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Etsu_ElfRanger 11-02-04, 04:40 PM

I am trying to create an adventure inspired by the play Sleuth, which is a detective/suspense type play. I definitely plan on making some significant changes to the general plot so that it isn't exactly the same as the play. Also, I am almost certain none of my players have seen this show. If you have not seen this play and wish to, please don't read this thread, as it contains spoilers. This is going to be a city encounter, and I plan on running this after the players having already done something to gain a good reputation in said city. The players are asked by someone who claims to be a member of the watch to investigate a disappearance. A certain young man, who recently moved into the city, has been missing for several days. He was last seen en route to the home of a somewhat eccentric nobleman. When questioned, the noble admits that the young man was at his home. In fact, the noble had invited him. He also continues to insist to them that the young man left his house very much alive. However, the players find some signs of a struggle, blood on the carpet, and a strange, low mound in the garden... After some more questioning, the noble admits to having played a very serious game with the missing stranger. He claims that the young man had been having an affair with his wife, and he had decided to teach him a lesson. He invited the young man over, on the pretense of letting him have his wife. However, the young man would need help affording the woman's expensive tastes. So, the noble instructed the young man how to "break into" his house and steal some of his valuables (jewelry most likely). Then he insisted on setting up a struggle, so that it would look like the noble had caught him and tried to stop him, but was knocked out and tied up. Herein lies my problem. In the play, Andrew (the noble) then pulls out a gun in order to make it more realistic. He fires two shots at random statues, to make things more real. He then turns the gun on Milo (the young man). He explains that his real purpose in getting Milo there was to kill him, and make it look like self defense. He fires the gun, and Milo falls down dead. Now, here is the big spoiler for the play: The third bullet, the one he fired at Milo, was a blank. Milo is actually alive and well, having only fainted from total shock, and is in fact the one that sent the pcs on the quest to begin with, only obviously in disguise. Now, here is my real question: How do I change this last part, with the gun and the bullets, into something that works for DnD? I'm trying to avoid a situation where "Milo" actually ends up dead, even temporarily. Otherwise, "Milo" could simply have "Andrew" arrested, without having to go through this whole elaborate scheme. Also, should I change the stealing the jewelry to maybe kidnapping the wife or something else? In the play, Andrew would have collected the insurance money on the jewelry, and I don't know if that could be doable in DnD. Thanks, and hope this wasn't too confusing. There are a few more details that I can give, if anybody wants them, but I thought it might make things more confusing.