Topic: Writing a Mystery for an RPG
Started by: Quazar
Started on: 3/11/2011
Board: Welcome to the Archives
On 3/11/2011 at 8:28pm, Quazar wrote:
Writing a Mystery for an RPG
I really want to encourage deductive reasoning and an organic story, and I remember that Forge used to have a GREAT thread about this. I can't seem to find it though. Can anyone link it? Or if the original genius participants are still around, can we go through the process again? I think real mystery is a vital genre in RPGs, but one that requires a lot of Game Master preparation. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
On 3/12/2011 at 10:20pm, epweissengruber wrote:
Re: Writing a Mystery for an RPG
I remember it.
I think you mean
"Mysteries: Step by Step Instructions"
http://indie-rpgs.com/archive/index.php?topic=13089.15
Here are some related threads
* Mysteries can have a solid backstory even with heavy player input into the fiction
"However, play itself will be nothing like (say) Call of Cthulhu, i.e. following the trail of bread-crumbs scattered in order as the GM sees fit. It will be much more dynamic and capitalize on dice-outcomes as sort of an assistant-director that everyone is working with.
A lot of people seem to think that The Pool enforces highly, highly improvisational play in terms of the world and the back-story of the scenario. I don't think it necessarily does."
http://indie-rpgs.com/archive/index.php?topic=5591.0
* Players Creating & Solving Mysteries
"... can you make a mystery style game in which the players are going to create the clues and create the answer to which they point?"
http://indie-rpgs.com/archive/index.php?topic=8901.0
[It violates the lumpley principle but might still be workable]
* Is a GM-Less Mystery With a Stable Backstory Possible?
so long as anyone running a mystery is willing to swear up and down that he or she has kept the required elements to a bare minimum, you can shared-GM any mystery you like; in the end, the thing will be horrendously complicated, I guarantee, because people will start inventing crazy things that make up a wonderfully "thick" description of the situation. Then they'll start running down the red herrings to see which ones matter.
http://indie-rpgs.com/archive/index.php?topic=9750.0
* A Scattering of Options
~ "One technique I've used in the past is to allow players to collect undetermined clues as well as predetermined one."
~ "Decide the answer. Tell the players the answer. Then make them generate the clues and the path of reasoning that gets their characters to that realization."
~ "there are three places that the challenge can arise: 1) Finding the clues that matter; 2) Recognizing that certain pieces of information are in fact important clues; 3) Solving the mystery based upon the clues. The question is, where do you want the mystery to fall?"
~ "I find the best way to push mysteries is to make every NPC very talkative"
http://www.indie-rpgs.com/archive/index.php?topic=13013
Forge Reference Links:
Topic 13089
Topic 5591
Topic 8901
Topic 9750
Topic 13013
On 3/13/2011 at 8:52pm, Ron Edwards wrote:
RE: Re: Writing a Mystery for an RPG
Links:
[Mage: The Awakening] Here goes nothing ... (split): mainly about about GM-prepped mysteries, but easily extended to systems with more piecemeal distribution of authority. This thread is also a launch platform for tons of threads.
frustration with "enigmas": the oldest thread about this stuff on the Forge, still worth considering.
Best, Ron
Forge Reference Links:
Topic 24097
Topic 931
On 3/14/2011 at 1:31am, epweissengruber wrote:
RE: Re: Writing a Mystery for an RPG
Clearly, I am no investigator. Those were the ones I was looking for!
On 3/14/2011 at 3:35pm, KevinH wrote:
RE: Re: Writing a Mystery for an RPG
Hi guys,
Googling around this subject, I found this article The Three Clue Rule. Personally, I think that it's a good rule to follow.
In a nutshell, even if you are doing a trail of breadcrumbs leave lots of crumbs, not just one.
It makes in-genre sense, as investigations don't usually hinge on one clue but a preponderance of evidence. In Mysteries. Step by step instructions. the argument is that getting a single clue is not important, fitting that one clue into a chain is not important but that developing a reasonable hypothesis based upon a preponderance of evidence is (and by important, I mean crucial to the investigation AND fun to play).
I'm currently developing an investigative plot and I've tried to include multiple paths to the solution. I don't know how well it will work, but it seems playable to me and I don't see any choke points.
Kevin
p.s. If you're interested, I can post a summary of the plot.
Forge Reference Links:
Topic 13089