NO EXITS

WEEK FIFTEEN

AMONG US

After the seventh day of whimsical magic and fuckery, at precisely 1:32 AM, the campus once more resets. Everyone trapped in the experiment falls unconscious (if not sleeping already) only to wake up sometime afterward in their assigned bed, in their assigned room, in their assigned dorm in the exact condition they arrived, wearing the precise clothing they arrived in.

Once again, the campus sits in an unsettling but familiar white void.

Gone is the chaos or excitement of the previous week. What remains of Derleth University has returned to its gentle void so all its guests may recuperate in absolute peace. The dining hall kitchens have been restocked, any damage to the campus undone. All is well again.

But you didn’t really think it was going to be that simple, did you?

This week’s bullshit? When you wake up, you can’t remember your name, your past, who your friends are and who you’re closest to, who you dislike, or exactly what happened in the previous weeks. There’s no real reason to panic. That’s just how this place works, right? There’s always something. Next week will probably be fine, right?

...There’s probably a magical object responsible, right? Is that what happened before? At least you’ll have something to piece together and do, and who knows, maybe you won’t have to wait til the reset to get your memories back.

THE PLOT: IT’S A MURDER MYSTERY PARTY AND THERE’S AN IMPOSTOR AMONG YOU

Meet this guy.

Well, gosh! He doesn’t remember his name either! But don’t you worry! He’s sure that the rest of you will figure this all out and everything will be hunky dory.

The problem? He’s a nightmare creature from Ronan’s head. His goal? To kill everyone and grow more powerful until he can use the murders of every one to...take over Derleth? The multiverse? something else? Whenever a character is alone and vulnerable, you can be sure he’ll be there to take advantage of it and strike. Stop him before he gets away with it!

His powers are keeping you from remembering anything so you don’t recognize him as a new arrival, realize he doesn’t have an assigned dorm room, or think to go back and check old network posts for information (nor will you be able to see network posts from any “ghosts”).

HOW THIS PLOT WILL WORK

• There will be 1-3 volunteer(s) each day to get murdered by the impostor. See sign up in the comments below.
  
  
• When someone is murdered, they will leave behind a recognizable but bloody corpse for a living character to stumble upon. See the sign up for who finds each body*.
  
  
• Does one of your characters get murdered? Don’t worry! They’ll be a ghost! They can still chat on a “ghost network”. No one but the imposter will be able to see them while the imposter lives. They can, with focus, move and manipulate the physical world around them.
  
  
• On day four (possibly extended to day five if we’re having fun) the rest of the living characters will figure out who the imposter is and destroy him. Your memories will return, and those with the ability to see/interact with ghosts will get to see/interact with those who were murdered. Hurray! You get a partial rest week? Kinda?

RED HERRINGS

• But it wouldn’t be a murder mystery character without a red herring, right?
  
  
• Julia Wicker has woken up without her memories, and being shadeless, is going to be SUS AS FUUUUUUUUCK. The imposter will absolutely take advantage of this.
  
  
• She will find at least two bodies, possibly one in a manner that makes it seem as if she was the one that did the murder, and she thinks your concern about her is hilarious.
  
  
• If people want to accuse her, or even lock up/murder/try to destroy her, she’ll put up a fight and not make herself look innocent at all. Of course, if you do manage to lock her up/kill her, your relief will be short lived when another body is found, and Julia will join the other ghosts and watch.

FAQ

My character has an ability, power, or is super duper smart and can figure it out right away! Can they automatically know what’s going on?

No. That would defeat the purpose of this plot. This is why I am revealing everything to you now, so you can be a part of the plot, without running it over. I am trusting you guys to see the whole picture and have fun with it! Look, I have been in RP long enough to know that we, as a group, do not like to let our characters get outsmarted. I am strongly encouraging you, as players, to enjoy the dramatic tension and enjoy knowing something your character doesn’t.

So how will powers work this week?

Prepare some liberal doses of handwavium! Essentially, the Impostor is suppressing memories, powers, skills and abilities that will reveal him. It’s why no one thinks to look through old network posts, or can remember their past clearly. So for example, when victims become “ghosts”-- we have characters with the ability to see and communicate with ghosts-- but they won’t be able to while the imposter is active. So if your power would auto reveal the Impostor, it’s going to be suppressed. If not, your character will have that ability/skill/etc.

Okay, if we don’t use our powers and memories are being messed with, how will our characters catch the Impostor?

Deduction, process of elimination, etc. We’ll see what comes out in RP and how hard characters are trying to find the killer. (Maybe they just catch Julia and call it a day?) Worst case, the mod can roll for someone to catch the Impostor red handed.

How different is my character going to be if they’re missing a ton of their memories?

That completely depends on you and your character! Maybe if they don’t remember their past trauma and damage, they could be a little different! Or maybe not at all because it’s so ingrained into them at this point. I want to leave that up to you as a possibility to have fun and play with during this plot, but it’s optional.

Do I have to know the game Among Us in order to participate this week?

You absolutely do not! If you enjoy murder mysteries, or have ever been to a murder mystery dinner party, it’s kind of the same concept. Someone in the group is the murderer (it just happens to be the mod NPC) and your characters have to figure out who it is before it’s too late!

What’s the deal with the “Ghost Network”?

It’s actually the same network. Ghosts this week will weirdly be able to post to the network with their ghost phones, but while the impostor is alive, no one living will be able to notice those posts or comments. After the imposter is gone, communication between the living and dead will be much easier.

Why does The Impostor look and act like Ted Lasso?

First, because Ted Lasso is the most innocent, wholesome looking person who you would never suspect of secretly trying to kill you all. Second, I may be secretly trying to peer pressure you all into watching Ted Lasso because IT’S A SOFT, SOFT BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR YOUR HEART, CAITLIN.

I don’t like this plot.

The getting murdered/being a ghost, or finding a body are completely opt in. I tried to soften the memory loss as much as possible (while also using it as a red herring) by encouraging characters to start the week thinking that’s the weird thing/no big deal/let’s search for a cursed item + it won’t last the whole week.

So what does my character remember?

They will vaguely know they live at Derleth. That weird things happen, and that it changes each week but they don’t know exactly how. They will not remember their history or even their own name, like it’s -just- on the tip of their tongue. It’s not concerning, just weird.

Can my character find something with their name on it?

If they have something like a driver’s license, yes. Characters cannot go back to read the network to look for names or information, like the blocked memories, that thought just won’t occur to them until the Impostor is gone.

Will new characters brought in during this plot also have memory loss?

That’s up to the player. If they’re new, they might want to get the hang of things first. Or perhaps it’ll have more to do on whether they bring in a character at the beginning, middle or end of the plot. Like with previous plots, we will be flexible with new characters and what makes sense.