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<blockquote data-quote="Psion" data-source="post: 2427021" data-attributes="member: 172">For clues, the advice I've always heard is that if one clue is sufficient, give three.The take I would add &quot;if it's vital, don't make it obscure.&quot; Shocking revalations after the fact showing players they had the answer right in front of them are fun, too.Edit: Also, if it's obscure and important, let them go to sagely NPCs for help... perhaps create one or two who are experts in such things. A novelist can make sure that their detective knows the answer. You have no such luxury with PCs/players.How to introduce villains? Usually with an encounter with the villain. This initial encounter need not be hostile. But the players remember the calling card of the one villain they have met. Having them peice together the MO of a recurring off-screen villain is a little harder, but can be fun, too.I am thinking of the villain mentioned in the old Complete Villain Handbook that ravaged villages and left prisoners tied up to freeze, starve, or be torn apart by animals. In short, if you aren't going to make the villain make an early appearance (possibly to have them be a recurring nemesis), give them a stark and distinctive calling card.There are instances where I would go for the classic &quot;mastermind behind the scenes&quot;, but most often if I was going for something specific (like in &quot;Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.&quot;)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Psion, post: 2427021, member: 172"] For clues, the advice I've always heard is that if one clue is sufficient, give three. The take I would add "if it's vital, don't make it obscure." Shocking revalations after the fact showing players they had the answer right in front of them are fun, too. Edit: Also, if it's obscure and important, let them go to sagely NPCs for help... perhaps create one or two who are experts in such things. A novelist can make sure that their detective knows the answer. You have no such luxury with PCs/players. How to introduce villains? Usually with an encounter with the villain. This initial encounter need not be hostile. But the players remember the calling card of the one villain they have met. Having them peice together the MO of a recurring off-screen villain is a little harder, but can be fun, too. I am thinking of the villain mentioned in the old Complete Villain Handbook that ravaged villages and left prisoners tied up to freeze, starve, or be torn apart by animals. In short, if you aren't going to make the villain make an early appearance (possibly to have them be a recurring nemesis), give them a stark and distinctive calling card. There are instances where I would go for the classic "mastermind behind the scenes", but most often if I was going for something specific (like in "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.") [/QUOTE]

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