Merryshire Detective Club's blend of Hobbit and Midsomer is incoming

Pelgrane Press has been teasing Merryshire Detective Club for months now--and finally this cozy fantasy mystery game is here!

Well, the crowdfunder is, and it's three weeks away, but Pelgrane has started sharing a few more details about the game. We already knew that it was a blend of Hobbit-like villages (it was previously known as 'Shires Out') and mysteries powered by the GUMSHOE system; and we knew it was being designed by Gareth Ryder-Hanrahan.

The game is set in a halfling village known as the Riding, and you play amateur detectives. The local Constable is incompetent, so it's up to your plucky band of investigators to solve local mysteries which can range from missing swans to downright murder.

Pelgrane has a publicity campaign underway, starting with a social media based 'Name the Local Pub' contest. More previews and community activities will be shared on the crowdfunding page over the coming weeks.

 

[Arilyn]

So Brindlewood Bay with hobbits?

And

No, Gumshoe has set solutions to mysteries, rather than Brindlewood Bay's quantum solutions. Tonally similar adventures, possibly.

And B. Bay has cosmic horror slowly building up. Don't think the hobbits have that to worry about!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Don't think the hobbits have that to worry about!

Who could possibly imagine the forces of evil coming to the Riding? That kind of thing only happens in foreign lands.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

OH MY GOD! Now this is making me to remember a old character from Spanish strips, sir Tim O'theo from the comic magazine "Mortadelo".

Sir Tim O'Theo is a parody of both classic detective novels (especially those featuring Sherlock Holmes) and the British character, exploiting both of these tropes. The action takes place in the fictional, quintessentially British village of Bellotha Village, near London.

The main characters in this comic are Sir Tim O'Theo (Sir Timothy Archibald O'Theo, of the O'Theos of Belfast), an elderly English aristocrat who lives off his investments and dedicates his leisure time to solving mysteries, and his butler, Patson (an obvious distortion of the name of Dr. Watson, Sherlock Holmes's companion).

Well, now you have got an idea for a nPC for your stories.

The system GUMSHOE can allow paranormal elements in your mysteries, and then you should be free to add some ghosts to your stories. There are other titles using this system with supernatural enemies.

Also paranormal mystieries are a good reason because the investigators are ordinary citizens instead police or private eyes.

 

[TheSword]

I just don’t get the artwork. She’s investigating a murder while suspended over a river looking for what is presumably a vital clue. Why has she got a placid smile on her face like she’s out for a stroll.

It’s like the FR book all over again.

 

[tmanbeaubien]

Such fantastic production!! But....ZZZzzzzzzz for me. Obviously many people will love this, but a little too boring and tired for my group. I would be all over this if it was just a little grittier.

Then may I suggest either Night's Black Agents or Trail of Cthulhu! These are versions of Gumshoe which can be played with or without eldritch horrors/vampires respectively, perfect for an old timey murder mystery (Trail) or a very modern one (Night).

 

[Sossij]

I just don’t get the artwork. She’s investigating a murder while suspended over a river looking for what is presumably a vital clue. Why has she got a placid smile on her face like she’s out for a stroll.

This is what she does for fun. She's placid because she's in her zone. See: Miss Marple or Jessica Fletcher.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Now I am remembering the TV show "Nancy Drews", based on a literary character who is a girl detective, but this version had got some supernatural elements althought the plot kept mainly focused into investigation.
Other possible source of inspiration could be the fantasy comedy "Ghosts" by BBC, "School Spirits", "American Gothic", "From" and "American Horror Story" are good examples of how a relatively small place can be full of secrets or misteries.

I wouldn't like to live in a little village where a lot of people were murdered. I suggest mysteries about non-violent crimes such as scams or thieves. Maybe the criminals are dark feys from the Feywild, something style "fae changelings" where a ordinary mortal is abducted and replaced by a fey doppelganger. Maybe there is a secret conflict behind the curtains between the ghosts and the dark feys because centuries ago mortals accepted being feudal serfs of the fey lords, but the fey were so capricious and tyrannical that they eventually rebelled and broke the ancient pact. The fey lords want to punish the humans for breaking the pact, but the truth is, it was their own fault because they unjustly punished a noble soul who demonstrated that true leadership does not consist of trampling on the dignity of subordinates. Other weak point by the dark fae lords is they are too busy conspirated against other noble house to coordinate in the confrontation against the youngest generation of mortals.

Other idea is people from the past appearing in the "present", like in the 2019 Norwegian teleseries "Beforeigners". Let's imagine the possible cultural shock.

To create a game more focused into investigation of misteries can be a lot of work, at least for Game Masters without enough experience. Some ones could only to recycle mystery stories from public domain.

 

[cimbrog]

I may need to stall my upcoming "CSI Waterdeep" using a bastardized Sword of the Serpentine since my players LOVED the idea of Midsommer Murders in the Shire.

 

[overgeeked]

I can already tell that this is going to be an RPG book that I'm going to buy, and read, and absolutely love. And then I'll never find a group who wants to actually play it.

Yeah, that. Maybe I'm going cynical but it really feels like anything not D&D is mostly selling the hope and dream of maybe playing someday. Wouldn't it be neat if. But it almost never happens.

 

[Morrus]

Yeah, that. Maybe I'm going cynical but it really feels like anything not D&D is mostly selling the hope and dream of maybe playing someday. Wouldn't it be neat if. But it almost never happens.

Oh, it happens. I’m in a TTRPG club which has non-D&D tables which rotate through games which aren’t D&D.