A Turnabout at Sea

This Ace Attorney Investigations-themed oneshot is meant to be completed in one four hour period using Call of Cthulhu 7th Edition, minus the Sanity and Willpower gameplay mechanics (though the system used can be changed depending on your preference; Kids on Bikes or Gumshoe are also good options). However, new players or players who enjoy roleplay may take longer to finish. While the Keeper should push the Investigators along by adding stakes or chiming in with NPCs to keep the tension rolling, resist the urge to rush. Make sure each Investigator gets a chance to react to each circumstance. Fun should be the priority, not speed.

Opening Blurb

You, for reasons either business or personal, have been cordially invited to a celebration, thrown on behalf of the LA Prosecutor’s Office. The celebration in question used to be an annual event which pitted prosecutors against one another, tallying up their win records in order to determine who deserved the title of the King of Prosecutors. Lately, though—as you are all intimately aware—the current chief prosecutor, MR. MILES EDGEWORTH, has been making extreme strides to “weed out” prosecutors concerned with win records. He’s trying to educate his employees on the benefit of trying to find the truth rather than sinking to lows in order to get a guilty verdict. The Dark Age of the Law has left an intense impact on every aspect of law enforcement, the Prosecutor’s Office especially. Chief Prosecutor Edgeworth has been so vigilant about fixing the Prosecutor’s Office that he has been very, very harsh when it comes to his staff, firing or reprimanding anyone who jeopardizes the integrity of the office. There is a severe shortage of prosecutors on hand, and many of them are extremely overworked.

Therefore, this year’s King of Prosecutors ceremony is more of a lighthearted affair--a party, of sorts, thrown by Mr. Edgeworth, to thank the best of the best prosecutors for their efforts. Other trusted members of law enforcement are in attendance as well, but it is a small, intimate, even luxury affair, with the event taking place on a private, rented yacht.

You are all currently aboard this yacht. You’ve been out to sea for a couple hours now, and you have all finally settled down in a main banquet hall in the middle level of the three-tiered boat. You haven’t had time to truly explore the boat, but you do recall that the captain and owner of the boat, CAPTAIN MAKO MOBY, kindly asked you to refrain from venturing down to the lower level, as it’s more of a personal area.

You have all been given assigned seats in this hall. The banquet hall is massive, taking up the entirety of the middle tier of the boat, and looks something like this: (DRAW)

The tables are draped with an intricately patterned white tablecloth, with beautiful flower and candle arrangements in the center of the tables.

This is the first time you’ve gotten a chance to settle down and relax—so why don’t you take some time to introduce yourselves?

Non-Player Characters

• Miles Edgeworth, the reformed Demon Prosecutor. A serious man who is determined to find the truth at any cost.

• Simon Blackquill, the Twisted Samurai. An intimidating man who was only recently released from jail after being falsely accused for a crime he did not commit.
• Klavier Gavin, the Rockstar Prosecutor. A cool-headed man who's a bit of a flirt. Currently has a cold.
• Umi Illunati, the Conspiracy Prosecutor. A young woman who believes everyone is always hiding something.
• Don Dwayne, the Cowboy Prosecutor. A drawling man with a lot of southern charm.
• Mary Jane Flowers, the Petal Prosecutor. A shy, nervous woman who keeps to herself and is a bit of a pushover.

• Rainbow Ryker, private eye. A man who dresses in colorful clothes and jumps to even more colorful conclusions. Our victim.

• Ema Skye, who just recently completed her exam to become a forensic investigator. A grumpy woman who can only be wooed by her love of science and snacks.
• Kay Faraday, a Yatagarasu-turned-undercover-Interpol-agent. A sassy, silly woman who is trying very, very hard to stay serious, given the situation.

• Mako Moby, a swashbuckling sailor who loves sailing the open seas and dreaming about treasure.

• Aster Gnarl, a woman dedicated to providing the best service possible. Her real name is Angel Starr, and she is here to enact her revenge on Miles Edgeworth for humiliating her nine years ago in the case Rise from the Ashes. Our culprit.

• Miles Edgeworth, Ema Skye, Kay Faraday
• Don Dwayne, Mary Jane Flowers
• Simon Blackquill, Klavier Gavin, Rainbow Ryker
• Umi Illunati, two Investigators
• The remaining Investigators

The Murder, Summarized

• Angel Starr, posing as Aster Gnarl (anagram), means to poison Miles Edgeworth with atroquinine and frame Klavier Gavin. In the middle of the act, she is discovered by Rainbow Ryker, a private investigator who heard word of the attempt on Edgeworth’s life.
• In the struggle, the vial of atroquinine (which Aster was in the middle of pouring into a bottle of Edgeworth’s favorite, expensive red wine) is dropped to the ground and shatters. Aster stabs Rainbow with a steak knife.
• Freaking out, Aster moves the body with her meal cart and dumps it in the swimming pool, then throws the murder weapon overboard.

The Order of Events

1. Dinner begins. Mulling, introductions.
   1. Aster comes to each table and offers one of two meals: a 16oz Ribeye with Porcini Crust with Asparagus Mushroom Risotto, or a Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Sage Cream and Candied Walnuts, complimented by Pearl Onions and Shiitake Mushrooms.
   1. Those who order a steak will be given a steak knife. Don, Blackquill, Edgeworth, and Ema order steak. Everybody else (importantly: Klavier) get the ravioli.
   
   2. Umi will talk to the Investigators about how she believes all birds are actually government surveillance drones. She will also mention a bunch of crazy Edgeworth, Blackquill, or Klavier related conspiracies, but only if prompted.
2. As dinner is being taken away, Klavier suddenly stands up and storms out. He seems to be offended by something Rainbow says. Rainbow in fact accused Klavier of planning something nefarious—namely, an attempt on Edgeworth’s life. Rainbow believes must be capable of it—his best friend and brother were murderers, after all! Birds of a feather flock together. A successful Listen check can notice this—Investigators further away from the table roll at Hard.
3. Rainbow immediately follows after Klavier, pursued by Blackquill who was at their table and heard the whole conversation. Investigators should NOT be allowed to pursue this: have Edgeworth awkwardly move to stop them if they do.
4. A couple minutes after this scene, the banquet hall begins to split. Edgeworth, Ema, and Kay stay. MJ leaves around this time to go above deck because she feels seasick. Don wanders below deck. Umi goes topdeck to wander, but eventually winds up consoling MJ.
5. Edgeworth approaches the Investigators to make conversation. He thanks them for all of their hard work during this difficult time and asks for their opinion on the celebration. (This establishes their alibis.) Kay and Ema make conversation with each other, but they will gladly engage if prompted. Kay, however, keeps her identity of being an Interpol agent a secret, and when asked, will explain that she is an old friend of Edgeworth's.
6. Klavier immediately heads below deck and locks himself in the leftmost room. He is sick (if you'd like you can speak with your fingers on your nose to demonstrate this), so he doesn’t smell the stench of floral incense (hidden there by MJ before the ship took off because she gets seasick). He soon passes out due to the overwhelming amount of "remedy" in the air.
7. Blackquill pulls Rainbow into the room across from the stairs and berates him for flippantly accusing Klavier. As Don is wandering, he overhears this argument. He catches words like “you complete crook, never, investigators like you shouldn’t be allowed to work.” Thinking it odd but also not wanting to disturb them, he heads top deck. Rainbow thinks that Klavier is the one trying to poison Edgeworth, while Blackquill thinks that’s ludicrous. (Blackquill is criticizing Rainbow for having the audacity to think Klavier is planning on murdering anyone. Blackquill respects Klavier as a prosecutor, and he knows what it’s like to be accused of a crime you didn’t commit.)
8. The argument escalates into a skirmish that results in Blackquill being knocked out. Blackquill now has a black eye; Rainbow struck first, Blackquill punched back and broke Rainbow's nose.) After this, Rainbow goes to the kitchen to try to warn Aster of the poison likely to be snuck into the food. She is taken completely by surprise, thinks he’s figured her out, and stabs him with a steak knife that was on the counter. This steak knife can belong to one of the players if any of them ordered steak—if not, have it belong to Edgeworth (she herself has no idea which one she grabbed). In the struggle, she drops the vial of atroquinine, and it shatters. (She managed to get a little poison into the bottle of wine meant for after the crowning of the King of Prosecutors.)
9. Aster quickly shoves the now-dead Rainbow into the food cart, changes her smock, and cleans up the blood and broken vial as best she can. She grabs one of the steak knives from dinner—Blackquill’. She thinks it’s Klavier’s, as she mistakenly believes that the entire Klavier/Simon/Rainbow table ordered steak; Klavier in fact ordered the ravioli. She plans to plant it at the scene, as it has his prints.
10. Aster moves the food cart with the body to the outer deck, throws the true murder weapon and bloody smock/gloves into the ocean, plants the fake murder weapon under one of the beach chair surrounding the pool, and then throws the body into the pool. Umi, above deck and comforting a sick MJ, hears a splash but pays it no mind.
11. After this, Aster will make her way back up to the banquet hall, and Edgeworth will ask the Investigators to gather everyone up for the ceremony. This prompts their exploration of the three-tiered ship and leads to the discovery of the body.

Discovering the Body

• Kay (or the Interpol agent Investigator premade) will realize that the boat is in international waters and thus is under the jurisdiction of Interpol. She’ll ask the Investigators to help puzzle out the crime, as they all have an alibi for the murder. Nobody else on the boat does (save for Edgeworth, Kay, and Ema).
• Kay’s reasoning for trying to solve the murder now is that people's lives could still be in jeopardy. In addition, she fears that without cause to detain anyone, the murderer could disappear upon reaching the shore. She needs definitive proof or a confession in order to arrest someone before the boat makes it back to land.
• Kay suggest that the Investigators locate everyone on the boat to make them aware of the murder.
• Locations of the NPCs:
  • Umi & MJ: top deck
  • Don: wandering aimlessly; bumps into the Investigators in the stair well
  • Blackquill: in the middle room, having come to and now stewing in his rage
  • Klavier: in leftmost LOCKED room, passed out
  • Aster: drawing upon banquet hall, runs into the Investigators with a bottle of wine

Secrets to Uncover

• MJ smuggled illegal/foreign natural-herb incense onto the boat and hid it in the leftmost room below deck to help with her seasickness. She desperately wants to hide this fact from Edgeworth. After the body has been discovered, she will try to escape back down to the room and try to enter it (she feels MAJORLY sick at this point), but it’s locked. She will beg an Investigator not involved directly in law enforcement (a reporter, defense attorney, etc.) to help her unlock/break down the door without letting anyone know what’s inside for fear of losing her job. This will lead to the players discovering the “incense” and Klavier passed out inside.
• Ema hates Rainbow—she thinks he’s a creep—and isn’t torn up about his death. He’s a dirty PI who jumps to conclusions.
• Kay knows Rainbow is a PI—she’s worked with him on many occasions—and also knows that Rainbow has tracked a black market poison here. A reliable outside source revealed that atroquinine was procured last week for the purpose of “eliminating someone in the legal world”, but there was no information about who bought it. Rainbow is gung-ho about conclusions and thinks that Klavier is planning on murdering Edgeworth because of the type of poison (the same type used by his brother, Kristoph).
• Edgeworth asked Kay to come to the banquet because he received a threatening letter in the mail targeting his life and ruining his career. He wanted to make the scenario as difficult as possible for the perpetrator to escape, so he chose to have the event on a yacht.
• Klavier is sick as a dog and can’t smell. This can be noticed if anyone tries to talk to him; otherwise, Edgeworth alludes to it and must be pressed for further information.

Evidence

• Knife with Blackquill’s prints and glove prints, along with tampered blood, located under a beach chair near the pool (glove prints are from Aster; she was wearing gloves while dishing out dinner)
• Prints do not indicate the knife was used as a weapon, but instead match the orientation of someone using the steak to cut food
• Actual murder weapon tossed overboard
• Astute players can notice that there are two knives missing if they compare entire sets of silverware (number of knives should match number of forks, for example)
• Shattered glass in the kitchen, traces of poison (atroquinine)
• Wine bottle, opened and re-corked, that has been poisoned
• Trolly/cart in the kitchen; has smeared blood along the bottom

• Blood smears in the kitchen (can only be seen with luminol*)
• Blood droplet trail leading from the kitchen down the hall and to the pool (can only be seen with luminol*)
• Bruises on the body indicated a struggle; Rainbow has a broken nose
• Evidence of a struggle and Rainbow’s blood in middle room
• Rainbow’s empty gun holster
• Note on Rainbow’s corpse
• The dumbwaiter, which is entirely a red herring: it was only used to transport food to and from the bottom deck and was never actually used in the murder.

More on the Murderer

• Aster is actually Angel Starr. She wants to take revenge on Miles Edgeworth for making a fool of her. All Chief Prosecutors are scum, Lana as much as Edgeworth; since that case all those years ago (Rise from the Ashes), she swore vengeance against him. Resentment built for years until she snapped, and catering the banquet provided the perfect opportunity.
• The catering company Aster works for, known as The Rite Eats, has been selected for a while now. Angel works at the company as her day-job (as she’s prevented from being a detective + has a history being a lunch lady, anyway). After hearing about the event, she began to concoct her plan and volunteered to be the one to cater. What a lovely coincidence. (When asked, Edgeworth said he found the company on the Yowch! app.)
• Upon being confronted, she’ll draw a gun she stole from Rainbow (his holster is empty) and point it at Edgeworth. Demands that she be released, or she’ll shoot.
• Making the leap of logic from Aster to Angel Starr requires a lot of Ace Attorney knowledge from players. Edgeworth and Ema will both periodically appear deep in thought; when pressed, they’ll mention that something about the waitress looks familiar. While Aster has changed her hair and is wearing eye-contacts, she can still be recognized. If Investigators still don’t make the connection, prompt a Networking check after they read Edgeworth’s note, and give multiple summaries of past cases Edgeworth has worked on.

Roleplay Tips for the Keeper

• Umi Illunati is obnoxious, loud, and nosy. She is the first NPC the Investigators will interact with to introduce them to the concept of speaking in character. Have her pull all of the Investigators in for a silly, nonsensical debate.
• Mary Jane Flowers is soft-spoken and shy. She is very cute, although she looks very ill from being on the boat. The sweeter she’s portrayed, the more likely the Investigators are to feel conflicted when she asks them to do something suspicious for her own sake: it makes for a good conflict of interest.
• Don Dwayne is a a rustic, southern-speaking cowboy type, but he can be a bit hardheaded. He will blame Simon Blackquill for the crime. He thinks Blackquill has the largest capacity for murder, having been in jail for so long. However, he is a gentleman, and he can be easily swooned with Charm or Fast Talk skills.
• When Aster Gnarl is present at dinner, she acts in a witty but not overtly obvious way. She does NOT introduce herself unless prompted. Investigators will naturally ignore the waiter in favor of the colorful, familiar characters, and this is exactly her plan. She acts passive-aggressively when directly confronted about anything.
  • If the Investigators are onto her, she’ll change her story several times. At first, she’ll say she was in the kitchen the entire time, cleaning dishes. If it’s mentioned the kitchen was the crime scene, she’ll say that she took a break to wander outside to get a few breaths of fresh air (but, notably, didn’t notice the arguing from Blackquill/Rainbow, as she never actually left the kitchen at that time). If she’s pressed further, she’ll admit that Rainbow came in to he kitchen, and she’ll claim that he attacked her but ran off afterwards (she thinks that he did—in reality, Rainbow was getting closer to her in boisterous excitement). If things are dire, she will even admit that she stabbed him in self-defense. HOWEVER, she will NOT admit that she has poisoned the wine. The Investigators must make that conclusion on their own.
  • Even if Aster is correctly accused, if the poisoned wine is not noted, it is still dangerous. Edgeworth or another character (likely Ema, who likes food) will offer the wine as a toast in celebration for solving the case, or as a moment of respite during the tense investigation. The poisoned wine is the most crucial piece of evidence that ties everything on the boat together. If the wine is discovered, Aster will give up and give an evil supervillain speech about her ingenious machinations. “And I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it wasn’t for you meddling defense attorneys!”
• Investigators should not get the opportunity to speak to Rainbow Ryker before the murder. If they manage to, Rainbow is obviously preoccupied with something else. However, he will foreshadow that something is going to go down, and that he’s going to bust it. He will tell any Investigator to watch their back.
• The captain of the ship, Mako Moby, is not likely to be encountered. If he is, he talks like a stereotypical pirate, and he’s very annoyed that he rented out his boat to a bunch of murderous lunatics. He stays on the bridge of the ship to sail it to shore.
• Kay Faraday functions as the main authority. She will act friendly towards players, but she’s concerned for everyone’s safety and will not appreciate people fooling around. She speaks in Edgeworth's place frequently.
• Ema Skye will follow the Investigators down to the crime scene to watch the body (she will stay and guard the crime scene if they leave). If you’re playing with a small number of Investigators or your Investigators are struggling with roleplay, have Ema tag along and offer her two cents on what they encounter. Ema is very snarky, but she has a keen insight and quick wit.
• Simon Blackquill, having just been decked, is not only annoyed, but embarrassed. He conceals his bruise with his long hair. He will not speak about his confrontation with Rainbow unless persuaded. He is a private, quiet man, and he will not tolerate any tomfoolery from the Investigators.
• Klavier Gavin is trying his best to be charming, but being exhausted and high on fumes, he is definitely out of it. He’s in full “diva” mode. He, too, will remain mum about what Rainbow said to him until persuaded, as he doesn’t like talking about his brother. He knows nothing about the incense, as he didn’t notice anything strange about the room due to not being able to smell. He will be offended if the Investigators accuse him of doing anything illicit on purpose.
• Miles Edgeworth is mortified that somebody wound up hurt. He will reveal all of his known information to the Investigators upon the body being discovered, but he will remain elusive about his private life. Generally, Kay will draw a lot of his conclusions for him, though he can chime in after an Investigator has made a good deduction. For the most part, he is busy attempting to contact port authorities alongside Kay. Speaking with Edgeworth too much will result in Investigators thinking “why isn’t HE solving this mystery,” so use your Edgeworth sparingly.

Tips for Smoother Gameplay

• It is STRONGLY recommended that you as the Keeper create premade Ace Attorney-themed Investigators for the players to choose from, as making new characters from scratch will take hours. It is also recommended that these Investigators represent different types of jobs and not just lawyers (defense attorneys, prosecutors, assistants, or even judges) in order to add some variety. Relevant jobs in the CoC book include journalists, police officers, detectives, private investigators, doctors, and so forth.
• Certain skills are extremely unlikely to be used in this oneshot. When building characters, it’s recommended that you avoid putting points into the following skills: accounting, archaeology, Cthulhu mythos, drive auto, library use, occult, psychoanalysis, and ride.
• Add the additional skill of Networking to all Investigators, and give each Investigator a base of 50. This skill is used for determining if the Investigator knows who a particular person on the boat is. Aster cannot be network checked as Aster, but as Angel Starr.
• To encourage roleplay, it is recommended that you assign each player an NPC contact on the boat with whom they are already familiar (this person likely invited them to the ceremony). This character will be nice to them and be more lenient in conversation. You can also assign each player an NPC that dislikes them. Do not have either of these contacts be Kay or Aster.
• Many NPCs are grouchy and overworked. Players are encouraged to act nicely to the NPCs to get them to open up.
• Players will want to spray every living thing with luminol or poison sampling kits. It is recommended that you limit the amount of these they have, as well as make them roll Forensics (a science skill) to make sure they successfully do it. This ups the stakes considerably.
• If players are ever stuck, you should disguise Idea rolls or hints as NPCs chiming in with their own thoughts. Make sure not to reveal too much information, and have some of the NPCs leap to the incorrect conclusion.
• Avoid combat. While Angel will draw a gun in the dramatic climax, avoid having her shoot it: she can be reasoned with. If Investigators attempt to initiate combat, Angel’s Dexterity is 60: compare this number with the Investigators attempting to jump her. If she goes first, she will shoot. This will severely wound any character, but it is unlikely to kill them outright.
• Aster will attempt to have Edgeworth drink the poisoned wine while the Investigators are in the room, likely while interrogating the other NPCs. If the Investigators are taking too long, have her push this more and more; if players are totally stumped or have accused the wrong person, have her (or Edgeworth) offer it as a toast. If Edgeworth or any player winds up drinking the poisoned wine, roll an Extreme Constitution check. If they fail, they are dying. Every single character on the boat is allowed to make an Extreme First Aid check: if there is at least one success, the character is stabilized. Else, they will die in 15 minutes.
• There will be two bottles being offered: one white and one very expensive red. The red one has been tampered with. She will urge everyone other than Edgeworth not to drink the red wine (she will say that he requested it specially and that it is quite expensive), but if an Investigator wants to, she won’t stop them. “In for a penny.”
• After Aster is apprehended, have the boat arrive at shore shortly afterwards. Kay arrests her. Everyone on the boat, especially Edgeworth and Kay, thank the party for their hard work. If you have a sequel cooked up, this is a good place to foreshadow it.
• Who was the King of Prosecutors? Everyone has likely forgotten, but there was supposed to be an award! In reality, Edgeworth was going to give a participation trophy to every prosecutor for all of their hard work, but at this point, nobody wants nothing to do with them. Thus, Edgeworth hands the trophies out to the Investigators instead for a job well done.

Rainbow’s Note

Where Illicit Omens Trickily Hide ,

Night Promises Revenge

On Old Lovers ’ Intents .

Simple In Truth , Hope Kills Easily :

Every Beloved Remembers .

Where Illicit Trickily Hide Promises On Intents 
Simple Omens Night Lovers’ In Kills Easily 
Beloved Revenge Old Truth Hope Every Remembers

WITH POISON LIKE BROTHER

Edgeworth’s Letter

TO THE DEMON PROSECUTOR:

Your crimes have gone unpunished for LONG ENOUGH.
Your peers may have forgotten your sins, but your VICTIMS have not.
You have ruined countless lives on your quest for your PERFECT RECORD.
You have humiliated countless WITNESSESS in the name of perverted KARMA.
The WITNESSES remember.
While your kingdom celebrates its folly, REVENGE shall be invoked.
Divine justice from the ANGEL will reign.
Upon the crowning of the KING, there will be blood.
Your life, SUFFOCATED.
Another’s guilt, FORGED.
(Not new to EITHER OF YOU.)
There is nothing you can do. The time for repentance has passed.
Though you may BEG.

• “perverted karma”: writer is familiar with Manfred von Karma
• “The witnesses remember”: the writer is an old witness
• “Divine justice from the angel will reign”: mentions “angel”, so “Angel Starr”
• “Upon the crowning of the king”: the crime was meant to take place at the King of Prosecutors ceremony
• “Your life, suffocated”: Edgeworth is the intended victim, death by being unable to breath (fits with atroquinine)
• “Another’s guilt, forged: not new to either of you.”: referring to the attempt to frame Klavier; mention of forgery is a jab at Kristoph
• The Pentagram: again, referring to Angel Starr, or a fallen angel

Maps