ENTITY 11: HABIT FORMER

 

Artist: Felipe Escobar Bolivar.

 

Rats were trained in a Skinner box to approach the food cup when a distinct click was sounded. Ribonucleic acid was extracted from the brains of these rats and injected into untrained rats. The untrained rats then manifested a significant tendency (as compared with controls) to approach the food cup when the click, unaccompanied by food, was presented.

- TRANSFER OF A RESPONSE TO NAIVE RATS BY INJECTION OF RIBONUCLEIC ACID EXTRACTED FROM TRAINED RATS.

It's uncomfortable to admit, but many of our behaviours are ultimately controlled by simple chemistry. Love, fear, depression, loathing. They're all born from a cocktail of chemicals bubbling away inside the brain. This is the principle exploited by the Habit Former - a small insect about the size of your fist. By injecting you with a cocktail of specially-curated ribonucleic acids, it can completely transform your personality.

First Impressions: Brindlewood Bay

Brindlewood Bay is a RPG written by Jason Cordova where you play as the Murder Mavens, a club of old ladies solving cosy mysteries in a small fishing town. Little do you suspect that there's a dark conspiracy connecting these mysteries, tying into the lovecraftian horrors that lurk beneath the waters of this town...

It's Murder She Wrote mixed with Lovecraft. The most unique thing about it is the way you actually solve the mysteries. There is no pre-planned solution: Even the GM doesn't know who actually committed the murder. 

When they've gathered enough clues, the players put forward a theory of who they think committed the murder. They make a Theorize roll, with a bonus for each major clue they've tied into their theory, and if it succeeds - they were right! That theory they put forward was correct, and they now have to bring the murderer to justice.

To make this work, the GM is meant to deliberately keep things a little vague until the players make that decisive Theorize roll. The clues aren't meant to point to any particular suspect. You may find a note saying that someone was removed from the will - but the last page is ripped, so you don't know who exactly it was. If the killer attacks you, they'll be veiled in shadow the whole time. 

It's a really interesting trick. I've played 2 sessions of the system now, so here's some of my first impressions of how this unique approach plays out in practice.