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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 7138453" data-attributes="member: 20323">Woot for DMing! Woot for going off book! And double woot for going for a murder mystery!They're a challenge to do in D&D, but they can be done.I think you need to explain what a Roach Thrall is and is capable of also. I'm not that familiar with the monster, and I suspect others who could offer good advice aren't either.My first suggestion is making a clue/puzzle matrix. These sorts of murder mysteries are typically solved with, for example, a list of suspects on the y-axis and a list of clues on the x-axis. Some of the clues apply to each suspect, but only *one* suspect matches ALL of the clues. That sort of thing.So you have a conclusion in mind: A Roach Thrall did it.That's OK, but unless your players are hardcore into Eberron lore, that alone probably isn't enough to capture their sense of wonder. Imagine "A Roach Thrall did it" as the big reveal to a Scooby-Doo episode or a murder mystery novel. Kinda weak, right? But you can improve it by adding something to the end <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />For example..."A Roach Thrall did it... but he was just one of many, and the Roach Thralls will strike again!"I *think* that's actually your intention. Which is pretty cool actually.You've got a dead giveaway here that one of the brothers was "infected" with something and that he killed his brother. Not too much mystery there, very straightforward.The mystery, IMO, comes into play asking "But why is the infected brother dead and split down the middle?"In my games, I often let PCs trained in Medicine use it forensically, and I wouldn't be surprised (especially in a pulpy steampunky Eberron game) if a player asks to determine cause of death. And if you say "He was torn apart from inside out", that's a pretty big glaring clue! It doesn't take a great leap of logic for the player to conclude: He got infected with a parasite, killed his brother in a fit, and then the infecting parasite killed him.Why is the missing antennae relevant? Does it correspond to a missing ear from the corpse of one of the brothers?Yes, I think it needs a twist. Not an extra encounter, necessarily, as "best laid plans rarely survive contact with the players." <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> But definitely more of a twist.When it comes to giving out clues, there's 3 things you want to know as DM:Gumshoe Rule. When you have a clue the players NEED to have access to in order to solve the mystery, DO NOT make getting that clue reliant on a skill check. Instead, when the players say "I search for his journal", just say "ok, you find the journal, and here's what is inside." Save skill checks for secondary clues or additional information above and beyond what is NEEDED. Very important. The Three Clue Rule. If you have a clue you want your players to get, provide 3 vectors through which they can learn that clue. For example "Eyes of one of the brothers changed to black over a month ago." One source of that clue is talking to witnesses, but what if players miss the witness or get bored or distracted? It happens. A lot. Second source of that clue might be a PC trained in Medicine or forensic magic realizing there's a black film like a cataract over the eyes, suggesting they were once black and are now reverting to normal. Cool. But what if the players miss that one too because they're having an off night or they can't stop making jokes or they completely misinterpret it in a way you weren't expecting? No worries. You pull out your third vector for that clue: Third source is a smith who the brother bought a sword from, and reports his eyes were jet black, only sold the sword to him out of fear. If they miss the 1st vector, misinterpret the 2nd vector, then eventually they'll get the 3rd vector.Art of Writing Clues. You only get this one with practice, but the basic principle is that you want lots of small clues that don't give away the Big Reveal until they're assembled together and analyzed. One way to get organized around writing clues is to remember the catchphrase "motives, method, opportunity" and apply that to your adventure.</blockquote>

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