Related to the above, if you plant a single clue that leads to another specific clue that leads to another, which eventually leads to the answer, then you’re not only risking your story arriving at a dead end (when players miss, or misinterpret, any of the vital clues in the chain), but you’re also creating a rather linear gaming experience, with players chasing the plot down the road, rather than leading the investigation themselves by deciding where to go and who to speak to. One foolproof device is the NPC who comes to the players, when they get stuck, with a fresh reveal… you can still have the PCs work for it however, by having the NPC demand something valuable in return. objects or pieces of information that the party can find no matter where they look. I’m not going to link to the Alexandrian’s Three Clue rule for the umpteenth time… so here’s his video on the matter instead.Ĭheat mode: A related trick to keeping the mystery on track is to have two or three ‘Floating Clues’ up your sleeve, i.e. If everything depends on the players finding a coded, singed note in the fireplace, what happens if they don’t search the fireplace? Or they search the fireplace but fail their Perception / Investigation check? Or they find the note, but they don’t realise it’s a code, or don’t manage to decode it. Probably the most commonly-occurring piece of advice you’ll find online about running D&D mystery adventures is don’t let the solution of the problem hinge on finding a single clue – especially one that requires a skills check to find. Don’t Write a Mystery That Depends on ONE Vital Clue
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