Elegy for a Better Yesterday

A Heroic Bloodshed Noir

In case it's not obvious, this game is inspired by John Woo's Heroic Bloodshed movies.

The gist is that the game should start relatively low-key and lighthearted, and every character is intended to keep monologuing and reminiscing about their dreams. Their last job before retiring and opening their dream bakery, finally having enough money to pay for the blind violinist’s surgery, getting themselves promoted into lieutenant in the police force…

Even if they fail their tasks, the game should keep moving forward. But the game should get increasingly grim and violent as more and more of the player characters die senselessly from choices not of their own. The deaths from the shootouts are supposed to be senseless and pointless.

The capricious 1d6 rolls for tasks are intended to give a sense of tension and randomness, and keep everyone’s allegiance a mystery. Is the task keep failing because they’re a traitor, or they’re just unlucky? Is there ever a traitor in the midst, or is it just paranoia? Or is everyone actually a traitor? It’s important that not even the traitor knows that they are traitor before the game starts and everyone has entangled each other in relationships, and any traitor shouldn’t know if there are other traitors in the game.

And of course, the game might just end with everyone dying in a random shootout.

Sometimes, that’s just how the movie ends.

By Catsintrenchcoat Games

Illustrations by https://x.com/Riofird/