The Alibi: A Reverse Murder Mystery

Creating your character

Character creation happens before our session begins — when you book, I'll send a simple intake form asking a few questions about your character concept and one secret your hunter is carrying into that night. You don't need to know Monster of the Week to fill it out. Just think about who this person is, what they've done, and what they can't afford to have anyone find out. From there I'll build your playbook with you through a brief pre-session message exchange. Monster of the Week uses pre-built character types called playbooks rather than open-ended stat building, so the process is fast and beginner-friendly — think of it less like building a character from scratch and more like answering questions about someone you're about to become. No books required. I provide everything you need. Experienced MotW players are welcome to bring a favorite playbook — just flag it when you book so we can make sure the group has good variety. The one thing I ask of everyone: come in having thought about one relationship your character had with the victim. That's where the real game lives.

Preparing for the session

Here's everything you need to get ready before we play — I promise it's simpler than it looks: 1. Create a free Roll20 account at roll20.net — this is our virtual tabletop where the game lives. No subscription needed, the free version is everything we use. I'll send you a session invite link after you book. 2. Join our Discord server — I'll send you the link after booking. Discord is where we'll communicate before the session, where I'll send your character intake form, and where we'll run our voice and video during the game itself. 3. Have a working microphone and camera ready. Headphones are strongly encouraged to keep audio clean for everyone at the table. Being able to see each other's faces is a huge part of what makes this game feel alive — especially for a mystery where reading the room is half the fun. 4. Fill out your character intake form before the session. I'll send it through Discord after you join. It takes about ten minutes and is the only "homework" required. 5. Show up five to ten minutes early so we can handle any tech hiccups before we start. Nothing kills momentum like spending the first twenty minutes troubleshooting audio. That's it. No books to buy, no software to download, no experience required. If you can open a browser and talk into a microphone, you're ready to play.

What Vax brings to the table

A complete, handcrafted mystery. Every player receives a personalized character sheet, a private secret, and a relationship to the victim built specifically around who you told me you wanted to be. Nothing is off the shelf. The Alibi was written for this table, not recycled from somewhere else. Atmosphere you can feel. I run with a curated ambient soundtrack that shifts with the mood of the scene — tense when the detective is circling, quiet when the truth starts surfacing, unsettling when something supernatural threatens to break through. Music isn't background noise at my table. It's part of the storytelling. Full character voices and active narration. The detective has a personality. The other NPCs have agendas. I'm not just describing scenes — I'm inhabiting them with you. A Rule of Cool table. I care far more about what makes a great story than what the rulebook says is technically possible. If your idea is interesting, dramatic, or genuinely surprising, we're finding a way to make it happen. Creativity is always rewarded here. Pacing that respects your time. This is a three hour one-shot with a beginning, middle, and end. You will get a real conclusion. I've run enough games to know how to keep things moving without rushing the moments that deserve to breathe.

How Vax creates a safe table

Your comfort at the table is not an afterthought — it's part of the game design. Here's how I handle it: Before we play, every player receives a short Lines and Veils form alongside their character intake. Lines are content that will never appear in our game, period. Veils are content that can exist in the story but will be handled off-screen. Your answers shape the game before we ever sit down together. Nothing you list will be questioned or explained — I just need to know. For a game like The Alibi specifically, I want to flag upfront that this story involves themes of death, suspicion, deception, and supernatural horror. If any of those need specific limits for you personally, tell me in your intake form and I'll build around them. Nobody should have to white-knuckle through a scene to avoid breaking the mood. After the session, I do a brief open table debrief — what landed, what felt good, space to decompress. Mystery games with personal secrets can hit unexpectedly hard. That landing pad matters. My table is LGBTQ+ friendly, neurodivergent friendly, and newcomer friendly. Everyone deserves to feel safe enough to play fully.