CASEFILE Buy on itch.io

Don't just read the clue. Find it.

Casefile: Phone

The first in a series of modules for Foundry VTT built to enhance your investigative game systems.

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  • Foundry VTT 14+
  • No AI Art
Hand holding a phone, tinted green.

The Background

Hotel Vintage Park Seattle, Washington

Finding a critical piece of evidence is a big moment in any investigative game: the name of the mysterious man in the photos, the receipt that disproves the alibi, the answering machine message with the killer's voice...and it's the cop who found the body.

There's nothing like that gasp of recognition from your players when it comes together.

Nowadays, you're likely to hear those gasps over Discord. A lot of us aren't actually around the table anymore. When you're a modern adult with friends in other cities (or states, provinces, countries...) and tight schedules, it's much easier to use an online virtual tabletop.

I'm David. I've been playing tabletop RPGs for over 40 years, and like many of you, my games are run online now. Even though I still enjoy them, I can't deny that online TTRPG play puts a barrier between the players and the GM that doesn't exist at a real table. I would like to try to bridge that gap.

Casefile attempts to increase engagement with digital props - inspired by "feelies" that used to come with old video games - that players can manipulate and analyze in order to obtain evidence, and to punch up that "gasp out loud" moment when they get that key clue and it all comes together.

Confidential

Core Premises

  • System Agnostic, GM Driven

    Casefile modules work with any system. They are not tied to any ruleset. They are designed with maximum flexibility in mind. They have built-in editors that allow you to re-skin, re-theme, and customize your props to YOUR liking.

    Casefile: Phone models decades of technology, from a 1983 "Brick" style phone to a modern "Slab" smartphone to a fanciful far-future "Holo" wristpad, and anything in-between. It includes six built-in skins as examples and model to build on. The rest is up to you.

  • Versimilitude First

    Casefile props behave like whatever they are supposed to be. You can turn a knob or click a key; your player should feel like they are there, inspecting the object. Having said that, accessibility options are available if needed, or if you are a kind-hearted GM who doesn't want to subject your GenZ players to the misery of typing a text message on a 10 button Nokia phone from 1997.

    Casefile: Phone has a fully functional text messaging system, contact book, and messenger - all with histories, all with clues. Why did the suspect mark this number as DO NOT ANSWER in their contact book?

  • Tamper Resistant

    Casefile modules attempt to thwart player cheating. Object properties that could be clues (like lists of contacts, chat histories, article names) are stored in an encrypted vault, with a password only the GameMaster knows. A client-server architecture serves up the decrypted clues only when the player actually finds them.

    While this feature is useful, it does come with a drawback - players can't interact with Casefile objects if no GM is online. You can turn it off if you trust your table...but I wouldn't.

The Casefile Series

  • Available

    Phone

    Smartphones from all eras - past, present, and...future? Functional phones that can make calls, send messages, and hold evidence. Ships with a skin editor, theme editor, icon editor, and you can find the tutorial video here.

  • In Development

    More to Come

    I have plans, big plans! But for now, we're focusing on Phone.

Contact

If you've found a bug, or just have a question, feel free to email me. Casefile is too small to have a Discord, but I do read all my emails.