Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Pallin Rahl 09-14-06, 08:36 PM	Note To My Players: Kindly hit the "Back" button... i.e. GET OUT! (Kevin & Matt) :P --- OK... :D In an upcoming session, I'd like to run a little Eberron murder mystery of sorts. I'm just trying to come up with an interesting murder plot for them to deal with... The Target: Gabriel, human Archivist - currently residing in Sharn; has ties to the Adventurer's Guild (to which the PCs belong) and to Morgrave University. The PCs and Gabriel are on friendly terms - having helped one another a number of times. Gabriel's always been presented as a generally friendly, knowledgable (especially regarding the occult), and trustworthy guy (if a tad ...awkward ...from spending most of the time in study, pouring over ancient tomes, etc ;)). Basically, for all intents and purposes, though, he's a "good guy" and an NPC I've enjoyed. ...and I'm thinking that his untimely, mysterious death could prove for some interesting roleplaying. :schemes: But why has he been murdered? I'm kicking a few ideas around... but I figured I'd open the floor to you all for suggestions :D ...to get those creative juices flowing. I'm just looking for a solid murder mystery with some entertaining twists and turns, to keep my players on their toes. ;) Any suggestions appreciated! :D --- Oh... if curious... the 2 PCs (it's a 2 PC + 1 DM game) are currently level 8. ...as is Gabriel. :)
Save-vs-DM 09-14-06, 08:50 PM	The What Recently Gabriel stumbled upon a most perplexing and interesting scroll while unpacking a recent shipment of literature. The scroll seemed to be made of tanned skin (possibly goblinoid) and the words seem to have been tattooed into the skin, possibly while it was still on the person. While he was immediately fascinated with the work, he was also slightly repulsed by it, so he set it aside while he unpacked the rest of the crate. It was only when he was mostly finished that he realized he'd gotten the wrong shipment by mistake - it was supposed to be going to a noble. Fearful of reprisal, he packed everything up but forgot the scroll. It was then shipped back by Gabriel himself, as he was afriad of letting anyone else touch it. Last night, he was murdered and now the scroll is gone. The Why The scroll belonged to a minor noble with an interest in the occult, but he wasn't even supposed to have been shipped it. He managed to win it in an auction from a furious bidder. Unbeknownst to the noble, the other bidder was a half-daelkyr who knew what the scroll contained - something nasty (I leave that up to you). Rather than attempt to murder the man, he simply used a bit of magic to sway the opinion of the auction worker to swap the scroll for a duplicate he made quickly. The problem is that while the auction worker was swayed, he was also rather absent minded and he put the real scroll in the crate and sent the fake one back to the half-daelkyr. The How Unfortunately for the half-daelkyr, his magic disguise had worn off and he was in no state to travel outside. So he managed to get one of his servants to box him up in a crate and "deliver" him to the house of the noble. Once there he exited the crate and searched the other one - only to find books without what he wanted. Furious at the mix up, he emptied the crate for Gabriel and climbed inside it. When Gabriel arrived to switch crates, he took the half-daelkyr with him. The half-daelkyr waited until the coast was clear and then tried to torture the location of the scroll from Gabriel. The torture was too much and Gabriel died. The half-daelkr then escaped by using a scroll to hide his true form and walked out in the guise of Gabriel himself. Hopefully this is helpful! Cheers, Save vs dM
RuneSpellcarvedSoldier 09-14-06, 08:51 PM	i'd make his "good guy" vibe more of a facade, give him ties to a cult or evil-esque group maybe the blood of vol or since he's in sharn the swords of liberty. any information he's given them in the past could be more aligned towards what his orginization's need s were instead of what your pc's may have actually wanted, cleverly disguised to hide the fact of course, or maybe just the opposite having him trying to route out a cult and maybe getting a little to close and the pc's just 'happen' to find the secret compartment in his book case after they arrive to his dead body and ransacked apartment, they don't find much info just enough to point them in the right direction.
Kid SixXx 09-14-06, 08:52 PM	Since he is an archivist, the easiest answer is that he's killed off because of something he knows, or something he's found out. Given that The Black Dahlia will be released in theaters tomorrow, we'll borrow a bit of inspiration from that particular case. Not only will we murder Gabriel, we'll kill him off in a manner that seems almost ritualistic: perhaps he'll have his throat cut, but the telling detail will be that he's missing the same finger on each hand, or has some other cryptic mutilation? Whatever symbolism you'd like to attach to the murder itself is up to you. Next, there perhaps needs to be a potential scandal attached to the murder. You can involve Gabriel in it if you wish to sully his reputation the further the characters dig into the murder, but it's not necessarily required. Finally, this has to be a murder that absolutely no one wants solved, or that the authorities don't seem to be in a hurry to solve. Perhaps the PC's sense of moral outrage will spark under the impression that Gabriel is being treated as a disposable person, and the problem is more serious than law enforcement believes it is? Or maybe invesitgation of Gabriel's death will bring to light some conspiracy best left swept under the rug? I'll brainstorm a bit more on the details later on.
darkthought 09-14-06, 10:01 PM	Maybe Gabriel isn't dead? Perhaps he hired a changling to impersonate him the night of the murder. The half-dalkyr was furious after the person he thought was Gabriel turned into a changling and skinned and mutilated the body preventing a positive ID. Only real identification was his clothes and identification papers that were on the body / pile of clothes. Make it grizzly too. If anybody has a good heal check, have them roll on it to figure out exactly how they were killed. Gagged first, then skinned SLOWLY, disembowled then strangled with own entrails. Certain organs are missing. If there are known links between Gabriel and the PC's, have various packages arrive with the missing organs. To add a nasty twist, have a magic mouth or some other magic applied to it, perhaps something that goes boom. Or an animate dead spell to keep it beating.
ORC_Paradox 09-15-06, 10:48 AM	A simple accident that looks like murder. His body is found with a dagger in his heart. A glass of wine is found to have been filled with rat poison. Sure looks like someone wanted to do him in. He accidently spilled rat poison that was sitting on a top shelf into his wine glass. He cleans it up, but some water is spilled on the floor. Grabbing a dagger, he wonders where he put the cheese, and he'll have to dump the wine since it was contaminated, he slips, falls, and impales himself. But also throw in suspects who would like to have him dead, so the players think some NPC did it.
KingsSword 09-15-06, 12:42 PM	first off what are the pc's? regardless i'd plant some false evidence that sets the pc's off on a path that has nothing to do with the murder, then when they're thourghly confused and at a loss as to where to go to next another murder occurs (done in the same fashion as gabriel's), maybe the pc's happen to be walking by and avtually see the murderer leave the scene, dropping a piesce of real eveidence along the way perhaps?
Pallin Rahl 09-15-06, 01:06 PM	Well... class-wise: One PC is basically a Human archer (mixing Ranger, Order of the Bow, Peerless Archer... that kind of thing) and the other is a Kalashtar Psychic Warrior (later going into Slayer). No... they're not master detectives or anything (class-wise), but they know some NPC help is available (a certain Lurk ally of theirs could be helpful... as could a friend at the local office of the Korranberg Chronicle... as could the duo of Inquisitives I'll be introducing in the adventure... etc). Furthermore, they should have a personal interest in solving the crime (the guy is a friend of theirs). Note: I'd prefer to steer clear of the "Gabriel is really a bad guy" angle... though I'm open to the possibility of him being framed as one... ;) --- Good stuff thus far :) ...keep the ideas coming! :D --- Hmmm... I suppose another option, if you feel it could yield a more interesting murder mystery, would be to have their female friend at the Korranberg Chronicle be murdered instead of Gabriel. A dead reporter can be just as fun as a dead occult scholar. ;) ...hell, technically I could see a lot of overlap in possible plot options, to be honest. (though I'd like one of the two to live :P)
Ravenscroft 09-15-06, 02:05 PM	Why not have an actual "How to Host a Murder" Party. Some wealthy benefactor of the University is holding it. Gabriel gets complimentary tickets and asks the PCs. Everyone is assigned roles (& costumes) for the evening/weekend. Gabriel is murdered dramatically sometime during the course of events. You could even have the classic "Locked Room" mystery if you wanted. (Have the place warded against scrying , teleport and similar spells or at least warnings if such magics are in use)
Madhouse 09-15-06, 02:09 PM	Greetings Pallin! :D I absolutely love murder mystery adventures! I envy your players. As for the motivations for Gabriel's death, I don't know if you've already played through the Forgotten Forge series or not, but perhaps Gabriel somehow found out that Elaydren d'Cannith is actually working for the southern Cannith enclave, rather than the western one. She might have sent some thugs over to strongarm Gabriel into silence and things simply went wrong, or perhaps fouler motives are afoot. Just something to consider. Good luck!
Pallin Rahl 09-15-06, 02:13 PM	As for the motivations for Gabriel's death, I don't know if you've already played through the Forgotten Forge series or not... Actually, the very next adventure I'll be running is the Forgotten Forge :D (with some enemy tweaks to make it an appropriate challenge for a couple level 8 PCs :)).
KingsSword 09-15-06, 02:14 PM	what if the reporter and gabriel are working together to expose a cult of the dragon below or blood of vol or dealing with the corrupted deneith enclave. then you use the whole authorities aen't really looking into it/trying to sweep it under the rug angle and have the pc's intially think both are dead and then later have one of them show up at their house asking for help. gabriel or the reporter could have discovered that there was a plot to kill them and have hired the changeling to impersonate them, or maybe even both of them that way they could both be alive(though some innoccent changelings would be dead) and recruit the pc's to finish the job they started.
Madhouse 09-15-06, 02:43 PM	Actually, the very next adventure I'll be running is the Forgotten Forge :D (with some enemy tweaks to make it an appropriate challenge for a couple level 8 PCs :)). Great! Maybe the murder mystery could lead into the Forgotten Forge adventure, especially if the adventurers find out who was behind Gabriel's murder. Perhaps the Lady didn't really want Gabriel dead...just coerced into being quiet...and things went awry. If the adventurers help her deal with her errant thugs, it would set things up nicely for the start of the Forgotten Forge adventure. Whatever you choose, I hope it work out well for you! :D
Pallin Rahl 09-15-06, 02:48 PM	Sorry, I wasn't clear enough... Next session I'll be running the Forgotten Forge. The session AFTER that I plan to run my Murder Mystery. :)
Kreistor1 09-15-06, 03:21 PM	When running a murder/mystery event, there are two things you should include: 1) There should be multiple suspects. 2) The reason for the murder should be hidden. Film Noir also allows you to twist the reason towards a greater plot. There should be false motives for both the real culprit and the false leads. So, start with this: Why was he killed? Consider the following, which can all lead to frame jobs: Misidentification: the victim was not the real target, someone similar was. Accidental killing: the victim was not supposed to be killed, but he struggled or otherwise caused his own death. Old rivalry/revenge: something from the deep past that the now friendly man did caused someone to take revenge. Spurned love: obvious Poor motives: these motives are good for the false suspects, and are actually more common, but ultimately uninteresting for a story: Money: petty theft; possession of a rare object; possession of an heirloom that wasn't worth much, but was important to someone Business rivalry: eliminate the competition Mob shakedowns: yawn So, just grab three or four motives, create the people who would filll the role, then decide who really did it. Figure out who has alibis, who may have alibis but don't want the truth to come out, and how the real culprit was able to create an alibi without actually being there. Pretty formulaic, actually. If you want it to be deeper, have two motives for the culprit. A false one that the PC's can uncover easily, and the real one which is far more malevolent and can lead to a greater investigation. Like a Cult or Undead. Or spies from another nation.
Just another user 09-15-06, 06:13 PM	double post
Just another user 09-15-06, 06:14 PM	What if Gabriel is not a really bad guy but is a little too greedy for his own good. Gabriel was putting some money aside selling some of the tomes of the library he was working in and replacing them with fakes, those fakes is made but an accomplice of him, except he is not satisfied with his share, they have a fight and Gabriel is killed. He arrange things so that Gabriel trade is discovered (i.e. place some tomes in Gabriel's home or studio) and ne of his "clients" killed him then take away some of the more ancient tomes hoping to sell them when things are calmed down thinking that Gabriel will be blamed for it. Of course one of the tomes he took is necessary for the PCs next adventure.
Andrew 09-16-06, 12:45 AM	The main advice I can give are to look out for some of the typical stumbling blocks for translating such plots into D&D: magic. Just like a cross-country trek through harsh and exotic environments can be anticlimactic with a teleport, murder mystery plots that want to last more than the time it takes to swap around spells either need to a) avoid magic solutions or b) expect magic solutions, and become appropriately more difficult. Some things to predict at 8th level (I may have missed a few): Bard: charm person, charm monster, detect thoughts, glibness, locate object, suggestion Cleric: discern lies, divination, locate object, obscure object, sending, speak with dead, zone of truth Druid: reincarnate Sorcerer/Wizard: charm person, charm monster, clairaudience/clairvoyance, detect thoughts, geas (lesser), glibness, locate object, nondetection, obscure object, scrying, suggestion
Yalius 09-16-06, 01:42 AM	First, I'd say you have to have an obvious solution. The lock was broken, there's a valuable book missing, the book can be tracked down, a fence has it, he bought it from a thief, tracking down the thief they kill him, yadda yadda, case closed. Everything can be tidied up in a single session. No loose ends. Well, maybe one. Drop some clue, something small but noticeable, that maybe All Is Not How It Seems. Perhaps the nature of the book makes them suspect the person who loaned the book to Gabriel might seem just a little, well, off. Something isn't right. Maybe he's just a little too eager to reward the players for the return of the book, a little too eager to make sure everything is neat and tidy. So they try to find out just what the book actually is. Maybe Gabriel left, VERY cunningly hidden, notes on what he found out while researching the book. Relating to an important, very embarrassing secret that, once it gets out, could implicate a very revered member of an important faction in something singularly shady. So Gabriel was actually killed to keep that information secret. The original owner of the book, for whom Gabriel was researching and verifying the contents, ordered the hit, through several middlemen. Your players have to make a decision to preserve the reputation of a very important, long-dead personage, and preserve a delicate status quo, or to reveal what they know, gain justice for their friend, and open a REAL BIG can of worms for a major power in the campaign. Which will either gain them a powerful, connected contact or cause a lot of complications down the road. But that isn't the whole story. Gabriel, it turns out, wasn't exactly playing an honest game. Turns out he was dabbling a little bit in playing both sides. Somebody else has the information, and they have their own plans for it. Plans as major as using the information gleaned from the dealings described in the text to revitalize a major, MAJOR player, who has been out of action for a long time. (Rajah? Hmmmmm...) We're talking a huge shakeup of the entire power structure, unless steps are taken to minimize the fallout. So it seems the players have just become more important than they realized...
Madhouse 09-16-06, 10:31 PM	Sorry, I wasn't clear enough... Next session I'll be running the Forgotten Forge. The session AFTER that I plan to run my Murder Mystery. :) In that case, it's even easier, since they'll already be associated with the Lady. It could even provide some interesting tensions as the characters find out that she was somewhat involved in their friend's murder. Heh...sorry...I'm an intrigue-junkie. :D
Splendide 09-17-06, 01:27 AM	Gabriel was randomly mugged in a back alley and killed...or was he? When the PCs hear about it at the pub, they hear about all sorts of money problems connecting him to a member of the Boromar clan. Turns out Gabriel had a whole bunch of gambling debts. Anyway, when questioned, the Boromar guy will deny having had anything to do with Gabriel's murder...I expect your PCs will totally not buy that. Which is great! Then its just a matter of throwing out various tidbits, indicating that there was a contract on him, who was given the contract (again, with complete denial when questioned), and so on. The best part? It really was a random mugging. There was indeed a contract out on him, but it got cut short when Gabriel got genuinely mugged and put up a fight. While this Boromar guy had all the intent in the world, he didn't have anything to do with it :D
KingsSword 09-17-06, 03:33 AM	i like that especially if the pc's find out and realize that they did all that work for nothing!
Splendide 09-17-06, 03:44 AM	Yeah, that bit is good, but in my opinion the even better part is that they have been sticking their noses into Boromar affairs for no result, and now probably know quite a bit more than they should. Hooray, another adversary!
Ravenscroft 09-17-06, 04:02 AM	Murder at the Theatre is another fun scenario. Plenty of wealthy people with their own bodyguards to add to the confusion if someone is killed. Have Gabriel murdered with a Keeper's Fang weapon. (These are high range assassin's weapons , why kill a humble scholar with one) The minimum cost for a +01 Keeper's Fang weapon is 50,000gp , even if you could find a CL 17 caster to make it. Much easier to assume that such weapons are even more valuable and hard to get due to scarcity. Ownership of a Keeper's Fang weapon is a most serious offence as well. (Something to remember if a PC "pockets" it to investigate later)
Pallin Rahl 09-18-06, 04:57 PM	Great stuff, all :) ...lots to consider. :D Thanks! (...and a quick :bump: for any further suggesitons)