A Speakeasy

Murder
Your character is:

Jimmy ‘The
Weasel’ Smith
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?
 Jimmy ‘The Weasel’ Smith,
Stan’s Right-Hand Man
You are essential to this whole operation. You’re involved in all of Stan’s and
Florence’s business, and you help them to keep the Speakeasy running
smoothly. Chicago is a good place for gangsters right now, as Prohibition
provides you with a perfect situation to make money in, and corruption goes
up to the highest levels all around you.
The local beat cop, Officer Pilkington, is a drunk and a gambling addict and
spends most nights at the Speakeasy, so you’re not worried about the police.
You know that the Bureau of Investigation have been cracking down on
things in Chicago recently though, which does cause you some uneasiness,
but hopefully they won’t get wind of you.
Linguini is the leader of your biggest rival gang in Chicago – you’re the West
Side gang and he runs the East Side gang, which you are constantly
clashing with. You’re furious that he dared to show up at the Speakeasy
tonight and sit right at Stan’s table, smiling and acting like nothing was
wrong! You’ve heard rumours, however, that Stan is developing some kind of
new weapon that should guarantee your gang supremacy on the streets –
that’ll show that jumped up idiot who’s boss!
Stan’s younger brother Ricardo (a good friend of yours) and a few of your
other colleagues were all killed in the St. Swithin’s Day Massacre in New
York about a month ago. They’d only gone there for a few days but they
must have come up against a gang over there. You’re furious about this and
want revenge, but as New York isn’t your territory it’s hard to find out much
about what exactly happened.
Tony the barman is worried that someone is undercutting him, as sales of
‘Stan’s Specials’ have been down for the last few months. Tony thinks
someone might have a secret still and is brewing their own alcohol, before
selling it cheaply right here under his nose. If you find out who’s doing that
then there will be trouble! The best thing would be to try and work out how
it’s being smuggled into the Speakeasy, as everyone gets searched for
weapons and alcohol when they enter.
Stan’s Big Race, the horse-racing event of the year, is on tonight. It’s rigged,
of course, but Scabface didn’t tell you who was due to win it this year.
Perhaps Stan knows? He’ll probably want you to spread false rumours as
usual. Sammy Snake-Eyes, the Head Croupier, is now in charge of the
horse-racing too, after Scabface’s death. It might be good if you helped out,
so Sammy’s hands aren’t too full.
You have been seeing Phyllis, one of the showgirls, for five years now. She’s
been dropping quite a lot of hints lately about wanting to get married, but
you’re not sure. You’ve always wanted your future wife to be ruthless,
intelligent and good at the business side, a bit like Florence. If Phyllis could
prove she was all those things then you’d marry her tomorrow, but you’re
just not sure she has it in her.
You know that Phyllis really wants to be a star, and you’ve heard rumours
that Florence is getting sick of Lola’s self-importance. If there was a chance
to get Phyllis a better part in the show then that might keep her quiet about
the marriage thing for a while…
You’re very upset about the murder of Scabface. He was a good pal of yours,
and there’ll be trouble for the person who did it if you ever find out who they
are. Linguini is the obvious suspect, but you know it wasn’t him because he
was arguing with Stan when the killer burst in. They were arguing before
the show started, too. In fact, 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 you 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.

Your goals
 Solve the murder and get revenge on the lowlife scumbag that killed
your pal Scabface.
 Stan’s criminal empire: Make sure Linguini doesn’t cause any
trouble and make sure the Bureau of Investigation don’t get wind of
any of your dealings.
 Find a wife. Find out if Phyllis is ruthless and ambitious enough for
you to marry her. If not, find someone else who is, and who can help
advance your career. Either way try to help Phyllis get a better part in
the show, so she’ll be out of your hair for a while.
 Stan’s Big Race. Help Sammy drum up as much custom for it as
possible. Stan doesn’t want too many people to win on this race, so
see if you can encourage people to bet on the wrong horse by
spreading false rumours.
 Sneaky liquor: Try and find out who’s been smuggling in home-
brewed Moonshine, and how.
Other people
Stan – Your Boss. Anything he says goes, and you’re completely loyal to him.
Florence – Stan’s wife. She’s very involved in the business too, and you
respect her. You’ll take orders from her too, unless they go against
something Stan has said.
Tony – Runs the bar and is also involved in Stan’s bootlegging operations,
smuggling liquor in from Canada. He thinks someone is bringing in home-
brewed Moonshine and undercutting him.
Sammy Snake-Eyes – Sammy is the Head Croupier and used to work closely
with Scabface before he died. You might need to help Sammy to run Stan’s
Big Race tonight.
Phyllis – Your girl. She seems to want only two things in life: to become a
star and to marry you. You’re just not quite sure she has what it takes to be
a gangster’s wife though.
Linguini – Stan’s biggest rival, and leader of the East Side gang. You’ll be
keeping your eye on him tonight as you’re sure he’s up to no good.
Officer Pilkington – That rotten drunkard is in the palm of Stan’s hands! He
takes your bribes and keeps quiet about this speakeasy. He’s down here
getting drunk most nights anyway…
Tommy – Stan’s henchman and your inferior in the rankings, but a good
friend of yours.
Roxy MacDougall – Owner of Roxy’s, the famous department store, which is
a money-laundering front for Stan’s criminal empire.

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 Stan if he has any orders for you, and offer to help Sammy drum
up custom for Stan’s Big Race.
 Talk to Tony about his problems with Moonshine, and try to come up
with a plan to solve them.
 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.

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

Missed!
Ability

Use this when a gun is fired – the bullets miss

their target. Phew! (It doesn’t have to have been
fired at you: you can use this to protect someone
else if you want.)
Two uses: O O

Fist in the gut

You are a tough cookie! You may attack another
Ability

player without needing a weapon to do so. If you

are successful you will render your opponent
unconscious for 10 minutes. [You can only use
this if you are under level 4 on the alcohol scale.]
Permanent ability – see the Doorkeeper before
using this.
 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

Stan’s Big Race is fixed, but

Scabface never told you who
was going to win.

Scabface was desperately

trying to talk to Stan about
Clue

something important before

the show started, but you
waved him away because Stan
was busy.
 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