two-keys/content/games/masquerade-montague.yaml

id: masquerade-montague
engine: story
category: murder-mystery
title: The Masquerade at Montague House
tagline: 1894. Five masks. One swap. A lord who never unmasked.
estimatedMinutes: 40
difficulty: 4
players: { min: 2, max: 2 }
theme: { primary: "#4a1942", accent: "#e0c068", background: "#0f0a12", headingFont: "Playfair Display" }
rules:
  hintPenaltySeconds: 180
roles:
  A:
    name: The Inspector
    blurb: Scotland Yard, called in at midnight. You have the staff's statements and the gardener's notes.
  B:
    name: The Lady's Maid
    blurb: You've served Montague House for years. You saw the guests arrive, and you hear everything.
intro: |
  **Montague House, Surrey. New Year's Eve, 1894.**

  Lord Julian Montague's masquerade is the event of the season. At midnight, the guests
  unmask for the toast. Lord Julian doesn't. He's found in the glass conservatory,
  a jewelled dagger from his own armoury missing from its case and nowhere to be found.

  Five guests. Five masks. **And at least one of them is lying about which mask they wore.**

  ⚠️ *Expert case: the locks only give you facts. A wrong accusation costs you dearly.*

suspects:
  - id: agatha
    name: Lady Agatha Stroud
    role: Dowager
    description: Julian's aunt. Controls the family purse strings and hates parties.
  - id: rupert
    name: Colonel Rupert Blackwood
    role: Retired soldier
    description: Owes Julian a fortune in card debts. Loud, red-faced, and very nervous tonight.
  - id: ivy
    name: Miss Ivy Marsh
    role: Young guest
    description: Nobody quite knows who invited her. Charming, quiet, watches Julian closely.
  - id: silas
    name: Mr Silas Penhaligon
    role: Business partner
    description: Julian's partner in a shipping company that is quietly going bankrupt.
  - id: odette
    name: Mrs Odette Vance
    role: Widow
    description: Julian courted her for a year, then dropped her for a duke's daughter. Everyone saw her scene at dinner.

chapters:
  - id: ch1
    title: Who Wore What
    narrative: |
      Every guest arrived masked and cloaked. The footman logged the masks: **Fox, Raven, Swan, Lion, Stag**.
      The cloaks were **crimson, green, black, silver, gold**. Nobody wrote down who wore what.
      You'll have to work it out together.
    clues:
      A:
        - id: a1-butler
          title: The butler's recollections
          type: note
          body: |
            1. The Colonel wore **green**. "Like a proper huntsman," he kept saying.
            2. The **Swan** wore **black**. Some joke about black swans.
            3. Mr Penhaligon did **not** wear a bird mask.
            4. Whoever wore **gold** had a **bird** mask. (Birds: Raven, Swan.)
      B:
        - id: b1-maid
          title: What you noticed in the cloakroom
          type: note
          body: |
            5. The **Lion** wore **silver**.
            6. None of the three ladies wore the **Fox** or the **Lion**.
            7. Miss Marsh did **not** wear gold.
            8. Lady Agatha calls feathers "vulgar". She would **never** wear a bird mask.
      shared:
        - id: s1-guests
          title: The guest list
          type: document
          body: |
            **Ladies:** Lady Agatha Stroud, Miss Ivy Marsh, Mrs Odette Vance
            **Gentlemen:** Colonel Rupert Blackwood, Mr Silas Penhaligon
            Each guest wore exactly one mask and one cloak. No two guests shared either.
    lock:
      id: lock-raven
      prompt: Who arrived wearing the Raven mask?
      inputType: choice
      options:
        - { id: agatha, label: Lady Agatha Stroud }
        - { id: rupert, label: Colonel Rupert Blackwood }
        - { id: ivy, label: Miss Ivy Marsh }
        - { id: silas, label: Mr Silas Penhaligon }
        - { id: odette, label: Mrs Odette Vance }
      answers: ["odette"]
      hints:
        - Start with the men. Clue 6 says the ladies never wore Fox or Lion, so the two men wore Fox and Lion.
        - The Colonel wore green and the Lion wore silver, so the Colonel is the Fox and Penhaligon is the Lion (silver). Agatha can't wear a bird, so she's the Stag.
        - Ivy and Odette share Raven and Swan. The Swan wears black; gold goes to a bird; Ivy isn't gold. So Ivy is the black Swan, and Odette is the gold Raven.
      successText: |
        **Mrs Odette Vance arrived as the Raven, in gold.**
        The full picture: Agatha (Stag, crimson) · Rupert (Fox, green) · Ivy (Swan, black) · Silas (Lion, silver) · Odette (Raven, gold).
        Write that down. You'll need it.
      keyName: Feather Key

  - id: ch2
    title: The Raven in the Conservatory
    narrative: |
      One witness saw someone go into the conservatory just before midnight.
      But a masquerade is a very good place to be someone else.
    clues:
      A:
        - id: a2-footman
          title: Footman's statement
          type: transcript
          body: |
            "Ten to midnight, sir. Someone in the **Raven** mask went into the conservatory. Quick, like.
            I'd swear to the mask. And the cloak was **black**. I remember thinking it looked like a funeral."
        - id: a2-odette
          title: Mrs Vance's statement
          type: transcript
          body: |
            "Yes, I hated him. Half the room heard me say so at dinner. But I was in the ballroom
            from eleven onward. Ask anyone who danced with the **Swan**." *(She doesn't seem to notice what she said.)*
      B:
        - id: b2-cloakroom
          title: What you saw in the cloakroom at 23:00
          type: note
          body: |
            Two of the ladies came in giggling and **traded masks**, the Raven and the Swan.
            They **kept their own cloaks**. One of them said, "The Colonel will never guess, it'll be such a lark."
        - id: b2-colonel
          title: The Colonel, overheard
          type: transcript
          body: |
            "Julian gave me till Friday to pay. Friday! I'd sooner see him at the bottom of the lake."
            *(He was in the card room from 23:30 until midnight with Mr Penhaligon. Both swear to it.)*
    lock:
      id: lock-seen
      prompt: Who did the footman really see enter the conservatory?
      inputType: choice
      options:
        - { id: agatha, label: Lady Agatha Stroud }
        - { id: rupert, label: Colonel Rupert Blackwood }
        - { id: ivy, label: Miss Ivy Marsh }
        - { id: silas, label: Mr Silas Penhaligon }
        - { id: odette, label: Mrs Odette Vance }
      answers: ["ivy"]
      hints:
        - The swap was Raven ↔ Swan. Who had those masks at the start, and what colour were their cloaks?
        - After 23:00 the Raven mask was worn with whichever cloak the Swan had arrived in.
        - Ivy arrived as the black Swan. After the swap she wore the Raven with her own black cloak.
      successText: |
        **Miss Ivy Marsh.** After the swap, Ivy wore the Raven with her black cloak. Odette wore the Swan with gold.
        Anyone looking for "the Raven" would blame Odette, the jilted widow who'd made a scene at dinner.
      keyName: Mask Key

  - id: ch3
    title: The Missing Dagger
    narrative: |
      The jewelled dagger isn't on the body or in the house. The police think it's still in the conservatory,
      buried in one of the sixteen numbered plant pots. They can't dig up every pot before dawn.
    clues:
      A:
        - id: a3-gardener
          title: The gardener's evening notes
          type: note
          body: |
            *Watered every pot at 10 o'clock tonight, soaked through, **except the prime-numbered pots**.
            Those are His Lordship's cacti. Water rots them.*
      B:
        - id: b3-police
          title: Constable's conservatory notes
          type: report
          body: |
            - Fresh disturbance in the soil of **pots 4, 9, 11 and 15**.
            - A pair of **white evening gloves** found burning in the conservatory stove. Unburnt fingertips are **spotless, no mud at all**.
            - Pots 4, 9 and 15 were re-potted by the under-gardener this afternoon (his note on the potting bench).
        - id: b3-map
          title: Sketch of the conservatory pots
          type: map
          body: |
            ```
            [ 1] [ 2] [ 3] [ 4]
            [ 5] [ 6] [ 7] [ 8]
            [ 9] [10] [11] [12]
            [13] [14] [15] [16]
            ```
    lock:
      id: lock-pot
      prompt: Which pot is the dagger buried in?
      inputType: code
      format: Pot number
      answers: ["11"]
      hints:
        - At midnight, which pots would be muddy? Which would be dry?
        - Clean gloves means the killer dug in dry soil. Dry soil means a prime-numbered pot.
        - Of the disturbed pots, only 11 is prime, and the others have an innocent explanation anyway.
      successText: |
        **Pot 11.** Under the cactus: the jewelled dagger. Wrapped around the hilt is a strip of black silk
        torn from a cloak.
      keyName: Dagger Key

  - id: ch4
    title: Julian's Confession
    narrative: |
      In Lord Julian's desk, a sealed envelope addressed *"To be opened after my death."*
      Inside: rows of numbers, and nothing else. Julian was fond of the old soldiers' square cipher.
    clues:
      A:
        - id: a4-numbers
          title: The letter inside the envelope
          type: letter
          body: |
            ```
            44 23 13 25 31
            52 23 25
            42 21 21 12 35 22 21 14
            ```
            *Below, in Julian's hand: "God forgive me. I built my square on our motto, as Father taught me."*
        - id: a4-howto
          title: Police cipher handbook, page 12
          type: document
          body: |
            **The square cipher (Polybius).** Write a keyword into a 5×5 square, row by row, skipping
            repeated letters, then fill the rest with the unused alphabet (I and J share a square).
            Each letter is written as **row then column**, e.g. 23 = row 2, column 3.
      B:
        - id: b4-crest
          title: The Montague crest above the fireplace
          type: photo
          body: |
            *A carved stone shield with a lion and a ship. Beneath it, the family motto:*
            **FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BOLD**
        - id: b4-marsh
          title: Servants' gossip about the Marsh family
          type: note
          body: |
            Twenty years ago, Mr Edward Marsh owned this house. Lord Julian accused him of cheating at cards.
            Marsh lost everything, the house went to Julian, and Marsh died in debtors' prison.
            *He had a little daughter. Nobody knows what became of her.*
    lock:
      id: lock-confession
      prompt: What did Julian confess?
      inputType: text
      format: Three words
      answers: ["MARSHWASINNOCENT"]
      hints:
        - Build the square from FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BOLD, skipping repeats.
        - "Row 1: F O R T U. Row 2: N E A V S. Row 3: H B L D C. Row 4: G I K M P. Row 5: Q W X Y Z."
        - 44 = row 4, column 4 = M. The message starts MARSH.
      successText: |
        **"MARSH WAS INNOCENT."** Julian framed Edward Marsh and took his house.
        And Edward Marsh had a daughter. **Ivy** Marsh.
      keyName: Crest Key

finale:
  type: accusation
  prompt: The clocks strike one. Make your accusation, all four parts.
  maxAttempts: 1
  questions:
    - id: who
      label: Who killed Lord Julian?
      options:
        - { id: agatha, label: Lady Agatha Stroud }
        - { id: rupert, label: Colonel Rupert Blackwood }
        - { id: ivy, label: Miss Ivy Marsh }
        - { id: silas, label: Mr Silas Penhaligon }
        - { id: odette, label: Mrs Odette Vance }
      answer: ivy
    - id: mask
      label: Which mask was the killer wearing in the conservatory?
      options:
        - { id: fox, label: Fox }
        - { id: raven, label: Raven }
        - { id: swan, label: Swan }
        - { id: lion, label: Lion }
        - { id: stag, label: Stag }
      answer: raven
    - id: how
      label: How?
      options:
        - { id: dagger, label: Stabbed with the armoury dagger, then buried it in a dry cactus pot }
        - { id: poison, label: Poison in his champagne }
        - { id: lake, label: Drowned in the conservatory pond }
        - { id: pistol, label: Shot with a silenced pistol }
      answer: dagger
    - id: why
      label: Why?
      options:
        - { id: jilted, label: He jilted her for a duke's daughter }
        - { id: debts, label: To escape gambling debts }
        - { id: father, label: He framed her father and stole the family home }
        - { id: business, label: To save a failing shipping company }
      answer: father
  successEnding: |
    Ivy takes off the Raven mask and sets it on the table, very gently.

    "He took our house. He took my father. Twenty years I've practised being a stranger in it."

    She suggested the mask swap as "a lark" so that Odette, the famous jilted widow, would be seen
    as the Raven. She followed Julian to the conservatory at ten to midnight, used the dagger
    she'd lifted during the Grand March, and buried it in the one pot she knew would be dry.
    She forgot one thing: she swapped masks, but not cloaks.

    **Case closed.** 🎭🔑
  failEnding: |
    The Inspector makes an arrest. The real killer curtsies on her way out the door, and is never seen again.
  reveal: |
    **Miss Ivy Marsh**, wearing **Odette's Raven mask** after the swap, stabbed Julian with the
    **armoury dagger** and buried it in **cactus pot 11**, because Julian had **framed her father
    and stolen Montague House**.