Theater Adventure

[jaerdaph]

Green Ronin's Bleeding Edge Adventures #3: Dirge of the Damned is also theater-based.

 

[frankthedm]

2E dungeon also had a murder mystery adventure with Alien like vibe. A

Spoiler

Red Slaad

was involded.

3.5E had a Dungeon adventure, issue 134, focusing on a troupe of bards and a certain play they were putting on. Something involving royalty wearing tattered yellow robes IIRC.

 

[Kheti sa-Menik]

2E dungeon also had a murder mystery adventure with Alien like vibe. A

Spoiler

Red Slaad

was involded.

3.5E had a Dungeon adventure, issue 134, focusing on a troupe of bards and a certain play they were putting on. Something involving royalty wearing tattered yellow robes IIRC.

The King in Yellow? Something like that...it was cool. My GM ran our party through it months ago. I don't know how much he changed or adapted for use in his homebrew setting but I think he kept the basic framework. It was pretty great.

 

[olshanski]

All the Kings Men by Monkeygod:


http://members.toast.net/talien/michael/writing/allthekingsmen.html

 

[awayfarer]

Make sure to drop the chandalier on someone.

 

[Peni Griffin]

You can't kill the impresario unless someone is standing by ready to step into his place. This person (disgruntled stage hand? Method Actor?) will then be the chief murder suspect. In that case, he either must be a red herring or (in true Christie style) have an ironclad "proof" that it couldn't have been him which will come out when he's accused; only of course it's faked and evidence of premeditation.

I favor the Method Actor as either the murderer or the second victim, as his ambition, ego, and unscrupulous nature (advancing you into bed etc.) provide a motive for either murder or blackmail along with the overconfidence to think he can pull them off.

I think that the spectre of the theater is a red herring who knows all about it and could come down on the murderer's side, or on the protagonist's. Her presence may precipitate deaths by heightening the emotions that lead to it, but ultimately she wants the show to go on. Maybe the protagonist can win her assistance by persuading her to view the new arrangement as the highest possible compliment, but could also push her over to the dark side by offending her, so that the outcome of the investigation as comedy or tragedy hinges on this character and your PC's capacity to understand and communicate with her.

If the murder method involves staged accidents, this will operate against the Goddess of Luck - in effect, your protagonist's patron goddess will be blamed for the deaths unless your heroine demonstrates that they are murder. The fallen chandelier, the grease on the catwalk, the malfunctioning special effect, the whispers of a curse...

The murderer will be advancing his/her own career, clearing away rivals, and taking financial control of the theater all at once. The PC need not be targeted by direct murder. A frame-up is also motivating. Is the Impresario in the habit of making separate financial arrangements with his cast and crew? Is he in serious need of investors, paying in shares, mortgaged to the hilt and anxious to be rescued? If so, unexpected people could wind up with large financial interests in the theater and, therefore, a motive.

Is there an Attractive Detective in the city law enforcement structure? If not, consider creating one. Someone very Lawful to her Chaotic, who would deeply regret having to arrest her, but would do it out of Duty.

 

[Heckler]

"Noises Off?" Brilliant! For more plot inspiration (and a good laugh) rent "A Midwinter's Tale." Good stuff.

More character ideas:

F/X Coordinator: Gnome illusionist responsible for all the strange noises, fog, illusions, etc. Thinks its funny to try and get the actors to break character.

The Child: Halfling responsible for playing the children's roles. Nosy, sees and hears things she sometimes shouldn't. Possible murder victim.

The Fight Master: Fight choreographer and in charge of the prop weapons. Insane and talks to his weapons. Red herring. (blatently stolen from "Light Thickens" by Ngaio Marsh.)

Musicians: There should be at least a couple. And you know musicians are nothing but trouble...

Box Office Lady: Full of gossip. Skims a little money off the reciepts each night. Possible murder victim.

The Understudy: A spear-carrier eager to step up and take the lead. Maybe a little too eager...(reference Bazzard from "The Mystery of Edwin Drood")

Also, if you haven't already, look at commedia dell arte. You can steal several stock characters from that such as Harlequin, Columbine and Pantaloon.

 

[roguerouge]

You can't kill the impresario unless someone is standing by ready to step into his place. This person (disgruntled stage hand? Method Actor?) will then be the chief murder suspect. In that case, he either must be a red herring or (in true Christie style) have an ironclad "proof" that it couldn't have been him which will come out when he's accused; only of course it's faked and evidence of premeditation.

I favor the Method Actor as either the murderer or the second victim, as his ambition, ego, and unscrupulous nature (advancing you into bed etc.) provide a motive for either murder or blackmail along with the overconfidence to think he can pull them off.

The Method Actor should play an important role. My player talked about mackin' on him, since her character's getting frustrated with seducing a chaste cleric of Pelor, her ship's medic. Whom would the Method Actor murder to advance his reputation... possibly the Lech (who might have the lead male role) or the Avuncular Drunk (who could single-handedly ruin the performance). Or, wait, he could be murdering to advance his artistic agenda: he could murder people based not on who they are, but based on who their backup is. If their backup has been converted to The Method, then he tries to advance their career....

I think that the spectre of the theater is a red herring who knows all about it and could come down on the murderer's side, or on the protagonist's. Her presence may precipitate deaths by heightening the emotions that lead to it, but ultimately she wants the show to go on. Maybe the protagonist can win her assistance by persuading her to view the new arrangement as the highest possible compliment, but could also push her over to the dark side by offending her, so that the outcome of the investigation as comedy or tragedy hinges on this character and your PC's capacity to understand and communicate with her.

I agree. The ghost goes either way, based on Perform checks from the PC. Motivation is entirely her legacy.

Do we have any other red herrings?

If the murder method involves staged accidents, this will operate against the Goddess of Luck - in effect, your protagonist's patron goddess will be blamed for the deaths unless your heroine demonstrates that they are murder. The fallen chandelier, the grease on the catwalk, the malfunctioning special effect, the whispers of a curse...

That was the plan. Unbeknownst to the player, the Noises Off episode that was last session was the result of the Doom Magnet being employed as a stage hand. This poor wretch was "favored" by the god of Ill Luck to be the embodiment of Murphy's Law. He ended up getting fired. Essentially, this guy was his avatar as a negative role model to teach the world to placate the god through worship. This poor Doom Magnet has no idea why his life is so ridiculously terrible. He'll be back as a non-combat challenge for the PC a year or two from now. He's an antagonist who SHOULDN'T be killed, but must be defeated. (I have no idea how she'll do it, but we'll see.)

The murderer will be advancing his/her own career, clearing away rivals, and taking financial control of the theater all at once. The PC need not be targeted by direct murder. A frame-up is also motivating. Is the Impresario in the habit of making separate financial arrangements with his cast and crew? Is he in serious need of investors, paying in shares, mortgaged to the hilt and anxious to be rescued? If so, unexpected people could wind up with large financial interests in the theater and, therefore, a motive.

The PC absolutely hates the cops, who are corrupt to the core. As a side note, they're also distracted by the Swan Street Slicer (a serial killer targeting the aristocracy, as in Shut in). They're not likely to send their best man.

The Impressario negotiates separate contracts with each actor, while the Aasimar Costume Designer is his cohort.

The Impressario could very well be in financial difficulties... it would motivate his unusual casting of the PC against vocal type and his PR use of her heroism. There's a Halfling "Benevolent Society" that could have given him a loan that's coming due. (Yes, it's Freeport. No, the cultists could care less about the Opera. This is a side quest and expand the universe adventure.)

Finn, the head of the Halfling Benevolent Association, could very well place a halfling "child impersonator" in the cast to keep an eye on things. If the show's going to bomb, he'd want to know about it before it happens. (The PC didn't follow up on a lead, so she has no idea that the HBA even exists.)

Is there an Attractive Detective in the city law enforcement structure? If not, consider creating one. Someone very Lawful to her Chaotic, who would deeply regret having to arrest her, but would do it out of Duty.

I could have someone Lawful assigned to this case because he's low in the cop hierarchy and thus not trusted with the top case: the manhunt for the killer of the aristocracy.

 

[roguerouge]

F/X Coordinator: Gnome illusionist responsible for all the strange noises, fog, illusions, etc. Thinks its funny to try and get the actors to break character.

The Child: Halfling responsible for playing the children's roles. Nosy, sees and hears things she sometimes shouldn't. Possible murder victim.

Box Office Lady: Full of gossip. Skims a little money off the reciepts each night. Possible murder victim.

I've got NPCs already rolled up that are similar to those ones, so it's breeze to add them to the cast. Consider it done.

There will also be several young and impressionable understudies who are under the Method Actor's spell of blarney.

The fight coordinator will be drawn from a Scurvytown magic shop that I want the PC to hear about. He's a retired adventurer who loves stories, but has charisma as his dump stat. Hence the reason he's selling magic weaponry in the red light district. He'd totally sign up as a freelancer to get tickets to see this story. Scurvytown connection and personality makes him a red herring.

I'll see what I can poach from commedia dell arte to fill out the back end of the cast for musicians and understudies.

 

[roguerouge]

We've got the cast.

The main murderer is the Method Actor. The motive is to advance his artistic agenda by getting his followers in the understudies to prominent roles. The means are "accidents."

Red herrings: the fight master, the child impersonator, the ghost, the disgruntled stage hand, and possibly the Aging Battle Ax, because the PC dislikes her.

What I need help with now is who gets murdered and in what order?

And we'll also need clues.