The Name Of The Rose: Three Dimensional Labyrinths

The Name Of The Rose is one of my favorite films. Besides starring Sean Connery and Christian Slater, two fine, accomplished actors, it is set in the 14th century, at a medieval abbey gripped with fear due to a handsome monk's recent and unholy murder. More murders follow. Connery and Slater's characters arrive at the abbey shortly after the first murder, and attempt to solve the crimes. The abbey is the site of a massive library, off-limits to visitors: its contents hold the key to revealing the motive behind the mysterious deaths.

If you have never seen this movie, or have not seen it in some time, you are strongly encouraged to do so. As inspiration for a murder-mystery adventure for fantasy role-playing, this movie has few peers. There is little in the way of combat, but if you like atmosphere, fantastic sets and elaborate puzzles, this is sure to appeal to you.



One of the set-pieces of this film: a labyrinthine library, filled with octagonal rooms and rising and decending staircases. The two principles become separated and lost within the library, and use their wits to locate each other, retrace their steps and eventually find egress. It's commonly held that dungeon labyrinths are a bore, when it comes to rpg adventuring. I'm sympathetic to that view. Imagine your typical dungeon labyrinth, but now in three dimensions. Doesn't seem that appealing, does it? But, instead of being a labyrinth, what if that many-staired and chambered space was rather a nexus-point, a convergence of stairs and passages, going up, down and across, and giving the players a plethora of adventuring alternatives?

That has been on my mind the last couple of days, as I search for a way to design and develop a dungeon environment which provides maximum latitude to the players to strike out and pursue their own dungeon-delving interests. One of the constraints on the full enjoyment of a campaign by role players is the suspicion that they are being railroaded. What could be more freeing, for both the DM and the players, than that the mega-dungeon have a nexus-point, leading to a myriad potential adventures, with easy access to the surface and the dungeon-locales which most interest the players?

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Murder Mystery Manual

Check out this great post on running a murder mystery role-playing game session.Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/murder%20mysteries
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Murder Mysteries and Fantasy Role Playing

I recently read a blog, wherein the author commented on how to design and run a fantasy murder mystery adventure.

If I remember correctly, that blogger noted that the gathering of clues, and the identification of the culprit, depends on the skills of the players and the DM, in addition to the quality of the clues provided. Sometimes, what seems the obvious solution, to the DM, eludes the players, either because the DM failed to provide certain clues (or gave ambiguous clues), or the players assigned higher value to macguffins or peripheral information, and did not pay attention when a particularly critical clue was revealed.

While the players must play an active role in gathering clues, ultimately, the success of a murder mystery adventure relies heavily on the DM. If the DM does not provide the necessary clues, or misdirects the players with macguffins, the players ability to identify the murder will be fatally impaired.

I have always enjoyed running murder mystery adventures, but my DM skills are mediocre at best. As a cheat, in order to compensate for the inevitable misdirections and macguffins which I inadvertently pass on to the players, I tend NOT to prepare one correct solution.

Instead, I come up with several clues, usually 20-30, that point to different suspects. I sprinkle those about, in various locations, and with various NPCs. The characters must gather up the clues, visiting several locations, and talking to different NPCs. As they gather the clues, they will come up with their own solution. If it seems a reasonable solution, based on the clues gathered, I make that the solution.

This may seem like pandering. Perhaps it is. But to me it results in a far more satisfying conclusion to a murder mystery adventure, since the players still do all the leg-work, gathering the clues, and their solution is based on their synthesis of those clues. The alternative, with the players and the DM staring in frustration at each other because a clue was missed or misunderstood, is less palatable to me.

Of course, a better DM will not have to rely on this method.Source URL: http://idontwanttobeanythingotherthanme.blogspot.com/search/label/murder%20mysteries
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