Help running an Investigation

[amorgan_28]

Hi guys =)

Sorry to have my first post on the forums here (after so long lurking lol) be asking for something, but I just have a quick question about GMing investigations in games. Basically I'm of the opinion that while there should always be a fail condition for the investigation, there shouldn't really be a wrong answer (if that makes sense). With that in mind, how subtle should early clues be in the context of getting the PC's on the right track?

As an example, in a game I am about to run set in a homebrewed sci-fi setting, I am going to have the PC's investigating death threats made by a terrorist group against a politician whose policies directly oppose their goals. The assassination attempt will be at a rally the politician will be holding in the near future. I have the actual assassination plan boiled down to 5 steps:
1) Secure a sniper nest
2) acquire weapons
3) acquire high-powered ammunition for the sniper to use to ensure a kill
4) after the sniper takes his shot, teams of assailants will begin firing wildly into the assembled crowd to confuse and slow potential pursuers
5) A series of safehouses owned by the terrorists will be set to explode to further delay emergency response

At this stage I plan to gently railroad the PC's to the rally site, where a nearby Cathedral will make itself obvious as the best choice for the sniper, but I feel that may not be enough to get some initial clues for the rest of the scheme.

Any help would be greatly appreciated =)

 

[Janx]

Hi guys =)

Sorry to have my first post on the forums here (after so long lurking lol) be asking for something, but I just have a quick question about GMing investigations in games. Basically I'm of the opinion that while there should always be a fail condition for the investigation, there shouldn't really be a wrong answer (if that makes sense). With that in mind, how subtle should early clues be in the context of getting the PC's on the right track?

As an example, in a game I am about to run set in a homebrewed sci-fi setting, I am going to have the PC's investigating death threats made by a terrorist group against a politician whose policies directly oppose their goals. The assassination attempt will be at a rally the politician will be holding in the near future. I have the actual assassination plan boiled down to 5 steps:
1) Secure a sniper nest
2) acquire weapons
3) acquire high-powered ammunition for the sniper to use to ensure a kill
4) after the sniper takes his shot, teams of assailants will begin firing wildly into the assembled crowd to confuse and slow potential pursuers
5) A series of safehouses owned by the terrorists will be set to explode to further delay emergency response

At this stage I plan to gently railroad the PC's to the rally site, where a nearby Cathedral will make itself obvious as the best choice for the sniper, but I feel that may not be enough to get some initial clues for the rest of the scheme.

Any help would be greatly appreciated =)

From a story writing perspective, try answering these questions:
how would the protagonist even know about the assassination attempt before it happened?
why would the protagonist care to get involved?

After the assassination, the if the PCs are on the investigation team (police/FBI, whatever), they would backtrack to find the sniping position. From there, fingerprints, a shell casing to a rare type of ammo, or some other clue would hopefully be found.

Cameras leading into the building, floor would also be checked so they can identify the shooter.

If they just find a shell casing, they'd check the 1-3 dealers to see who they sold to, including watching who the dealer calls after they leave, and checking a money trail. Guns and ammo are often sold together, so 2 and 3 are kind of the same.

Just some thoughts.

 

[Umbran]

I have come to think that the GUMSHOE approach to investigations - the interesting thing isn't searching for clues. The interesting thing is *interpreting* them once you have them. Thus, make the clues pretty easy to find, and let the players work out what the clues mean.

I start with the presumption is that the whole point is to prevent the assassination, not to figure out who did it after the fact.

So, you intend to push the PCs to the rally site, and to make the sniper position pretty obvious. The problem with that is there is now no need to do further investigating. They know when the sniper will appear, and where. Stopping the attack should be child's play - lay in wait and watch the position, and nab the sniper when he or she shows up! Trying to follow the rest of the rest of the scheme adds risk to a sure thing!

Presumably, if the sniper shot doesn't go off, the others won't start shooting into the crowd, or blow up safe houses - those actions only make sense if the target goes down first. So, the PCs missing these is probably irrelevant.

So, if it is supposed to be an investigation, I suggest the thing needs to be restructured. So, I'll ask a leading question - why is the sniper *threatening* to kill, instead of doing so quietly, without warning?

 

[WayneLigon]

This kind of thing is where Stuff That Happened In Your PC's Past can come in handy.

Not knowing the details of the setting, I'll use Traveller as an example.

One of the PC's has an Old Service Buddy in the police agency of the planet. The Police Agency, as do all good security agencies, gets a list of everyone matching certain profiles that lands on the planet. The Agency AI, being helpful, flags PC's file and alerts Old Buddy - hey, your Old Buddy just landed at bay 12.

First Scene - PCs are flagged by the cops and pulled into the investigation -
As it happens, you and Old Buddy investigated a terrorist group targeting Imperial Navy facilities back in the day. They used Symbol X. Symbol X has appeared in the recent mailings to the politician. So, Old Buddy calls up the PC and asks if he can consult on this. Oh, you belong to a whole group of triggerhappy freelance troubleshooters? Bring 'em along!

Obviously, the terrorists want to do what? Generate terror and uncertainty in the populace. This is why they are advertising. They want to send the message 'we can kill your people and even let you know about it because there is nothing you can do to stop it. We're just that good and you're just that helpless'.

Second Scene - action scene
They do the obvious. They hire a Big Hitter to come in from the outside. Police AI flags him at a transport hub and police mobilize. The PC's wind up being in that same place, and chase him down. Big set-piece chase and fight scene. The PC's corner the Big Hitter and he takes the coward's way out - he blows himself to bits. Problem averted!

Third Scene - investigation
Only not; the PC's should realize from Big Hitter's profile that he's in it for the cash, not for ideology. He certainly would never kill himself to make a point.

At some point, someone will think to look at the transport hub security footage. They will see a seemingly innocent bump from a guy into the Big Hitter. Magic CSI Zoom and Pan reveals the face of a terrorist leader that the PC and Old Buddy recognize: he's a master of biochemical weaponry.

Fourth Scene - investigation
It's really, really helpful if the PC's ship has better stuff on it than the planet does. Investigating the Big Hitter's body shows traces of a nanotech machine. It uses the person's body as raw materials to build a simple but very effective chemical incendiary. Boom.

Fifth Scene - Action scene
We're down to the wire on time. Knowing there are only a couple places on the planet capable of fabbing the needed materials for such a device. They find out that Manufacturing Center Two was recently purchased by some off-planet concern. It might be the terrorists. It is! Firefight ensues and the cell is wiped out to a man. But... the Terrorist Leader is not there.

Sixth Scene - The Speech
The Politician knows he cannot bow to terror, so he's going to give his speech. The PC's know The Terrorist Leader is there, somewhere. Cops are all over the area, convinced there will be a shooter nearby. Most of their manpower in fact is going towards that. The Politician himself has been quarantined and cops are right beside him at all times. Obviously it's impossible to shoot him and there's no way he could have been infected with the nanomachine bomb.

He isn't. The Important Dude Standing Beside him has been. Midway through the speech, he's going to detonate like a carbomb and take the politician and lots of others with him. How you make that last important leap? They could be showing pictures of the Terrorist Leader around and Important Dude says 'Yeah, he shook my hand earlier, told me what a great thing is was we were doing'. At which point the PC's have to get him away from the massively crowded area before he goes off.

 

[amorgan_28]

Hey thanks for the input guys, especially WayneLigon.....Your advice was absolute gold...I may have to steal it

Having an explosive on the scene of the assassination attempt fits another goal I had...The terrorist group is basically a cybernetic superiority group, and the Important Dude's rally is an election campaign speech where he was going to promise to institute tougher restrictions on cybernetic augmentation (after a rebellion by people with heavy augmentation, limits were put in place as to how much a persons body can be replaced), and the attackers have been ordered to maximise non-fatal civilian casualties after ensuring Important Dude is dead and when the inujured are in hospital recovering, they are informed a "Mysteriosu Benefactor" has paid in full for them to receive cybernetic treatments, thus giving the PC's another investigation stream (where the money came from).

 

[Janx]

Hey thanks for the input guys, especially WayneLigon.....Your advice was absolute gold...I may have to steal it

Having an explosive on the scene of the assassination attempt fits another goal I had...The terrorist group is basically a cybernetic superiority group, and the Important Dude's rally is an election campaign speech where he was going to promise to institute tougher restrictions on cybernetic augmentation (after a rebellion by people with heavy augmentation, limits were put in place as to how much a persons body can be replaced), and the attackers have been ordered to maximise non-fatal civilian casualties after ensuring Important Dude is dead and when the inujured are in hospital recovering, they are informed a "Mysteriosu Benefactor" has paid in full for them to receive cybernetic treatments, thus giving the PC's another investigation stream (where the money came from).

How does that intersect the PCs path? Are the PCs acting as police or official investigators? Are the PCs implicated? Are the PCs connected to one of the criminals or victim?

While your goal should be to not railroad, some story writing tricks come into play. Protagonists don't just decide to prevent an assassination, they do it because they are somehow invested in the outcome. Figuring out how to make this assassination plot intersect and relate to the PCs is important.

Also consider, as Umbran talked about the prevention, that this plot is actually 2 adventures. You've got meat to setup preventing an assassination. And if they players fail to do so, you've got meat for avenging the assassination.

I would also recommend reconsidering your backstory for the assassination. Gun manufacturers do not engage in terrorism with the very weapons they wish to legalize and promote sales of. To hopefully speak apolitically, school shootings do not make the Smith and Wesson company happy with how people respond because the response is usually against their product.

Now if the Cybertech company were backing the attack from a foreign country so that the US felt like the "enemy" has a technological advantage, that could indeed bolster support for augmentations.

But if it is local on local, the backlash is to further restrict such tech, not promote it.

It's a slight adjustment to your plan, but a pet peeve of mine is plots that don't make sense. Wherein the GM plans out motivations, that I look at they lack coherency in that a criminal mastermind would base their plan on.

 

[was]

step 3.5 the sniper plots multiple escape routes

 

[innerdude]

I have come to think that the GUMSHOE approach to investigations - the interesting thing isn't searching for clues. The interesting thing is *interpreting* them once you have them. Thus, make the clues pretty easy to find, and let the players work out what the clues mean.

Follow this advice and you're golden.

Also, the question needs to be answered, where are the PCs going after they either stop / solve the assassination attempt? What's the motivation of the person / persons who initiated the threat in the first place? How will he / she react to their plans being thwarted? Who else has a vested interest in the success / failure of the plot?

The investigation should only be the precursor to other avenues of pursuit. Once you know WHO cares about the assassination attempt, determine why the care, and how they will react.

 

[amorgan_28]

How does that intersect the PCs path? Are the PCs acting as police or official investigators? Are the PCs implicated? Are the PCs connected to one of the criminals or victim?

While your goal should be to not railroad, some story writing tricks come into play. Protagonists don't just decide to prevent an assassination, they do it because they are somehow invested in the outcome. Figuring out how to make this assassination plot intersect and relate to the PCs is important.

Also consider, as Umbran talked about the prevention, that this plot is actually 2 adventures. You've got meat to setup preventing an assassination. And if they players fail to do so, you've got meat for avenging the assassination.

I would also recommend reconsidering your backstory for the assassination. Gun manufacturers do not engage in terrorism with the very weapons they wish to legalize and promote sales of. To hopefully speak apolitically, school shootings do not make the Smith and Wesson company happy with how people respond because the response is usually against their product.

Now if the Cybertech company were backing the attack from a foreign country so that the US felt like the "enemy" has a technological advantage, that could indeed bolster support for augmentations.

But if it is local on local, the backlash is to further restrict such tech, not promote it.

It's a slight adjustment to your plan, but a pet peeve of mine is plots that don't make sense. Wherein the GM plans out motivations, that I look at they lack coherency in that a criminal mastermind would base their plan on.

My bad again, I really suck at explaining things

The group targeting the Important Dude isn't a manufacturer of cybernetics, they are a "Flesh is Weak, replace it all with steel"-type terrorist group. They want everyone to have as close to total body replacement as possible. When I mentioned about the civilian maiming, what I was getting at is the cybernetic treatments would be paid for by the terrorists in a very round about way...as in shell company of a shell company of a shell company. They are basically saying "Here, have a taste of true power. The flesh is weak. Experience The Truth". The people actually perpetrating the attack are in effect cat's paws employed by the terrorists. If captured, one of the big factors that will highlight this is a complete lack of augmentations, which may lead to questions as to where the money came from for the job.



So, to use the Three Why method:


Important Dude targeted by terrorists


WHY?


Important Dude wants to limit augmentation. Terrorists want no limits on augmentation.


WHY?


Important Dude is vote-grabbing. Terrorists have a plan to manipulate augmented individuals into rebellion


WHY?


Why else? POWER.

 

[Janx]

The group targeting the Important Dude isn't a manufacturer of cybernetics, they are a "Flesh is Weak, replace it all with steel"-type terrorist group. They want everyone to have as close to total body replacement as possible. When I mentioned about the civilian maiming, what I was getting at is the cybernetic treatments would be paid for by the terrorists in a very round about way...as in shell company of a shell company of a shell company. They are basically saying "Here, have a taste of true power. The flesh is weak. Experience The Truth". The people actually perpetrating the attack are in effect cat's paws employed by the terrorists. If captured, one of the big factors that will highlight this is a complete lack of augmentations, which may lead to questions as to where the money came from for the job.

Bear in mind, this is the foundation for political differences in that 2 sides don't agree with the expected outcome of a given strategy.

If local nutjobs blow up local people to make them want to join the nutjobs, it is going to have the exact opposite effect. granted, these people are nutjobs, but it should be possible to give the bad guys a plan that is actually viable.

For one thing, how does shooting a long range sniper rifle demonstrate Cyber-Awesomeness? How does shooting up the panic'd crowd demonstrate it?

Now if the cyber people staged the attack by a mundanes and came in and "rescued" the crowd and the politician, THAT would demonstrate to the crowd that this was only solveable because the CyberMen were around.

That's how you win hearts and minds of people. By saving them. Not maiming them.