Show Posts
1
Role Playing Public Radio Podcast / Re: Running an investigative game
« on: April 01, 2010, 09:23:04 AM »
Bureau 13 has always been an excellent investigative game because, being set in modern day, the characters have access to modern and futuristic analysis and surveillance tools. Also you are usually hunting monsters and that's really fun.
As a gm and designer of adventures I've learned that you need to give the players at least 3 paths to the solution to guarantee success. Once you have mapped out those paths, you can add cross connections between them so if the players eliminate a path (say kill an important witness), they can either backtrack or move laterally to one of the remaining paths.
As a player these are the questions I ask myself:
1. What's different? Even if this has been a long standing problem (like Innsmouth), something has to have changed recently to bring it to my attention. Monsters leave inhuman traces. Look for them
-- unusual injuries in emergency rooms or increase in traffic
-- someone going on sick leave for extended periods
-- toxic spills or reports of strange smells
-- rat swarms. plant blights, etc.
2. A correllary is "who's new in town". Problem with that is it only works in small towns and most locals if questioned will say "YOU". Still there are recent rentals, new utility accounts, new acts at the local strip joint, etc.
3. Who has the most to lose if this is publically exposed?
4. Follow the money - even monsters have to support themselves. and people afraid of exposure will pay for silence. Check large bank activity
5. Go to bars and churches and listen to the gossip.
A caveat is to not ask "Seen anything unusual lately?" Imagine how that would sound to you at the local bar.
6. Find out who's awake in the dead of the night. Usually you have to find time to do nefarious things.
7. Always keep a few team members in reserve in case you need them to show up and get you out of jail with a forged federal prisoner transfer document.
8. If you've got money, spread it around. You may only attract rats, but monsters need to pay the netflix bill too.
As a gm and designer of adventures I've learned that you need to give the players at least 3 paths to the solution to guarantee success. Once you have mapped out those paths, you can add cross connections between them so if the players eliminate a path (say kill an important witness), they can either backtrack or move laterally to one of the remaining paths.
As a player these are the questions I ask myself:
1. What's different? Even if this has been a long standing problem (like Innsmouth), something has to have changed recently to bring it to my attention. Monsters leave inhuman traces. Look for them
-- unusual injuries in emergency rooms or increase in traffic
-- someone going on sick leave for extended periods
-- toxic spills or reports of strange smells
-- rat swarms. plant blights, etc.
2. A correllary is "who's new in town". Problem with that is it only works in small towns and most locals if questioned will say "YOU". Still there are recent rentals, new utility accounts, new acts at the local strip joint, etc.
3. Who has the most to lose if this is publically exposed?
4. Follow the money - even monsters have to support themselves. and people afraid of exposure will pay for silence. Check large bank activity
5. Go to bars and churches and listen to the gossip.
A caveat is to not ask "Seen anything unusual lately?" Imagine how that would sound to you at the local bar.
6. Find out who's awake in the dead of the night. Usually you have to find time to do nefarious things.
7. Always keep a few team members in reserve in case you need them to show up and get you out of jail with a forged federal prisoner transfer document.
8. If you've got money, spread it around. You may only attract rats, but monsters need to pay the netflix bill too.