Psychic Detective Agency

You sense things no one else can. And you use your gift to help the authorities catch dangerous criminals. Today you’re teaming up with other consultants with mysterious talents, despite your many differences. What twisted plot demands the collaboration of such odd detectives?

Psychic Detective Agency is an American Freeform game for 2 or more players, based on improv fundamentals. Take on the role of psychic detectives, and shape the story together. Your characters might see the end coming, but you never will.

What is American Freeform?  It's sort of like Live Action Roleplay (Larp), crossed with improv, and generally focused on intense, single session games.  You'll know it when you see it.

Gameplay: As a group, you create the story together by answering Questions and then playing out scenes. Anyone may prompt a Question at any time. Players are not restricted to narrating or roleplaying only when prompted, but have greater narrative authority when answering a Question.

Setup: There are three Psychics: The Precog, the Postcog, and the Empath.  Everyone else plays Audience characters.  You should have at least one Audience character for each Psychic, so only use one Psychic if you have 2-3 players, two if you have 4-5, or all three if you have six or more players.

Decide who will play the Psychics, and which one(s). 

At the start of play, you have a blank slate for what the situation is.  You can use some story seeds, or start with some Questions to get things rolling.

What Do I Do In This Game?

If you are one of the Psychics, you will play your character, acting out what they say and do.  You only ever play this character.  Additionally, you have narrative authority for either the past, present, or future.

Narrative authority means that you get to say what happens (or has happened, or will happen).  However, you only get to exercise this power when directly asked a Question by another player.

Your psychic is probably trying to solve a crime.  They are also probably trying to solve their personal problems.  These may or may not be intertwined.

If you are a member of the Audience, you get to jump into scenes to play characters other than the Psychics.  You will probably play many characters through the course of the game, some for a single scene, some ongoing.   When you play one of these characters, you act out what they say and do.

You may or may not have some narrative authority to answer questions; it depends on how many Psychics are in the game.  Most of the time what you'll be doing is asking Questions of the Psychics and reacting and building on their answers.

Asking And Answering Questions

At any time, a member of the Audience can ask a Question of one of the Psychics.  To do so, visibily raise your hand and ask your Question.
If you are asking a Question about what happened in the past or a character's backstory, ask the Postcog.
If you are asking a Question about something that is happening right now, or what a character is thinking or feeling, ask the Empath.
If you are asking a Question about something that is going to happen, or what someone is going to do, ask the Precog.

If the Psychic that would be able to answer that question is not in play, instead, anyone (even a Psychic) can point to a member of the Audience and ask that Question.

(If you have a Precog, a Empath, and two Audience members, and need to ask a question about what is going to happen, anyone can ask either member of the Audience to answer that question.)

When you answer a Question, put your fingers to your temples, and speak authoritatively.  What you have said is the truth!  By default, the Psychic announces what they have said to everyone.  If you place your hand to the side of your mouth, then the Psychic is not saying it out loud, but it is an aside to the players.

Questions can be broad, open ended, or leading.

Here's some sample questions, starting with really broad ones, becoming more detailed.

What happened last night?
What crime happened last night?
What murder happened last night?
How was Commishioner Alvarez killed last night?
Who shot Commishioner Alvarez last night?
Why did Dr. Reynolds shoot Commishioner Alvarez last night?

None of these is necessarily better or worse than any of the others.  Open ended questions allow other players to express more agency in the game.  Narrow questions make a statement and force the answerer to expand on it.

As players, it's your job to make sure that the answers the Psychics give are true.  If the Postcog states something about the past, that's what happened.  If the Precog says something is going to happen, everyone needs to work together to make it happen.  If the Empath says that your character is feeling a certain way, then that's how you're feeling.

Often the Psychics will say something about your character that you would normally get to decide for yourself in other games.  The Postcog can dictate your background, the Empath can dictate your emotional state, and the Precog can dictate what actions you're going to take in the future.  Embrace these surprises, build on them and allow the game to go in a direction you didn't expect.

Flashbacks, Flashforwards, and Meanwhiles...

There's no reason things have to be constrained to going in strict chronological order.  In fact, with psychics being able to see into the past or future, you might want to focus on a scene and play it out.

If playing a scene in the past (a flashback), address any Questions about the scene to the Postcog.
If playing a scene in the future (a flashforward), address any Questions about to scene to the Precog.
If playing a scene set somewhere else in the present, address Questions normally.

Fundamentals of The Game

When in doubt, follow these fundamental principles.

Trust Each Other To Be Awesome

It's not just your story.  You might have a really cool idea, but it's possible that other people's ideas are even cooler in ways you hadn't realized.  In fact, the best, most surprising ideas seem to arise spontaneously, a fusion of multiple people's ideas.

To exercise this, be active in asking Questions of the other players, put yourself and others in interesting situations that you aren't sure how they will play out, and honor the contributions of other players.

Trust Yourself to Be Awesome

It's easy to get nervous in an improv game, and assume you don't have much to contribute, or that your ideas are boring.  When asked a question, just say the first thing that pops into your mind.  In all likelihood, what's 'obvious' or 'boring' to you will be unexpected to someone completely different.

Always Say Yes, And

Don't literally say “yes, and.”  Yes And is more of a viewpoint.  Take the contributions of others, honor them, and build upon them.  When someone answers a Question, even if the answer wasn't one you'd expected or wanted,  take that answer, explore it, build upon it, and make it bigger and better.

Answering Questions is a form of Yes And, especially if those questions are leading.  You might be surprised by a question like “Why did you kill Mr. Tanaka?” when you were thinking that Dr. Rosamund was the killer, but roll with it, embrace it, and answer in a way that builds on other people's contributions.

Don't Block

The inverse of Always Say Yes, is Don't Block.  Blocking is when you reject the contributions of others.  Blocking happens when you say no, or insist on replacing other's interpretations with your own.  We're all in this together!  Nobody likes to have their ideas shot down.

Another thing to watch out for is contradicting what's already been established.  When you contradict a previous answer to a Question, you block the contributions of the player who gave that answer.  Don't do this!

Your Character Is Not Necessarily Your Own

We might be used to games where we can decide everything about our characters- their background, what they do, what they say, what they feel, and what they think.  The Psychics use their powers to look into the past, present or future, and have the authority to say what those things about you are.  The Postcog is likely to describe facts about your background, the Precog is likely to describe you doing some action in the future, and the Empath is likely to describe your thoughts or feelings.  These answers will probably be entirely unexpected.  Embrace the roleplaying challenge, and accept that you are not the only author of your character.

Ask Dangerous Questions

When you ask Questions, ask things that advance the plot, usually by making things more complicated.  Look into the dirty, complicated lives of the Psychics themselves.  Frame questions in a way to create an unexpected twist.  Ask questions that you are willing to be surprised by.

Don't Be Afraid to Rely on Detective Tropes

The smoking gun.  The client with something to hide.  A rainslick alleyway.  The inevitable betrayal.  A bump on the head, then darkness, then waking up in the gutter.  Murder.  Sex.  Blackmail.

You can always fallback on the familiar.  It's often a good idea to do so, because you'll have a cultural common ground with your fellow players on which to build.  Take the trite, the cliche, the overdone to get started, then find a way to put a new spin on it.

You Don't Have To Be a Psychic To Make Stuff Up

If you're playing a character, act out that character.  Declare stuff about yourself, and your relationships to other characters.  Ask other people in-character questions, and answer those posed to you.  These are normal improv storytelling techniques, and remain completely valid.

This is actually beneficial to the players of the Psychics, because they don't have to be relied upon to provide all the details of what's going on, but can be called upon to add extra layers of depth to things.

Aggressively Start Scenes, and Push Them Towards Conclusion

You've got a limited amount of time to play, so make every second count!  Jump into scenes by asking the Empath where it is.  When you're playing, play aggressively: do interesting things, say interesting things, and ask interesting Questions.  There's no sense in trying to have a secret the other players have to tease out; the Psychics can basically find out anything someone wants them to, and a secret doesn't have any narrative truth while it's only inside your head.

If a scene is starting to bog down, you can ask the Precog what's about to happen, or ask the Empath what else is happening right now, and then play out that scene.

Play Safe

Always remember that this is a game and we are here to have fun together.  If things get too intense, personally unpleasant, or emotionally or physically unsafe, there are safety actions that can be taken: Brake and Cut.

If the action or content is too intense, but you are able to continue to play, use the Brake action: clearly say “Brake”, and raise your palm, hand out, in a 'stop' gesture.  This is a signal that whoever you are acting with needs to roll back their intensity.

You are in an argument with another character, and the player is beginning to yell.  You do not have a problem with this, but they get physically closer to you, which makes you uncomfortable.  Make the Brake gesture to signal that they should back off.

If play becomes emotionally or physically dangerous, and needs to immediately stop, use the Cut action: wave your arms over your head and clearly say 'Cut.'  This is a signal that everyone in the game needs to stop.  If you see another player make the Cut action; repeat the action so others can see it.

You are in a scene with a friend who you know becomes extremely distraught when a given topic is discussed.  A third person begins talking to the two of you about that topic, and your friend is very obviously withdrawn and upset.  Make the Cut gesture to signal that play needs to stop.

You are in a scene and another player trips and physically injures themselves.  Make the Cut gesture to signal that play needs to stop.

There is never any judgement involved in calling Brake or Cut.  Safety is non-negotiable, and if someone chooses to call Brake or Cut, it is always the right decision.
Sample Questions
If you like, you can print out these lists and have them handy to refer to during the game, or use them to springboard the start of the game.

Questions for the Postcog:
What happened here recently?
Who was here previously?
How did so-and-so die?
How did so-and-so get their powers?
What happened when so-and-so and so-and-so went on a date?
What horrible thing did so-and-so do?
What has so-and-so lost?
How did so-and-so double cross so-and-so?
What happened to make so-and-so feel the way they feel?
When did so-and-so's powers hurt someone?
What is so-and-so's saddest experience?
Where did the killer flee?
Why did so-and-so become a detective?

Questions for the Empath:
What is happening right now?
Who is here?
What clue is here?
What is so-and-so lying about?
What is so-and-so feeling right now?
Why is so-and-so angry right now?
What is so-and-so's family situation?
Who does so-and-so love?
Who does so-and-so hate?
What happens when so-and-so uses their powers?
How does so-and-so feel about so-and-so?
What is so-and-so's darkest secret?
Who does so-and-so think is guilty?
What is so-and-so's secret relationship with so-and-so?
Where is so-and-so right now?

Questions for the Precog:
What is going to happen next?
Who is going to arrive next?
When is the next crime going to happen?
What will happen when this other thing happens?
What terrible thing will happen that you cannot stop?
How is so-and-so going double cross so-and-so?
Who is going to end up bleeding in the gutter tomorrow morning?
How is so-and-so going to die?
What is so-and-so going to do when they here the news?
Who is going to betray so-and-so?
Who is going to get hurt?
Why is so-and-so about to slap you?
Who is about to attack so-and-so?
Where will you find the killer?
Story Hooks
If you don't want to start with a blank slate, choose one of these:

Clues
A posh mansion.  You have all been invited here for a gala by your host.  Now the host is dead, and all of the guests have their own dirty secrets.  What will you do to keep your own secrets safe?

Haunting of Hell House
A centuries old manor.  People are dying, and nothing is as it seems.  What are the secrets of Hell House?

Miami Dead
Miami, Christmas 1989.  The Apocalypse is near.  The dead are coming back, and the Miami Police Department is at a loss.  Can you figure out who or what is responsible, stop the menace, and make sure your loved ones are safe?

The Final Cut
Hollywood.  A famous movie star has gone missing.  But this is a dirty city, full of dirty secrets, and the investigators will uncover more than they bargained for.  What else will your investigation turn up?  Who will kill to keep their secrets?

Witch Hunt
Salem, Massachusets, 1692.  Accusations of witchcraft fly in Salem.  Can you find the witches?  Are you witches?
Common Noir/Detective Tropes

A blood-stained letter
A case of mistaken identity
A clue scribbled on a matchbook
A crooked cop
A dark and stormy night
A dark and troubled past
A double-cross
A faked death
A locked room murder
A mob hitman
A safe behind a painting
A shabby hotel with a blinking neon sign advertising vacancy
A showdown in an abandoned factory
A smoky jazz club
A stash of newspaper clippings
A suicide that turns out to be a devious murder
Amnesia
An abandoned warehouse
An all night diner
An illegal gambling den
Another murder happens
Broken glass
Clouds of steam emerging from the sewer
Dark alleyways
Everyone has a motive
Ex-lovers
Fatalism
Gratutious monolouging
Identical twins
Infidelity
Multiple Wills
Press interference
Revolvers
Secret passages
Shifting alibis
Sirens fill the air
Smoking
Something like this has happened before
Star-crossed lovers
The bad part of town
The detective is locked in the trunk of a car
The detective wakes up in the gutter
The detective's past comes back to haunt them
The femme (or homme) fatale
The jilted lover
The subway
Trenchcoats
Trust funds with unusual requirements
Witnesses always have something to hide
100 First names
Alec Andra Angle Anjelica Arlinda Arnoldo Bea Bennett Betsy Brian Britni Carlyn Carma Cassandra Charleen Chet Dania Darell Devorah Dovie Eda Edison Elaina Elisha Emely Emiko Emile Emma Erin Fallon Faye Felicidad Forrest Francisca Francisco Georgianne Graig Griselda Guadalupe Harriett Heike Ignacio Ima Isreal Jason Jesse Jesusa Jolynn Jules Jung Karey Kirstin Kittie Krystle Laurine Leighann Leila Leon Lesa Lewis Lindsay Linwood Lita Louis Lue Marilynn Melaine Millicent Myrtice Nanette Neda Nell Nicholas Nikole Ozell Raelene Ramon Robbyn Robena Ronnie Roosevelt Scarlet Scotty Shavonne Shellie Sherril Sunny Taryn Taunya Teisha Terence Tianna Trent Valrie Venessa Verdell Vesta Vickie Wen Yon

100 last names
Adams Aguilar Allen Alvarez Anderson Bailey Baker Bell Brown Butler Campbell Carter Castillo Castro Cheng Cho Clark Coleman Cook Cruz Delgado Diaz Edwards Evans Fernandez Flores Foster Garcia Garza Gray Guzman Hall Harris Hayes Henderson Hernandez Herrera Hill Howard Jackson James Jenkins Jimenez Johnson Kang Kelly Khan King Lee Lewis Lopez Lu Martinez Miller Mitchell Moore Morales Moreno Morgan Morris Ng Ngo Parker Patterson Perez Perry Phan Phillips Price Ramirez Ramos Reed Reyes Richardson Rivera Roberts Rodriguez Romero Ruiz Russell Salazar Sanders Shah Soto Stewart Tang Taylor Thomas Thompson Torres Turner Vasquez Vo Walker Washington White Williams Wood Young Zhang
Useful Gestures:

Answering:  Hold two fingers up to your temple, as if you are deep in thought.  State the answer to a Question.  Used to distinguish between normal in-character communication and a psychic answer.

Aside:  Hold your hand to the side of your mouth, as if you are whispering.  Speak normally.  You are communicating to the other players, but not to the characters.  Useful for sharing out-of-character information, such as some predictions, in-character thoughts, or monologues.

Brake:  Hold up you hand, palm out, as if you are signaling for someone to stop.  Gently push forward.  Say “Brake.”  You are communicating to the other players to lower their intensity level.  Useful to comfortably de-escalate scenes without having to break character or directly discuss the problem.

Cut:  Wave your arms over your head, as if sending a distress signal.  Say “Cut.”  You are communicating to the other players that play needs to stop because of an emotional or physical safety issue.

Gun:  Make a thumbs up and extend your index finger, pantomiming a gun.  You are communicating to the other players that you are pointing a gun at something.

Question:  Raise your hand, as if you are asking a question in class.  Ask your Question.  Used to ask Questions of the Psychics to create more information.

Example of Play

Abby, Bob, Corey, and Dani have gathered to play Psychic Detective Agency.

Abby:  What kind of story should we go with?

Bob:  (Looking through story hooks).  How about The Final Cut.  Lots of juicy stuff going on there.

Corey:  Modern day or a different time?

Dani:  Let's do a pulpy, noir Hollywood.  Sound good?

Everyone agrees.

Dani:  Who's going to be the Psychics?

Abby:  I'll be one.

Corey:  Me too.

Dani:  Okay, so Bob and I are the audience.

Bob:  Works for me.

Abby:  I'll be the Precog.

Corey:  I'll be the Postcog.

Bob:  No Empath, so if you want any now Questions, ask those to me or Dani.

Dani:  And anyone can ask those, not just me or Bob.

Abby:  Right, so where do we start?  (Raises hand, looks at Dani) What is the scene?

Dani:  (Puts fingers to temples).  It's the Patterson residence.  Our detectives have arrived.  Mrs. Patterson is there to meet them.  I'll play her.

Abby, Corey, and Dani enter the middle of the play space.  Bob steps off to the side.

Dani (As Mrs. Patterson):  Oh, thank goodness you're here!  He's been missing three days already!

Abby (As the Precog):  I'm Detective Sloane, this is my partner Detective Marigold.

Corey (As Marigold):  Pleased to meet you.  We'd just like to ask you some questions about the disappearance.  (Raises hand, looks at Bob)  What is Mrs. Patterson hiding?

Bob:  She's been having an affair.

Dani:  Of course she has.  (As Mrs. Patterson)  I'm just so distraught.  Harold has been missing three days, and no one's heard of him.

Bob: (Raises hand, looks at Corey) What really happened?

Corey:  (Fingers at temple, hand at side of mouth) Harold Patterson faked his own disappearance, but he's since been murdered.

Dani:  (Hand raised, looks at Abby)  What's about to happen?

Abby: (As Sloane) (Fingers at temple) Look out for that car!  Everyone get down.  They're going to shoot at us.

Bob:  (Hand raised, looks at Dani)  Does anyone get hurt?

Dani:  Detective Marigold gets winged, and there's a lot of blood, but really, it's just a scratch.  (Raises hand, points at Corey) Who were those guys?

Corey:  (Fingers at temple, hand at side of mouth)  The L.A. mob.  Patterson owed them money.  Gambling debts.  (Takes fingers away.)  Let's jump ahead.  (Raises hand, looks at Abby)  What happens next?

Abby:  Let's split up the detectives.  Marigold goes the hospital to get patched up and do some digging, and Sloane tracks down a mob informant.

Bob:  Ooh, I want to be the informant.  So maybe we're in a booth, in the corner of a greasy dive.  (Bob joins Abby at the center of play.  Corey and Dani sit down.  He puts on a funny accent.)  Yeah, whatdy'a want?

Abby:  (As Sloane.)  Information.  Harold Patterson.  Have a drink on me.  (Raises hand, looks at Dani)  What's this guy's story?

Dani:  He's Willie the Snitch.  Two-bit information.  Police have dirt on him and now he's an informer.  Drugs, maybe.  (Raises hand, looks at Corey) What's the last crime he committed?

Corey:  He's been selling heroin.  In fact, he was selling it to Harold Patterson.

Bob: (As Willie) Is that the big movie star?  I don't know nothing about him.

Abby: (As Sloane) Don't lie to me Willie.

Corey: (Raises hand, looks at Dani):  What's Sloane feeling right now?

Dani:  Sloane is feeling anger against this guy.  Willie is a scumbag little worm who doesn't deserve to walk free.

Abby:  (As Sloane) (Makes a gun gesture at Bob)  I'm not interested in games.  Maybe this will jog your memory.

Bob: (As Willie) Okay, okay, so I sold him some H, but I don't know anything about his little vanishing act.  (Raises hand, looks at Corey) How am I lying?

Corey:  You don't know the reasons for the original disappearance, but you know that Big Red's gang found him and kidnapped him.  (Raises hand, looks at Abby)  Is Willie going to tell you this?

Abby:  (As Sloane)  (Fingers at temple) You're going to talk.  It's just a matter of incentive.  (Points the gun at his kneecaps).  Don't think I won't shoot you.
Inspirational Media for Noir and/or Psychics

Books
Episode of the Wandering Knife, by Mary Roberts Rinehart
Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, by Douglas Addams
Red Harvest, by Dashiell Hammett
The Big Sleep, by Raymond Chandler
The Last Policeman, by Ben Winters
Watchmen, by Alan Moore

Movies/Television
Angel
Gone Girl
Minority Report
Momento
Sin City
Supernatural

Games
Android, by Kevin Wilson.  Noir and/or Psychic detectives.
Dirty Secrets, by Seth Ben-Ezra, strong noir tropes.
Juggernaut, by Jason Morningstar, which is American Freeform and involves predictions about the future that must become true.
Penny for My Thoughts, by Paul Tevis, which involves asking questions of each other and answering them to find out your past.
Play Unsafe, by Graham Walmsley, about improv techniques.
Pocket Guide to American Freeform, by Lizzy Stark, about American Freeform.
Psi-Run, by Meg Baker, which involves psychics remembering the past a piece at a time.
Sorcerer, by Ron Edwards, particularly Sex and Sorcerer, which deconstructs why a lot of Noir stories are awesome.