Zugzwang

Story Line
The plot begins with Rei, an occult-loving girl, chides her best friend, Toshiaki, to reconsider investigating a supposedly haunted mansion a few miles from their hometown. He refuses and they enter the mansion, only to be greeted like guests despite their trespassing and asked to meet the 'mistresses of the house'.

The mistresses turn out to be Lambdadelta, Bernkastel, and Auau. The three declare themselves to be witches--to Rei's delight and Toshiaki's annoyance--and reveal that that the two 'guests' are trapped. They go further to divulge that the mansion they entered is in fact a home and prison to spirits, demons, and--of course--witches.

Despite his misgivings about magic and such, Toshiaki discovers that he and Rei are indeed trapped by inoperable windows and doors of the space-defying mansion and must work as servants to demons in order to remain alive. They are kept under watch by the witches' apprentices while learning their duties from demons. Unwilling to allow Rei to pay for his mistakes, Toshiaki seeks to find a way out. However, in order to do so he must speak with the 'lord' of the mansion--a supposedly ruthless man. Bernkastel admits that the lord remains recluse but is usually located in a sanctuary in the basement of the mansion. It is there he meets the master, Kanon. When Kanon proves to be rather docile, Toshiaki asks about how they are imprisoned in the mansion.

Kanon admits that not even he knows the true reason they are trapped. Only that it occurred after a certain event that murdered many of the residents in the mansion. He is unable to explain more as the mansion is assaulted by goat butlers. Toshiaki meets with Rei and they evade the invaders and stumble upon a secret room that can spy on the room where the witches gathers. While the servants of the house deal with the butlers, the witches and Kanon are confronted by Erika, who claims that she deserves the right of 'lord'--a title only bestowed to a person either by the previous master's blessings or solving the mysteries surrounding the mansion.

Erika finds Kanon to be illegitimate as he inherited the title from the previous master--his love, Jessica, prior to her dying. And in spite of the ridicule she receives as the 'failed detective', she challenges Kanon to a game that recreates the time of the murders that led to barrier keeping them within the mansion. The only variations are that both Rei and Toshiaki are also within the game. Utilizing the 'variables', Erika targets Toshiaki's desire to escape with Rei and gets him to commit all the murders.

At the end of the game, Erika defeats Kanon however the title of lord is not given to her but the one that did her dirty work--Toshiaki. Enraged and humiliated by another loss and betrayal, Erika challenges the new lord to another game. He accepts only after being tricked by the witches. She manages to frame Rei for the murders and executes her. Toshiaki loses his title to Erika but plays on her ego to get her to agree to one last game. Their goal? Solve the mystery of Ushiromiya Jessica's death--the only murder that was 'insolvable' or 'held many plausible answers'.

With only vague hints from the witches and help from Kanon before he was lord, he must solve the mystery before Erika or the mansion will have a new reign never met to be...

Kazuhiko Toshiaki
An amateur detective that investigates the Kuwadorian Mansion on his friend's whim. He wishes to lay the superstitions surrounding the mansion to rest. However, he ends up in a witch's game and doesn't know how to play.

Miyazaki Rei
An amateur occultist that wants to explore the Kuwadorian Mansion in order to prove the existence of magic. Rei receives more than she bargains for when she meets the witches of the mansion along with the hidden splendor of it all.

Erika Furudo
The piece designated to tear the mysteries of the Kuwadorian murders to shreds. As Bernkastel's piece, Erika tries to prove that Kanon's claim to being the 'lord' of this territory is invalid. While she traps him with her strict reasoning, she's challenged by Toshiaki to clear Kanon's name.

Bernkastel
One of the 'mistresses' of the Kuwadorian Mansion, but in actuality is the Witch of Miracles familiar to the Umineko series. She acts as controllers of the house but wants to take the position of 'lord' away from Kanon. She uses Erika to do so and suspects that Featherine added both Rei and Toshiaki to interfere with her plan.

Lambdadelta
A 'mistress' to the Kuwadorian Mansion, who is really the Witch of Absolute. She mainly acts as a spectator, enjoying the surprises that come along with the battle for control of this kakera.

Featherine Augustus Aurora
The Witch of Drama and Theatergoing that pretends to be a 'mistress' to the mansion. She is the one that leads Rei and Toshiaki into being trapped in Kuwadorian. Her intention for them was to help cement Erika's victory however it has gone awry. It seems she is not bothered by the progression, which leads some to wonder if she desired for Erika's success.

Kanon
The lord of the Kuwadorian Mansion but sees himself as little more than head furniture to the servants. He, despite his position, is meek and passive. Kanon does prove to be hostile when questioning his ascension to lord as it was given to him by his mistress and love, Ushiromiya Jessica.

Virgilia
A servant to the mansion, who serves like a mentor to all the other servant. She is also one that deals with newcomers, such as Toshiaki and Rei, while dealing with the witches of the mansion.

Ronove
A servant in the Kuwadorian Mansion that is the 'do-it-all' type. He shows little tolerance towards stubborn people and immature antics. Ronove also rather enjoys punishing those that have messed up or refuse to learn their lessons.

Setting
The primary setting of Zugzwang is the Kuwadorian Mansion. The mansion located about a mile and a half away from the port town of Shinpioka. Kuwadorian is appears as a three-floored mansion built in a Victorian style. On the outside of the structure, it looks decrepit with broken windows, overgrown grasses, and rusted gates. There are concrete stairs that lead straight to the front door which is done in an older, keyhole lock door. Inside Kuwadorian possesses an Italian Rococo interior design, which is sober wooden furnishings with rich fabrics and glass chandeliers. It also possess an ethereal aura to the mansion as many of the servants are furniture--especially goatmen.

Trivia

 * Zugzwang is a chess term that indicates a player puts themselves at a disadvantage because they must make a move. The beginning of the plot describes it as "A move which a player does not wish to make. A move that would weaken the player's position. A move that changes a win to a draw...A draw to a loss..."
 * It was the first Umineko no Naku Koro Ni roleplay created.
 * Miyazaki Rei and Kazuhiko Toshiaki make their debut in this plot.