I am writing a section of the game for my campaign (3 years and 65 sessions so far) and it's a murder mystery. They've already found the victim, and the distinct method of death, and they are now unravelling the clues.
If you're a part of the Cheese Chase campaign with me, please stop reading here!
Ok, so here's the "what really happened" first:
There is a warlock who is able to kill elves and take their Light (in my world, the light is their immortality, usually passed down generationally). They wield a weapon which can force those it touches to answer truthfully or take a ton of necrotic damage. This warlock has been in a city for years, killing any elf who killed their family members to get the light and become immortal (one light per elf, so if they have 3 kids, what happens? Murder.) There are all manner of cases linked to it, and one elf (thus far unmet) has made those connections.
The party knows that the 3 victims they know of all died from wounds to the neck, and the wounds were cracked and black. They know one was found after someone screamed "I Killed Them!". They also know all of the victims have probably killed people to get the light - so they have the motive.
Problem is, I haven't foreshadowed the killer very well. I've dropped the name of the establishment they started (The Hall of Redemption), which is where she redistributes the life crystals she has taken among those who she deems deserving of immortality. She is also, inadvertently, a warlock patron, and the people she has sent out into the world with these crystals have become her own warlocks.
I have no idea how to point the party at this woman - named Oelyar - and her hall of redemption. They have the motives, but my lack of foreshadowing will make this feel very linear. I need some red herrings, and I need some ideas of how to get them to work out the right things. Ultimately, this culminates in a huge nest of Nothics, from whom she got her powers of insight, and a big ol' fight. I just need some help getting them there without making it seem forced!
Potential ideas:
- a survivor, who never killed anyone so was spared, could offer some clues to point them in the right direction.
- The elf who has the evidence could send them there, but that feels too much like I've told them the answer.
- The party could meet Oelyar in good surroundings, and then be attacked later, and recognise a smell or some such.
I am open to ideas, so please, give me some guidance!
How good is the party in following clues? Sometimes you need a 2x4 to hit them over the head to see the clues, and even then....
To be honest I am a bit confused reading your spoiler what exactly you are talking about. So I am not sure how good your three solutions are and I have no understanding to give you new solutions to try.
Does the party know this is a it's a murder mystery? It is possible that even though they've already found the victim, and the distinct method of death, they have no clue that they are now suppose to be unravelling the clues. Does the party even know the "murder weapon"? Black marks could be a thug torturing people to death, not a magic spell from a warlock.
Generically speaking, many times the DM gives out obvious clues and foreshadowing and the players are still in the dark and have not grasped anything. Before your next session, have a person/player who is out of character give you a synopsis of what the party thinks is going on. Verify with other party members that they are in agreement or can add a bit more intelligence/info. That gives you a baseline on what clues you have given have been correctly interpreted. Finding out that the party is on Mars and the DM is on Venus can be super frustrating for all. The longer the miscommunication goes on, the more likely this will never get solved.
If a party thinks it is X who is guilty, they may never change enough and correctly find out it is actually A that committed the murders.
If they are close with the synopsis, then you are probably moving forward very well. If they are way off, you might need to be a bit more obvious with clues. If they are so far away, you might need to go so far as to give them the notion that they are on the path to solve this mass murder and blatantly tell them a few beginner clues.
1. Have someone else (NPC) be investigating these murders as well, they can be in your back-pocket to provide hints / clues that the players miss when doing their own investigation. Don't have that person have completely solved the mystery but let them have some clues like: weird hair found at the scene of a crime, or a torn piece of clothing, or know of a witness who is too afraid to tell the NPC investigator what happened.
2. Have them meet someone who got rejected for a crystal from the hall of redemption - this person might be looking for a party to help them steal a crystal from the hall of redemption, or to somehow get revenge on Oelyar. This person might also be murdering people, but in this case be murdering members of the hall of redemption so could be used as a red-herring.
3. Encourage them to investigate the links between the murder victims, (maybe via #1), and let them try to guess who the next victim will be and give them a chance to witness the next murder and try to chase down the perpetrator.
4. How does Oelyar find the people she considers "deserving"? Is she a popular socialite? A patron of the arts/young entrepeneurs? A religious leader? People running secret organizations generally have a day-job they use for cover. Consider what it is for Oelyar, and whether you could get the party to encounter her in her day job. This would work well with #3.
5. For red-herrings add some weirdos to town. Maybe there's weird occultist in town secretly investigating the Hall of Redemption, who is a warlock of a rival patron. Maybe there's a forbidden book seller who helped Oelyar get in touch with their patron? Maybe there's a necromancer in town collecting the bodies of the dead elves to make undead.
Is there any way for your players to connect the black necrosis on the wounds to the victim having been drained of Light? Maybe try to prompt your players to look into where it might've gone? Logically, if it was taken by the killer, they were planning on doing something with it. If the killer is giving it to others, that leaves a trail:
- how does the killer find people they feel "deserving"? Or how do they hear about the House of Redemption?
- do these deserving recipients know that people are being killed to get them Light? Does anyone feel guilty about that?
- otherwise, if the killer's "deserving" are 100% devoted to her and without remorse, has anyone in town noticed that after their friend/loved one miraculously got over their illness/injury, they suddenly started acting cultish or dissappeared entirely? Could the party follow a trail that way?
- are there other ways to take Light from elves? Is this like a thing there might be an organized criminal enterprise around, or are the effects of the killer's weapon unique? If no, they could be used as both red herring AND clue-- the players raid the local Light Mob thinking they're behind it but surprise surprise, they're just as angry about someone cutting in on their turf and are looking to cut a deal. And if yes the killer IS unique in their ability to extract Light, she must've got that weapon from somewhere-- where was it? Might someone know what god/mystical entity would give that power to a mortal and why? Does history or legend mention anyone ever doing this before? How did that happen? There should be a trail for them to follow that way too.
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Hello all! It's been a while!
I am writing a section of the game for my campaign (3 years and 65 sessions so far) and it's a murder mystery. They've already found the victim, and the distinct method of death, and they are now unravelling the clues.
If you're a part of the Cheese Chase campaign with me, please stop reading here!
Ok, so here's the "what really happened" first:
There is a warlock who is able to kill elves and take their Light (in my world, the light is their immortality, usually passed down generationally). They wield a weapon which can force those it touches to answer truthfully or take a ton of necrotic damage. This warlock has been in a city for years, killing any elf who killed their family members to get the light and become immortal (one light per elf, so if they have 3 kids, what happens? Murder.) There are all manner of cases linked to it, and one elf (thus far unmet) has made those connections.
The party knows that the 3 victims they know of all died from wounds to the neck, and the wounds were cracked and black. They know one was found after someone screamed "I Killed Them!". They also know all of the victims have probably killed people to get the light - so they have the motive.
Problem is, I haven't foreshadowed the killer very well. I've dropped the name of the establishment they started (The Hall of Redemption), which is where she redistributes the life crystals she has taken among those who she deems deserving of immortality. She is also, inadvertently, a warlock patron, and the people she has sent out into the world with these crystals have become her own warlocks.
I have no idea how to point the party at this woman - named Oelyar - and her hall of redemption. They have the motives, but my lack of foreshadowing will make this feel very linear. I need some red herrings, and I need some ideas of how to get them to work out the right things. Ultimately, this culminates in a huge nest of Nothics, from whom she got her powers of insight, and a big ol' fight. I just need some help getting them there without making it seem forced!
Potential ideas:
- a survivor, who never killed anyone so was spared, could offer some clues to point them in the right direction.
- The elf who has the evidence could send them there, but that feels too much like I've told them the answer.
- The party could meet Oelyar in good surroundings, and then be attacked later, and recognise a smell or some such.
I am open to ideas, so please, give me some guidance!
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How good is the party in following clues? Sometimes you need a 2x4 to hit them over the head to see the clues, and even then....
To be honest I am a bit confused reading your spoiler what exactly you are talking about. So I am not sure how good your three solutions are and I have no understanding to give you new solutions to try.
Does the party know this is a it's a murder mystery? It is possible that even though they've already found the victim, and the distinct method of death, they have no clue that they are now suppose to be unravelling the clues. Does the party even know the "murder weapon"? Black marks could be a thug torturing people to death, not a magic spell from a warlock.
Generically speaking, many times the DM gives out obvious clues and foreshadowing and the players are still in the dark and have not grasped anything. Before your next session, have a person/player who is out of character give you a synopsis of what the party thinks is going on. Verify with other party members that they are in agreement or can add a bit more intelligence/info. That gives you a baseline on what clues you have given have been correctly interpreted. Finding out that the party is on Mars and the DM is on Venus can be super frustrating for all. The longer the miscommunication goes on, the more likely this will never get solved.
If a party thinks it is X who is guilty, they may never change enough and correctly find out it is actually A that committed the murders.
If they are close with the synopsis, then you are probably moving forward very well. If they are way off, you might need to be a bit more obvious with clues. If they are so far away, you might need to go so far as to give them the notion that they are on the path to solve this mass murder and blatantly tell them a few beginner clues.
Suggestions:
1. Have someone else (NPC) be investigating these murders as well, they can be in your back-pocket to provide hints / clues that the players miss when doing their own investigation. Don't have that person have completely solved the mystery but let them have some clues like: weird hair found at the scene of a crime, or a torn piece of clothing, or know of a witness who is too afraid to tell the NPC investigator what happened.
2. Have them meet someone who got rejected for a crystal from the hall of redemption - this person might be looking for a party to help them steal a crystal from the hall of redemption, or to somehow get revenge on Oelyar. This person might also be murdering people, but in this case be murdering members of the hall of redemption so could be used as a red-herring.
3. Encourage them to investigate the links between the murder victims, (maybe via #1), and let them try to guess who the next victim will be and give them a chance to witness the next murder and try to chase down the perpetrator.
4. How does Oelyar find the people she considers "deserving"? Is she a popular socialite? A patron of the arts/young entrepeneurs? A religious leader? People running secret organizations generally have a day-job they use for cover. Consider what it is for Oelyar, and whether you could get the party to encounter her in her day job. This would work well with #3.
5. For red-herrings add some weirdos to town. Maybe there's weird occultist in town secretly investigating the Hall of Redemption, who is a warlock of a rival patron. Maybe there's a forbidden book seller who helped Oelyar get in touch with their patron? Maybe there's a necromancer in town collecting the bodies of the dead elves to make undead.
Is there any way for your players to connect the black necrosis on the wounds to the victim having been drained of Light? Maybe try to prompt your players to look into where it might've gone? Logically, if it was taken by the killer, they were planning on doing something with it. If the killer is giving it to others, that leaves a trail:
- how does the killer find people they feel "deserving"? Or how do they hear about the House of Redemption?
- do these deserving recipients know that people are being killed to get them Light? Does anyone feel guilty about that?
- otherwise, if the killer's "deserving" are 100% devoted to her and without remorse, has anyone in town noticed that after their friend/loved one miraculously got over their illness/injury, they suddenly started acting cultish or dissappeared entirely? Could the party follow a trail that way?
- are there other ways to take Light from elves? Is this like a thing there might be an organized criminal enterprise around, or are the effects of the killer's weapon unique? If no, they could be used as both red herring AND clue-- the players raid the local Light Mob thinking they're behind it but surprise surprise, they're just as angry about someone cutting in on their turf and are looking to cut a deal. And if yes the killer IS unique in their ability to extract Light, she must've got that weapon from somewhere-- where was it? Might someone know what god/mystical entity would give that power to a mortal and why? Does history or legend mention anyone ever doing this before? How did that happen? There should be a trail for them to follow that way too.