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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gilladian" data-source="post: 5299292" data-attributes="member: 2093">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.</blockquote>

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