Mad God's Key + mystery/CSI fans = physical evidence

[Wraith Form]

Hi.

There are spoilers in here...you've been warned.

I'm running Mad God's Key from Dungeon #114. I'm looking for help in order to leave clues--physical evidence--to lead my players to a specific location. Intrigued? Read on...

We're at the "interlude" of the adventure where the players are supposed to go to the Great Library of Greyhawk and the Temple of Boccob to gather info. At the Temple, they're supposed to acquire the stone pendant / "cairn charm" / key from Altamaic that allows passage to the Tomb of Blood Overflowing. I intend to change the Tomb just slightly so that the opening is within a mausoleum for a wealthy family in a graveyard not far outside the city, rather than the Cairn Hills. (Stealing shamelessly from Kid Charlemagne's excellent story hour here: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=140875)

I'm looking for suggestions for clues that my players can find that will lead them to the mausoleum. Specifically, a "logical" piece of physical evidence that the priest Veltargo might have dropped or left behind aside from the cairn charm. Could something in, near, or around the graveyard or mausoleum help point my players toward the locale? And why didn't Altamaic or any of the Boccob priests associate the physical evidence with the graveyard/mausoleum?

My players are, ehh, a far cry from the "legal" side of the law and technically work for an equivalent of the Mafia (Rog3, Bard2/Beguiler1, Dragon Shaman3 for muscle), so going to the city watch for help is out of the question.

In fact, the more I think about this, it doesn't have to be physical at all--the evidence could be a rumor or legend, or even something Veltargo said in front of someone at the Great Library or to the Boccob priest Altamaic.

Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi...you're my only hope. *static*

 

[Wraith Form]

Anyone? 43 viewings and nobody has a small suggestion?

 

[Kid Charlemagne]

Well, in the case of our adventure, we figured out the mausoleum's importance from 2 items - 1: we followed someone there, and 2: we found a dagger with the family crest that matched the mausoleum.

So my recommendation would be to have a couple of heirloom-ish items that have clear ties to the family in the mausoleum; that way they'll wonder what the connection is. They might think that the bad guys have some connection to the family (this is what I orginally thought in our case) or they at least might ask about the family crest, and that can lead them to the mausoleum.

 

[Wraith Form]

Cool--a response from The Man himself! I'm heavily basing my entire campaign--albeit more Renaissance than Victorian--on the groundwork Eris and your group has done, and I'm indebted to your terrific story hour. Thanks for the input!

 

[howandwhy99]

In line with your mystery solving theme here are 3 potential clues:

1. A slip of paper with "Haron Floddomeyer, 961-1003" written on it. (this is the gravemarker for the tomb itself) The Floddomeyers have a few graves in town and one living resident. From the living (or by research) the PCs can learn of another location Floddomeyer's were buried -> your tomb.

2. An advertisement for "The Baron's Crossing" a posh hotel where the culprit was staying. Further investigation could include the desk clerk, concierge, or bartender and clues about leaving with a specific caravan, locations the culprit asked about in town, and a meeting with two dirt-covered associates (graverobbers). Perhaps he even left a book in his room with the slip of paper clue from #1 in it?

3. A square-toed bootprint with the cobbler's imprint reversed inside. Follow up leads to bribes, etc. to discover the boots were designed for ditchdigging and seemed unusual for the buyer who bought 2 other pairs of different sizes. With the customer's name the PCs could find the hotel the culprit was staying at.

These are just some stereotypical dimestore novel examples. Really good ones need more backstory from your campaign and what your players know to be subtle.

 

[Raloc]

From the CSI bag of clues: You could have some areas of the Temple sprinkled with certain types of spores (ferns or types of fungus perhaps) or plant residue. If the PCs find it and investigate, they could learn that the area of the tomb has those specific types of plants etc. Although, if you don't have any naturey types this might not work as well (or at least, one PC with decent INT/WIS or K: skills).

 

[Wraith Form]

Cool, thanks for the ideas!

 

[Wraith Form]

3. A square-toed bootprint with the cobbler's imprint reversed inside. Follow up leads to bribes, etc. to discover the boots were designed for ditchdigging and seemed unusual for the buyer who bought 2 other pairs of different sizes. With the customer's name the PCs could find the hotel the culprit was staying at.

Liking this in particular, as I DM'ed a game many years ago with a similar clue. Thanks for jogging a decent memory!

(And dimestore works for me! )

 

[Ed_Laprade]

Well, I guess the obvious is out then. (Finding a key to the mauseleum with the family crest on it.)

 

[Wraith Form]

Well, I guess the obvious is out then. (Finding a key to the mauseleum with the family crest on it.)

Considering that there is a magic key in the adventure, and a "cairn charm" as a key to get into the Tomb of Blood Overflowing....um, yeah. Too many keys gets repetative.