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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Janx" data-source="post: 5717027" data-attributes="member: 8835">a couple weeks back there was a thread about murder mysteries.  bedrock said almost the exact same thing in his first paragraph in that thread as well.that thread had some good tips from a few different styles of running it (like making it more probable to be solved, vs. bedrock's advice to accept that it might not be solved).One idea I had, was to mesh the two styles.assuming the PCs are actual detectives and thus should solve murders every game, make the first cases be easy.  Not out of coddling the players, but to represent that most murders are straight-forward.  The husband killed the wife because it's almost always the husband whodunnit.Once you've set the pattern, the change of pace is the hard case, where you run a mystery.  this one is what the other cases were training for and to set the bar.What this sets up: the PCs are competent investigatorssets up the twist, where this case is not like the others (it's harder)If you ran every case as a Holmsian challenge, and did it failure-is-probable style, then the PCs will have a craptacular solve rate, disqualifying them from being detectives.This is no different at the micro scale of using easier challenges in the beginning and making them harder later.  it provides contrast, and lets the PCs show off a bit.Another side effect is, if the first cases are straightforward, you'll still have to run it as a mystery and the players will still be chasing clues and compiling evidence.  The difference is, you're not making it hard, but letting the natural challenge of the situation do your training for you.Forex, the Wife is found dead in her home.  She has a small head wound.  The husband walks with a cane with a fancy handle (he whacked her with it in a heated argument about money).  Your other suspects are: the moneylender whom the husband owed money to.  Some burglar who's been hitting houses in the neighborhood.The husband made the house look like it was broken into, then left for some drinks to build an alibi.So the cops show up, and suspect a burglary.  And the husband's a default suspect, but he also reveals he owed money, and maybe the moneylender sent a thug to collect.  In either case, it looks like someone broke in, found the wife, and whacked her.Not a hugely complex case.  Work with something simple like that, so the PCs can get the hang of an investigation.  They should succeed because the case is easier, not because you fibbed anything (but you could fib if that was your style).By running 2-3 cases like that, everybody gets used to the mechanics and concepts.  Then you bring in the serial killer/fancy murder case.  Following the same methods your PCs are used to, the case is harder because the clues go deeper and there's more suspects and motives and lying going on.</blockquote>

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