Has anyone ever done a murder mystery scenario before? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Has anyone ever done a murder mystery scenario before?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
switzburg
Jan 12, 2010 11:19:48 Recently my mind has been storing many wierd and strange ideas for adventures. One of these was a murder mystery, no combat needed, just a simple murder mystery. I was looking at a detective type of adventure like Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie.

Has anyone ever run or played a game like this?

Any thoughts and/or opinions?
#2
jgumbyrx
Jan 12, 2010 14:20:05 I've actually done this a few times -- an they have always been hugely successful (never mind that I've always started such things with "so, you're sitting in a tavern ..." -- a bit cliche', but it works).

here's how I've done it:
- scatter the clues throughout the adventure (make sure that you have one at the murder scene as well) -- the first clue should be something that subtley hints at an over-arching story. (this one is the obvious no-brainer; but I just want to make sure to cover all the bases)
- as unto the first -- I have had it be the opening plot hook to the first adventure of a campaign; and in some way related to the BBEG (if it's done later, then it's not much of a mystery, is it? also, if this is done first, then the PC's are still low-level -- a good way to gain xp without having to worry how squishy they are.);
- motive is usually political or cult-related (feel free to shake this up -- this is just how I've done it)
- go ahead and spend a couple of adventures finding out who-done-it (if resolution is too quick, it won't be as memorable; nor will the PC's motivation be very strong -- on the flip-side, if it drags-out too long, they will get frustrated and lose interest).
- don't have full resolution until much later -- have them spend several adventures tracking down the person behind the murder
- once they think they have it all figured out (after many twists and turns, of course -- can't make it too simple), have one final game-changing twist. the last time that I did this, it turned-out that the murderer was actually one of the "good guys", which in turn unfolded a whole other plot (which should be subtley foreshadowed all the way up to this point) -- if done right, this can lead to a real jaw-dropping moment.

hope that helps. I can go into specifics if you need me to.
#3
Rhineglade_
Jan 12, 2010 16:10:44 There is an actual published "murder mystery" adventure by TSR called "L2: The Assassin's Knot." Though it is a stand alone adventure, it was supposed to be the sequel to "L1: Secret of Bone Hill."

This was long ago though for the 1st Edition (when this was the ONLY edition.) So you'd have to do some major updating to fit it into today's rules.
#4
Grimbus
Jan 13, 2010 1:14:32 Yes. They tend to work best when the players and the murderer are on a boat or a snowed in castle or beseiged. Basically the murderer cannot just wander off. In the middle of the adventure have some-one try to murder one of th eplayers. It makes it much more fun and exciting whne the players start to think that one of them could be next.
#5
switzburg
Jan 13, 2010 11:04:11 jgumbyrx

That helps alot. I was looking at doing a stand alone adventure in the distant future so was not planning a recurring back story. And was only looking to do it in one sit-in. I wont rush them though, so can keep going if it isa must.

Also what does BBEG stand for?

Rhineglade_

With The Assassins Knot (Which I have noticed is on the old wizards site), I'll skim through it but I'll rather make my own adventure. I'll look through it for ideas though, so thanks.

Grimbus

I was going to have them forced into an inn due to a very powerful wind. To be honest I did not think of trying to murder one of the players, we'll see...

One last thing, how can I get the characters at the forefront the investigation. i.e. why should they be the ones running the investiion, why should they be picked?
#6
jgumbyrx
Jan 14, 2010 0:47:59
jgumbyrx

That helps alot. I was looking at doing a stand alone adventure in the distant future so was not planning a recurring back story. And was only looking to do it in one sit-in. I wont rush them though, so can keep going if it isa must.

Also what does BBEG stand for?
.....

One last thing, how can I get the characters at the forefront the investigation. i.e. why should they be the ones running the investiion, why should they be picked?

BBEG = Big Bad Evil Guy (i.e. the main antagonist)

as to your target size/scope -- I can't really help you mush there, as I always tend towards grandiosity, and don't really work well on the small-scale (basically, I need more time to develop my plots my groups tend to b.s. too much)

as to party motivation -- for a one-shot (which seems like what you want to do) I'd have them build a party, not just individual characters (i.e., a common theme). you get through all the b.s. by having them already know each other. as to why they should be the ones to take charge, have everyone else not be willing to step-up ; except maybe one guy, who is way too full of himself and is actually incompetent.

just my 2cp.
#7
CraggleRock
Jan 14, 2010 9:35:09
For a mystery, the blog at the Alexandrian about "The Three Clue Rule" is certainly worth a read. Essentially, you need to decide how much solving the mystery is going to depend on: characters succeeding on rolls to find the clues; characters making roles to interpret clues; players thinking to search for certain clues; players interpretting clues themselves. Some of this depends on the type of game you want to run, some depends on your players. However, it's almost universally the case that no one wants the game to grind to a halt and the players have no leads to follow because everyone fluffed that Perception check to spot the speckles of blood on the window ledge outside the murder scene.

When I ran a mystery in Eberron (although the start of a campaign rather than a one shot type), I tended to make most (probably around 80 to 90 percent) of the finding of the clues automatic. Sometimes this would be a case of automatically telling the player with skill training in History about a certain political event; sometimes I would have the party roll Perception and give the clue to whomever rolled the highest value, regardless of what that value was; sometimes the clue might have a Perception DC but would be automatically found if the players asked about something specifically ("I check behind the painting for hidden safes" rather than "I search the room for hidding spots", for example).

As with the Alexandrian post, I tended to make sure there were plenty of clues to be found and I could always remove some if they players were finding too many. It seemed to work really well, and we even got the "Christie dénouement" moment when one of my players leapt up and paced in front of the fireplace while laying out all the clues and the conclusions that could be drawn from them, with the other players contributing their own occasional pieces of information. Everyone really seemed to enjoy that moment of "Aha!" although it would not have been neccessary to have it all figured out to have progressed to the concluding encounter. Sometimes just giving the players the oportunity to be a bit "ahead of the game" is enough to make for a great mystery scenario rather than rely on them figuring out all the details (the "Scooby Doo dénouement" where the villain is captured without knowing their identity, but the smart players know who will be revealed when the mask is pulled off).
#8
switzburg
Jan 17, 2010 2:49:11 Thnaks for the help everyone, the Alexandrian blog helped alot and I'm beginning to write up my murder mystery.
#9
strand0
Jan 17, 2010 3:03:48 I ran a scenario based on the Maltise Falcon. I didn't you a falcon statue and I worried that whole time that one of the players might realise what I was doing. But, it played out very well.
#10
bone_naga
Jan 20, 2010 13:40:11 I'm running one right now (they are looking into an apparent accident that was actually a murder, as they are already beginning to suspect). One thing I have done is changing skill challenges from all-or-nothing to having varying degrees of success. For one that I have planned, they will find another clue with each success up to the max set for the skill challenge. Once they achieve 2 failures, they start attracting attention from the local authorities (they are not working together on this), and at 3 failures they cannot find anymore clues (at least from that particular challenge). Another challenge I have planned will have things like at 1/2 the required successes they gain a partial success (achieving 1 out of several goals) and after meeting all the successes they have achieved all the goals.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 switzburg Jan 12, 2010 11:19:48	Recently my mind has been storing many wierd and strange ideas for adventures. One of these was a murder mystery, no combat needed, just a simple murder mystery. I was looking at a detective type of adventure like Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie. Has anyone ever run or played a game like this? Any thoughts and/or opinions?
#2 jgumbyrx Jan 12, 2010 14:20:05	I've actually done this a few times -- an they have always been hugely successful (never mind that I've always started such things with "so, you're sitting in a tavern ..." -- a bit cliche', but it works). here's how I've done it: - scatter the clues throughout the adventure (make sure that you have one at the murder scene as well) -- the first clue should be something that subtley hints at an over-arching story. (this one is the obvious no-brainer; but I just want to make sure to cover all the bases) - as unto the first -- I have had it be the opening plot hook to the first adventure of a campaign; and in some way related to the BBEG (if it's done later, then it's not much of a mystery, is it? also, if this is done first, then the PC's are still low-level -- a good way to gain xp without having to worry how squishy they are.); - motive is usually political or cult-related (feel free to shake this up -- this is just how I've done it) - go ahead and spend a couple of adventures finding out who-done-it (if resolution is too quick, it won't be as memorable; nor will the PC's motivation be very strong -- on the flip-side, if it drags-out too long, they will get frustrated and lose interest). - don't have full resolution until much later -- have them spend several adventures tracking down the person behind the murder - once they think they have it all figured out (after many twists and turns, of course -- can't make it too simple), have one final game-changing twist. the last time that I did this, it turned-out that the murderer was actually one of the "good guys", which in turn unfolded a whole other plot (which should be subtley foreshadowed all the way up to this point) -- if done right, this can lead to a real jaw-dropping moment. hope that helps. I can go into specifics if you need me to.
#3 Rhineglade_ Jan 12, 2010 16:10:44	There is an actual published "murder mystery" adventure by TSR called "L2: The Assassin's Knot." Though it is a stand alone adventure, it was supposed to be the sequel to "L1: Secret of Bone Hill." This was long ago though for the 1st Edition (when this was the ONLY edition.) So you'd have to do some major updating to fit it into today's rules.
#4 Grimbus Jan 13, 2010 1:14:32	Yes. They tend to work best when the players and the murderer are on a boat or a snowed in castle or beseiged. Basically the murderer cannot just wander off. In the middle of the adventure have some-one try to murder one of th eplayers. It makes it much more fun and exciting whne the players start to think that one of them could be next.
#5 switzburg Jan 13, 2010 11:04:11	jgumbyrx That helps alot. I was looking at doing a stand alone adventure in the distant future so was not planning a recurring back story. And was only looking to do it in one sit-in. I wont rush them though, so can keep going if it isa must. Also what does BBEG stand for? Rhineglade_ With The Assassins Knot (Which I have noticed is on the old wizards site), I'll skim through it but I'll rather make my own adventure. I'll look through it for ideas though, so thanks. Grimbus I was going to have them forced into an inn due to a very powerful wind. To be honest I did not think of trying to murder one of the players, we'll see... One last thing, how can I get the characters at the forefront the investigation. i.e. why should they be the ones running the investiion, why should they be picked?
#6 jgumbyrx Jan 14, 2010 0:47:59	jgumbyrx That helps alot. I was looking at doing a stand alone adventure in the distant future so was not planning a recurring back story. And was only looking to do it in one sit-in. I wont rush them though, so can keep going if it isa must. Also what does BBEG stand for? ..... One last thing, how can I get the characters at the forefront the investigation. i.e. why should they be the ones running the investiion, why should they be picked? BBEG = Big Bad Evil Guy (i.e. the main antagonist) as to your target size/scope -- I can't really help you mush there, as I always tend towards grandiosity, and don't really work well on the small-scale (basically, I need more time to develop my plots my groups tend to b.s. too much) as to party motivation -- for a one-shot (which seems like what you want to do) I'd have them build a party, not just individual characters (i.e., a common theme). you get through all the b.s. by having them already know each other. as to why they should be the ones to take charge, have everyone else not be willing to step-up ; except maybe one guy, who is way too full of himself and is actually incompetent. just my 2cp.
#7 CraggleRock Jan 14, 2010 9:35:09	For a mystery, the blog at the Alexandrian about "The Three Clue Rule" is certainly worth a read. Essentially, you need to decide how much solving the mystery is going to depend on: characters succeeding on rolls to find the clues; characters making roles to interpret clues; players thinking to search for certain clues; players interpretting clues themselves. Some of this depends on the type of game you want to run, some depends on your players. However, it's almost universally the case that no one wants the game to grind to a halt and the players have no leads to follow because everyone fluffed that Perception check to spot the speckles of blood on the window ledge outside the murder scene. When I ran a mystery in Eberron (although the start of a campaign rather than a one shot type), I tended to make most (probably around 80 to 90 percent) of the finding of the clues automatic. Sometimes this would be a case of automatically telling the player with skill training in History about a certain political event; sometimes I would have the party roll Perception and give the clue to whomever rolled the highest value, regardless of what that value was; sometimes the clue might have a Perception DC but would be automatically found if the players asked about something specifically ("I check behind the painting for hidden safes" rather than "I search the room for hidding spots", for example). As with the Alexandrian post, I tended to make sure there were plenty of clues to be found and I could always remove some if they players were finding too many. It seemed to work really well, and we even got the "Christie dénouement" moment when one of my players leapt up and paced in front of the fireplace while laying out all the clues and the conclusions that could be drawn from them, with the other players contributing their own occasional pieces of information. Everyone really seemed to enjoy that moment of "Aha!" although it would not have been neccessary to have it all figured out to have progressed to the concluding encounter. Sometimes just giving the players the oportunity to be a bit "ahead of the game" is enough to make for a great mystery scenario rather than rely on them figuring out all the details (the "Scooby Doo dénouement" where the villain is captured without knowing their identity, but the smart players know who will be revealed when the mask is pulled off).
#8 switzburg Jan 17, 2010 2:49:11	Thnaks for the help everyone, the Alexandrian blog helped alot and I'm beginning to write up my murder mystery.
#9 strand0 Jan 17, 2010 3:03:48	I ran a scenario based on the Maltise Falcon. I didn't you a falcon statue and I worried that whole time that one of the players might realise what I was doing. But, it played out very well.
#10 bone_naga Jan 20, 2010 13:40:11	I'm running one right now (they are looking into an apparent accident that was actually a murder, as they are already beginning to suspect). One thing I have done is changing skill challenges from all-or-nothing to having varying degrees of success. For one that I have planned, they will find another clue with each success up to the max set for the skill challenge. Once they achieve 2 failures, they start attracting attention from the local authorities (they are not working together on this), and at 3 failures they cannot find anymore clues (at least from that particular challenge). Another challenge I have planned will have things like at 1/2 the required successes they gain a partial success (achieving 1 out of several goals) and after meeting all the successes they have achieved all the goals.