Ski Lodge Murder Mystery
Introduction
The Ski Lodge Murder Mystery was the second staff event to run on the site, and began on the 2nd of February 2001 (Year 3) and ended on the 25th of May. It was the first plot to run in Year 3, and featured 32 staff members taking a well earned break at a Ski Lodge on Terror Mountain.
Story
The story began with the Neopets team taking a well earned break in a Ski Lodge. The insides of which appeared to point to Dr. Sloth being a former owner of it. The Thursday after arriving however, disaster struck, and Electric Blue Monkey was found dead at the bottom of the stairs. Rumours began to circulate that he had in fact been pushed, rather than falling. The following Monday, Black Widow was then found dead in the same location, having been strangled. This confirmed that a killer seemed to be loose among the Neopets team. The race was on to find out who. Over the coming weeks, the killer struck again.
- Bubbles was found dead in the Dining Room on Thursday of Week 2. She had been bludgeoned with a candlestick. It was also discovered at this time that the phone line to the mansion had been cut.
- Cookie was then found dead in Week 3, crushed under a pile of cookware in the Kitchen.
- Cupcake was then found dead in the Kitchen on Monday of Week 4, being impaled with spears.
- Jasmine died on Thursday during Week 4 as her heel broke and she fell backwards, hitting her head in the Guest Bedroom. There was some confusion as to whether this was the work of the murderer, or actually an accident.
- At the beginning of Week 5, Scarlet O'Lara was found drowned in the Swimming Pool.
- Later that week Snowflake was also found dead in the Swimming Pool, her head having become caught in the drainage system.
- During Week 6, Pop Tart (Donna) fell victim to an Exploding Potion in the Hall.
- Later that week, Sweets died, taking an anvil to the head in the Dining Room. Shortly after, there were reports of her ghost haunting the area.
- On Tuesday of Week 7, Mr. Plaid was found with his head cooking on the stove in the Kitchen.
- This was quickly followed on Friday, with Dr. Thor frozen in ice at the same location.
- In Week 8, Bye-Gon Jinx was found in the Swimming Pool, cut in half with his own lightsaber.
- Shortly after, Snot was also found in the Swimming Pool, eaten alive by Utility Fish. Once again, a ghost of Snot started to appear in the area he had been murdered.
- In Week 9, J. Boogie was impaled with Bye-Gon Jinx's old lightsaber, momentarily identifying Monster Boy as the killer before his death.
- The remaining staff members tied Monster Boy to a chair in the Library and kept him guarded, but on Thursday things took an unexpected turn. Monster Boy was flattened by a giant Mystery Island Tiki idol.
- The following week, Wolverine was hung in the Library on Monday.
- On Thursday, Mr. Insane was found in the same location, poisoned with what he thought to be Kraku Berry Juice.
- After beginning to investigate the murders, Lazarus was killed at the beginning of Week 11. The Swimming Pool's thermostat was turned up, boiling him to death.
- On Thursday, Mister Pickles was found decapitated in the Cellar.
- Having found the body of Mister Pickles, Dom Dread was then himself pickled the following week.
- Dave Scorcheski followed not long after, taking a meat cleaver to the head.
- In Week 13, Mr. Roboto reached his end, found ripped to pieces in the Kitchen.
- Later, Rhiannon wandered into the mansion's secret Underground Lab, and was pushed off a cliff, falling to her death.
- Tiger Catcher followed on Monday of Week 14, sucked down the drains in the Swimming Pool.
- On Thursday, Jimmy James was found in the Cellar, crushed to death by a falling wine rack.
- During Week 15, Mr. Black was bludgeoned to death with an ornamental animal head in the Bedroom.
- This was swiftly followed with the demise of the Big Spender in the Kitchen on Thursday.
- The remaining staff members decided to eat dinner together in Week 16, only to find that the main course was the severed head of Mr. Shankly.
- With only three staff members left, the killer was finally revealed in Week 16 as Number Six (Adam) was dropped off a cliff in the Secret Lab by Maverick. The Beader saw the murder, and tried to make good her escape. Thankfully, quick thinking allowed her to activate a trap and contain Maverick.
I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you pesky staffers!
The Beader quickly alerted authorities, and Maverick was taken into custody. However, as he was led away, he exploded, revealing that he had been a robot all along. As the authorities soon discovered, the real Maverick had been murdered long before the staff even arrived at the Ski Lodge. The final scenes of the plot showed that the one who ordered the robot Maverick's destruction was none other than Neopia's nemesis - Dr. Sloth.
Participation
Like many staff competitions, users took part in this plot by guessing the eventual winner. Users could change their votes every week, but those who consistently guessed correctly received higher prizes. Users could also send in questions for staff members to answer, with the aim of discovering which was the murderer.
Prizes
Numerous awards were handed out for those who participated:
Items
This was the first Neopets plot to hand out prizes and trophies, but the exact system used is unknown. They were:
There were also two prizes that were never released. It is unknown why. They were:
Trophies
There were three trophies available. Although the exact requirements for them are unknown, a correct guess in week 13 would earn you a bronze trophy, so gold and silver presumably required earlier correct guesses. The three trophies were:
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This page was written by Herdy and last updated on December 11, 2020.
