As the title says. I eventually want to run an impostor scenario/murder mystery in my World of Darkness game at some point, and would like some pointers.
As the title says. I eventually want to run an impostor scenario/murder mystery in my World of Darkness game at some point, and would like some pointers.
Hit your players over the head with multiple clues, and make sure that it’s hard to get dead-ended.
The following is a ttrpg classic that I periodically reread: https://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/1118/roleplaying-games/three-clue-rule
Seconding this, use self-contained scenes and clues that lead you from one scene to the next without requiring a strict plot to guide you.
Ya I think he’s said something about replacing that advice with node-based adventure design or something, but this article by itself has helped me improve tons of mystery scenarios by itself that I think the advice works as is.
It’s not that he replaced it, it’s that he built on it. The Reverse Three Clue Rule used in his node-based design articles (“if the players have at least three clues, they’ll draw at least one conclusion”) is a corollary, not a refutation of his previous advice.
The main way it’s changed since he wrote this article (and since he wrote his Node-Based Design series, for that matter) is that he distinguishes between clues and leads, which he didn’t at the time.
Ya, that makes sense. They seemed pretty similar in concept, I probably just misremembered something he said.
Good point. Node based design works particularly well for mysteries.
I think the general suggestion for having lots of redundant clues is still relevant, regardless of how the GM plans the adventure.