RPG Campaign Tour Challenge 2026 - DAY 20

Day 20-Are there any mysteries as yet unsolved?

"The galaxy is full of mysteries.

While the knowledge of billions upon billions of beings over many centuries can be accessed by the Starfleet Library Computers, there is still so much we don't know. There are so many questions we have that, as of now, we haven't found the answers to. At least, not yet. 

With all of that in mind, there are a number of mysteries that remain unsolved in the Sierra and Tango Super Sectors that are of interest to us and there is distinct possibility they are all connected."

The Ancients of Ectair

A common reference name given to the various lost civilizations of what the Romulans once called 'The Ectair Sector'. This region, which we call the Tango Super Sector today, contains a numbers of ruins and artifacts indicating no less than three highly advanced alien societies existed here in the distant past. All of these civilization are long gone, having disappeared between 3,000 and 5,000 years ago. While it is not clear what became of each of them, there may be clues to their fates based on what they've left behind. Furthermore, there is a theory that all their disappearances may be linked.

Rho Gruis III, The Ryton Nebula, and Yed Prior I

The following information was provided to Starfleet Command by Mister GLEE, a Civilian Special Advisor well versed in the Xenoanthropology of these [particular] ancient peoples.

Derelict Spacewreck of the Ryton Nebula

A 'Ghost Ship' of sorts, the Derelict of Ryton is a large starship of unknown origin that has been detected on and off over the years, drifting aimlessly through the Ryton System's rather unique Ryton Nebula. The moment a positive sensor lock is achieved, the vessel seems to vanish, disappearing off of scanners completely.

The Ryton Nebula is a relatively small astronomical body when compared to the vast expanses of stellar gas that are the Taurus Nebula or the far larger Typhon Expanse. Another unique aspect of this spatial phenomenon is that the nebula occupies that furtherest orbit of the red giant star at the center of the system. Like the small planetoids and gas giant spinning around with it, the Ryton Nebula is a part of the Ryton System.

With this in mind, there is more than one mystery here. What is the Derelict ship, why is there, where is it from, etc.? Additionally, how and why does it remain where it is? Why is it so hard to detect? Is it just the nebula's conditions or is it something else? How and why does the nebula itself orbit the Ryton star? 

This one is very strange.

The Pillars of Rho Gruis III

The snowy surface of Rho Gruis III (Rho Gruis) is largely barren, rocky, and of course icy cold. Rather boring were it not for the 'Pillars of Thought', roughly 30.5 meter tall (on the average) hollow columns of an unusual marble-like material. When psychic phenomena manfiests in the vicinity of the pillars, it resonates with them and is enhanced to much greater levels. It is theorized that the original inhabitants of the planet were Psionic and a weak background alpha wave field permeates the columns for miles, even thousands of years after they perished. 

What happened to these people is inconclusive but the planet has aspects that make it a potentially dangerous place to live. Throughout the planet's year, the orbit of Rho Gruis III passes through the extreme elliptical orbit of an asteroid belt in the system. The powerful magnetic field and strong gravity of the third planet pulls asteroids from the belt towards the world and as such, it is regularly pelted by meteors. It is possible this anomaly rained rocks down upon the cities of the original inhabitants and destroyed their civilization. 

The Eastern 'Pillars on Thought' on Rho Gruis III

Giving their advanced construction techniques and psychic abilities, one has to ask, 'How did they not see a catastrophic meteor shower coming and why did they build an underground shelter or some other way of 'weathering the storm'. Did they? If so, where are they now?

Ruins of the Civilization of Yed Prior I

The civilization that lived on Yed Prior I (Yed Prior, Delta Ophiuchi) resembled a merger of the ancient Earth nations of Egypt and Roman. It is unclear if this is a coincidence or if any of these cultures actually influenced each other. It seems unlikely; though it is possible the society's artificially intelligent central computer altered the appearance of the ruins based on the information it obtained from ships and crews it capture to resemble things the Humans and Romulans it abducted might 'recognize'. 

In addition to arenas and colossal statues, the lost civilization of Yed Prior had developed powerful AI computers and various robots to assist in the governing and maintaining of their city. The going theory is that a malfunction in the AI resulted in it developing psychotic behavior that eventually caused it and its robot minions to turn on the native inhabitants. Is it possible they were all wiped out in gladitorial combats?

Advanced Artificial Intelligence Super Computer within the Colossus of Yed.

One mystery that all these situations have in common is that there appears to be no sign of the civilizations that left these relics and edifices behind. Whatever became of them, it is as if they simply disappeared. Evidence abounds of them having existed but there is oddly little showing what the people themselves were like or what happened to them in the end. 

Who is Mister GLEE?

Mr. GLEE is a character who was introduced into the campaign fairly recently, first appearing in the Season 8 Finale and Season 9 Opening Episodes, 'Enough to Plague a Saint', Parts 1 and 2 respectively. He doesn't actually have a large role and is more of a background or supporting character but he shows up again later in Season 9 (the current season).  

He is introduced as a specialist in the field of the lost civilizations of the Tango Super Sector , a Civilian Advisor who accompanies the Prosperity to Rho Gruis III to explain the nature of the planet and its ruins. The Captain has to arbitrate a dispute between by the Mazzulans and Romulans regarding  a crashed Mazzulan ship and a holy relic it hopefully contains. At least the Mazzulans claim it is a holy relic, while the Romulans think it might be a weapon. Just before departing for the surface and the crash site, Mister GLEE reminds that Captain that no matter what happens, "Never forget where it is you call 'Home'."

The cryptic message proves helpful when the artifact is activated and its psychic backlash sends the participants spinning through their own memories. Captain Fletcher views the Prosperity as home and reaches out to the others, particularly her crew, and connects them together so they can pull themselves and each other back to reality.

This is 'meta information' from me, the Gamemaster, as Ensign Shae would not be privy to the specifics of this mission and these events. 

The mystery remains however...who is Mister GLEE?

"All right everyone. Let's take a quick break and I'll give you some information on important local organizations.

See you soon!"

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Barking Alien

RPGaDay Challenge 2020 - INVESTIGATE

Investigate.

Investigation and the mysteries they solve are a major part of the games I run. That said, I have covered this subject many times already in previous posts and have little to add at this time in a direct fashion. See the Label/Tag 'Mystery' at the bottom of this post to view my past entries. 

I will say this; one of the most disappointing things I hear regularly from gamers, especially fellow Gamemasters, is how difficult running mysteries and investigations are. The phrase, 'Mysteries in RPGs are very hard to do', really grinds my gears. 

It's a lazy platitude that immediately says to me, 'I don't know how to do it and I am not willing to put in the effort to figure it out.' Either that or the person tried, failed or couldn't figure it out and quit trying. At least be honest and say, 'I've tried it many times and just can't get it to work out well.' Own it. That I can respect.

Personally I find it fairly easy to run mysteries at this point, but only because I have thought long and hard about how to do so, did quite a bit of experimentation and research, and I was willing to put in the work. 

Before giving up on RPG investigations, or simply running crappy ones, investigate how to set them up and execute them. That is a mystery worth solving.

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Barking Alien

Full of Surprises

Continuing along from my last post but not showing you what's behind curtain #1 just yet - I am truly evil, no? - I wanted to mention the clues I liberally littered throughout the first three sessions of my FRONTIER campaign. 

More Easter Eggs than true clues, these not-really-hidden references were really more for me then the players. If they picked up on any of them great! If not, it actually helped the final reveal have even more impact. 

At the same time, they were there, right out in the open more times than not. I made a concentrated effort (which I honestly had to practice) not to put special emphasis on any of these clues and make them yet another background detail in a setting I was building from the players and their PCs to enjoy. 

The hints, signs, and signals of what was to come ranged from very subtle to blatant but in the latter case I managed to hide them in plain sight. 

A moment in the game might prompt one or more players to ask a question. I, with a neutral, straight face or easy smile, would answer the question in a matter of fact way that absolutely revealed a truth about the game's setting. These answers were taken not at face value but as references to something else so as to seem only tangentially in context.

For example, let's say you were playing an 'original' setting Superhero RPG and a glowing green rock was discovered that seemed to be deadly to a particular villain. A player might say, "Wait...like Kryptonite hurts Superman?" The GM would answer, "Exactly. Though it isn't just Superman, right? I mean, any Kryptonian would be effected by the radiation from a Kryptonite rock." The players would nod and plan on obtaining more of the rock to defeat their enemy, not realizing that the enemy is in fact an actual Kryptonian and their campaign is set in some alternate version of the DC Universe. 

So these were the clues I put out there...can you figure out the truth behind our semi-dystopian Science Fiction Space Exploration game before my next post?

Just one moment...

Before you get all full of yourselves on how easy it is for you to figure out what's going on and think, 'How could Adam's group not know they were playing in a X campaign? Those rubes!', bear in mind everything I mentioned above plus...

You are reading these hints in a list, completely free of any other in-game or out-of-game activity or distractions. I have removed these from three sessions, each session being 5-5 1/2 hours long, with 8 players. You aren't getting the Role-Playing, the Battles, Rules Explanations, Jokes, or any of the other things that goes into a real game. 

Jeopardy is much easier at home than it is when you're in the TV studio with the bright lights, live audience, and Alex Trebek's steely-eyed gaze bearing down on you. 

Now let's see:

Episode Zero/Pilot Episode - Session 1 - Beast of Burden

The campaign's starting date and year is May 25th, 2212.

Beast of Burden, by the Rolling Stones plays on the incoming commercial transport, the USCSS Orpheus. 

The Orpheus is a White Dwarf vessel, formerly used by Red Star Lines.

The Project Director for our Scientific Research Mission is Director Rebecca Jorden. 

Director Jorden has her ID and Access Cards on a keychain with a plastic Lizard or Gecko on it. 

Alerts from the AI of all the ships feature a blinking yellow light. 

There is very specific iconography for the various departments and sections of the ships and FRONTIER station. 

The government names United Americas and United Systems are mentioned. 

An Android is discovered among the Orpheus crew. She is injured and bleeds a milky white substance. When asked if it was like Bishop in Aliens I said yes. Another player mentioned two other IPs that also feature Androids with similar chemical or non-Red blood. The Replicants of Blade Runner are brought up and I explain the differences in design theory between the Tyrell Corporations Replicants and Hyperdyne Systems Synthetics to give detail and context. 

A player asks if it is normal to see Androids in this setting. I reply, "It's been policy for years to have a synthetic on board all government, military, and large scale corporate vessels. It's a little unusual to see one on a private, commercial transport, but not unheard of."

A mysterious signal is detected that is thought to be the cause of the Orpheus' accident. It is very dense and comes in 12 second bursts. 

Episode I - Session 2 - Comfortably Numb

Episode open with Pink Floyd's Comfortably Numb playing. The lines reference what happened in the last episode as well as the current situation with the dangerous signal:

"A distant ships smoke on the horizon.
You are only coming through in waves.
Your lips move but I can't hear what you're saying."

The Medical Transport, the USMSS Foster, serves the Extrasolar Colonization Administration. 

The Foster is en route to the Arcturus System following a worker rebellion that required marines to be sent in. Although order was restored, there were many wounded on both sides and medical supplies were needed. 

That occurred in 2177, 35 years prior to our current campaign date.

OK, wait, this brings me to a great scene:

The Trauma Team Medic is awoken from a 35 year Hypersleep and when asked what year she thinks it is she first responds that it's a strange question, then says it's 2177, and then says, "Don't tell me. I've been asleep for more than 50 years". The Security Officer who woke her replies...

SO: "No..." 

Medic: "Thank goodness."

SO: "It's been 35."

Medic: *Vomits on the SO's boots*

SO: *Short pause while looking down* Looks back at Medic and says, "Yeah that tracks."

The team, with Medic in tow, discover the extraterrestrial 'temple' structure. Inside in a large chamber covered in hieroglyphics and pictograms. Among the symbols are:

Long, thin vines - or snakes or tentacles - with thorns, spines, or spikes.

A football shaped oval resembling a seed or egg. 

Humanoid figures shown only from the waist up, wearing helmets or gas mask with an elongated nose tube or trunk (like an elephant). 

Episode II - Session 3 - Under Pressure 

As the 'camera' descends into the temple, Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie plays. 

"It's the terror of knowing what this world is about,
Watching some good friends screaming, 'let me out'!"

The further exploration of the structure takes the group into other rooms with more hieroglyphs and a pictographic language. Much of the aforementioned symbols reappear as does a slightly asymmetrical 'horseshoe' or 'omega' emblem. 

As the team descends further down to the lower levels of the building we learn at least part of the purpose of the place. Those who constructed it, 'The Thinkers', were researching a weapon to use against another alien species. 

A player says jokingly, "What is this? A Weyland-Yutani facility?" I laugh and reply, "This? No way even Weyland-Yutani could build something like this. This was clearly constructed by a highly advanced alien intelligence. That said, man, they'd probably kill to get a chance to study this place."

In addition to all of these points, there were a series of re-occurring numbers. As my friend Ray noted in an unrelated discussion, "Adam does love his numerical clues".

The numbers include:

33

79

86

90

1979

2179

2212

52579

By now you probably know what the players now know...

The big reveal next post.

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Barking Alien

RPGaDay Challenge 2019 - MYSTERY

For me it's all about the Mystery.

I view a good Mystery as the key to a solid Role Playing Game experience, which can be problematic, as I don't think many gamers are great at Mysteries.

The result of this unfortunate situation is frustration as both a GM and player; running a game for a group of people who aren't great with deductive reasoning or being a player in a session where the GM has made the conundrum completely inscrutable. 

Mysteries really aren't hard to construct but they can be hard to solve if you forget the number one, most important thing about them - you want them to be solved. The player wants to solve it so they can feel a sense of accomplishment. The GM wants it solved so their campaign and progress and the story can continue forward. Most importantly, think about what happens if it isn't solved. Often the answer is nothing. Nothing happens. The game can grind to a halt.

Gamemasters, please don't lock yourself in to one and only one possibly outcome of an investigation unless you are going to leave ample clues as to what is going on, how it's happening, and why. 

Players, be sure to investigate. Don't just roll your 'Detective' skill or similar ability and hope the GM hands you all the answers. Be inquisitive. Have your PC look around, check inside desks, in closets, behind furniture. Have them talk to witnesses, locals, and experts in the appropriate field. Become involved in the Mystery and active in the solving of it. 

You can click on the label/tag 'Mystery' attached to this post to see my previous discussions on the subject. I am pretty happy with those so I don't feel I need to go over the whole thing again here. Suffice to say, most Action/Adventure books, movies, TV shows, and the like have Mysteries, and your game should as well. Like the sources it draws from, the best part of the Mystery is the reveal. Do what you can to make that possible. 

Why you would do it any other way is...A Mystery.

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Barking Alien

Holiday Specials

Season's Greetings to everyone out there in blogland!

It's just me, your ol' pal Adam, here to wish you all a very Happy New Year, a Merry Christmas, and/or a Happy Holiday of your choice. You know me, I like them all.

December has been interesting so far.

I've run some really good Star Trek games, played at lot of Supers games, didn't get to see my new girlfriend nearly enough (she's out of town visiting family), and, well, got inspired and incensed in equal measure by various films, and television features. 

For now, let's focus on the positives...
 
By the way, SPOILER ALERT - SPOILERS Everywhere! - SPOILERS Up the Wazoo!


Bright

I am not, generally speaking, a fantasy fan. At the same time, I do love folklore as I've mentioned before, and can appreciate even traditional fantasy if done very well. Similarly, although am I not a crime drama fan per se, growing up the son of a cop, and the grandson of a movie buff, the genre does hold my interest on occasion. Bright, the Netflix original film staring Will Smith, Joel Edgerton, and Lucy Fry, was therefore quite a surprise, as I really enjoyed it.

Bright does an excellent job of world building a 'plausible' (perhaps workable is more accurate), alternate, modern day filled with elves, orcs, and magic wands while at the same time never overtly doing so. That is to say, it doesn't lay out how this world got this way, who are the big players are, or how things work on any in depth level. Instead, it does something I have been advocating for years in other genre features from television to movies to RPGs; Bright assumes its own world makes sense, and figures you will too. 

The result is a lack of wasted time, unnecessary exposition, uninteresting characters, and eye-rolling padding that the film doesn't need. It's awesome, and refreshing. 

Effects are good, very good in fact, and largely downplayed, which I also enjoyed. As the years go on, I am less and less impressed by Fantasy projects with vulgar magic. If you shoot bolts of arcane energy out of your hands, you better be a superhero. It's cool when Doctor Strange does it, but for everyone else it's pretty tacky. The look of it here, while occasionally flashy, definitely worked and was shown as rare and special. I liked that.

Overall, this is a very cool film, and a great setting for a game. It's very 'Shadownrun Now' if you catch my drift. While not my cup of tea (I'm a coffee drinker you see), I'd be down for playing it a few times if someone else was running. 


Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - Season 2

I must confess that I liked the original Dirk Gently novels by Douglas Adams, but didn't love them. That's difficult to admit, considering how much I adore The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and what a huge influence it is on my own works. 

In some ways, many actually, the recent BBC series created by Max Landis, and starring Samuel Barnett, Elijah Wood, Hannah Marks, Jade Eshete, and many more very talented people, is quite different from its literary origins. Those differences help, at least for me, as I found both Season One and Two brilliant! The blend of quirky characters, off beat stories, and the more than slightly surreal nature of the program really won me over.

While I enjoyed Season One more than Two, the second season was still wonderful, and it had a lot of great new characters, and interesting twists. 

I was very sad to learn that the BBC has decided not to renew the show for a third season. Aside from not getting more of a product that I enjoyed, the second season began to delve into a much richer, and deeper meta-plot that I can't believe they would just leave hanging there. Perhaps Netflix, Amazon, or Hulu will pick it up.

Time will tell. 

Is it gameable? Well, I'm not sure. Technically I think nearly everything is gameable to some degree, and I am pretty sure I could make a Dirk Gently-like RPG campaign work. The real question is would I be able to find people into it? Maybe...


Happy!

Unlike the other two entries on this post, Happy! - a Dark Comedy/Crime Drama airing on the Syfy channel (No really! The Syfy Channel!), and based on the Grant Morrison, Darrick Robertson comic book series - is still going on. It hasn't ended yet, with Episode 4 having aired on December 27th, 2017. What does this mean? Well, only that I can't tell you my thoughts on the series as a whole, only on what I've seen so far.

I like it. A lot! I am once again surprised by my own opinions, as this sort of story is not to my usual taste. It succeeds in part because of the excellent performances by Christopher Meloni as lead character Nick Sax, and Patton Oswald as Happy!, the imaginary friend of a young girl who has been kidnapped, and seeks out ex-detective turned hitman Sax to find her. 

The other ingredient that makes this particular concoction hit the spot is the rather out there premise, and the creepy/clever way it is used in the narrative. Trust me, I do notice a theme going here. Both Happy! and Dirk Gently, appeal to my love of the largely untapped idea of a black humor Twilight Zone situation, and as such they are definitely inspiring ideas on how to incorporate that feel into my upcoming campaigns.

Which are? You'll have to wait, and see. That's a discussion for a future post.

There is a lot of other material I could discuss here, since as I noted I've watched a lot of stuff this holiday season. For instance, I can not recommend Guillermo del Toro's, 'The Shape of Water' enough. I really enjoyed that as well. It was a modernization of two older films in a way I both didn't expect, and always wanted to see. 

I feel like I'm forgetting something. Was there another big movie that came out? Recently I want to say. What was the last movie I saw? The Last J...


To Be Continued

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Barking Alien

Lights Over A Bowl of Dust

Wednesday evening I covered for our regular Kapow! GM Keith, who runs an excellent Superhero RPG campaign over Google Hangouts. Actually, he's been doing it a good two and change years now.

Periodically I run something with the same group, usually when Keith is unavailable for some reason as was the case this time. This past week and next he is moving and so I stepped in with a planned two-parter.

Originally I had intended on running my Ghost Story RPG, 'Unfinished Business', but I decided to wait. A suggestion on a setting time and place by one of the players (Thank You Carl!) gave me a moment of Gaming Epiphany and I switched gears to another long time game idea I've always wanted to try.

Instead of a Ghost Story, I went with a UFO/Mystery/Period Piece set in the mid-1930s. The game had odd though overall effective pacing (I'll elaborate in an upcoming post) and generally went over very well. I am really happy with how it turned out.

Here's a session recap...

Act I

Oklahoma. The Dust Bowl. September 1936.

Years of drought, and dust storms have turned the great plains of America's heartland into a desert. Salt of the Earth farmers do the best they can to survive. Many abandon the state, and head west to California. President Roosevelt works to address the hardships of the struggling homesteaders as his New Deal plans seek to pull the United States out of the economic difficulties of the Great Depression.

On a lonely stretch of Route 66 between Oklahoma City, and Tulsa, Mr. and Mrs. Hildy and Archibald Dunkirk stop to fix a flat tire. Hailing from swank society Chicago, the married Reporter and Photojournalist duo have been covering the dust storms and the effect they've had on the fine people of the state of Oklahoma. Unfortunately, one such storm, a real doozy of a humdinger, is right on their heels.

Enter Deputy Sheriff Milton Stokes, out on the road looking for travelers stranded by the rough conditions. Getting reports of high winds, brush fires, and peculiar lights in the sky, Stokes comes upon the couple and tries to lend a hand.

Meanwhile, blues guitarist 'Albuquerque One-String' Simon comes upon the group. Taking the bus when he can afford a ticket, hitchhiking when he can't, he sees the people and cars ahead and tries to make a break for them before the devil of dust storm catches up to him (and them as well). He wants their aid and shelter in one of their vehicles, but he also wants to warn them just the same. Momma Simon taught her son right.

Simon is facing the storm and sees it a'coming clear as day, even though it is nearly dusk and the muted hues of land and sky make it all bleed together on the horizon.

Deputy Stokes and the Dunkirks realize trouble is truly brewing when the wind picks up out of nowhere, roaring to life, and drowning out all other sounds. Stokes runs to his car to report back on his location and that he's trying to aid some folks, but after a few moments he loses the conversation to static. The sky grows darker and the headlights of his car flicker. The Dunkirks' own car radio gets louder, then inaudible, then back to normal in a blink. At normal decibels it is completely drowned out in the din of the wind.

Albuquerque is getting close, so he shouts as loud as he can, but they just can't hear him. He waves his arms frantically and Hildy sees him in her car's rear view mirror. Taking off her reporter's hat, she dons a scarf, or kerchief, and long gloves, then rushes out to help the poor fellow. Archie sees her and knows he must go to his wife's aid (or he'll simply never hear the end of it)! Stokes focuses on finishing fixing the tire. When he's done he runs over to see the rest of them have formed a Human chain, attempting to pull Simon towards the police car.

Just then, a low flying plane, like a crop duster, sails just over Stokes' head. He can see some sort of light coming from underneath it. He can not hear it at all. Even with the rolling thunder of the wind, the plane seems quieter than a church mouse.

Stokes grabs the bumper of his car with one hand and Archie Dunkirk's arm with the other. Archie grabs Hildy. Hildy grabs Simon. Simon holds on to his guitar for dear, dear life! The Storm Arrives! Everyone is pelted in the back (Simon in the face) with sand, grit, dust, and debris. As the mysterious aircraft flies overhead, Stokes catches sight of another object some fifty feet up in the rapidly darkening evening. It looks like a ball of orange fire...

The storm is caught by a terrible cross wind and what seemed like it couldn't get worse, does. A wide tornado of gravel, dust, and dry grass forms around the group. For a brief moment - the blink of an eye - the beat of a heart - the group seems buffeted by wind, but relatively safe in the eye of the whirlwind.

Just as suddenly as it formed, the massive dust devil POPS! A thunderously loud explosion overhead breaks up the dust storm, slamming all the people on site to the ground, flat on their backs, with such force that they are all knocked unconscious...

End of Act I

Our players and characters are...

Hildegard 'Hildy' Dunkirk, Mrs. - Reporter, The Chicago Eagle - Chicago, IL (played by Melinda S.)

A spunky, good girl with a heart of gold and a bank account to match, Hildy Dunkirik has the epitome of both a 'high society debutante' and a spirited, big city reporter. 

'Roughing it' in the rural wastelands of depression era Oklahoma, she nonetheless strives to tell the honest, Human side of the the Dust Bowl's situation. 

Archibald 'Archie' Dunkirk, Mr. - Photographer/Photojournalist, The Chicago Eagle - Chicago, IL (played by Stephen H.)

Likewise born with a silver spoon in his mouth (but one not as shiny as Hildy's), Archie Dunkirk has been given the opportunity to pursue his interest in photography. With a brave demeanor and a talented eye, Archie has managed to become well known and respected back in Chicago for his gripping photos that powerfully depict the plight of the common folk.

Archie is bit of a klutz with any machinery or equipment other than his trusty camera and photography gear. Nobody's perfect.

Simon 'Albuquerque One-String' Simon - Blues/Jazz Musician - Albuquerque, NM (played by Carl E.)

Born and raised in Albuquerque, NM, Simon Simon (Momma was a good woman but none too creative) grew up poor and largely uneducated. A self-taught guitarist with a second hand guitar, One-String Simon made money doing odd jobs and playing in dive cafes and on the street. 

One day, Albuquerque received a letter from a famous musician in St. Louis asking him to join his band for a spell with the possibility of hiring Simon full time. The musician had heard Albuquerque play while passing through One-String's home town. The fellow was the leader of a blues band of some notoriety and Albuquerque knew this was the opportunity of a life time. 

Packing up all he had (which was basically his hat, his guitar, and his one good suit), Simon alternated between bus, train, and hitchhiking to get where he needed to go.

Milton Stokes - Deputy Sheriff - Oklahoma City, OK (played by Mark O.)

An Oklahoma native and life long resident, Milton Stokes is an honest man doing an honest job for honest folks. He can't stomach it when folks in need go without. That's why he does what he does I reckon.

Stokes native status means he knows the people around these parts like he knows his own shadow. He's on a first name basis with all the bus drivers, the milkmen, the mailmen, the farmers, and the old lady who runs the motor lodge up around Sand Creek way. 

When strange things start happening around the area, rest assured Deputy Stokes is on the case.

***

A storm, dead car batteries, a midnight rescue by a bus driver and his charges, an out of the way motor lodge, strange radio signals, and a series of lights in the sky later, and this eclectic group of strangers seem to have uncovered a mystery that grows stranger and stranger as the night wears on. The Dust Bowl is empty of water, but it might very possibly be full of...something out of this world.

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Barking Alien

Mystery Incorporated

A large number of RPG subjects have been on my mind lately. Not the least of which is my 'What Other GMs Do Wrong' series. However, before I address anything else, I wanted to say a little more about mysteries in RPGs.

Some additional thoughts came to me after a Superhero game I participated in this past Friday night. This was a game in which an opening investigation was the key to starting each of the mini-adventures that made up our session, and yet that proved the most difficult element to incorporate into the various scenarios.

In order to facilitate a better understanding of what I am talking about, I am going to use the specific example of the aforementioned Superhero game. While that may be the context, it should be noted that what I am discussing here can apply to practically any game of any genre.

***

 

A friend of mine runs a homebrew Superhero RPG, very rules-lite and narrative, set in either the Marvel or DC universe. We switch off. One week we're the Justice League of America facing off against Amazo in downtown Metropolis, the next we're the X-Men trying to prevent Sentinels from destroying Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

 

The typical format is to have four or five short missions during our roughly 4 to 4 1/2 hour sessions.

 

This past Friday, the theme was Batman: The Brave and The Bold.

 

 



We mutually agreed during the first adventure that the style and tone of our game was actually a cross between the Batman: The Brave and The Bold animated series (especially its more surprisingly serious episodes) and the first Batman: The Animated Series show. 

 

Now, the way each mini-adventure began, the GM would describe some situation going on, and before long, wouldn't you know it, it would attract the attention of Batman, Robin, Batgirl or all three.

 

The fellow playing Batman would then attempt to use the Batcomputer, his own knowledge and experience with Gotham's criminal element, his contacts with Commissioner Gordon or what-have-you, to figure out what was happening.

 

Translation: He would ask the GM a load of questions.

 

The GM would answer the questions, though very often in a very vague way. Most of the time, after Batman's initial investigation, it would be no clearer as to who, or what, was behind the situation than it was before doing his detective work.

 

The reason for this was two-fold (later explained by both the GM and Batman's Player in our post-game discussion):

 

From The GM's side:

 

First and foremost, he felt it was hard to run a true mystery in an hour, and also include a good comic book/animated series style fight and a guest star.

 

Second, the GM felt that stylistically, Batman would do more footwork in the thematic 'era' we were playing in. Yes, Batman has a Batcomputer, a communicator/phone to call Robin, Batgirl or Alfred back at the Batcave, and a remote control for the Batmobile. At the same time, Batman still looks at things with a magnifying glass, or comparable device. He takes samples while at the crime scene. He punches thugs and they let something slip.

 

He doesn't use the the Batcomputer, and the Internet, to just Google the answers.

 

 

From The Player's side:

 

I was very impressed when my friend said, "I'm playing Batman tonight, but I'm not Batman."

 

He admitted that he doesn't have that level of deductive reasoning. Yet, I ask you, who does? Batman is ridiculously astute. Almost superhumanly good at solving riddles, and puzzles of a variety of types. He is a character written to outwit the craftiest of criminal minds. That has little to no baring on a player playing him being able to discern what a GM running the Riddler, or Two-Face is thinking.

 

So was this an impossible experiment? Can running mysteries simply not be accomplished in RPGs? Well, as with my last post on the subject, I don't think it's impossible at all. I think it's tricky, and I think we need to alter how we think of RPG mysteries in the first place.

 

***

 

Remember that the point of a mystery in an RPG, especially a mystery that leads you to the rest of the adventure, is to have it solved. What I mean by that is, if you, the GM, create an unsolvable mystery, be content in spending the next few hours in a room full of people who are either frustrated, or bored, or both. If you're cool with that, we're done here. Go play a video game.

 

If on the other hand you get where I am coming from, keep reading.

 

In essence you are trying to design a solvable mystery. A challenging one, but a solvable one. You want a mystery that gets the players thinking. Not necessarily thinking exactly what you are thinking, but just thinking.

 

So let's say you are looking to use Catwoman in an adventure. You are thinking maybe she has a partner these days, a younger cat-themed sidekick like Robin is to Batman. You mention a series of crimes, all thefts of cat-oriented items, but some of the burglaries occur at the same time in two different parts of town.

 

You've planned out the scenario, and even a bunch of clues to indicate it might be Catwoman and an accomplice.

 

After a brief but thorough investigation involving talking to museum and jewelry store staff, checking the Batcomputer, etc., the PCs are convinced that the culprit is...not Catwoman. The idea of a partner of hers doesn't even come up. No, it's obviously someone trying to frame Catwoman! 

 

 Obviously!

 

 

 

You, the GM, have a problem. You prepped for Catwoman and Kittengirl (or whomever). You have their stats. You know where they're hiding out, and who their thug/henchmen are. The clues you gave, and the answers to the questions you were asked, should have told them it was Catwoman and Kittengirl. ARGH! What are you going to do?!

They are basically three ways to handle this.

1) Tell the players that they are idiots, that it's Catwoman and a sidekick named Kittengirl, and move on.

Not my favorite choice.

2) Continue throwing clues and hints at them until they change their minds about it being an impostor trying to make Catwoman look bad.

That could take a while. It may also never happen. Most players, once locked onto an idea, find it very hard to shake it.

3) Make them, the players/PCs, prove it. Have them explain why they think this is a set-up. Have them go over the clues and the testimony of any witnesses. Let them explain who they think is behind it, and what the team should do about it. If their argument is plausible, go with their idea.

This is by far my favorite approach.

It helps if you can do a decent bit of acting. Appear amazed that 'they figured it out'.

Better yet, follow their lead and perhaps change or add one element to show they were close but not perfectly correct. For example, maybe they thought that the Penguin was behind it all, but in reality the Penguin wasn't working alone. Perhaps he had help from Black Mask, or someone else.

Now here's the best part; Have Catwoman show up anyway, investigating who it is that's trying to frame her and make her look bad! You were preparing to use Catwoman as a character in tonight's game.

Don't stymie the game waiting for, or trying to enforce, the 'correct' answer. That way is folly my friends.

This may seem like something of a repeat of what I said in my last post, and it is to some extent, but this is a little different.

If I can leave you with one piece of advice, one useful thing to take away from this post so that you can better incorporate mysteries into your games, it's this:

Either let your players and their PCs help create the mystery or make the mystery something flexible that you can adjust and adapt as the PCs do their detective work. The ultimate goal of a mystery in a game is to have it solved. If that is not happening, look at why.


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Barking Alien


On a sad note...

Casey Kasem, radio disc jockey, actor, and the voice of numerous animated characters of my youth, has passed away. He was 81.

Keep your feet on the ground, and keep reaching for the stars.

RIP.