I am in the process of making my first D&D campaign. The campaign premise is about a party of detectives hunting down notorious killers.
My question is when my players are finding clues from the first murder, how much time should I give them when looking over the clues before the killer strikes again. I am trying to figure out how to best create tension and show that time is always ticking when it comes to solving the case.
In game time, you need to base it on how smart the players are. Geniuses should have it at least a day, the clue-challenged will need a couple of weeks.
Real life time, should be based on how the game is moving. Slow? They aren't getting anything? Then they need another clue which means another murder.
What level are the characters? I ask because, just as a warning, once they start getting spells like zone of truth, speak with dead and other divination spells, murder mysteries become much easier to solve.
I think the moment the clues point them towards one suspect is when the next murder occurs and the victim is their prime suspect. So you kind of have to wait for them to form a theory first and take a nibble at it.
A general idea is to not have the culprit be the most obvious suspect, but make sure you have an obvious suspect! Also don't have the murderer be someone so random that the party would never have a chance of finding them.
I recently ran a murder mystery that worked very well, I'll include my notes below:
Murder in Longsaddle
The party open the ceiling hatch in Burgen’s Mill only for a body to fall through it. The party inspect the body to find it is Burgen, the miller. He has been stabbed several times and has seemingly been there for several days.
Lord Harpell is summoned by the villagefolk and he greets the party. Until the business of the miller’s death has been satisfactorily resolved, he requests that the party do not leave Longsaddle.
The last time Burgen was seen by any of the villagers was three days ago ...
Suspects:
Krom
Krom is the local blacksmith, a very gruff dwarf. He and Burgen are brothers.
Motive: It is common knowledge that Burgen was in love with Krom's wife, Gwenlyn. Krom is quick to anger, especially if people question his wife’s fidelity around him.
Alibi: Krom says he had a quiet night in with Gwenlyn the night Burgen was killed.
If his alibi is questioned, he admits that he had heard the gossip from Torvan (a halfling merchant who loves to spread rumours he hears around town) about Gwenlyn being seen with his brother three days ago. He was so agitated he went for a long walk but nobody saw him to confirm it. He maintains that he hasn’t spoken to his brother for two years and he believes Gwenlyn when she says she has had nothing to do with Burgen.
Gwenlyn
Motive: If Krom is present, Gwenlyn vehemently denies any romantic involvement with Burgen, although will admit to having feelings for him if Krom isn’t present. She chose Krom as he inherited the smithy, but always wondered about a life with Burgen. She denies that she accompanied Burgen on walks.
Alibi: She repeats Krom’s alibi, but if pressed she will admit that when she woke up in the middle of the night of the killing, Krom wasn’t home.
Torvan
Motive: Gossipy halfing, told the party that Burgen was in love with Krom’s wife. Torvan claims that he sometimes saw Gwenlyn and Burgen going for walks together in the woods. He also tells the party that the dwarven brothers haven’t seen eye to eye over the issue for two years.
Alibi: On the night of the murder, he and his grandson, Enry, had a lovely roast dinner and spent the night enjoying a bottle of wine while looking over their accounts. Enry confirms this, but adds that his grandfather was very drunk and little help at all, other than to gossip about the townspeople. If asked, the only gossip he remembers is that the changeling staying at the inn has been seeing one of the trappers.
Alban and Sedan
Two trappers who frequent the woods. They know most of what goes on in the woods and have never seen Burgen and Gwenlyn there together.
Motive: Sedan is in a relationship with Fats, the changeling who resides at the Goldenshoe Inn. Alban has no motive to kill Burgen.
Alibi: Both say they were out in the woods setting snares to catch rabbits the night of the murder. Alban looks a little uncomfortable when he says this. Sedan is cold and said why would either of them harm the miller when they had nothing to do with him?
In truth, Alban was setting the snares on his own and did not see Sedan that night. He had just assumed his friend was seeing Fats on the night of the murder.
Fats
A changeling actress who rents a room in the inn. She is relatively new in town. Fats can mimic anyone by taking on their appearance if she has met them for two minutes or more.
Motive: Burgen was paying her to assume Gwenlyn’s form and spend time together, but Fats insists that’s as far as things went as she is in a relationship with Sedan. Sedan was at the show but left when she was doing her impersonation of Gwenlyn. She will tell the party that she hasn't spoken to her boyfriend, Sedan for a few days and isn't sure why he has been avoiding her.
Alibi: Fats was working on the night of the murder and she retired to her room after the performance, an alibi that Zook, the innkeeper, confirms, as can several other villagers.
Who was the killer?
Sedan. He heard Torvan’s gossip in the tavern about having seen Gwenlyn and Burgen together. He knew that Gwenlyn was faithful but when he saw Fats performing as her, he immediately confronted Burgen while intoxicated. When the miller admitted that he had been paying Fats to masquerade as Gwenlyn, they came to blows and Sedan stabbed the miller with his skinning knife as the altercation escalated.
Whoever the party finger as the culprit, Lord Harpell thanks the party for solving the murder and has the culprit imprisoned. If the party has the wrong person arrested, Sedan will skip town the next day. If they arrest Sedan, he attempts to flee. If caught, Lord Harpell’s men drag him away to the manor until he can be transported to Neverwinter to stand trial.
Hope that is useful!
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Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1!
Never tell me the DC.
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Hello Everyone,
I am in the process of making my first D&D campaign. The campaign premise is about a party of detectives hunting down notorious killers.
My question is when my players are finding clues from the first murder, how much time should I give them when looking over the clues before the killer strikes again. I am trying to figure out how to best create tension and show that time is always ticking when it comes to solving the case.
Thanks!
In game time or real life time?
In game time, you need to base it on how smart the players are. Geniuses should have it at least a day, the clue-challenged will need a couple of weeks.
Real life time, should be based on how the game is moving. Slow? They aren't getting anything? Then they need another clue which means another murder.
What level are the characters? I ask because, just as a warning, once they start getting spells like zone of truth, speak with dead and other divination spells, murder mysteries become much easier to solve.
I think the moment the clues point them towards one suspect is when the next murder occurs and the victim is their prime suspect. So you kind of have to wait for them to form a theory first and take a nibble at it.
A general idea is to not have the culprit be the most obvious suspect, but make sure you have an obvious suspect! Also don't have the murderer be someone so random that the party would never have a chance of finding them.
I recently ran a murder mystery that worked very well, I'll include my notes below:
Murder in Longsaddle
The party open the ceiling hatch in Burgen’s Mill only for a body to fall through it. The party inspect the body to find it is Burgen, the miller. He has been stabbed several times and has seemingly been there for several days.
Lord Harpell is summoned by the villagefolk and he greets the party. Until the business of the miller’s death has been satisfactorily resolved, he requests that the party do not leave Longsaddle.
The last time Burgen was seen by any of the villagers was three days ago ...
Suspects:
Krom
Krom is the local blacksmith, a very gruff dwarf. He and Burgen are brothers.
Motive: It is common knowledge that Burgen was in love with Krom's wife, Gwenlyn. Krom is quick to anger, especially if people question his wife’s fidelity around him.
Alibi: Krom says he had a quiet night in with Gwenlyn the night Burgen was killed.
If his alibi is questioned, he admits that he had heard the gossip from Torvan (a halfling merchant who loves to spread rumours he hears around town) about Gwenlyn being seen with his brother three days ago. He was so agitated he went for a long walk but nobody saw him to confirm it. He maintains that he hasn’t spoken to his brother for two years and he believes Gwenlyn when she says she has had nothing to do with Burgen.
Gwenlyn
Motive: If Krom is present, Gwenlyn vehemently denies any romantic involvement with Burgen, although will admit to having feelings for him if Krom isn’t present. She chose Krom as he inherited the smithy, but always wondered about a life with Burgen. She denies that she accompanied Burgen on walks.
Alibi: She repeats Krom’s alibi, but if pressed she will admit that when she woke up in the middle of the night of the killing, Krom wasn’t home.
Torvan
Motive: Gossipy halfing, told the party that Burgen was in love with Krom’s wife. Torvan claims that he sometimes saw Gwenlyn and Burgen going for walks together in the woods. He also tells the party that the dwarven brothers haven’t seen eye to eye over the issue for two years.
Alibi: On the night of the murder, he and his grandson, Enry, had a lovely roast dinner and spent the night enjoying a bottle of wine while looking over their accounts. Enry confirms this, but adds that his grandfather was very drunk and little help at all, other than to gossip about the townspeople. If asked, the only gossip he remembers is that the changeling staying at the inn has been seeing one of the trappers.
Alban and Sedan
Two trappers who frequent the woods. They know most of what goes on in the woods and have never seen Burgen and Gwenlyn there together.
Motive: Sedan is in a relationship with Fats, the changeling who resides at the Goldenshoe Inn. Alban has no motive to kill Burgen.
Alibi: Both say they were out in the woods setting snares to catch rabbits the night of the murder. Alban looks a little uncomfortable when he says this. Sedan is cold and said why would either of them harm the miller when they had nothing to do with him?
In truth, Alban was setting the snares on his own and did not see Sedan that night. He had just assumed his friend was seeing Fats on the night of the murder.
Fats
A changeling actress who rents a room in the inn. She is relatively new in town. Fats can mimic anyone by taking on their appearance if she has met them for two minutes or more.
Motive: Burgen was paying her to assume Gwenlyn’s form and spend time together, but Fats insists that’s as far as things went as she is in a relationship with Sedan. Sedan was at the show but left when she was doing her impersonation of Gwenlyn. She will tell the party that she hasn't spoken to her boyfriend, Sedan for a few days and isn't sure why he has been avoiding her.
Alibi: Fats was working on the night of the murder and she retired to her room after the performance, an alibi that Zook, the innkeeper, confirms, as can several other villagers.
Who was the killer?
Sedan. He heard Torvan’s gossip in the tavern about having seen Gwenlyn and Burgen together. He knew that Gwenlyn was faithful but when he saw Fats performing as her, he immediately confronted Burgen while intoxicated. When the miller admitted that he had been paying Fats to masquerade as Gwenlyn, they came to blows and Sedan stabbed the miller with his skinning knife as the altercation escalated.
Whoever the party finger as the culprit, Lord Harpell thanks the party for solving the murder and has the culprit imprisoned. If the party has the wrong person arrested, Sedan will skip town the next day. If they arrest Sedan, he attempts to flee. If caught, Lord Harpell’s men drag him away to the manor until he can be transported to Neverwinter to stand trial.
Hope that is useful!
Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1!
Never tell me the DC.