Wushu Skidoo

In those few moments of vertigo, you know what's like to be me. Except that waking up doesn't solve my problems, it's just their beginning...

Missing Time is a mystery game where everything from the clues to the crime are improvised during play. It even runs great without a GM. The players may or may not interact with each other, but they all have the same problem: They're Dr. Jekyll and they have to clean up after Mr. Hyde.

You know what you are, but not what you did.

You have this alter ego. Sometimes, it takes over and does things, bad things, and you never retain more than a few tattered scraps of his memories. Never enough to have any damn clue what really happened, anyway. You just wake up and find disturbing clues all around you, like bloody prints on the walls or threatening messages in your own handwriting. It's a serious problem.

You joined a support group, but it's full of weirdos, people who think they're being brainwashed by the CIA or abducted by aliens. Or both. They want to keep their secrets as much as you do, and avoid the consequences for what happens during their "episodes," so you help each other out from time to time.

Here's how it works: Each player starts the game with a general idea of what their alter ego is like. Is it a body snatcher who actually walks around in their skin? Or is it an evil twin that takes their place while they're off getting probed? Is it cold and calculating or a raging id? Iconic examples include werewolves, demonic possession, Yithian time travelers, CIA sleeper assassins, and of course the esteemed Mr. Hyde.

Traits are determined by prioritizing the three things your character will most likely be doing: Investigation, Cover-Ups, and Running Away. Rate them 5, 4, and 3 in any order. Next, come up with a Weakness and rate it 1. This should be something fear-inducing that relates to your alter ego and may trigger an episode.

You're almost ready to go. The final step is to brainstorm a bunch of clues. Make sure there are at least 3 per player, ideally more. Each should be vague enough that it could be applied to any of the protagonists, because they very well might. A few examples...

• A voice message from an unknown person, asking to meet you somewhere.
• Handwritten directions to a foreign embassy.
• A broken set of handcuffs, still attached to your wrist.
• Scars you didn't have before (i.e. wound-doubling).
• A watch that's exactly 3 minutes slow.
• News footage of you fleeing a crime scene.
• A severed hand (maybe yours).

Write them all down on a sheet of paper and put it in the middle of the table. No player gets to pick their own clues; one (or more) of the other players always pick for them.

Nobody knows & everybody lies.

Think of each clue as a nemesis. The player describes their attempts to investigate and/or cover up the clue, while the GM responds to those actions and/or throws additional challenges at the player. These are all Details and each earns a die, but they may describe actions that stretch out over several hours or even days. It's not your typical nemesis fight.

The first clue rolls against a target number of 3, the second against a 4, and the final clue gets a 5. This amps up the pressure over the course of the game. GMs can also create side goals within a scene, things that don't directly relate to the clue: protecting innocent bystanders, helping your alter ego's victims, etc. Direct opposition from NPCs should be rolled into the GM's description, not built out like separate nemeses.

• Cops, Men-In-Black, CIA Spooks
• Alien Hybrids, Lizardmen
• Monster-Hunters, Crypto-Zoologists
• Reporters, Meddling Kids
• Nosy Neighbors, Witnesses, Victims

Any players who aren't actively involved in a scene should be recruited to play these parts. Since no one really knows what's going on, it's no problem if the co-GMs take things in different directions. Any apparent inconsistencies can be resolved at the end of the scene, but more on that in a minute. Let everyone get it on the scene, but only roll two pools of dice: One for the player and one for the clue.

First, let's talk kewl powerz. Every player has a pool of bonus dice that they can draw from by invoking some of their alter ego's (possibly supernatural) juju. This pool contains 5-6 dice (it should be the same as your default dice cap) and refreshes at the beginning of every scene. Players can use them to exceed the dice cap, which makes them very powerful.

There's just once catch: You can only roll dice that have NOT been used during the present scene when the GM calls for a self-control check. The target number for these checks is always 2. If it fails, the PC has an episode. The player should leave the room while everyone else figures out what horrible, horrible things their alter ego does to resolve the scene. Then, call the player back in, but DO NOT tell them what happened... just describe the aftermath. This keep the alter ego both mysterious and dangerous.

Whoever wins the round, either the player or the GM, gets to decide what the clue ultimately means. Was the blood in the sink yours or someone else's? Was the unknown woman your CIA handler or a werewolf hunter on the prowl? Did you commit the crime, or just fail to stop it? (Note that a PC can have an episode and still win the scene.)

Then, the other player(s) pick out the next clue and someone else starts the next scene.

Just in case you didn't follow that rambling diatribe...

Jacob wakes up to find a severed hand on his floor (the clue) and a pair of cops on his doorstep. Fortunately, he made "Cover-Ups" his top priority trait, so he'll be rolling against a 5 during this scene. Jacob's player whips up a few dice by describing how he hides the hand in the freezer, throws a rug over the blood stain on the floor, and answers the door wearing his most innocent expression. Two other players take on the roles of the police officers and do their best "good cop, bad cop" routine. When both player and the opposition are up the dice cap, they roll. Jacob easily blocks everything the other players throw at him and drains the scene down to 1 Chi.

Everyone decides they're done with the detectives (for now) and they let Jacob turn his attention towards investigation. He checks the severed hand for any tattoos or identifying scars; looks for dirt, fibers, or tissue under the nails; even compares the length of the digits for signs of lycanthropy. The GM says he finds fibers that match his own bed sheets, plus an old scar that matches one on his own hand. Jacob believes he's an alien abductee, so he immediately concludes this is the hand of his extraterrestrial doppleganger.

That's plenty of details for another roll. This time, Jacob's player has a lower target number (he ranked Investigation second), but he also has a hefty Chi advantage, so it all works out. Jacob wins the scene and his player gets to decide what the severed hand means. He looks at it under a microscope and discovers that it's actually made of tissue-like micro-machinery. Incontrovertible evidence of alien technology!

Two clues later, Jacob finds himself drawn to the Swedish embassy by a mysterious woman (another clue from the table). Someone inside, she says, can make the abductions stop. (Are the Swedes behind all cases of alien abduction?) Long story short: some violence ensues and the two of them end up running from security with a hostage in tow.

Now, the GM sets up a few side goals to compete for Jacob's attention: 1) Avoid showing his face to the security cameras and 2) make sure no innocent bystanders get hurt. The main goal is to escape with the hostage, so he can answer Jacob's questions. Unfortunately, Jacob has already lost 1 Chi to this scene and Running Away is his lowest trait. It's time to use some of that alien juju.

First, Jacob asserts that years of exposure to strange, alien radiation have left him contaminated with an energy field that scrambles all digital images of himself. Handy. Then, he claims that the aliens have implanted a tracking device in his neck, one that knocks everyone around him unconscious if he tries to reveal it. So, Jacob grabs a pair of scissors off a desk and begins cutting open the skin at the base of his neck. Horrified office workers and confused security guards black out all around him.

Jacob picks up his dice for the scene, plus he decides to bring in 4 of his juju dice. He counts on his chi to protect him and rolls very aggressively. Unfortunately, since this is the final scene, the GM is rolling against a target number of 5. Jacob manages to take down both of the side goals and reduce the scene to zero, but the GM scores enough hits to drive Jacob negative. Now, it's time to see if all that juju brings around any unwanted guests. Jacob picks up his 2 unused dice and rolls them against a target number of 2... and whiffs big time.

The GM sends Jacob outside while she and the other two players decide what happens. Obviously, a UFO shows up and does the usual UFO routine: white light, missing time, unnecessarily slow levitation, etc. However, none of that leaves any horrible aftermath for Jacob, so they also decide that the hostage is a member of an opposing alien race and he blasts the UFO to smithereens on sight!

Jacob wakes up to find himself lying at the bottom of a giant, glass bowl that used to be the Swedish embassy. Through the ringing in his ears, he can make out the not-so-distant blaring of fire trucks, ambulances, and other emergency vehicles. His "hostage" is trying to pull him to his feet and the mysterious woman is nowhere to be found. Sounds like a good beginning for the next session.

Now, if Jacob has made his self-control check, things probably would've played out the same way, just with Jacob being awake to witness the destruction. In which case, he would know his new friend's true nature and, more importantly, he would know it wasn't all his fault!

Next Up: The first in a 4-part series on the wonders and terrors of the New World!