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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Peni Griffin" data-source="post: 4200421" data-attributes="member: 50322">Ooh, perfect.  I think you'll find that creating such a character and developing him here will pay dividends later - in plot hooks, in access to resources your PC shouldn't have, and in a plausible emergency backup for those days when the dice hate her.  In a book series he'd be a love interest, but even if she rejects him for that purpose, as a Bard she really ought to have a stable of Admirerers.  And if he wants work within the system to reform the corrupt cops and she hates the cops for corruption, he may well come to her for assistance he can't get from his organization once this adventure establishes her as a competent, trustworthy-within-limits contact (from his point of view).If the Impresario isn't the first victim, it should be because somebody else walked into the trap intended for him.  Getting rid of the Impresario creates dismay, confusion, and - most importantly - a power vacuum, all of which can be exploited.  Subsequent victims should be chosen based on their roles and their order will depend on the opportunities presented by their daily routines.  Understudies should all have ironclad alibis for their main's demises, as the plan goes kaput if the Method Man's proteges are arrested for murder instead of getting to step into the roles.  The Child Impersonator is nearby for every death and, therefore, a suspect, especially once the HBA connection is turned up; but s/he has seen the murderer in action and is on his/her way to impart this knowledge to somebody (cop, PC, or superior at HBA) when s/he is killed in a hasty improvisational way to prevent the giving of evidence.These deaths should not just be accidents, they should be (except for the improvised Child Impersonator murder) spectacular, theatrical accidents - works of art, in fact.  Because the Method Actor is devising them, they should also be "in character" - the Impresario gets shut in his own vault, the Aging Battleax's high note shatters a precisely-placed crystal that pierces her jugular, the Avuncular Drunk (an  obvious choice for First Cast Member Death - who doesn't want the unreliable lead replaced by the understudy?) appears to take a misstep during rehearsal of his elaborately-choreographed swashbuckling routine and brings the chandelier crashing down on his own head, that sort of thing.  Clues to the traps that sprang these accidents would include things like marks in the dust (or dust wiped away), the classic half-cut-through board or rope, the crystal goblet that the PC knows wasn't there before the rehearsal, etc.  So as not to run through your NPCs too quickly, give them Reflex saves and Spot checks to evade these traps - for purposes of the mystery, a failed attempt is as good as a successful one, and your player is bound to think of all those mysteries in which the culprit diverted suspicion by making himself look like a victim.</blockquote>

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