Danganronpa: Project Eden's Garden RPG

Summary:

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Prologue: Vows Woven by Stitches and Needles

The story begins from the perspective of Damon Maitsu, the Ultimate Debater, who reflects on the concept of Ultimates—individuals defined and elevated by a single exceptional talent. Damon is openly cynical about the institution of Ultimates, viewing the title less as an honor and more as a shallow label that invites arrogance, hypocrisy, and attention-seeking behavior. Despite his skepticism, he has accepted an invitation to attend Eden’s Garden Academy, a highly exclusive college designed specifically for students whose talents are academic in nature.

Damon boards a train bound for the academy alongside other invited students. During the journey, without warning, a gas bomb detonates inside the train, causing all passengers to lose consciousness simultaneously.

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Awakening in Eden’s Garden

Damon awakens inside a boiler room, disoriented and restrained by an unfamiliar electric bracelet fastened to his wrist—later referred to as a Trinket. He is not alone; another student, Eva Tsunaka, has woken up beside him. As they regain their bearings, the two quickly realize that neither remembers how they arrived there after collapsing on the train.

While investigating the boiler room, Damon and Eva peer through a ventilation shaft and notice another unconscious student in an adjacent area. They leave the boiler room and reach the dormitory dining hall, where they find Wolfgang Akire lying unconscious on the floor. They are soon joined by Grace Madison, who explains that she woke up inside the pantry nearby.

As introductions are made, the group notices that every single one of them is wearing the same electric bracelet, reinforcing the idea that their confinement is deliberate and controlled.

Their discussion is abruptly interrupted when Toshiko Kayura bursts into the room and locks the dormitory door behind her. She explains that the other students outside had tried to force her to remain in place while they conducted their own investigation, prompting her to flee. Like Damon and Eva, Toshiko also woke up next to another student. Though initially abrasive and defensive, she eventually offers to guide the group to meet everyone else.

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The Academy Revealed

The five students exit into the courtyard, where they discover that Eden’s Garden Academy is sealed beneath a massive dome projecting an artificial sky. The illusion of openness sharply contrasts with the reality of their entrapment.

In the courtyard, they encounter Eloise Taulner and Desmond Hall. Desmond informs them that the remaining students have already entered the main academy building across from the dormitories. Leaving Eloise and Desmond behind, the group proceeds inside.

The main building opens into a large circular chamber dominated by a gigantic tree at its center, surrounded by five sealed shutter doors that cannot be opened. This space later becomes known as the room containing the Tree of Ignorance.

Here, the group finally reunites with the remaining nine students, bringing the total number of captives together. With no immediate answers and rising panic, everyone returns to the courtyard to discuss their situation collectively.

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Eva Exposed and the First “Crime Scene”

During the discussion, Eva is pressured into revealing her supposed talent: the Ultimate Liar. This revelation immediately causes tension and distrust among the group, as several students question whether anything she says can be believed.

Before the argument can escalate further, a voice echoes through hidden speakers. The speaker belongs to Tozu, who formally welcomes the students to Eden’s Garden Academy. He confirms that they are trapped inside the academy and instructs them to return to the dormitory building.

Upon entering the dormitories, the students are confronted with a horrifying sight: the corpse of a young girl lying in front of the janitor’s closet.

Panic spreads instantly. Some students begin to scream or panic, while others freeze in shock. Eva, however, calmly examines the body and announces that it is not real, but rather a dummy. Because of her reputation as the Ultimate Liar, many students refuse to accept her conclusion. To verify her claim, Jean DeLamer independently inspects the body and confirms that it is indeed artificial.

Jean also discovers a tablet attached to the scene. The tablet identifies the victim as Cara Koskinen, the Ultimate Teacher’s Aide, and provides a detailed forensic report listing her injuries and cause of death.

Tozu then speaks again, explaining that the students are looking at a perfect reconstruction of a real murder case from several years ago. He orders them to reconstruct the crime, explicitly stating that they do not need to identify the culprit—only determine how the murder occurred.

When Grace attempts to destroy the speaker in defiance, Tozu activates her Trinket, delivering a powerful electric shock to demonstrate his authority and the bracelets’ punitive function.

Believing that solving the case might allow them to return home, several students—including Damon—agree to investigate.

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Investigation: The Murder of Cara Koskinen

Damon begins by reviewing the tablet in detail. According to the report:

• Cara Koskinen was stabbed twenty-eight times
• She suffered chemical burns to her eyes and scalp
• Her cause of death was exsanguination due to repeated stab wounds

Examining the body and surrounding area, Damon observes:

• A bloody knife near the body
• A fully loaded assault rifle, unused
• Dry blood beneath Cara’s fingernails, despite her hands otherwise being completely clean—suggesting she scratched her attacker but was unable to continue fighting

Inside the janitor’s closet, Damon finds:

• A stepladder positioned behind the door
• A broken digital clock mounted above the doorway
• A bucket on the floor that reeks strongly of bleach

Desmond later confirms that one bottle of bleach is completely empty, reinforcing the idea that a large amount was used during the crime.

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The Trial Hall and the First Class Trial

After the investigation, Tozu orders the students to return to the tree chamber and take the elevator hidden within the Tree of Ignorance. Before it activates, the students must locate and restore a missing piece of a Tozu bust, after which the tree opens to reveal the passage.

The elevator descends into the trial hall, where each student is assigned a stand. Tozu opens the class trial, explains its rules, and promises that if the students solve the case, he will “let them leave.”

Grace disrupts the proceedings almost immediately and is punished again—this time with a shock so severe that it leaves her unable to speak for most of the trial.

Through collective reasoning, the students reconstruct the murder:

• Cara entered the janitor’s closet armed with the rifle
• The killer had prepared a trap, placing a bucket full of bleach on the doorframe
• When Cara opened the door, the bleach poured over her head, blinding her
• The killer, hiding in the back of the closet and armed with a knife, then stabbed her repeatedly
• Cara attempted to fight back by scratching the killer’s neck, explaining the blood under her fingernails

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Morality, Hypocrisy, and the Birth of the Killing Game

After the reconstruction, Wenona argues that the killer may have acted in self-defense, suggesting that Cara herself may not have been an innocent victim. Wolfgang Akire strongly condemns this reasoning, insisting that murder cannot be justified so easily.

This disagreement triggers a Nonstop Debate, during which Damon sides with Wolfgang in one of two ways:

• Pathos Route: Damon appeals to emotion, convincing the others to trust Wolfgang’s legal expertise
• Logic Route: Damon emphasizes the brutality of the wounds and the time required to prepare the trap, proving the murder was premeditated

Once the case is summarized, the students realize that Tozu has fallen asleep. He soon appears in person for the first time, formally declaring the start of the Killing Game and outlining its rules.

When the students remind him of his promise, Tozu clarifies that he only meant to let them leave the trial hall, not the academy itself.

Grace attempts to kill Tozu in a fit of rage, but is shot in the cheek by Mara, the enforcer, as a warning.

Wolfgang declares that he trusts the group to reject the killing game, believing that their status as Ultimates proves they can rise above selfish desires. Most students agree—but Eva and Damon openly oppose him.

Eva argues that Ultimates are more likely to kill, because their ambitions and talents cannot be fulfilled while trapped. Damon goes further, accusing the others of being attention-hungry frauds who don’t deserve the title of Ultimate at all.

The group turns against Damon and Eva. As Tozu leaves, Damon realizes the truth of his situation: he is trapped in a killing game where nearly everyone already hates him.

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Chapter 1: Beneath the Veil of Hypocrisy (Opening)

The following day, Tozu unlocks a new area of the academy: the Alpha Sanctuary, which includes a pharmacy. As the students explore, Tozu announces that a “secret” is hidden somewhere within the sanctuary.

At the same time, he upgrades the Trinkets, granting access to:

• A map of the academy
• The rules and regulations
• Student profiles for every participant

Through these profiles, it is revealed that Eva Tsunaka is not the Ultimate Liar, but actually the Ultimate Mathlete. Eva is visibly embarrassed by this revelation.

Ironically, the other students—despite their earlier moral posturing—begin to mock Eva relentlessly for her talent, or silently allow the ridicule to continue. Their behavior exposes a deep hypocrisy: they condemn dishonesty and cruelty in theory, yet engage in it freely when given the opportunity.

This moment firmly establishes one of the core themes of Eden’s Garden: hypocrisy, self-interest, and the fragility of moral superiority under pressure.

Wolfgang has taken on the role of leader of the Ultimates, and they follow him almost blindly (except for Damon and Eva, who are being separated from the group, precisely also by Wolfgang himself).