Basic Case Creation

Not sure how to start or build a case? This page will help guide you through the case creation process and get you on your way to casing on AOV.
== Creating a Doc ==
First, you’re going to want somewhere to put all your case information and a place for players to sign up for the roles they want. Here, we use Google Documents. You’ll need a Google account to create one, but you could (and should) make a spare / throwaway one so as to not clog any real Google accounts with case documents.
You’re free to make your own documents and templates, but if you’d rather get straight to it, take a look at our Template Library and grab one you like the looks of - there’s sections for different formats, so just open one up, then hit File > Make A Copy to save a copy to your personal Google Drive.
Not sure which one to grab? Try a Questrial template - they’re the most common... Or try branching out and use a less-used one. Be unique!
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Keep a spare empty copy in your Drive for future copies so you don’t need to keep going to the Template Library.
== Setting The Doc and Area Status ==
Alright, now you have an empty doc, it’s time to start building.
You can build a case by yourself or get others to help out - pre-built cases tend to get going faster, but setting an empty doc can encourage players to get more involved in the workings of the case. It’s your call!
If you’re going for a group build, set your document to be viewable - this is done by pressing the Share button in the top right, then Get shareable link in the pop up. Finally, change Anyone with the link can view to can edit via the drop down on the pop up. With all that done, type /setdoc in the OOC chat followed by the shareable link and hit enter. Now, anyone can enter /doc to see the link.
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Finally, remember your area status! Type /status BUILDING-OPEN or /status LOOKING-FOR-PLAYERS when you’re ready to invite players to build or sign up.
Want to advertise your case? Use /need followed by a short description of your case and/or what roles are needed. Remember to use this sparsely - people will see it, so you don’t need to do it a lot (it’s also against the rules to abuse it!).
You’ll do these steps last if you’re building alone so that players can sign up, but keep them in mind.
Either way, let’s move on to the main course.
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Are all the roles in your case filled? Don’t want anyone else to join after the start? Set your status to BUILDING-FULL or CASING-FULL to let people know.
== Building The Case ==
Time to fill that doc. For the sake of this guide, we’ll be looking at building a typical Improv trial - the most common on AOV. For information on other formats, check any provided information on that format's template document or simply ask other players for advice.
A good place to start is by picking a Defendant and Victim. These could just be random names (go for puns if you want bonus points) or actual AA characters. The latter could lead to some interesting story beats and roleplay, but it’s up to you. Just throw them in the appropriate Profiles sections.
Next, let’s set up a Summary. Having a quick outline of the case will help guide the rest of the building process.
[TO BE COMPLETED]
== Sign Ups ==
You can’t run a case without players! When your doc is set, players can open it and sign up for the case by typing their character name in the desired position.
If you’ve built the case yourself, you may want to add or remove certain roles or even put restrictions on characters. For example, maybe you don’t want Support- bench roles, a third witness or even a detective - or maybe you want a bunch of Support roles for ultimate memes. Maybe you don’t want any Danganronpa characters in your case or you ONLY want Danganronpa characters. Just be aware that such restrictions can scare players off, so unless you’re wanting a specific atmosphere, it’s generally best to leave it up to the players to decide their characters and roles.
Alternatively, in open builds some players may remove roles or try a gimmick  - For example, the Lead Prosecution may not want any support, or witnesses may want to multi-wit. Make sure everyone is okay with that before going on.
Remember to use /need to advertise your case and the required roles.
Once you have all the required roles signed on, you're good to go! Have your Judge start a Roll Call and, once everyone is present, slam that gavel, change your area status to CASING and begin. 
If you're still missing some extra roles, such as Third Witness, you can still allow people to sign on to those roles mid-case if desired. Just set your area status to CASING-OPEN.
== Setting In-Client Evidence ==
This is generally an optional step, but it can certainly be helpful.
Hit the Evidence button in-client to pop open the Evidence Panel. Here, you can add all the evidence of your case (and cast profiles if desired) for easy access.
To do this, first click the + Button, then click on the newly created space to select it. While selected, you can type in a name for the evidence in the box at the top. After, click the space again. This will pop open the Description box. Add the evidence details then click Choose.. to bring up a file browser. Look through the Evidence folder for an appropriate image then open it (you can also type the file name in directly if you know it).
You now have a piece of evidence available to present in-client! Repeat this for the rest of your evidence.
During the case, you can now present the evidence. Simply select the desired piece, click PRESENT at the bottom, then speak as normal in the IC chat. When you hit enter, the evidence will show up in the IC chat.
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When you’ve finished with a case, remember to delete all the in-client evidence and /cleardoc to leave the area clean for the next group of players who use it.
== Post-Case ==
Hopefully you've had an enjoyable case! Regardless of the outcome, make sure to clean up your area once finished.
Set your case document to View Only and consider uploading it to our Case Archives!
Also remember to clear out any In-Client evidence by double clicking them and choosing Delete, clear your /doc with /cleardoc, reset the penalty bars if used and set your area status back to IDLE.
Congratulations on a case (maybe) well done!Category:Cases
Category:Guides