Aug 07 2009
Mystery Month
A monthlong exploration of the concepts, strategies, and hazards of writing or running a mystery.
Picking a crime is important; without the event, there is no mystery.
Where would a mystery be without the cast? These posts look at who these people are and how their personal angles on the case can make an investigator’s life difficult.
Just because the culprit is clever doesn’t mean a mystery has to be impossible to write or to solve. Here’s how to make sure they’re as sneaky as they’re cracked up to be, and how to get your investigators on the right trail anyway.
How to Foil Investigative Magic
Clues: Without clues, can a mystery really be solved? Here’s how to classify them, how to plant them, how to make them go the wrong way, and what to do in a game situation when the players are trying to make their own.
Mystery: Classifying Clues
Finding Their Own Clues Narrative Constraints: For people who want their mystery to work as a story.
Game-specific hazards: What can go wrong when you’re trying to run a mystery for a game group, and how do you fix it?
Mystery and the Burden of Memory
Impractical Applications: A four-part example of mystery principles in action.
