Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Nytmare" data-source="post: 8082488" data-attributes="member: 55178">It's been a while since I did a mystery game, and I don't remember where I stole all the bits and pieces of my personal philosophy.&nbsp; I know that some of them came from Gumshoe, but I stole the bulk of them from Jason Alexander.1. Always have at LEAST 3 clues that lead to any new piece of information and if you're not playing in a &quot;fail forward&quot; system, the fewer rolls players have to screw up actually getting their hands on the clue, the better.&nbsp; Also be willing to hand hold them into making the final deductive leap instead of leaving it up to a die roll.&nbsp; 2. If they find all the clues and they still can't put the pieces together just give them the damn solution and keep things moving forward.&nbsp; Don't make them roll for it.3. Always be willing to take the really clever solution or conspiracy theory that the players come up with and run with that instead.4. Red herrings and dead ends suck.&nbsp; Your players will come up with MORE than enough of them on their own, they don't need your help. 5. Pay attention to whatever your system has for knowledge and research skills and make sure you think of ways to frame clues from their character's vantage point.&nbsp; 6. Try to limit it to no more than like one or two flat out boring letters.&nbsp; Make it shipping labels, or accents, or record logs, or cargo manifests, or minted coins, or letters of credit, or anything that points them in the right direction.&nbsp; This is another good point to look at your players' characters' interests.&nbsp; Fancy casks of wine from a special winery.&nbsp; Livestock marked from a certain town's market.&nbsp; A recent playbill from a travelling theatrical troupe.7. Leave people to give information.&nbsp; Leave non-combatants.&nbsp; If the players aren't leaving survivors, leave them captured prisoners to free.&nbsp; Leave them helpful ghosts, disgruntled farmers, nosey neighbors, enemies of your enemies.[EDIT]&nbsp; Found it!&nbsp; <a href="http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/1118/roleplaying-games/three-clue-rule" target="_blank">Three Clue Rule</a></blockquote>

[QUOTE="Nytmare, post: 8082488, member: 55178"] It's been a while since I did a mystery game, and I don't remember where I stole all the bits and pieces of my personal philosophy. I know that some of them came from Gumshoe, but I stole the bulk of them from Jason Alexander. 1. Always have at LEAST 3 clues that lead to any new piece of information and if you're not playing in a "fail forward" system, the fewer rolls players have to screw up actually getting their hands on the clue, the better. Also be willing to hand hold them into making the final deductive leap instead of leaving it up to a die roll. 2. If they find all the clues and they still can't put the pieces together just give them the damn solution and keep things moving forward. Don't make them roll for it. 3. Always be willing to take the really clever solution or conspiracy theory that the players come up with and run with that instead. 4. Red herrings and dead ends suck. Your players will come up with MORE than enough of them on their own, they don't need your help. 5. Pay attention to whatever your system has for knowledge and research skills and make sure you think of ways to frame clues from their character's vantage point. 6. Try to limit it to no more than like one or two flat out boring letters. Make it shipping labels, or accents, or record logs, or cargo manifests, or minted coins, or letters of credit, or anything that points them in the right direction. This is another good point to look at your players' characters' interests. Fancy casks of wine from a special winery. Livestock marked from a certain town's market. A recent playbill from a travelling theatrical troupe. 7. Leave people to give information. Leave non-combatants. If the players aren't leaving survivors, leave them captured prisoners to free. Leave them helpful ghosts, disgruntled farmers, nosey neighbors, enemies of your enemies. [EDIT] Found it! [URL="http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/1118/roleplaying-games/three-clue-rule"]Three Clue Rule[/URL] [/QUOTE]

Verification