Ace attorneys
Overview 3
1
What to expect 4
Roles 5
Defense & Prosecution 5
1.1 The three Attributes 5
1.2 Making an objection 6
1.3 Credibility 6
Judge/Witnesses 7
2.1 Tension & Impression 7
Desperate Objection! 7
Court is now in session. 8
Procedure 8
Tips while playing 8
What is to come? 9
Character sheet : Defense 10
Character sheet : Prosecution 11
Character sheet : Judge & Witnesses 12
2
Overview
This is an Ace Attorney inspired TTRPG for 3 players. It heavily relies on improvisation for all
three players and is meant to be played for 30 – 60 minutes.
Each player will have a role to play during a trial with lots of turnabouts, comebacks,
revelations, and tension! Bring up information using Logic, Humor or your Talent during trial
and get to the bottom of the case!
Tabletop roleplaying game ?
TTRPG are games that are played by co-creating a story with all the players. It is generally
made orally and with a gamemaster (or GM) that acts as a mediator (in this game, the role of
the Judge). Those kinds of games rely on rules to determine how the story is told.
A collaborative project
This game wouldn’t be possible without the people involved. Each one of them has
contributed in its own way, that could be lending art or writing descriptions and quick set ups
for cases.
I thank all of them for being part of this project, their credit will also be on their specific
contributions.
This game is Illuminated, and is made using the LUMEN system created by Spencer
Campbell of GilaRPGs. This game is not affiliated with Gila RPGs.
3
What to expect
Here is an example of a game. Three players (Miles, Pearl & Franky) have gathered to play
Ace Attorneys. Pearl has chosen the Defense role, Miles the Prosecution role and Franky
will play the Judge and Witnesses.
Before playing, they had a rough idea of playing the trial of a murder case where the victim
was found in a train station around 01:00 AM. The identity of the victim is still unclear but
they were shot and died from blood loss. The defendant is a woman found near the crime
scene.
As the trial has not started yet, the case is intentionally very broad. However, as soon as the
trial starts, each role will improvise on this case. All three players will bring up evidence,
testimonies, and witnesses. For example:
Miles: “The defendant, Melyssa, has been found at the crime scene.”
Pearl: “This is not sufficient to prosecute my client!”
Miles, smiling: “Well, she was found with blood on her clothes… And of course, the victim’s
blood!”
This is new information important to the case, and to test whether the Judge accepts it or
not, a dice is thrown (see the rules 1.1).
Miles throws a dice. The result means that this piece of information is accepted by the Judge
but the Defense gets an objection.
Franky: “Indeed, when policemen came to the crime scene, she was found with blood.”
Pearl, making an objection: “She may have been found that way, but in fact she is a student
in the medical field. According to my client, she was trying to help the victim.”
Pearl has improvised new information as an objection. The game continues that way and if
players want some help during their improvisation, they can use pre-written locations,
witnesses and evidence. The trial goes on until…
Franky, playing a Witness: “I was returning home, was working on a night shift. I heard a
loud sound, like a gunshot. I think I saw two people.”
Pearl: “How could you see it was my client? The time of death is around 01:00 AM, the
murder took place around midnight and it must have been dark. There could have been
other people that you’ve missed!”
Pearl rolls a dice to see if this information will be accepted (see the rules 1.1). It is not.
Franky: “Well, the train station is well equipped and there were street lamps.”
Following the rules, Pearl, as the Defense side, loses Credibility. If one Side (Defense or
Prosecution) reaches zero, the trial ends. The Judge and Witnesses have additional rules,
so check them out in the rules below !
4
Roles
There are 3 Roles or Sides in this game: Defense, Prosecution and Judge/Witnesses.
1. Defense & Prosecution
Those two Roles have three Attributes and Credibility.
1.1 The three Attributes
The Attributes represent the type of information you communicate while talking in trial. They
are:
FACTS – you bring up logic, testimonies or evidence that supports what you say. You
generate one Credibility on a 5+ result when throwing FACTS dice.
HUMOR – make puns or use absurd comparison with the current situation. You can even
make fun (but gently) of the opposite Side. Subtract 1 Impression or 1 Credibility for your
enemy on a 5+ result when throwing HUMOR dice.
TALENT – you use some powers (supernatural or not) to add information. That could be
communicating with the dead, deducing or guessing when people lie or anything like that.
Generates 1 Impression for your side on a 5+ result when throwing TALENT dice.
When creating their character, the Defense and Prosecution have 4 points they share
among those three Attributes. But how to use them? When the Judge says so, roll X number
of six sided dice (depending on your Attribute) and take the highest result. Compare the
result to the table below:
1-2: you say something that the judge does not accept. You lose 1 Credibility and the
enemy gets an objection.
3-4: you say something that the judge accepts but the enemy gets an objection. The
Judge gains 1 TENSION.
5-6: you say something that the judge accepts. You generate something depending on the
Attribute used. The Judge also gains 2 TENSION.
Note: When you have 0 in an Attribute, roll 2d6 and take the lower result.
Pre-made characters will also be available.
1.2 Making an objection
Of course, the objective for each Side is to win the trial. However, when making an
objection, do not interrupt a sentence or speak louder, that is not the objective!
5
You don’t have to roll any dice when making an objection, but the objection should be
focused on the specific subject objected. If it is a new subject, the Judge may want an
Attribute throw.
Also, remember that in this game, truth is not set in stone. You can improvise new
elements, make comebacks or bring up new evidence, as long as the Judge validates it.
1.3 Credibility
Both roles start with 5 Credibility with a maximum of 10.
They can lose Credibility when failing a dice throw (a result of 1 or 2), when the enemy
succeeds a HUMOR throw (5+ result) or when the Judge decides so.
They can regain Credibility by succeeding at a FACTS throw (a result of 5+).
If the Credibility of one Side reaches 0, the trial ends or the Side can make a Desperate
Objection (see 3.).
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2. Judge/Witnesses
The last player will play the Judge and all the Witnesses that will testify during trials.
As a Judge, this player is a mediator and begins by being neutral. However, during trial, they
can decide to make the Defense and/or Prosecution lose Credibility (by justifying it) and
have an opinion/impression towards a Side. They can also question a Side about some
events regarding the case and ask for a particular dice to be thrown.
As Witnesses, you will testify concerning a specific point of the case and you will answer
questions from both Sides (Defense & Prosecution).
2.1 Tension & Impression
As Judge and Witnesses, you have 2 Attributes that determine how you will play: TENSION
and IMPRESSION (towards Defense and towards Prosecution separated).
The more the trial lasts, the more the atmosphere and the people get TENSION. You have a
maximum of 10 TENSION but can spend them to:
- Have a disproportionate reaction.
- Bring up new information that BOTH sides have never heard of.
Tension is used to surprise both Sides and the more you spend Tension points, the more
spectacular the new information should be (at the player discretion).
Additionally, even if the Judge is impartial at the beginning of the trial, he gets a particular
IMPRESSION by the performance of both Sides. Each impression starts at 0 (cannot be
negative) and has a maximum of 5.
The Judge can act according to a positive impression but, of course, stays fair.
3. Desperate Objection!
If the Credibility of one Side reaches 0, the trial can end.
However, the Defense or the Prosecution can use the “Desperate Objection” option to
make a special comeback. The player throws 1d6 and must make under the current
IMPRESSION of their side. If they fail, the trial is closed for good. If they succeed, they
regain 1 Credibility and make a comeback!
However, by using this desperate objection, the player has lost all their current
IMPRESSION and the maximum IMPRESSION they have is now 3 for the rest of the
game.
7
Court is now in session.
Procedure
Here are the steps you can follow to play this game.
1) Decide together the basics of the case: what kind of case, who is the defendant, the
victim etc… You can also use a random table, but you should stay vague at this stage.
2) Determine randomly or choose a Role. When the Role has been chosen, the
Defense and Prosecution organize their three Attributes.
3) Case preparation: both Sides have 2 minutes (or more) to write down notes and
ideas for the upcoming trial.
4) Witness preparation: both Sides can have 3 minutes (or more) alone with the player
Judge/Witnesses. They can determine a plan and come up with Witnesses and
testimonies that will testify during trial.
5) The trial Begins! Make it formal, introduce the case as if there were a public and
decide the fate of the Defendant.
6) If needed and if ALL players agree, the trial can be adjourned. Each side can do step
4 again and obtain 1 point in an Attribute they want.
Tips while playing
When making an objection and bringing up a contradiction, that does not mean erasing
everything that the other has said. Remember to have fun and to co-create the story. If
needed, the Judge can mediate the trial.
Also decide together the tone of your game: silly, serious, extraordinary, a bit of all…? Don’t
forget to talk about emotional security and the level of fantastic features allowed in the trial.
Here is a non exhaustive list of ideas you can develop when submitting ideas:
- The Murderer, their personality, past, connections…
- The Accused, their personality, past, connections… of course, it can REALLY be the
murderer!
- The Victim, their personality, past, connections… of course, it can REALLY be a
suicide or accident!
- Where the crime took place, where the weapon was found or … (see
https://ferdielance.com/random-locations.pdf)
- The murder weapon.
- Relationships between the characters (see https://ferdielance.com/courtroom-rally-
draft.pdf)
- Creating interesting Witnesses
- Possible motive for the Witnesses or the Accused
- Complications such as politics involved or conspiracy.
- Are the Defense and/or the Prosecution personally involved?
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Have a specific scenario? Want to add something else? Feel free to suggest!
Quotes
● "Objection! I...object to the witness's talkativeness!" "Objection sustained. The
witness shall refrain from rambling on the stand.”
● "I object! That was... objectionable."
● The Defense is not a clown, they are the entire circus
● Your argument is like a naked banana!
● Your autopsy report is… outdated!
What is to come?
The game is in development : I’m trying out some design layout for the project and, of
course, am playtesting! This document for the rules will be completed with additional
clarifications and examples. Below are examples of character sheets and rules summary for
each Role.
If for any reason you wish to contact me, you can do it these ways:
Mail : thegatesoftruth@gmail.com
Twitter : @TheGatesofTruth
Thanks again for taking the time to read :D
9
Character sheet : Defense
Description :
Credibility : 5/10
FACTS :
HUMOR :
TALENT :
1-2: you say something that the judge does not accept. You lose 1 Credibility and the
enemy gets an objection.
3-4: you say something that the judge accepts but the enemy gets an objection.
5-6: you say something that the judge accepts. You also :
- Generate 1 credibility if you used FACTS
- Subtract 1 Impression or 1 Credibility if you used HUMOR
- Generate 1 Impression for your side if you used TALENT
Note: When you have 0 in an Attribute, roll 2d6 and take the lower result.
Desperate objection : when you reach 0 credibility, throw 1d6. You must make under
your current IMPRESSION. If you fail, the trial is closed for good. If you succeed, regain 1
Credibility and make a comeback!
However, by using this desperate objection, the player has lost all their current
IMPRESSION and the maximum IMPRESSION they have is now 3.
10
Character sheet : Prosecution
Description :
Credibility : 5/10
FACTS :
HUMOR :
TALENT :
1-2: you say something that the judge does not accept. You lose 1 Credibility and the
enemy gets an objection.
3-4: you say something that the judge accepts but the enemy gets an objection.
5-6: you say something that the judge accepts. You also :
- Generate 1 credibility if you used FACTS
- Subtract 1 Impression or 1 Credibility if you used HUMOR
- Generate 1 Impression for your side if you used TALENT
Note: When you have 0 in an Attribute, roll 2d6 and take the lower result.
Desperate objection : when you reach 0 credibility, throw 1d6. You must make under
your current IMPRESSION. If you fail, the trial is closed for good. If you succeed, regain 1
Credibility and make a comeback!
However, by using this desperate objection, the player has lost all their current
IMPRESSION and the maximum IMPRESSION they have is now 3.
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Character sheet : Judge & Witnesses
TENSION : .../10
Spend TENSION to :
- Have a disproportionate reaction.
- Bring up new information that BOTH sides have never heard of.
IMPRESSION
IMPRESSION DEFENSE : .../5 IMPRESSION PROSECUTION: .../5
When a side throws a dice, do the following for the highest result :
1-2: Nothing.
3-4: You gain 1 TENSION.
5-6: You gain 2 TENSION.
List of witnesses :
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