3 Approaches to Mysteries

In this episode of Hello Adventurers, hosts Jason Portizo, Joe McCall, and Jim Crocker discuss strategies for running mystery campaigns in Dungeons and Dragons. They tackle the challenges posed by D&D's pass-fail system for whodunits and explore three main approaches for game masters to construct engaging mysteries: 'The Pool of Clues' method, involving a fixed set of suspects and clues without pre-determining the culprit; 'The Emergent Solution', which encourages players to come up with their own solutions based on clues given, making the game highly interactive and player-driven; and 'Core Clues, Fixed Solution', a more traditional approach where the DM decides on the outcome but allows the players to discover it through gathering clues.

The episode also touches on considerations for magic and divination in mystery settings, the importance of balancing clue distribution and engaging players in the investigative process, and navigating the challenges of high-level play where characters have access to complex problem-solving resources. The hosts share resources and pre-made games that incorporate mystery elements effectively, inviting listeners to engage further by sharing their mystery game experiences.

Tell us about your favorite mysteries [e-mail] or send us a voicemail to helloadventurerspodcast.com/voice