Social Deduction and Death: One of Us Will Die
"It's a social deduction game where you and your friends are like the Fellowship of the Ring and you need to figure out which of you is Boromir!"
‘One Of Us Will Die’ is a social deduction roleplaying game system developed for four to six (4 - 6) players, game master included. From the beginning of the adventure, one player is aware that their character will die towards the end of the game. All others must use their skills of observation to identify who among them is marked for death before it’s too late!
In One of Us Will Die, players will take on the roles of adventurers on an important quest. Sail the vast reaches of the cosmos on your space ship. Charge through battlefields to save your homes and families. Face off against monsters, tyrants and eldritch horrors. The one thing all these stories have in common is that one of you will not make it out alive. This game makes use of a milestone system to craft unique character arcs for different player-chosen archetypes. It's a social deduction game where you and your friends are like the Fellowship of the Ring and you need to figure out which of you is Boromir.
Players must race to identify death flags in the character's arcs to figure out who among them is writing their character towards their death. Did they just promise a spouse or a loved one something that's too good to be true? Did they just talk about how nothing can take them down? Are they wearing a red shirt!? There are hundreds of clues hidden within the system to assist the players in their search. Instead of looking for lies and tells, you're looking for ominous clues. It's more literary deduction than social deduction really.
The player marked for death must be wary, however! Among the other adventurers could be a traitor who isn't just looking for the marked player to save their life, but to kill them before they complete their story.
Death is something that's been a bit of a tricky thing for a lot of new players and GMs in RPGs. Some players are too attached to their characters to open themselves up to the idea and GMs are too worried that the death will seem unfair. In One of Us Will Die, players tackle this problem by accepting its inevitability, at least for one of them. Players play their characters with the end in mind, the ultimate end. Instead of worrying about leveling up, surviving, getting stronger or attaining more power, players can think about legacy, how their characters will be remembered, and what world they will leave behind.
Currently, One of Us Will Die is complete, but unpublished. To raise funds for the launch, the creator has set up shorter lighter version of the game. If you'd love to see this project grow its wings, please consider buying a copy. Every little bit helps!
For any questions about the game, the creator is always happy to answer them on the itch page.
