Essential elements in a murder mystery game!

[The_Magician]

Hi there! I am starting a PBEM where a party of 4 level 6 wizards will try to find out who murdered their guildmaster. Although I have read many murder mystery books, like Agatha Crhistie, before, and I am confident that I have thought about and written down about of details for this adventure, I still wonder if I am not forgetting anything. So, the question is: what are the essential elements for a murder mystery adventure?

 

[Darklone]

Several suspects, each with alibi, witnesses for these alibis, disagreeing perhaps.

Motives. Everyone should have a reason why he should/could have killed the wizard.

How it was done. Should be some easy method, nothing too specific ("Now who's able to cast a Disintegrate here?").

Edit: More than one reason to kill him is better than nothing.

 

[Dirigible]

Just a moment, folks, while our friendly local mod shifts this to where it belongs...

*holds out ticket for the Mod Train*

Now then. If you've got Dragon 288, it's got three very useful articles; analysis of the murder-mystery genre; villainous archetypes; and a system for logically working through a mystery, useful for you and the PC's.

What I can tell you from my own experiences is be carefully when plotting out the clues; it is far too easy to leave to little data for the PC's to work with, because your own perceptsions will be skewed by the fact you KNOW whodunit!

 

[The_Magician]

Well, since the game is set in Calimport, I guess a lot of people can cast disintegrate. The guild is at the Wizard Ward, a district with more than 400 wizards domiciles.

 

[The_Magician]

Thanks, Dirigible! I will check that up!

 

[Aeolius]

...what are the essential elements for a murder mystery adventure?

a corpse?

 

[Darklone]

... at least a missing corpse!