Crafting a Murder Mystery

[Herremann the Wise]

Warning:The following thread will contain spoilers for the Serpent Skull adventure path. If you are playing or are thinking of playing in this path or the first module Souls for Smuggler's Shiv, then the following discussion will spoil this adventure quite thoroughly.

Hello Everyone,

I was wondering if the kind folk here could help me construct a murder mystery. What are the key things that differentiate an RPG murder mystery and a murder mystery story? In terms of planning, what are the key features that a murder mystery should have to be inclusive of all playing styles? Can anyone point me towards their favourite murder mystery adventures (any flavour of RPG or edition is cool)?

Thank you very much in advance.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

PS: I'm planning a prelude to the Serpent Skull adventure path with a murder mystery. It will be for 1st level characters as a way of introducing them to each other as well as the fascinating jungle landscapes of the Mwangi expanse - for those interested in such things.

 

[Gilladian]

Murder mysteries can be so easily circumvented by magic! Know what spells your cleric and wizard types have, so you can decide at various points whether or not they're deal-breakers, and how to plan around them...

First level's not so bad, though!

I always have to start with the killer and the victim. What was their relationship? How did they relate to the community around them? Who else had motive? Was this a spur-of-the moment crime of passion? A long-time-planned execution?

I would flesh out the NPCs and the plot together. Each will cchange the other. Don't worry about the PCs yet, except for possible ways they can "break" the mystery. Since your stated purpose is to explore the background and setting, make sure you tie your plot in. Give each NPC a specific tie to an aspect of the community. Don't have "a priest" - do have "the priest of the couatl god of protection" who has feuded with the "jaguar hunter" House of Warriors for decades, all because of the mysterious Couatl mask that vanished 40 years ago. And of course, that ties into who committed the crime and why.

Hope some of this helps! Flowcharts and lists of true/false clues are your best helpers. Remember, it doesn't matter WHO feeds the PCs a clue; what matters is that they GET it. Every needed clue should be findable at least 3 ways, and each "scene" that happens should have at least 2 ways to draw the party in.

 

[amerigoV]

Two pieces of advice:

1) When you set the level of the adventure, read through all accessible divination spells. Do not forget they can try higher level spells via scroll or NPC. These spells will be used. Figure out how they can advance the plot (do not just nerf the spells ability - use it as a tool to tell the story).

2) Read this excellent article - the three clue rule. This will help you structure the scene so information gets passed to the PCs. In general, I despise mysteries at the gaming table because you end up playing "guess what the DM is thinking." The 3 clue rule will aleviate the issue.

 

[Nagol]

Mysteries are my favourite adventures, both as a player and DM.
The writer needs to consider the capability of the intended opposition. In a good mystery, the opposition must be capable enough to succeed and prevent trivial discovery, but not so competent that discovery is impossible.

• What capabilities does the opposition need in order for the attack to be successful?
• What investigative capabilities should be expected that will require circumvention for success?

For planning, you need to know what capabilities the PCs have. This serves two purposes.

• The knowledge allows the writer to prevent the mystery from being trivialised.
• The knowledge allows the PCs to naturally be the prime movers in the investigation.

Now look for abilities the PCs have that the expected population does not. These should be the natural weak points of the operation and can easily lead to the unravelling of the mystery. Do not base the whole solution on the use of these few tactics however, as PCs tend to forget to use them.

I like to jot down a few notes of how the attack happens, the steps involved, and the time/resources involved so I can present clues to the investigators that are sensible and natural to the particulars of the crime.

 

[Hand of Evil]

FLOW CHART & TIMELINE!

Flow Chart - Clues, witness/supects, locations, information - what leads to what or who. Just lay out the everything and then build a flow chart based on the rolls of the players. A ---> B rolled 1-5 go to c rolled 6-10 go to D.

Timeline - just overlay a time line of when things happen.

Steal from party games like How to Host a Murder Mystery!

 

[MatthewJHanson]

A lot of good advice already. The three clue rule is a great way to go.

The thing I want to add is that if the PCs do nothing things should keep happening. Maybe another murder, or a witness comes forward. That way if they PCs get stuck you have an event to unstick them.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Oh, don't forget the Red Herings! They may lead to nothing but it is best if they lead back to another clue (by the long route) to keep the players on track.

Three things: Means, Motive, & Opportunity -- keep them in mind for the NPCs

 

[mjsoctober]

Divination magic can be a problem, just remember that the answers they get can be vague. I think there was an article in an issue of Dungeon a few years back that addressed this. I will check when I am at home.

One suggestion I always wanted to try goes like this:

A person is found murdered, but the body if from some point _in the future_ (the person is actually still alive at this point). One of the PCs has either _actually_ committed the killing (either murder or self-defense) in the future, or will be _framed_ for it in the future. Thus clues and divination point to one of the PCs having committed (or being framed for) a murder that hasn't actually happened yet, but will! (it is unavoidable).

It's the "Minority Report" trick. If the PC is framed, then the real killer migt be a doppelganger, in disguise, or using magic.

 

[Hand of Evil]

Don't sweat magic - there are ways around it, here are some thoughts:

Protection from other gods or deamons - the assassin is used and takes the "sin" on to them. The players knows it an assassin was used but that is all. This could also be used if this was a ritual murder, all the players know is there is a taint (clue). This also can be used to keep the person from coming back or the players finding the ghost.

The deader is of a different god - don't like this but it can hold off finding out stuff.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Another thing that an make a huge difference in regards to divination magic - a deadline. Yes, there are a lot of spells that can give the PCs a huge amount of information, but do they have those spells ready now?.

Another is misinformation - if the PCs see someone sneak up behind the victim and stab him, through divination as an example, do they know that the corpse was already dead, and animated to walk around before Col. Mustard kills him with the knife in the conservatory? Conversely, do they see the victim crawl to his knees to reach a healing potion to staunch the flow of blood, only to die an hour later from the poison that someone laced the potion with?

Split clues in several locations, if the murderer was an assassin for hire, then who did the hiring? And if the assassin also shows up dead....

Have several parties who are not at all unhappy with the death of Mr. Body, including at least one who is willing to have some nice gentlemen in cheap suits do some 'talking' with the PCs to get them off the case. And that the fellow who hired the Amazing Goon Brothers to chat with the PCs may, or may not, be the one who had Mr. Body inhumed. Whether he is protecting someone else, or has some dealings with Mr. Body that he does not wish to come to light.

Other than that, Hand of Evil has annoyed me by hitting all the main points that I would have mentioned. Time-lines and Flowcharts are indeed your friends for this.

The Auld Grump