How to deliver clues to the PCs?

[not_me]

I’m looking for advice on a campaign I’m currently running, specifically on ways and methods of letting the PCs discover the name, nature and location of the mafia/guild that is running the whole kingdom from the shadows.

The simplified backstory is as thus: Ten years ago a kingdom-wide guild of assassins and thieves, that has been in place and in operation for generations, chose to get a bit more cocky. They hatched a plan and successfully overthrew the throne and gained control (through various means) of the 10 duchies and baronies, such that no new king was heralded and they effectively gained control the kingdom and can gather great wealth and power. Now the PCs work to unravel their plans, freeing baronies and duchies, and ultimately to ruin the guild.

There’s more there too – partners with their own plans and other plots afoot, but for what I need help with that’s the gist. The campaign’s been running for a while, and the PCs know the name of the guild, the mythical name of the leader, and even have a half decent handle on their involvement.

Here’s the help needed part: what are good ways to have the PCs get the final pieces of the puzzle that can ultimately lead them to the guild's 'dungeon' HQ/hideout? Preferably in a way that they have to piece it together a little bit (not handed to them on a plate, but not too obscure either).

I’ve been good elsewhere in the campaign, but this one’s got me unsure as to how to go about it the best way...

Thanks!

not_me

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Google for a blog on "three clues".. an excellent essay on building roleplaying mystery games.

The short version is that for any bit of information you want the pcs to learn, there needs to be at least three ways to find it.

Take for instance the location of the guild house. It can be found by counter bribing a corrupt guard, following a shipment or visitor, or reading the original city map compared to a current one {and noticing the lack of the guild house on the latter}. Then for each of these, develop three ways to get that bit of info. You have to identify the corrupt guard , etc.

I build these out with a loose sketch on paper, which ends up looking a bit like a spider web. Some items can lead to multiple bits. For instance staking out the shipping yard might lead to the corrupt guard or a valuable shipment.

Then..the hard part, ask your players to figure it out, listen, and plug their good ideas into your spider web...leading them eventually to where you want them to go.

Skill challenges, complex skill checks, and pure roleplaying are key here. Don't forget to identify reactions for some activity/failure. Failure to counter-bribe can result in some bad attention for the pcs!
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[Janx]

Generically speaking, put the clues where the PCs will find them.

this means making things have relationships that lead to your BBEG.

Then, making sure things that are in the path of the PCs are part of that relationship web.

Really, its the same concept as the 3 clues.


If the PCs are going to fight off some theives (ala random street encounter), make those thieves be involved with this nefarious organization, and make sure there's some way the PCs can find this out (membership tokens, perhaps one offers to talk, in exchange for escape (say, the last one not killed)).

part of the 3 clues idea is that there's multiple ways to get to the BBEG, in case one of the clues was ignored/not understood.

I'm advocating being a little more direct. If you start with some "guard" who has this connection, you have to then work out how you can get him to intersect with the PCs (or how are they going to know to go find him).

Instead, start with where the PCs are now, and the next most likely things they'll do, and places they'll go.

Hook up an encounter at those points that has a relationship to your Evil League of Evil.

Also make sure there is a means of conveying that information (the clue). Be it documents, tokens or items, overhearing somebody talking, somebody offering to spill the beans (or revealed during torture).

A clue is something that conveys the information of the relationship to the party.

You also need to provide motivation. Make the ELE relevant as an obstacle to the party's goals. Otherwise, it's "so the ELE is funding the orcs in this dungeon. The orcs are dead. Let's go get some pie!"

 

[Rechan]

The more clues, the better.

Also create multiple avenues in an investigation.

For instance, if you find a dead body, there could be three clues that could be used for identification, three clues to the killer, and three to the motive. Now you don't need 9 clues on that body, but the more clues there are - the more possible leads they can take - is good.

Especially if those leads loop back around, so that clues later on can be added to point back towards the directions of other clues (i.e. the motive leads to the killer, the identity leads to the motive, etc).

 

[Janx]

in the case of investigation mysteries, consider Motive, Means and Opportunity.
Means, motive, and opportunity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The idea being, a valid suspect has all 3. Suspects who don't, tend to get ruled out. And the investigators spend their time verifying, and digging on anybody they can't get info on MMO.

This being a form of clues to leave. In a whodunit, you have a number of people related to the deceased. Many have 1 or 2 of the criteria. The real murderer has all 3, but is attempting to mask that. So each person's discernible Motive, Means and Opportunity are clues, plus, the murder's masking of his is also a clue.

 

[jedavis]

This campaign, say it with treasure: ars ludi Treasure Tells A Story

 

[TheAuldGrump]

Never ignore the possibility of a crisis of conscience leading to a Deep Throat situation. Informers are the best clues of all.

'Course, it could also be a trap....

Have them use the same messenger several times, so the PCs can either ambush or follow him.

For one game I had a lot of clues written in cipher. Meaningless until they found the key. In this case it was a shifting key cipher using the Book of Genesis. The final key was a series of alphabets, the first beginning with 'A', the next with 'B' then 'C', etc.. sandwiched into a Bible. (So the first series of ciphers would be 'In the Beginning' - so 'I' would equal 'A', then 'N' would equal 'A', then 'B', then 'E'....

Rail fence ciphers don't even need a key, but you might have one where the person decoding it discarded an example, allowing other messages to be broken. (I like rail fence ciphers.) Used in the ACW.

Handouts in general are fun, maps with either false or cryptic markings, while the real markings are on a bit of transparent vellum.

Invisible inks are easy, ranging from milk to vinegar to cabbage juice.

The Auld Grump

 

[howandwhy99]

I run a reality puzzle game. Everything has meaning, everything is a clue. Keep your eyes and ears open.

As to hints, I basically am easier for groups who want them and for kids, you know. Otherwise it depends on the situation. If it looks like the player is having difficulty figuring out what is going on, I'll repeat or clarify what's been said. I'll even ask if they have any questions for me, just "put it in the form of what your PC is doing."

Of course some groups are hardcore and don't want any help whatsoever, but that's by choice and really one made by player too. But it's beer & pretzels in the end - the game's only as hard as you want it to be.

 

[Janx]

Never ignore the possibility of a crisis of conscience leading to a Deep Throat situation. Informers are the best clues of all.

Rail fence ciphers don't even need a key, but you might have one where the person decoding it discarded an example, allowing other messages to be broken. (I like rail fence ciphers.) Used in the ACW.

The Auld Grump

snipped some bits....

those 2 items I kept make another point. To get your players able to learn about the BBEG, you need vulnerabilities and mistakes.

These are the potential entry points where knowledge is revealed.

The informer is somebody who has information and is willing to share it. it's a vulnerability of the organization. A captured prisoner, an honest worker who knows too much, a disgruntled member looking to get revenge/advantage

the poorly discarded key, or encoded message is an example of a mistake. people get sloppy with security. a misplaced sensitive item can lead players to more information. a poorly secured safehouse, a lazy operative who acts suspicious in public and gets tailed.

As a GM, it's too easy to make a perfect, foolproof, totally secure operation. To get the players engaged and to have the fun of foiling them, you need to make the NPCs make mistakes that reveal, entice, and draw in the PCs.

 

[Crazy Jerome]

When I do a mystery, I don't think the 3 clues idea goes far enough.

Basically, what I do is make solving the mystery incredibly difficult--totally unreasonable. Then I flood it with clues, some related to objects, some related to those mistakes that Janx mentioned, etc. Some clues are minor, some are bigger. Some clues are easy to find. Some are pratically impossible.

I don't have to put clues where the PCs are now, specifically, because I put clues everywhere. And really, that's the way it is with a mystery this vast. There are hundreds of potential clues out there, maybe thousands. The PCs don't need a complete set. They just need enough to know what to do next to get some more.

I prefer this style because my players like mysteries, but I never know how clever of daft they will be on a given day. They don't either.

Sometimes they get two clues out of hundreds and suddenly intuit the answer. Hooray for them, and their ultra-clever ways. They still have to get a few more clues to be sure (and convince the couple of doubters in the group). Sometimes, we go an extra session or two before they finally nail it down, after gaining tons of data. Hooray for them, they feel like they really worked for it.

Edit: I do think that deliberately designed red herrings are a waste of time, if not counter-productive, in roleplaying mysteries. I find it better to simply put in a lot of unrelated but innocent details and facts, and let the players make their own red herrings. If you've got a ton of clues, they'll even misconstrue a few and make red herrings out of them. It's not such a "Gotcha" when they confuse themselves.