This murder mystery will be a mafia-inspired game of informed minority (Conspiracy) vs uninformed majority (Innocents). You can try to bribe, intimidate, or trick your fellow players into giving you clues. The team that has the most clues/cash at the end of the night wins. But be careful - there’s a murderer on the loose, and you never know when they’ll strike next!
Friday, April 4, 2014
Murder Mystery Mechanics
Long time no post! I have been working hard on various games, especially the murder mystery party I'm hosting next week. This time, we're trying to introduce some simple mechanics into the game, in order to give people an incentive to participate and provide a more straight-forward way of solving the mystery. Here's some of the flavor text I've shared with the players so far:
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Saturday, March 1, 2014
D&D Puzzle/Trap Room
Arcana Check
Easy: There is an almost overwhelming amount of magical energy filling the entire room.
Moderate: The energy seems to be emanating from the idol itself.
Additionally, to any PC with experience in the Underdark this energy seems a bit familiar. To any gnome PC, the energy is familiar and even welcoming.
If the PCs send someone in first (with some people staying outside), there is a kind of spacial warping effect - they move normally but can't cover the distance between the door and the statue. There are no apparent exits from this room. If the characters decide to give up and leave, you could have them turn around and go back the way they came... only to have the same room appear before them in the other direction. This should suffice to should the PCs that they all must enter the room. As soon as the last one steps inside...
The second you step inside, you feel a slight bump at your back. When you turn around, you see nothing but a smooth wall. A moment later, you blink and find yourselves standing in a semicircle around the illuminated idol.
Religion Check
Easy: This appears to be a gnome deity.
Moderate (or Easy for a gnome PC): This is Calladuran Smoothhands, god of the svirfneblin.
Difficult (or Moderate for a gnome PC): Calladuran Smoothhands is a neutral deity, the god of the darkness beneath the earth, magic, protection, and... trickery. (Mwahahahaha!)
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Email Skill Challenge II: Responses (Part 2)
Character: Valna, half-elf barbarian
Player: Maggie
She knew her companions were also struggling to find sleep; Stumbleduck {aka Elyjobel} (Valna just couldn't get used to this new fancy name she wanted everyone to call her by) and Bigglesby were muttering to themselves, Travok was moving rocks around, and the others moved about restlessly in their bedrolls. The cave had caused a chill to creep into Valna's bones and she shivered. No matter. Valna had slept in worse places.
Primary Check - Endurance: 26
Since sleep was clearly not comimg easily, Valna replayed the day's battles in her mind. Especially the part where she rode Glitterstich to victory and plucked Travok from the dark water. That part was especially awesome. "Hey guys," she softly called to her companions. "I just want to say how impressed I am with the strength and power you all showed in the recent battle. It is clear that no foe can stand before us."
Secondary Check - Diplomacy: 33
Character: Elyjobel, gnome illusionist
Player: Mac
{Here's the second half of Mac's submission. As you will see, he ties right into the previous response AND tugs at the DMs heart-strings. Well played, sir, well played.}
Ely turned awkwardly in her bedroll, shifting until she faced the wall, trying to hide the effect that Valna's words had on her. She'd always looked up to the powerful woman, and in the light of Kismet's betrayal, when Ely realized she had to become tougher, stronger than the flighty illusionist she'd been all her childhood, there was an obvious choice for role model. Earlier that very day, while Valna and Bigglesby had been off exploring an offshoot, the rest of the party had fought swarms of spiders. Not only had Ely fought off the poison coursing through her system during that combat, but she slew many of the creepies herself. Slowly, she felt, she was starting to live up to the example Valna set. One day, she might even be strong enough to save her best friend from the darkness his uncle had forced into his life. For Kismet's sake, she tried to feel sympathy for his family. For her own sake, seeing the darkness Prismeus had willingly given himself over to infect her oldest companion... if she could, she'd let Prismeus's soul burn forever.
Thinking of her friend gave her an idea. One of the first illusions she learned was a spell named Ghost Sound, a little cantrip which allowed her to call sounds out of thin air. The spell itself was designed to be cast quickly in combat, and make a few simple, quick sounds, but perhaps she'd grown skillful enough to adapt it to current circumstances...
Worried that she might call up bad memories of the bard's betrayal, Ely nevertheless wove the patterns of energy, delving deep into her mind for an old, old memory... Excellence, Kismet's mother, had taken to bed with a fever. It truthfully was nothing more than a simple illness that anyone would shake off after a day's rest, but her son was only seven and, dutiful son he was, worried so for her health. He'd only recently started training in music, but he sat up with her all night as she twitched in fitful sleep, plucking at his harp a simple, soothing lullaby. As the hours passed, Excellence's fever finally broke, and she settled into deep, restful sleep her body needed.
Ely recalled that song now, the ingenuous strident plucking of a young boy holding a harp for the first time, and called the quiet notes into the air. She could not grant the true peace that a trained Bard's Song of Rest could gift, but perhaps this melody would remind her party of the many restful nights granted to them by their friend and Bard; maybe it would soften their hearts, let them see, as Ely did, that the tiefling did not truly betray them, he was a dear friend, a companion who had earned their implicit trust many times over, currently victim to terrible darkness. And maybe, just maybe, she could help settle fiery blood and stormy minds, and let everyone catch the restful sleep they so urgently needed to defeat the foul orcs.
Primary Check - Arcana: 32
Ely turned awkwardly in her bedroll, shifting until she faced the wall, trying to hide the effect that Valna's words had on her. She'd always looked up to the powerful woman, and in the light of Kismet's betrayal, when Ely realized she had to become tougher, stronger than the flighty illusionist she'd been all her childhood, there was an obvious choice for role model. Earlier that very day, while Valna and Bigglesby had been off exploring an offshoot, the rest of the party had fought swarms of spiders. Not only had Ely fought off the poison coursing through her system during that combat, but she slew many of the creepies herself. Slowly, she felt, she was starting to live up to the example Valna set. One day, she might even be strong enough to save her best friend from the darkness his uncle had forced into his life. For Kismet's sake, she tried to feel sympathy for his family. For her own sake, seeing the darkness Prismeus had willingly given himself over to infect her oldest companion... if she could, she'd let Prismeus's soul burn forever.
Thinking of her friend gave her an idea. One of the first illusions she learned was a spell named Ghost Sound, a little cantrip which allowed her to call sounds out of thin air. The spell itself was designed to be cast quickly in combat, and make a few simple, quick sounds, but perhaps she'd grown skillful enough to adapt it to current circumstances...
Worried that she might call up bad memories of the bard's betrayal, Ely nevertheless wove the patterns of energy, delving deep into her mind for an old, old memory... Excellence, Kismet's mother, had taken to bed with a fever. It truthfully was nothing more than a simple illness that anyone would shake off after a day's rest, but her son was only seven and, dutiful son he was, worried so for her health. He'd only recently started training in music, but he sat up with her all night as she twitched in fitful sleep, plucking at his harp a simple, soothing lullaby. As the hours passed, Excellence's fever finally broke, and she settled into deep, restful sleep her body needed.
Ely recalled that song now, the ingenuous strident plucking of a young boy holding a harp for the first time, and called the quiet notes into the air. She could not grant the true peace that a trained Bard's Song of Rest could gift, but perhaps this melody would remind her party of the many restful nights granted to them by their friend and Bard; maybe it would soften their hearts, let them see, as Ely did, that the tiefling did not truly betray them, he was a dear friend, a companion who had earned their implicit trust many times over, currently victim to terrible darkness. And maybe, just maybe, she could help settle fiery blood and stormy minds, and let everyone catch the restful sleep they so urgently needed to defeat the foul orcs.
Primary Check - Arcana: 32
Monday, February 24, 2014
Email Skill Challenge II: Responses (Part 1)
My players did a great job role-playing with this latest skill challenge! Here are some highlights {with my notes in fancy brackets}:
Character: Ely, gnome illusionist
Player: Mac
Though the Maiden of the Moon was an Archfey, not a proper deity, there were nevertheless many sects throughout the lands that worshipped the Fey as Gods. Elyjobel saw Bigglesby tossing restlessly, and gently called out his name. "Tell me of the Hunt; tell me of the thrill of the chase, noble woodsman. Tell me of the nights spent in trees, enduring now for the sake of glory later..." If she recalled her practical theology well, her phrasing should strike a chord in the halfling and remind him of the precepts he still lived by, even far from the Maiden's camp; if she spoke poorly, she risked reminding him of better times and worsening his depression...
Secondary Check - Religion: 34 [Nat 20, yo!]
{Mac asked specifically if he could hold off his Primary Roll, so that he'd get a bonus from someone else right off the bat}
Character: Bigglesby, halfling ranger
Player: Tristan
Bigglesby's couldn't get comfortable on the damp stone. He much preferred a dry bed of leaves under soaring canopies, or even the soft, arid dust of the Feymoon. Underground was no environment for a halfling, especially in the cavernous high caves of the Underdark. How could anyone feel cozy here? Softly, he heard Elyjobel reach out to him and recite the Call to Share. He didn't think Elyjobel actually wanted his stories - there was no proper campfire and this night they needed rest. But he appreciated the effort. He began to softly recite one of his favorite stories, just as a murmur, and it helped strengthen his resolve.
Primary Check - Endurance: 27
{I'm not all that familiar with D&D lore, mostly by choice. I've seen it used too often by pedantic nerds to prove their "superiority" over more casual players. But this? LOVED IT. I guess the difference is that it dovetails perfectly with what we know of the characters. And it moves us closer to the goal, of course.}
Thinking of the Call to Share made Bigglesby miss the roaring fires of the forest. He knew that a big fire would be dangerous in this space, but perhaps, before he drifted off, he could make something that would warm one of his compatriots. A few mushrooms in a corner of the cave looked dry enough to use as tinder. Tearing them up and spreading them out, Bigglesby quickly set to work creating a small flame.
Secondary Check - Nature: 29
Charachter: Travok, dwarf fighter
Player: Reuven
Despite all of the pent-up rage Travok has simmering internally, he's surprisingly calm in light of all of the recent excitement. Still, it does take some doing to get all of the residual jelly from his beard. It would seem this rather simple routine (beard-cleaning, not the jelly part) has a mollifying effect. Contentment in rote. Travok also takes some comfort in the confines of the environment. Even with all of the dangers that seem to be lurking, the feeling underground is so much more... insular. With ears still attuned to the echoes of caves, safety seems easier to ensure. There is no sky for the sounds of approaching beings to get lost in. Everything reverberates off the walls. Including the crackling of Bibbglesby's fire. And the shadows from it.
Primary Check - Perception: 33
Those shadows are too big. The light and warmth are sure to be welcome to the others, but Travok bristles a bit with that bright of a source in these confines. This isn't the outdoors! Carefully masking the flame behind a rock barrier, he protects his companions from the bright-light beacon effect while still letting them find solace in the fire.
Secondary Check - Dungeoneering: 24
There. That's better. Travok moves back to the dark side of the fire barrier and curls comfortably onto the rock floor.
{Sometimes communicating via email can remove the spontaneity of an interaction - think of every message you've received on a dating website EVER - but in this case my players do a great job of spring-boarding off each other's ideas.}
Character: Ely, gnome illusionist
Player: Mac
Though the Maiden of the Moon was an Archfey, not a proper deity, there were nevertheless many sects throughout the lands that worshipped the Fey as Gods. Elyjobel saw Bigglesby tossing restlessly, and gently called out his name. "Tell me of the Hunt; tell me of the thrill of the chase, noble woodsman. Tell me of the nights spent in trees, enduring now for the sake of glory later..." If she recalled her practical theology well, her phrasing should strike a chord in the halfling and remind him of the precepts he still lived by, even far from the Maiden's camp; if she spoke poorly, she risked reminding him of better times and worsening his depression...
Secondary Check - Religion: 34 [Nat 20, yo!]
{Mac asked specifically if he could hold off his Primary Roll, so that he'd get a bonus from someone else right off the bat}
Character: Bigglesby, halfling ranger
Player: Tristan
Bigglesby's couldn't get comfortable on the damp stone. He much preferred a dry bed of leaves under soaring canopies, or even the soft, arid dust of the Feymoon. Underground was no environment for a halfling, especially in the cavernous high caves of the Underdark. How could anyone feel cozy here? Softly, he heard Elyjobel reach out to him and recite the Call to Share. He didn't think Elyjobel actually wanted his stories - there was no proper campfire and this night they needed rest. But he appreciated the effort. He began to softly recite one of his favorite stories, just as a murmur, and it helped strengthen his resolve.
Primary Check - Endurance: 27
{I'm not all that familiar with D&D lore, mostly by choice. I've seen it used too often by pedantic nerds to prove their "superiority" over more casual players. But this? LOVED IT. I guess the difference is that it dovetails perfectly with what we know of the characters. And it moves us closer to the goal, of course.}
Thinking of the Call to Share made Bigglesby miss the roaring fires of the forest. He knew that a big fire would be dangerous in this space, but perhaps, before he drifted off, he could make something that would warm one of his compatriots. A few mushrooms in a corner of the cave looked dry enough to use as tinder. Tearing them up and spreading them out, Bigglesby quickly set to work creating a small flame.
Secondary Check - Nature: 29
Charachter: Travok, dwarf fighter
Player: Reuven
Despite all of the pent-up rage Travok has simmering internally, he's surprisingly calm in light of all of the recent excitement. Still, it does take some doing to get all of the residual jelly from his beard. It would seem this rather simple routine (beard-cleaning, not the jelly part) has a mollifying effect. Contentment in rote. Travok also takes some comfort in the confines of the environment. Even with all of the dangers that seem to be lurking, the feeling underground is so much more... insular. With ears still attuned to the echoes of caves, safety seems easier to ensure. There is no sky for the sounds of approaching beings to get lost in. Everything reverberates off the walls. Including the crackling of Bibbglesby's fire. And the shadows from it.
Primary Check - Perception: 33
Those shadows are too big. The light and warmth are sure to be welcome to the others, but Travok bristles a bit with that bright of a source in these confines. This isn't the outdoors! Carefully masking the flame behind a rock barrier, he protects his companions from the bright-light beacon effect while still letting them find solace in the fire.
Secondary Check - Dungeoneering: 24
There. That's better. Travok moves back to the dark side of the fire barrier and curls comfortably onto the rock floor.
{Sometimes communicating via email can remove the spontaneity of an interaction - think of every message you've received on a dating website EVER - but in this case my players do a great job of spring-boarding off each other's ideas.}
Friday, February 21, 2014
Email Skill Challenge II: A Night In The Caves
Your battle-weary party has chosen to take an extended rest in the caverns surrounding Blingdenstone. Luckily you possess the Exodus Knife, which allows you to cut a doorway into your own little pocket dimension (no need for guard shifts). However, the hazards that lay behind and before you leave your party somewhat agitated. When this happened in the past you had Kismet's Song of Rest to lull you to sleep - but now the only sounds you can hear are the dripping of water off stalactites and the skittering of various cave-dwelling creatures. You feel as if the cold, damp air of the caverns has seeped into your bones, and whenever you are not actively using a light source your eyes struggle to adjust to the otherworldly darkness. This may turn out to be a restless night for you all...
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