Mysteries (was Re: [HoE] Response to Steve)

["Steve Crow" <crow_steve@hotmail.com>]

>I think the problem here may be our differing views on what constitutes a
>"mystery."
>

[Types 1 and 2 deleted}

>And finally there are the more...cerebral mysteries, of the "Who shot Joe
>the Caravan driver?"  Clues are often gathered via skill rolls, but the
>players must then decipher them.
>
>


I'm sorry, I wasn't very clear there.  Not much you can do about the first, 
and my players are okay with the second mystery type.  However, the third 
type of "mystery" tends to be very frustrating.  I'm not a mystery writer.  
They're not big mystery fans (a couple of them actively hate such things).

And even if you write the greatest mystery in the world, there's no 
guarantee that your players will "get it."  Conan Doyle never found much 
market for Sherlock Holmes stories where the Great Detective never figured 
the stuff out, and someone had to show up and explain it to him at the end.  
:)

I either find myself dumbing the stuff down to Scooby Doo type levels (which 
isn't particular satisfying) or resorting to the second mystery-type.  I 
haven't had any fearmonger-type adventures yet, but if I did, I suspect I'd 
go the type-2 route.

This is a problem I've noticed over the course of 20+ years as a GM, so I 
don't think it's isolated to just my current group of players, or my poor 
skills as a GM.  I've tried all kinds of type-3 mysteries over the years, 
and they ultimately don't prove very satisfying for all concerned.  I've 
gotten lucky once every couple years, and I'll no doubt give it a shot or 
two again.  But other folks must have better luck at it than I do, or better 
mystery-solvers than I game with.

---

Steve Crow

"Worm Can Opener Extraordinare"

Check out my website at:  http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/4991/


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