Pine Beat

It was supposed to be an ordinary day at the Fierro precinct, but unexpectedly, the chief decides to send you on an assignment to the remote settlement of Angel Pine to investigate a double murder whose roots lead right back to that place. On-site, you are met by the local sheriff, Gregory, who explains the lay of the land and introduces you to the game's core mechanics: interrogation, intense interrogation, blackmail, interacting with objects on the table, and the town's tension level.

You've been given carte blanche and a list of dirty methods. Investigate, uncover, interrogate, blackmail. There are no restrictions. The ends justify the means, and your goal is the truth, no matter how ugly it may be.

Your Tools

Interrogation. A conversation with the locals. They will lie. To everyone. To your face, to each other, to themselves. Your task is to catch them in inconsistencies. Words here are a smokescreen. Watch their eyes, the tremble in their hands, how they look away when the conversation touches on something specific. Every "I don't know" is a hidden "I'm afraid to say."

Intense Interrogation. When simple questioning fails, the heavy artillery comes out. You can isolate a suspect in this very office. Pressure them. Threaten them. Use their secrets against each other. But remember: every action has consequences. This is all implemented through a card game, where each card corresponds to a character trait you've chosen for your character and that is inherent to the person being interrogated.

Blackmail. The currency of Angel Pine isn't dollars; it's secrets. Everyone here has a skeleton in their closet. An unfaithful wife. Stolen land. Involvement in something dark the neighbors know nothing about. Find these threads. Pull on them. Offer a deal: "You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours." Information in exchange for silence. It's dirty. It's effective.

Interacting with Objects. This desk is your command center. Spread out the victims' photos, the town map, evidence, and notes. Combine them. Look for connections. A clue might lie in a scrap of dirty paper or in the absence of something where it should be. The world here is deceitful, but objects don't know how to lie. Use that.

Tension Level. This is your barometer, the EKG for this rotting body. After each of your actions, after every interrogation or scandal, Gregory will grimly inform you: "Tension has risen." The higher it gets, the more hostile the gazes on the street become, the more often door locks "break," the louder the silence grows. Push the gauge to its limit—and Angel Pine will explode. They might set your car on fire. They might set an ambush in the woods. They might come as one and throw you out, or even bury you in that very forest that has witnessed so many deaths.

The Setting

Angel Pine is a festering sore on the map, a place where civilization ends and something ancient and wild begins. The locals here aren't just unfriendly; they look at you, a city rat, as if you were the plague. They are bound by a silent agreement to hate outsiders, and every locked house, every averted gaze is a challenge.

Your task is to crack this wall of silence. Anything goes: from pressuring the weak to making deals with the powers that be in this swamp. But the main question isn't whether you can find the truth. The main question is—can you keep this powder keg from exploding? Let just one spark fall on the dry tinder of the people's resentment, and nothing will remain of Angel Pine but ash. And along with it—your career. And, perhaps, your life.