TEXT: 28
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  TarOT TIe-inS
  CRSC 11M: "If you know the dimming of the 
  lanterns" could describe the dimming of the gaslight 
  lanterns in the theater, which signals the transition 
  of the "real world" to the world of the theater. It 
  hints that what happens isn't actually reality and 
  suggests that if the Fated are aware that they're still 
  in a theater, then nothing is actually real. 
  CRES 10M "An empty grave will fill with melody" is 
  a good clue that nobody is actually dead - the 
  grave is empty. Instead, it's filled with 
  music, insubstantial, ephemeral, and 
  exactly the sort of thing one would find 
  during a production at the Star theater.
  Prologue
  The adventure opens as the Fated arrive at the Star 
  Theater for a performance. This might tie into one of 
  their earlier adventures – perhaps they’re meeting a 
  contact here or were rewarded with some tickets for 
  a job well done – or they might simply be interested 
  in catching a show. The Star is famous for a reason!
  a niGhT aT The sTar
  a One-ShOT advenTure FOr ThrOugh The breaCh 
  MasOn CrawFOrd
  
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  Read the following text to the players: 
  The suited man is Benjamin Keith III, a businessman 
  and inventor. Within about an hour, he’ll be a dead 
  businessman and inventor. He heard stories of the 
  Star Theater and expected a “clean” vaudeville 
  show, but as the showgirls at the Star perform, he’ll 
  realize how mistaken he was and grow progressively 
  grumpier, right up until the moment of his death. 
  Or at least, that’s the persona that he’s playing. In 
  actuality, Benjamin Keith III is Brett Colton, a Dutch 
  actor who has been hired by Colette Du Bois to 
  help her try a bit of interactive theater – specifically, 
  a murder mystery. Keith plays his part to the hilt, 
  never breaking character no matter what. 
  The Star Theater is easily the most prestigious 
  theater in Malifaux City, outshining the city’s other 
  vaudeville shows in the way that the afternoon 
  sun outshines a dim lantern. The walls of the 
  lobby are decorated with carved cherubim and 
  luxurious red velvet curtains, and the motif 
  continues as you pass with the crowd into the 
  main auditorium. 
  The wide stage is flanked to either side by more 
  crimson curtains, and the main curtain has been 
  pulled across the stage, hiding it from view.. 
  What draws the most attention – other than the 
  sparkling crystal chandelier which hangs in the 
  center of the room – is the exposed clockwork 
  device built into the stage just above the 
  curtain. The central gear is nearly seven feet 
  in diameter, and a series of successively 
  smaller gears radiate out from it to 
  form an unexpectedly complex piece of 
  machinery.  The entire room is lit with 
  elegant gas lamps which run along 
  the walls, casting everything in a 
  warm yellow glow. 
  There aren’t any seats to be seen 
  – they’re all on the second floor 
  balcony, while the ground floor has 
  been designated as standing room 
  only – but you’re soon able to find a 
  place next to your companions. The 
  crowd is decidedly blue collar, and many 
  of them seem to be miners and laborers, 
  as the scent of dried sweat and cold earth 
  is inescapable. The distinctively low-class 
  appearance of the crowd only serves to make 
  the man nearest you stand out even further: 
  he’s dressed in a full suit, complete with top hat, 
  cane, and monocle. He seems to be regarding the 
  unwashed masses around him with something 
  akin to disdain and revulsion, and he takes a few 
  subtle steps towards your slightly-better-smelling 
  group as more people filter into the theater. 
  
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  Scene 1: All the World’s a StAge
  This scene is intended to give the players a bit of 
  the “Star Experience,” which should make Keith’s 
  subsequent death all the more sudden and shocking. 
  BenjAmin Keith and his MarvelouS Truth Machine
  Benjamin Keith will make small talk with the Fated 
  if they initiate the conversation and seem at least 
  somewhat respectable. Characters dressed in 
  “worker’s clothing” or anything that hasn’t been 
  washed in a few days earn little more than a 
  disapproving look and a few muttered words about 
  “knowing your place.” If the characters are dressed 
  in a more sophisticated manner (formal dresses 
  for the women and suits for the men) or are clearly 
  agents of the Guild, he’ll be more friendly and 
  talkative. If this is the case, read the following text: 
  If the Fated ask about Keith’s inventions, he explains 
  his work as an improvement upon the “crude lie 
  detection machine” built by Cesare Lombroso 
  some twenty years ago. If the Fated seem at least 
  the slightest bit interested (which includes merely 
  nodding their heads and offering a noncommittal 
  “that’s nice”), he’ll launch into a very technical and 
  in-depth explanation of the device and the principles 
  upon which it is based. The Fated can attempt TN 
  12 Artefacting or Doctor Challenges to realize that 
  he’s mostly just talking about measuring blood 
  pressure and checking for abnormalities that might 
  indicate a person is lying. He’s also using very big 
  words in an attempt to make the subject sound 
  more complicated than it really is. 
  If the Fated achieve a Margin of Success on this 
  Challenge, they will also realize that Keith doesn’t 
  really know what he’s talking about. He knows the 
  technical words and has a rough understanding 
  of what they mean, but he’s likely taking credit 
  for someone else’s invention (or, as it turns out, 
  parroting back the technical information from a 
  script; the machine doesn’t actually exist).
  The Show!
  Once the Fated have exhausted their conversation 
  options with Keith (or chosen to ignore him), the 
  show begins! Read the following text to the players:
  If you wish, you can allow the Fated a few moments 
  to react to the scene (and perhaps to discuss it 
  with Keith, who seems nonplussed by the entire 
  spectacle). If the Fated ask his opinion, he mutters 
  something noncommittal, but a TN 12 Scrutiny 
  Challenge reveals that he’s not really paying attention 
  to the show and seems to instead be waiting for 
  something (i.e. the attack that “kills” him). 
  A great blast of whistling steam erupts from 
  backstage, cutting through conversations and 
  quieting the crowd. As one, the gaslights in the 
  room begin to dim as the great gear above the 
  stage slowly starts to turn, its needle-like teeth 
  turning the increasingly smaller gears arrayed 
  around it at progressively faster speeds. As they 
  turn faster and faster, the glass bulbs arrayed 
  around the stage slowly illuminate the theater, 
  drawing gasps and murmurs of appreciation from 
  the crowd. 
  Just as it seems the lights cannot get any brighter, 
  an unseen organ strikes up a rising crescendo 
  as another set of gears begins to turn above the 
  stage. They pull the main curtain aside, revealing 
  a line of ten beautiful women, each posed with 
  one leg up, her foot resting upon the other knee, 
  exposing their legs far up the thigh as their 
  pleated skirts fall away. 
  The crowd whistles, hollers, and claps boisterously 
  as the showgirls launch into a dance number, 
  kicking and spinning in practiced unison. Their 
  smiles never falter as they leap and kick across 
  the stage, until finally they sashay off the stage 
  and the song comes to an end.
  The man looks you up and down, his expression 
  becoming one of relief as he steps a bit closer. 
  “I say, it’s comforting to finally see someone else 
  with a sense of class and good taste.” He holds 
  out his hand. “The name is Benjamin Keith the 
  Third, inventor and philanthropist.” 
  
  3131
  There’s not much time before the Star’s Master of 
  Ceremonies takes the stage, so read the following 
  text once the players are ready: 
  As this is likely the first time the Fated have been to 
  the Star Theater, they will be under some pressure to 
  head up to the stage with the others. Ideally, at least 
  one of the Fated will decide to participate. Benjamin 
  Keith notably does not go up on stage, no matter 
  what anyone says to him; hif pressed, he claims 
  (truthfully, for both the actor and the character he's 
  playing) that this isn't his first time in the theater. 
  More importantly, he's making sure that he stays on 
  his mark and is in place when it’s time to die. 
  Dancing at the Star
  Any of the Fated who climb up onto the stage will be 
  drawn into an impromptu stage show, in which the 
  showgirls draw them into a line and try to get them 
  high-kicking and dancing, often with amusing results 
  for the crowd. Read the following text to the players 
  on stage: 
  The showgirls begin kicking their legs up in time with 
  the music, turning to the side and switching legs 
  with each alternating beat as they encourage their 
  new guests to do the same. Keeping up requires a 
  TN 10 Acrobatics Challenge, and those who fail by 
  five or more points end up losing their balance and 
  falling down, much to the laughter of the crowd (and 
  the showgirls). Any Fated who succeed manage to 
  keep up and earn genuine words of encouragement 
  from the dancers to keep going. 
  When the Fated on stage have finished their checks, 
  read the following text: 
  The Fated on stage can attempt TN 10 Centering 
  Challenges to maintain their composure throughout 
  the dance; those who fail end up doing little more 
  than standing there with a stupid look on their face 
  as their showgirl appears and reappears amidst her 
  fluttering dress. It’s (intentionally) quite confusing, 
  Just as the crowd starts shouting for the return 
  of the showgirls, a woman wearing a black dress, 
  matching top hat, and crimson elbow gloves struts 
  onto the stage, her harms held out in front of her 
  to quiet the crowd. “Hold on, hold on,” she shouts, 
  drowning them out with her voice. “We have to 
  give you folks a bit of a break to cool down, or 
  the older gentlemen in the audience might not 
  survive the next act!” 
  The crowd laughs at the joke, and the woman 
  removes her top hat, rolls it down her arm, and 
  then catches it with her gloved hand. “Now, for 
  those of you who have been here before, you no 
  doubt remember that my name is Angelica…” 
  There’s a sudden outburst of cheering and 
  whistling, which she accepts with a gracious bow 
  before continuing. “…but for those of you who are 
  new to the Star, we’ve got a little initiation ritual to 
  go through before we continue!”
  The crowd erupts in more excited clapping and 
  shouting as the showgirls return in new dresses, 
  these ones in various shades of blue and purple 
  with ample frills along the bottom. Angelica 
  glances back at them, then turns and winks at 
  the crowd before continuing, her voice carrying 
  effortlessly over the shouting crowd. “So let’s get 
  started! All of you lusty gentlemen and curious 
  ladies, get your bottoms up here on the stage 
  and meet the girls!” She gestures to the showgirls 
  behind her, who strike pouty poses as people 
  in the crowd begin to good-naturedly push their 
  friends and coworkers up towards the stage. 
  You’ve no sooner made it onto the stage than 
  the showgirls pull you into a dance line, slipping 
  their arms around your shoulders, ensuring that 
  each new visitor has a showgirl to one side or 
  the other. “Alright,” Angelica shouts, stepping back 
  and motioning for the unseen organ to belt out 
  another tune. “Let’s get those legs up and kicking!”
  The high-kicking continues for about a minute, 
  until the music suddenly speeds up and the 
  showgirls twirl out of their places, a guest in each 
  hand as they begin a frantic dance of twirling 
  dresses and twisting leaps. “I don’t know about 
  this,” Angelica shouts to the crowd, her tone 
  conveying just the right amount of skeptical 
  concern and amusement. “This looks like it might 
  be getting out of hand!”
  
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  and those who prove unable to follow along and 
  keep up find themselves rudely returned to the 
  audience.  Read the following text to any players 
  who fail the Centering Challenge: 
  Any Fated who pass their Centering Challenge are 
  spun around by their showgirl, who winks at them 
  and escorts them off-stage (the correct way) once 
  the song is over. If any female characters performed 
  remarkably well, they might even be approached 
  by Colette Du Bois, the theater’s owner, at a future 
  date with an offer of an audition. 
  Once everyone has returned to the crowd, read the 
  following text: 
  Scene 2: A Murder MoSt Foul
  The Fated should have a few moments to react to 
  Keith’s murder. Read the following text to describe 
  the reactions of the crowd: 
  Amanda Russell is in her late 20s and presents 
  herself as a rough-and-tumble Guild agent who 
  cares more about results than the strict letter of the 
  law. It’s a persona that most of the theater’s guests 
  can easily relate to, which is why the character was 
  written that way. 
  The showgirl seems to flutter in and out of 
  existence as the dress flashes all around her, 
  leading your gaze one way just to disappear 
  and reappear on your other side. At one point, 
  you’re almost certain that she missed a flip and 
  is starting to fall towards the crowd, but when 
  you turn to catch her, there’s nobody there… and 
  that’s when you feel the kick to your bottom that 
  sends you sailing out into the crowd and the arms 
  of the waiting men and women. As they lower 
  you back to your feet, one of them claps you on 
  the shoulder and laughs in enjoyment. “Hell of a 
  show, isn’t it?”
  The showgirls bow to the crowd and then hurry off 
  stage as the curtain draws closed and Angelica 
  walks to the center of the stage in front of it. “That 
  was quite the show, wasn’t it?” she asks, grinning 
  as the crowd cheers back to her. “Now, this next 
  act is a new one here at the Star Theater, but 
  I’m sure that it will be just as entertaining and 
  shocking as…”
  Before she can finish her sentence, she’s 
  interrupted by a gunshot that roars through 
  the theater like thunder. The crowd is instantly 
  shouting and on edge, but it gradually parts as 
  the man next to you – the man dressed in the 
  suit, top hat, and monocle – staggers forward, 
  his hand pressed to his bloody chest. “I’ve…been 
  murdered…” he croaks out, a tone of disbelief in 
  his voice as he collapses forward onto the floor. 
  The audience is shocked and surprised by the 
  sudden murder of one of their number, and all 
  throughout the crowd, people begin to draw and 
  ready small pocket handguns or brass knuckles 
  from their pockets. Murmurs of “murder” and 
  “shot dead” begin to ripple through the crowd, 
  and glancing up a the second story, dozens of 
  curious faces can be seen peering down into the 
  common area. 
  Just as it seems a riot might be on the verge of 
  breaking out, a dark-haired woman wearing chaps 
  and a long duster – who had someone managed 
  to remain unseen up to this point – steps forward 
  and fires a shot into the air, instantly quieting the 
  crowd and drawing all eyes to her. “Listen up!” 
  she shouts, her voice instantly commanding. “I’m 
  Amanda Russell, Second Class Inspector with the 
  Guild. I’ll be taking charge of this investigation, 
  and hopefully, with a bit of luck and some help 
  from everyone present, we’ll be able to get to the 
  bottom of this murder.”
  She motions to the stage with her gun, sending 
  showgirls dodging to either side out of fear of 
  being shot. “You girls up there, go seal the doors 
  to the Theater and start gathering people up in 
  groups of five to seven people or so. We’ll begin 
  the questioning soon.”
  
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  In reality, the actress playing Amanda Russell – 
  Kitty Blake – is quite outgoing but had never fired 
  a gun before she began practicing for this role. 
  After several mishaps involving her gesturing at 
  people with a loaded weapon, Colette sacrificed 
  authenticity for safety and replaced all of her bullets 
  with blanks… and then decided not to tell the 
  other showgirls. The nervousness they feel when 
  Kitty starts gesturing with her gun is therefore very 
  real, though Kitty knows that the gun can’t actually 
  harm anyone. 
  Russell’s role is essentially that of host and 
  authority figure. She’s there to provide some 
  structure to the “murder investigation” and to keep 
  everyone from shooting each other. Despite her 
  acting talent, however, anyone familiar with Guild 
  practices – such as its agents – can attempt TN 
  9 Bureaucracy Challenges to notice that she’s not 
  following procedure when it comes to reporting 
  murders in crowded locations. If confronted about 
  this, Russell dismisses such claims with a quick 
  “when you’re a Second Class Inspector, you can run 
  your investigations however you see fit.” She then 
  tries to avoid spending too much time around those 
  questioning her, for fear of having her cover blown. 
  Eventually, the showgirls will arrange the theater’s 
  guests into small groups of six or seven people, 
  each of which will then be tended to by a seemingly 
  worried showgirl. In actuality, they’re there to help 
  guide their guests through the murder mystery 
  investigation and to inform Russell once a group 
  believes they have identified the killer. Read the 
  following text to the players:
  After the Fated make introductions, she continues: 
  The same offer is being made to every other group; 
  it’s intended to get the theater’s guests into an 
  investigative mood and searching for clues on their 
  own. If the Fated decide that they don’t want to help 
  out, then feel free to describe the events of the rest 
  of the night as another group of guests unravels the 
  mystery and are praised by Ms. Du Bois and the 
  other showgirls. If the Fated decide to participate in 
  the investigation, read the following text: 
  The showgirls bar the doors of the theater as 
  Inspector Russell takes a moment to examine the 
  body. Eventually, one of the showgirls comes to 
  your group and gives you an apologetic smile. “I’m 
  so sorry about this,” she says, folding her hands 
  in front of her. “This sort of thing usually doesn’t 
  happen at the Star Theater. I’m Anna Roberts, by 
  the way.” 
  “To be truthful, I have a bit of an ulterior motive 
  here.” Anna lowers her voice as she steps 
  closer. “You see, Ms. Du Bois is concerned that 
  this Inspector Russell isn’t very good at her job 
  and might even finger the wrong person for the 
  murder. If you’d like to help us get to the bottom of 
  the mystery, she’s willing to make you temporary 
  Star Theater Security Consultants.” She bites her 
  lip as she waits hopefully for a response. 
  “Oh, thank goodness,” Anna murmurs, clearly 
  relieved. She glances over at the body, which 
  another group of guests is just leaving. One of 
  them has an open notebook and is taking notes 
  as the others whisper among themselves. “Okay, 
  it looks like there’s an opening. Come on.” 
  Anna leads you to the corpse of Benjamin Keith 
  the Third, who has collapsed onto his back. A 
  large red stain has spread out from his chest, and 
  there’s an obvious bullet hole in his shirt. “You 
  only have a few moments to look over the corpse,” 
  Anna says as she looks around, no doubt trying to 
  catch sight of Inspector Russell. “Make sure that 
  you don’t touch anything! We don’t want them 
  thinking that you did it.”
  
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  Brett Colton – aka Benjamin Keith – is, of course, 
  not actually dead. Anna doesn’t want the Fated to 
  touch him because it might obscure the clues for the 
  other groups, and also because she doesn’t want 
  them attempting to perform an impromptu autopsy 
  on a living actor. To assist with the charade, Colton 
  bit into a capsule he had kept hidden in his mouth 
  as he was shot; the chemical has sent him into a 
  coma-like state for the next hour or so, allowing him 
  to suppress his breathing and heartbeat  to better 
  play his role as a corpse. 
  If the Fated manage a TN 13 Notice or a TN 11 
  Doctor Challenge, however, they’ll notice the 
  slight rise and fall of his chest and realize that 
  he’s not dead; in fact, it doesn’t even look like he 
  has been shot!
  Use the below call out box to handle Fated characters 
  who are onto the elaborate ruse.
  If the Fated bring up the fact that Keith is alive, Anna 
  will panic and pull them aside to explain what’s going 
  on before they can ruin the game for everyone else. 
  “Please keep that to yourself,” she whispers, before 
  casting a panicked glance at the nearest groups to 
  make sure they didn’t overhear anything. “This is all 
  a game…a murder mystery, you see? The victim, the 
  murderer, even the Inspector…they’re all actors. We’re 
  letting everyone have a bit of fun with trying to solve 
  the mystery.” Her brow furrows in concern. “Please 
  don’t spoil things for everyone else. We worked really 
  hard to set this up.”
  If the Fated choose to spoil the murder mystery, 
  there’s some commotion from the crowd as confusion 
  spreads through the groups, until eventually Colette 
  is forced to step forward to salvage the evening. 
  Read the following text: 
  “Now, now, don’t get so upset over a bit of misdirection,” 
  comes a woman’s chiding voice from above. All eyes 
  turn upwards towards the woman in the rafters, her 
  red hair standing out against her black and purple 
  dress. The woman's arm is wrapped casually around 
  one of the ceiling’s wooden beams as she stands 
  on another, but as you watch, she hops off, only to 
  disappear in a cloud of colored smoke. 
  “It’s a mystery!” she shouts, this time from the stage, 
  where she’s now standing in a heavily modified and 
  stylized inspector’s costume. Angelica appears from 
  the side of the stage as the crowd begins to applause, 
  gesturing towards the grinning redhead. “Ladies and 
  gentlemen, the amazing Colette Du Bois!”
  Colette bows to the crowd, then straightens up and 
  makes a gesture with her hand as an oversized 
  magnifying glass appears out of nowhere. “We set 
  up a little murder mystery for you folks tonight, but 
  it seems that some of you were more clever than we 
  had anticipated!” She raises the magnifying glass to 
  her face, uses it to scan the crowd, and then twists 
  it in her hand, somehow transforming it into a huge 
  pistol. “It might not have been a real murder,” she 
  says, casually twirling the gun on her finger as she 
  paces the length of the stage, drawing a few catcalls 
  from the audience, “but you can still help us out by 
  solving the crime.” 
  Colette raises the gun to her lips, blowing across the 
  barrel before she turns and fires the gun into the 
  audience. People leap aside, but instead of firing a 
  bullet, the gun just clatters to the ground as Colette 
  herself explodes into a cloud of smoke. 
  “And who knows?” she continues, this time from 
  about twenty feet to the left of where she had been 
  standing. She’s once again clad in her black and 
  purple dress, and she’s seated daintily on the edge 
  of the stage, one leg crossed over the other. “Maybe 
  the winning group will earn a special prize.” There’s 
  a suggestive wink from the illusionist, and then the 
  groups laugh and return to the business of solving 
  the mystery with renewed enthusiasm.  
  Colette and her showgirls will be a bit annoyed at 
  the Fated if they spoil the mystery after being asked 
  not to do so, but if they do so without being warned 
  against it, then there aren’t any hard feelings. The 
  one constant of show business is that nothing ever 
  goes quite according to plan. 
  
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  InvestIgatIng the Body
  Investigating Benjamin Keith’s body for clues is 
  handled with an Ongoing Challenge. 
  Searching for Clues 
  Skills Allowed: Doctor, Notice, Pistol 
  Target Number: 11 
  Duration: 1 minute 
  Success Requirement: 8 
  Failure Requirement: 3
  The Fated only have a limited amount of time to 
  examine the body - three minutes – before Anna 
  guides them away and the next group comes up to 
  look Keith over. 
  At the end of each Duration, the Fated learn one Clue 
  from the list below for each success they achieved. 
  For every Failure, they learn one Mistake from the 
  list below. If your players can easily separate player 
  knowledge from character knowledge, feel free to 
  give the Clues and Mistakes to them individually, 
  perhaps even written down on small slips of paper 
  they can reveal to the group. This allows them to 
  each have an “Aha!” moment where they reveal their 
  findings (or their false assumptions) to the group. 
  If your players find it difficult to separate what their 
  characters know from what they know, however, you 
  can just give the Clues and Mistakes to them all at 
  the same time, ensuring that – like their characters 
  – they’re not easily able to separate the truth from 
  their false assumptions.
  If the Fated manage to successfully complete the 
  Ongoing Challenge, they learn the Breakthrough, 
  which should give them a solid push in the right 
  direction. If they critically fail the Ongoing Challenge, 
  however, then they learn the Red Herring, which is 
  likely to pull them well off course.  
  Clues (in no speCifiC order): 
  * The entry and exit wounds on Keith’s body suggest 
  that he was shot from behind at a very sharp angle, 
  as if by a very tall man. (The exit wounds are actually 
  just stage makeup)
  * There’s a crumpled note clasped in Keith’s hand; 
  it’s likely he was reading it in the moment he was 
  shot. Anne (or one of the Fated) can fish it out and 
  read the words, which are written in a delicate hand: 
  “Ben, come to the Star tonight. We have to talk one 
  last time. – J.S.” 
  * The exit wound is very small, suggesting that Keith 
  was shot with a small caliber weapon at long range. 
  For it to have struck his heart as it did required a 
  great deal of luck or an amazing aim. 
  * There’s a small paper envelope sticking out of 
  the inside of Keith’s jacket. When pointed out, Anne 
  will carefully remove the envelope aand open it, 
  revealing a small locket. Inside the locket are two 
  small portraits - one of Benjamin Keith, and one of 
  a dark-haired woman with a perpetual frown. “She 
  looks familiar…” Anne will muse, before shrugging 
  and carefully returning the locket to the envelope 
  and jacket. 
  * There’s a wedding ring on Keith’s finger. TThe skin 
  around the ring is slightly irritated, as if he hadn’t 
  quite gotten used to wearing it yet. 
  * A bullet is lodged into the floor near Keith (it was 
  planted earlier that day). It looks like it was fired 
  from a handgun, but the size is small, as if it was 
  fired from a pocket handgun and not a full pistol. 
  * Keith’s pocket watch snapped open when he fell to 
  the ground. On the inside of the lid is an inscription: 
  “To B.K. on our wedding day. Our love is eternal. 
  -H.D.”
  * From where Keith was standing, there’s a perfect 
  view to the balcony behind him. 
  
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  Mistakes (in no specific order): 
  * There’s no trace of stubble on Keith’s chin or neck, 
  which makes it easy to make out a small cut right 
  next to his neck (Colton/Keith cut himself shaving 
  before getting into costume).
  * Despite his high-class clothing and manners, 
  Keith’s hands show signs of callouses and dirty 
  fingernails (Colton/Keith forgot to wash his hands 
  and is actually an actor and occasional stage hand, 
  rather than a wealthy businessman). 
  * Keith’s nose appears to have been recently broken; 
  he was likely in some sort of bare-knuckled brawling 
  match in the past few weeks (or, more accurately, 
  he caught an opening door right to the face, much 
  to the horror of Blake/Russell, his live-in girlfriend).
  Breakthrough
  Tucked into Keith’s back pocket, just barely visible 
  beneath his coat and body, is a flyer advertising Jean 
  Shelby, a trick shooter who will be performing at the 
  Star Theater. The flyer is old and crumpled, and if 
  asked about it, Anne will state that she remembers 
  Jean. “She was something else,” she’ll say, shaking 
  her head. “She got in with some rich fellow about a 
  year ago, though, and gave up the stage, saying she 
  was going to get married. I don’t really remember 
  what happened to her, but she was a real bundle of 
  matches, that one.”
  red herring
  There’s a faint smudge of lipstick on Keith’s lips 
  (Colton/Keith is in a relationship with Blake/
  Russell and she gave him a quick kiss for good luck 
  before the show started). In a startling moment 
  of revelation, the Fated realize that the lipstick on 
  Keith’s lips is the same shade as that worn by 
  Inspector Russell (which is certain to cause some 
  unintended confusion for everyone involved).
  The soluTion to the Mystery
  Depending upon the number of clues that they found, 
  the Fated should be able to piece together at least 
  part of the story: Benjamin Keith had a relationship 
  with Jean Shelby, one of the Star’s trick shooters, 
  and promised to take care of her if she left her 
  performing days behind. She did, only to have Keith 
  turn around and marry someone else (the H.D. of 
  his pocket watch). In her anger, she wrote Keith a 
  note asking him to meet her at the theater and then 
  used her expert marksmanship skills to shoot him 
  from the upper balcony. 
  
  37
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  Scene 3: A Woman Scorned
  Once the Fated have examined the body for clues, 
  they can attempt to solve the mystery. There are 
  essentially two ways the Fated can do this: either 
  rush up to the balcony to confront Jean Shelby, or 
  make an accusation from the ground floor. 
  If the Fated make their accusation from the ground 
  floor, there’s some commotion from the balcony 
  crowd, and Anna encourages to them to “get up 
  there before the murderer can get away!” If they 
  specifically name Jean Shelby, there will be shouts 
  of “She’s up here!” from the balcony crowd. 
  When the Fated head upstairs to the balcony, read 
  the following text: 
  The crowd on the balcony were informed that those 
  down below would be taking part in a murder mystery 
  early on and have been following the drama with 
  interest and more than a little bit of wagering. They 
  play along as best they’re able, but aren’t taking 
  it too seriously (which might seem very odd if the 
  Fated haven’t worked out that it’s not a real murder).
  If the Fated have seen the locket on Keith’s body, 
  they can make out Jean Shelby’s likeness from the 
  portrait within. If not, they can ask for her, in which 
  case the balcony audience will point her out. 
  LaSt StAnd
  When the Fated confront Jean Shelby on the balcony, 
  read the following text: 
  In order to prove Jean’s guilt, the Fated will have to 
  make some claim to her having a gun, at which point 
  Inspector Russell will seize her purse and turn it 
  out, revealing a small handgun.
  Inspector Russell is hot on your heels as you rush 
  up the carpeted steps to the balcony. The crowd 
  there is dressed much more formally than the 
  laborers down below, with the men in partial suits 
  and the women in semi-formal dresses. There’s a 
  great deal of scrip changing hands, and after a 
  moment, you realize why – they’re betting on which 
  of the groups below will solve the mystery first! 
  They turn towards you as you enter, a few of 
  the women raising masks to their faces as you 
  become the center of attention. “I say,” one of 
  the men asks, his handlebar mustache twitching 
  with each word. “What is all the commotion 
  down below?” There are a few giggles and stifled 
  chuckles from the others. 
  “There’s been a murder,” Inspector Russell states, 
  her tone deadly serious.
  Jean Shelby clutches her purse to her chest. 
  “I don’t understand what this is all about,” she 
  insists. She’s dressed in a modest cream-colored 
  dress, and her dark hair is done up in a small 
  bun. “I couldn’t have shot anyone from up here. 
  Someone would have seen me.”
  A bald man gestures towards the balcony. “Yes, 
  but you were at the edge, my dear.”
  “I was trying to watch the dancers,” she sharply 
  retorts. “There’s no crime in that!”
  “The murder weapon!” Russell proclaims, a wide 
  grin appearing on her lips as he looks towards 
  you. “Congratulations, everyone! You’ve solved 
  the mystery!” There are some grumblings from the 
  crowd as money changes hands, but Jean Shelby, 
  rather than looking upset over being captured, is 
  positively beaming with delight. 
  “You did it!” she proclaims, clasping her hands 
  together in joy. “Did you think it was too easy? 
  What part did you like best?”
  
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  Inspector Russell will introduce herself as Kitty 
  Blake, but Jean Shelby is playing herself in this little 
  game; she actually is a trick shooter, but she’s been 
  off the circuit for the past year following the birth of 
  her first child. She agreed to use her reputation as 
  an excellent shot (as well as the old flyer on Keith’s 
  corpse) to help set up the murder mystery. 
  Once Inspector Russell announces that the murder 
  is solved, two of the showgirls help Keith up, throwing 
  his arms over their shoulders as they carry him out; 
  it’ll be a bit longer still before the drug wears off and 
  he’s back to functionality. He makes an appearance 
  at the end of the show with the other girls, waving to 
  everyone to prove that he’s doing just fine.
  Epilogue
  With the mystery solved, Angelica takes to the stage 
  to close out the act and introduce the next one. 
  Read the following text to the players: 
  A FalsE Accusation
  If the Fated are unable to solve the mystery, Anna will 
  keep them company until another group eventually 
  figures it out. If they accuse the wrong person, 
  she'll shake her head, explain that they've "got it all 
  wrong," and then pull them off to the side to explain 
  that it's all a game. As above, another group will 
  eventually solve the mystery. 
  colettE's RewaRd
  If the Fated successfully solve the mystery, they'll 
  earn a reward from Colette Du Bois, the owner of the 
  Star Theater. This could be anything the Fatemaster 
  wishes: backstage passes, a private performance 
  for the characters, or even an offer of continuing 
  employment as actual security consultants.
  ** Bad things HappEn **
  This adventure assumes that Brett Colton (as 
  Benjamin Keith) is playing dead throughout the 
  investigation of his murder, but what if things turned 
  a bit darker? If you wish, you could have Jean 
  Shelby actually murder Colton with her pistol and 
  real bullets. He’s the father of her child, and when 
  she confronted him about it, he claimed that he 
  was seeing Kitty Blake now and that it wasn’t his 
  responsibility. She replied by waiting until tonight 
  and shooting him dead. 
  There will be a few odd pieces of evidence during the 
  investigation – the presence of two entry wounds in 
  his body, one real and one fake – as well as two 
  bullets in the floorboards, despite only a single 
  gunshot, but otherwise the adventure will continue 
  as written. 
  The showgirls won’t notice that Colton is really dead 
  until near the end of the show, and they’ll keep it a 
  secret until then, for fear of alerting the guests. If the 
  Fated were able to solve the fake murder, perhaps 
  they’ll be able to discretely solve a real murder as 
  well? Of course, that will depend upon whether they 
  can track down and defeat Jean Shelby, who really 
  is pretty amazing with a pistol…
  “Murder, intrigue, and adventure!” Angelica’s voice 
  carries across the theater, drawing all eyes back 
  to center stage, where she’s leaning forward onto 
  a fancy cane. “Of course, nothing is quite what it 
  appears in the Star Theater, but hopefully you all 
  enjoyed our little brush with death?” 
  There’s an answering cheer from the audience, 
  and Angelica stands up straight and dramatically 
  places a hand to her ear. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t 
  quite make that out.” This time, the cheer is even 
  louder, and she grins as she twirls the cane in her 
  hand. “That’s more like it! I’m sure that…”
  Her voice is cut off by the sudden sting of organ 
  music, which dissolves into a face-paced melody. 
  Angelica feigns surprise, then starts walking 
  backwards as she gestures to the showgirls 
  twirling on stage from the other direction. “And 
  who can resist cheers like that? Certainly not the 
  girls of the Star! Show ‘em what you’ve got, girls!”
  The show continues as dancing girls and the 
  famous Colette Du Bois take to the stage, each 
  act upstaging the last until finally, late into the 
  night, the curtain falls one final time. It’s just 
  another night at the Star Theater, but it’s certainly 
  one that you’ll never forget. 
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Through the Breach/Through the Breach - One Shot - Night at the Star, A (Chronicles #18) [_oef_].pdf