Grant's financial papers

On or near Grant's desk -  Typed note:  Be
careful.  You may die soon!

Avery - from Avery to Randall.  $2,000

Sarah Lamont - copies of Gary's financial
records

Gary - blank copy of Grant's will

Guns: 

Ballistas                                 9mm silenced automatic
Carson                               9mm automatic
Deerden                                   32 caliber revolver
Morant                                    22 caliber pistol
Nicholson                                 38 police positive
Randall                                   Interarms Semi-automatic (non
functional)
                                          This starts the game hidden in
                                          the bushes outside.  Tony
                                          should be shown where to find
                                          it.  In the absence of bushes
                                          (or an outside) substitute some
                                          similar place, and inform Tony
                                          of the change.
Webber                                    38 Colt revolver
Hiding things:

There are several clues in the game (the
blackmail evidence, Grant's financial records,
etc.), which are hidden.  In all cases, make
sure the hiding place is big enough to
reasonably conceal the actual items, not just an
item card representing them.

Hidden: 10 kg of "coke"

This should be hidden someplace fairly safe. 
Grant should fend off inquiries from Tony
Randall-Smith until after he is dead.  In a "best
case" circumstance, he should drop a "hint" as
to where they were.  At one murder, where we
were lucky enough to have a grand piano, the
drugs were hidden in the piano, and Grant told
Tony that they were hidden "in the best
Casablanca fashion."  Grant enjoys tormenting
people with what he considers to be his
superior intellect.  There should not be any
sophisticated puzzle telling where the drugs
are, however, as Grant would not have had
occasion, or reason, to make one up.  Grant
knows a bit about smuggling, and may have
laid the drugs in the bottom of a can of coffee,
a method often favored by drug smugglers.


Hidden: Blackmail evidence - photocopies,
and originals of embassy documents forged by
Avery Carter. 

This evidence need not be very large.  A
simple manila envelope will do quite nicely. 
The evidence sheet provided should have an
item card affixed to it to indicate that it is a
game item, and should have several blank
sheets stapled behind it to give some bulk.

Grant has had plenty of time to work on hiding
this, and has good reason to leave a clue to
Margot about where it is, but not the actual
information.  In one run of the game, all of the
secret documents were in a vault (simulated by
a combination locking briefcase) which had the
combination "666".  Something more
sophisticated may be in order if you intend to
slow down the players much.  It is
recommended that this evidence be hidden
separately from anything else, and that Grant
have prepared a clue for it.  For example,
Grant could have shoved it into the bottom of
the freezer, and then tell Margot "I'm keeping
it on ice for you."
etc.

Hidden - copy of Grant's will favoring
Tommy 
This should be loosely concealed around the
room, probably simply in a desk drawer.  It is
vital that there be an item card stapled to the
evidence sheet, since this is the only way
players will be able to differentiate it from
other documents.  It is recommended that this
take the form of a concealed envelope, and that
the envelope also hold the clue to the location
of the financial documents, and a sealed letter
to Margot with a hint as to the location of her
evidence.  Grant is both macabre and a
Scorpio, and hiding things, and typing up
messages to give to people after his death are
just the sort of tasks he would enjoy.  Grant
might tell Matthew Allen Carter or Linda in
the course of the evening that he fears that
something will happen to him, and has left
some important information for Margot and
Tommy.

Hidden - Grant's financial papers
This should essentially tip the balance in favor
of incriminating Gary Morant.  The papers are
primarily made of check stubs which show
large unrecorded payments to Gary Morant
from Grant.  Obviously, if an investigation
were opened, the police could audit Gary's
records, and the whole house of cards would
fall down.  Tommy, who is no idiot, can point
this out if the players fail to realize the
obvious.  Gary should be primed to break at
this discovery.

The best suggestion to how to handle this is to
have a hidden vault on the wall behind some
picture in the house.  The Vault can be "built"
in the following manner.  

1. Tape a manilla envelope to the wall.  Put
the information inside it, and seal it.   

2. Tape an item card to the envelope which has
these words "Wall safe.  To open write
combination on the envelope, and report this to
the host."  

3. When the correct combination has been
written, the host should open the envelope, and
leave the participants to remove the contents. 


The reason for writing the combination tried is
to avoid misunderstandings, or conflicting
directions, or the confusion of twenty
combinations being shouted at once.  Only one
person can write on the envelope, just as only
one person can try to open the safe, at one
time.  

The combination is up to you.  As a default,
use the numbers 10-23-54 (which any player
can deduce was Grant's birthday, though they
may have to fish a bit for the right year.)  6-6-
6, or any other bizarre occult combination that
seems reasonable (and guessable by your
participants) can be used.  In extremis, if the
event is going down the tubes, the psychics
could try and get Grant to transmit the
combination by "rapping" on the table.  

It would not be past Grant to draw up a
puzzle, magic square, or occult riddle that
held the combination.  Just make sure not to
frustrate the participants beyond measure
with an obtuse puzzle.

VII.                                 Other Considerations


Adding characters:  You may add characters
to the game in order to enlarge it.  Two
characters are "foils" mentioned in the text,
but not actually written.

Extras:  Sarah Lamont and Jonathan Drake
exist as pre-written backup characters.

The characters of Anthony Blaine and Karyn
Seidmann are written as short replacement
characters.

Anthony Blaine:  A New York writer
considered a protege of Grant Cochran, Blaine
is handled by Jonathan Drake, the same
publisher as Cochran.  It was rumored that
Blaine and Cochran had a very serious
argument while appearing together at a
promotional convention after the publication of
Sightless King.  Blaine is best known for his
Fantasy-Horror novel Wunderking, and his
most recent work The Dinner Guest.  If you
get a last minute unexpected player, or have
a casualty in a game that was already full,
Blaine is provided as a back up character. 
He is expected but has not arrived.  His sheet
is purposefully very short, so that it can be
absorbed in only a few minutes.  He could be
developed into a full character with some
work and cross referencing.

Karyn Seidmann:  A New-York literary
agent, Seidmann is not well known in literary
circles, though there are some dark rumors
about her past, including a lawsuit.  Seidmann
handles small time occult authors, and until
recently her biggest literary success was
Jeffrey Saxon, the popular occultist and
astrologer.  Karyn is a con artist, who was
posing as a literary agent and actually ended
up signing a contract.  She is provided as a
female back up character, and is also very
short, but she could be amusing to expand to
a full length character.

Beyond this, you must either write original
characters yourself, or accommodate extra
guests in the following manner.  Tell them to
make up a name, and inform them that they
are a friend of some specific person.  Then
show them the general, but not any specific
information, on that person.  In this manner
they will be able to portray an affiliated
"innocent."  Obviously this is not desirable,
but is preferential to having them be entirely
out of place.

The Occult:  The occult is heavily referenced
in the game, but nowhere does it actually
specifically exist.  The "reality" of occult
affairs is up to the host, though I recommend
against allowing "magic" of any practical sort. 
Spiritualism is certainly a possibility, and a
seance can be a way to get slow or misled
players back on track.  The host could work
with Linda Kane or M. A. Carter as a
confederate, and work out a code to "send"
them information (one tap for yes, two for no,
etc.) manipulate a Ouija Board, or whatever
seems apropos.  This method should not be the
main method of choice to get information into
the event, but serves as a fine "control
mechanism" to get a stalled event back on
track.  

Unless you have particularly brilliant plans for
laying a rigged seance, I would recommend
leaving the question of whether or not to
include the occult for the actual run of the
game.

Isolation:  Obviously, nowadays, people aren't
left to their own devices to solve murders. 
Some considerable thought was put into
creating an "isolation scenario," that is a
situation where the authorities do not
immediately take charge.  Two things need to
be done to complete this scenario.  

1)   Prior to the murder, place "Location"
or "Special" cards on the telephones which say
"No Dialtone"

2)   When Thomas returns, he should
inform the group that the bridge is out, and
that he has just spent several hours walking up
from the river.  He will suggest that it is futile
to attempt to cross on foot again before it is
light.  Grant's house backs up to a mountain,
and the nearest residence is on the other side,
a several hour trek even in good weather.

Changing things around:  There is no
prohibition whatsoever against changing the
text or nature of this work, aside from those
guidelines in the license statement.  It is
recommended that you take some care in the
matter of adding material, unless you are
familiar with the process of writing Interactive
Events.  The following two points should be
kept strongly in line:

Consistency:  Any changes in the game must
be consistent with material already written, or
else the existing material should be changed.  

Cross referencing: Any changes must be
referenced to everyone who is affected by
them.  Thus if you write in Tony Randall-
Smith's sheet that "you once had an affair with
Matthew Allen Carter," you must see to it that
he is aware of this fact as well.

Use care, and read everything in detail, before
making changes.



Be careful!  You may die soon!


State Department Documents

Photocopies, and originals of embassy documents from the United States Embassy
in Sweden, signed by Ambassador Darrington Ripley.  Most of the documents seem
to be State Department Certification for arms imports/exports between the U.S. and
various European states.  

Last Will and Testament of Grant Cochran:

While there are several minor bequests to Margot Matthews, Gary Morant, and
others, the text of this will makes it quite plain that all of Grants real property,
wealth, and copyrights will be inherited by his brother Thomas Cochran. 

Financial Papers

These scanty papers are disorganized and difficult to interpret.  They include a set
of checkbook stubs for a Money Market Checking Account with a major D.C. area
bank.  The most recent account balance is less than $2000.00 dollars, and there seem
to be numerous large checks which were written to "Gary - inves." or "Amer.
Mutual Inves."  The amount of the checks, over two years, amount to about
$500,000.

