True Crime
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I looked down at the stiff and wondered who had knocked him off. Whoever the killer was¸ he hadn't been monkeying around. Lucky Lorcano had been shot right through the pump. Guess he wasn't so lucky¸ after all.
True Crime is an 82-page supplement for the FATE Core system¸ inspired by detective fiction and film noir movies of the 1930s¸ '40s and '50s. It contains adventure seeds inspired by classic films¸ tips for creating realistic murder mystery scenarios¸ one complete adventure¸ plus a wealth of information on how real-world detectives actually investigate murders.
True Crime features new rules that put the emphasis on interviewing suspects and witnesses¸ based on the Investigator's chosen Personality Traits and current Interview Techniques. Depending on whether an Investigator chooses a "confiding" tone¸ "interrogation" or to lend a "sympathetic ear¸" for example¸ the NPCs being questioned might prove more resistant or compliant.
Using True Crime¸ a gamemaster can run a light-hearted mystery along the lines of a Thin Man murder or a Charlie Chan comedy¸ or might focus on a serious courtroom drama along the lines of Perry Mason. There are also suggestions for running a "cozy" little mystery solved by amateur detectives¸ or for taking a lone private eye through the mean streets of a film noir inspired city.
Written by veteran RPG designer Lisa Smedman (author of dozens of adventures and supplements for the Dungeons & Dragons game and a host of other RPGs) True Crime offers a realistic system for running detective games¸ using the FATE Core system.
Sure as ten dimes is a dollar¸ this case would be a tough nut to crack¸ even for an experienced shamus like me. The suspects might all be stringing me along¸ but I'd tumble to their game eventually¸ no matter how many dames I had to shadow¸ no matter how many mugs I had to rough up. Somebody might take a poke at me¸ or throw some lead my way. But eventually I'd have the answers I needed to solve the case.
Why do I take these risks?
Because that's my job¸ for $25 a day¸ plus expenses.