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Wanted: city based mystery
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<blockquote data-quote="Herremann the Wise" data-source="post: 821908" data-attributes="member: 11300"><p>Mysteries can be tough because either:</p><p></p><p>a) The PC's get stuck on a particular clue and start getting bored because clue to clue games tend to be boring - you really have to keep the pace up.</p><p></p><p>or</p><p></p><p>b) To alleviate problem a) you lead them through the hoops to an encounter they were always going to have. Ahhh... Boring again.</p><p></p><p>Now, let's get it interesting by doing away with the whodunnit aspect.</p><p></p><p>The crime is known, the perpetrator fugitive and the clock is ticking before he or she really does something bad.</p><p></p><p>The crime can be a generic murder but with a twist. Something about it makes it sickening. Whoever did this must pay. You now start to introduce feelings of revenge into the PC's. Perhaps they knew the victim, were about to get a gift or some such off of them. However, the criminal behind this act is on the loose but has either:</p><p>a) Taken a hostage and is demanding something.</p><p>or</p><p>b) Threatened someone with the twist being that the threatened person has gone missing or does not know the threat is upon them. The players have to find and protect. Maybe the person does not want to be protected and actively tries to sneak away?</p><p></p><p>Personally, I'd go with a) but have the criminal successfully knock off the hostage regardless of whether they dropped the loot off at the particular place or not. The criminals henchmen get the loot while he's off somewhere totally different. Now the players really want revenge on both the Henchmen and the Bad Guy.</p><p></p><p>Now you have a hunt. Hunts are much better than whodunnits. Do they get the bad guy or do they just get one of his henchmen? Up to you and whether you want to keep this criminal alive to further torment your PC's.</p><p></p><p>I've always found revenge to be the most emotionally involving of storylines. It is made incredibly potent if you have NPC's that the characters genuinely care about. So during the game, make them care about whoever is going to get knocked off.</p><p></p><p>Tell me what you think anyway?</p><p></p><p>Best Regards</p><p>Herremann the Wise</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Herremann the Wise, post: 821908, member: 11300"] Mysteries can be tough because either: a) The PC's get stuck on a particular clue and start getting bored because clue to clue games tend to be boring - you really have to keep the pace up. or b) To alleviate problem a) you lead them through the hoops to an encounter they were always going to have. Ahhh... Boring again. Now, let's get it interesting by doing away with the whodunnit aspect. The crime is known, the perpetrator fugitive and the clock is ticking before he or she really does something bad. The crime can be a generic murder but with a twist. Something about it makes it sickening. Whoever did this must pay. You now start to introduce feelings of revenge into the PC's. Perhaps they knew the victim, were about to get a gift or some such off of them. However, the criminal behind this act is on the loose but has either: a) Taken a hostage and is demanding something. or b) Threatened someone with the twist being that the threatened person has gone missing or does not know the threat is upon them. The players have to find and protect. Maybe the person does not want to be protected and actively tries to sneak away? Personally, I'd go with a) but have the criminal successfully knock off the hostage regardless of whether they dropped the loot off at the particular place or not. The criminals henchmen get the loot while he's off somewhere totally different. Now the players really want revenge on both the Henchmen and the Bad Guy. Now you have a hunt. Hunts are much better than whodunnits. Do they get the bad guy or do they just get one of his henchmen? Up to you and whether you want to keep this criminal alive to further torment your PC's. I've always found revenge to be the most emotionally involving of storylines. It is made incredibly potent if you have NPC's that the characters genuinely care about. So during the game, make them care about whoever is going to get knocked off. Tell me what you think anyway? Best Regards Herremann the Wise [/QUOTE]
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