Danganronpa: Ultimate High School Class Despair
"Upupupupu...I am ready to let the killing begin!"
"Upupupupu...I am ready to let the killing begin!"
Introduction
Hi all. As some of you may know, I mentioned a few days ago that I found a Danganronpa Card Game in Japan. Having now almost translated it, I feel confident in running it if at least to work out the kinks. This thread is an Interest Check to see how many or who would like to play a social game of randomness and wits.
Don't know what Danganronpa is? It's a game series thats spawned a manga and an anime. It's basically Ace Attorney meets Battle Royale in which a highschool student is given the role of a Killer and must be deduced before he kills enough victims to graduate. The ones who get it right, also graduates as well. So there's lots of mystery, intrigue, randomness; enough to make it exciting.
Don't know what Werewolf/Mafia is? I've ran a few games of it here. Feel free to check it out. Mafia/Werewolf is a social deduction game where the uninformed majority uses logic to go against the informed minority. The Mafia kills people every night and it's up to the whole town to figure it out before their numbers dwindle.
As you can see, both games seem to be a natural fit for each other. And I would like to run such a game if there are willing participants.
DISCLAIMER: Because of the very spoilerish nature of the game that may turn off any potential fans of the video game, I will not be running this card game in its complete capacity, but rather with key Spoiler Characters and Items removed. The game will still function properly anyway and to non-fans, they'll barely notice.
How Do I Win? -- The Roles
Danganronpa has a really simple premise: Find the Murderer before he graduates with the Perfect crime. Throughout the game, the players will act as various students on campus who must all get along for better or worse. They will have their own agenda depending on the role that they are given. Two main factions are immediately apparent:
Hope
The Good Guys. It's Hope's job to detect the Kuro killer before he graduates with a perfect score. Possible roles include:
a) Aruta - The "Cop" of the game. Every night, can determine whether or not someone is on the side of Hope or Despair. Being the Leader of the Hope Side, he is a guaranteed appearance in every setup.
b) Shiro - The "Villager" of the game. Shiro's are your normal highschool student who's vote is his power. They will stop at nothing to put Kuro behind bars.
c) Despair Diesease Patient - A corrupted Shiro who for all intents is still a highschool student but when visited by Aruta, will be seen as a Despair student. Has a chance of appearing in setups with 4-6 players.
d) Monomi - The "Bodyguard" of the game. Monomi is a necessary evil that will be seen as Despair by Aruta, but will have the ability to protect someone every night. If that player is attacked, Monomi will take the bullet instead. Only exists in 7p setups and above.
Despair
The Bad Guys. Despair will cause chaos and distrust within the school, all for the completion of the perfect murder. Possible roles include:
a) Kuro - The "Killer" of the game. In order to win, he must a) Fulfill his Kill Quota (depends on the setup) and b) Not get caught doing it. This means that Kuro can still be caught even after the murder even if his Kill Quota is just 1. As the leader of the Despair faction, there will always be a Kuro in every game.
b) Traitor - A fan of Kuro's work and will do everything to support him. Traitors are bad eggs who know who Kuro is on Day 0 but not the other way around. Kuro could care less if he has supporters. Traitors win if Kuro wins the game, even after death. Only appears in setups with more than 6 players.
c) Ultra High School Class Despair Student - An average Shiro with weak-willed resolve. When investigated by Aruta, will be seen as Hope...until someone else dies, to which he will be seen as Despair from then on. Though on the side of Despair, this Ultimate Student has his own agenda...he can win on his own if he is solely Executed at the Class Trial! Only appears in setups with more than 6 players.
Game Flow
Danganronpa plays similarly to Mafia with a few tweaks to the formula. Because of the ability to use Items and Abilities, there is an extra "Morning" phase for Standby to activate them. The Day phase also changes a bit; now the Class cannot lynch anyone if a murder has not occurred. There's no point in a Class Trial if there's no crime committed right? The Game flows as seen below:
Day 0, Recreation Day
- Here, all the characters and abilities are introduced. The Setup is reiterated by me as to which roles are in the game. Items are kept private to the player who drew them and will not be revealed.
Morning
- A Standby Phase than resolves various background actions. During Morning, certain character abilities and Items can be declared, usually in reaction to being attacked the previous night but they vary. Refer to the Items and Abilities list to see if they apply at this point.
Daytime (Briefing Time) - 96 irl Hours
- During the day, Students are free to discuss whatever they feel like. Speculations. Plans. Strategies. Anything will help. Please note that if no one was killed the night previous, there will be no crime to sentence and therefore, no Class Trial. The Day ends peacefully if there are no victims, but if there are...
Daytime (Class Trial) - 36 irl Hours MAX
- Classmates MUST vote to execute a student in Class Trial in the event of a Murder. They will have 3 days maximum to vote (because timezones) and CANNOT discuss anymore. If they wish to discuss further, certain character abilities and items have a way to extend the discussion period. Tied Votes will require a recount, with only the tied votees as available choices. Daytime CANNOT end in a NoLynch situation.
- When all votes are publicly declared, the majority is executed on the spot. If Kuro has fulfilled his Kill Quota and he is not executed, he wins.
Nighttime - 72 irl Hours
- When the Day ends, players goto sleep at Night. Here, all secret actions are resolved. Aruta can go investigate, Monomi can go protect, etc. Morning comes after this phase.
Rinse and repeat until one of the victory conditions is met!
Characters
Danganronpa has an immense number of quirky characters. In this game, players will be assigned 1 random Character, in addition to their random Role. Every Character has an ability that they may only use ONCE per game and with the exception of 2, all abilities have to be activated at a given part of the day to trigger. Activation order is dependent on the order that the students are seated (revealed during Day 0).
Character List (Click to Show)
Items
At the beginning of each game, Players will be given 2 Random Items from the list below. Items can help the class in various ways including Kill prevention or Vote manipulation. Some Items have multiple copies, others don't. Items, like Character Abilities can only be used at certain times of the day. Please refer to the list to see when the Item can be used. All items must be manually declared to be activated unless stated otherwise as a passive item. They are discarded once used.
Spoiler (Click to Show)
- If a dead player has multiple items, a random one is assigned.
2) Golden Gun (Nighttime)
- Negates an attack on yourself.
- Must be declared BEFORE going to bed. This means, you can use it up without being attacked at all.
3) Glasses (Nighttime)
- Can only be used when Aruta is dead
- Choose a target to find out if he is Hope or Despair.
4) Hope Fragment (Morning)
- Negates an Attack from Kuro. Activates automatically.
5) Kirlian Camera (Daytime)
- Choose a dead player to see his Role
- Only the user will know the Role
6) School Crest (Morning)
- Only works if killed by Kuro, not when executed by Trial
- Grants you the ability to vote on the day after your death. You cannot participate in conversation though.
7) G-Sick Watch (Class Trial)
- Extends discussion time by 3 Days
- Can only be declared after initial discussion time ends
8) Sea Salt (Morning)
- Only works if killed by Kuro, not when executed by Trial
- Grants you the ability to participate in conversation. You cannot vote in the Trial though.
9) Despair Bat (Class Trial)
- Forcibly ends discussion and moves on to voting.
- Players cannot talk anymore and must vote to punish immediately.
10) Someone's Graduation Album (Nighttime)
- Choose a player to find out whether he is a Traitor or not.
11) Tips and Tricks Magazine (Class Trial)
- Get two votes instead of one.
- Must be declared before voting phase.
12) God of War Charm (Morning)
- Diverts an attack from Kuro to the person on your right.
- Doesn't activate automatically, must be declared.
13) Bojobo Dolls (Daytime)
- Pick 2 men and 2 women. They can draw an Item.
14) Vise (Morning)
- Only activates when the owner dies from a Kuro attack.
- When activated, Kuro cannot kill anyone the next night.
- Does not activate automatically, must be declared.
15) Mineral Water (Class Trial)
- Declare use after discussion phase.
- Target will not be able to vote for the day.
16) Silent Receiver (Nighttime)
- C