Scorpion's Tale

Suspect: As told by Scorpia

Scorpia

WARNING! This article contains spoilers. Avert your eyes!

Come in, come in! My, you're looking a bit tired today. It must be from all that hitchhiking you've been doing. Settle in, and Fred will pour out something refreshing for you. However, don't get too comfortable; I'm afraid that you're going to be busy again very soon. It seems you're on the verge of being arrested for murder.

It's a little bit unpleasant being a Suspect, isn't it? The police are busily collecting evidence against you, and you don't have much time to prove your innocence. Ah, but let's go back to the beginning here, and take things one step at a time.

It starts at a costume ball being held by Veronica Ashcroft on Halloween evening in the luxurious Ashcroft mansion. Maryland's high society has gathered for an evening of fun and frolic, dressed in outlandish costumes, and seemingly without a care in the world. Of course, there are all sorts of things going on under the surface, and you, as a journalist, hope to pick up some choice bits for your paper. Murder is the last thing you'd expect here, so naturally one is committed. . . and the killer has thoughtfully framed you for the deed.

However, don't panic (oops, wrong adventure!). With a little bit of help, and some careful evidence-gathering on your part, we might get you out of this jam. For instance, have you noticed the weather? It's a stormy night out there, with heavy rain falling (a perfect night for murder). You might want to keep an eye on the weather from time to time during the evening; it could be useful later.

Certainly, you will want to make a VERY thorough examination of the scene of the crime. Don't overlook anything in the office; although an item might seem to be trivial, it may have an important bearing on the case. However, while Veronica may not look too pretty with your lariat wrapped around her neck, you really shouldn't remove it.

Talking to people is another good way to pass the time. Ask everyone you meet about everyone else; some interesting information can be picked up in this fashion. Of course, you'll have to make some allowances for personal prejudices, but generally, most of the people will be fairly honest with you.

Speaking of the people in the game, you'll notice they move around a great deal. This adventure has the most activity of any game, and you may get side-tracked into following harmless people to and from the bathroom. You have better things to do, so don't waste time shadowing everyone; choose with care.

One nice thing about being inside is that you can unlock doors and windows (no need to go hunting around for keys). Use this ability to your advantage, and make sure you map the entire layout of the ground floor. Don't worry about the upstairs; that's not open to the public, and there is nothing important up there. The outside is not important, either; the barn, while enticing, is locked up, and you can't get in.

Make sure you go into all the rooms. Some of them are empty, some have red herrings, but others contain important evidence (even if it doesn't look important). You can't afford to overlook anything; you MUST have all the evidence, or you won't be able to get a conviction. Also, from time to time, you might want to drop into the Ballroom for a few minutes, to see what's going on there. Events are happening in this game, and timing is crucial. Being in the right place at the right time can open up new areas of investigation for you.

Sooner or later, the body will be discovered (you may want to be on hand when Veronica is found), and the police summoned. Once this happens, you have to move quickly. The detective assigned to the case is not especially bright, but Sergeant Duffy is no fool. However, all your communications with the police must be done through the detective, and he can be useful to you in having various objects analyzed (it's amazing how little interest he shows in your requests). That's about all he's good for, really, until the time comes to make the arrest.

You will also need to present some evidence to him after he arrives (if you can find him; he moves around a lot, too). If you don't give him some other things to think about, Sgt. Duffy will be after you with the handcuffs, and that will be the end of the game. While you're at it, you might want to show some of the items you've found to several other people, too (before showing them to the detective, or you'll never see them again); you may get some interesting reactions from them.

Once the detective has some material that incriminates someone else, you can breathe a sigh of relief and continue collecting more evidence. At one point, it will be necessary to do a little breaking and entering, but don't let that worry you; no one ever asks where or how you got your evidence (which is just as well).

The end will come in the Ballroom. Eventually the detective will make his way there, and just hang out, "weighing the evidence". It's up to you to tell him who to arrest; if you don't, the game will simply go on and on indefinitely. Even though you have given him all the evidence necessary, he won't take the initiative (some detective!). Remember he has to have ALL the evidence, or you won't get a conviction.

Now, for a final word (or several): the entire game hinges on a critical point. Until you have figured out what that is, you won't get very far, because you probably won't recognize evidence when you come across it. I'm not, of course, going to say what the critical point is; I'll just tell you that seeing is not always believing. Strange things can happen on All Hallows Eve! Especially with a devious murderer running around! But I'm sure that, in spite of it all, you'll come through in the end (besides, I know you've always wanted a Pulitzer Prize!).

Before closing up the Tale for this month, I'd like to answer some questions that keep popping up in the letters I get. These questions are not related to solving adventures; rather, they are personal questions that some of the more curious among you ask from time to time. There are three of them that are asked the most, and they are:

"Do you really play all these games yourself?" Yes! Each and every one of them, and others besides. Every game that has been covered in the Tale, I've played through to the end. And I don't use hint books of any kind.

"I'm embarrassed to ask this but, err, are you male or female?" Amazing how often this one gets asked. So, for all of you who are wondering, I am very definitely female! (And those of you who sent letters with a heading of "Dear Sir" or "Dear Mr. Scorpia", don't let it worry you! It's happened before, and I've learned to live with it).

"How about doing a column on the (insert title) adventure game?" Well, I'd like to oblige, but I have to keep in mind the adventures that are popular, and have the widest distribution. From the letters alone, Infocom games are asked about the most, followed by the Ultimas. All other adventure games come in a very distant third. That's why I concentrate on the Infocom games. However, if another adventure gets really popular, I'll do a write-up on it.

If you have an adventure game question or three (it's perfectly all right to ask more than one question at a time!), you can reach me in the following ways:
On CompuServe: GO GAM-310
On the Source: SMAIL to ST1030
US Mail (enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope):

    Scorpia
    PO Box 338
    Gracie Station
    New York, NY 10028

That's it for this issue; see you next time, and happy adventuring! Copyright 1985 by Scorpia, all rights reserved.

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