Need help tipping players off to cache.

[Crow]

I want the players to stumble onto a clue to a hidden cache of treasure, but I don't want to make it too obvious.

The cache is going to be buried in a local cemetary. There will be a headstone with a name and date of birth/death, but the body will have been moved/replaced (or never have been there at all).

I have thought about placing a piece of parchment with the name and years (of birth and death) on it, but I was afraid this would be too obvious. Having just the name, I think would be too difficult. Does anybody have some decent ideas I can steal for this?

[vanyell]

what I'd do is have the players find the key to the cache on a level appropriate undead (leading them to a graveyard, if your players are anything like mine) if they don't make the connection, you can have one of your NPC's in the town closest to the graveyard try to scare a kid straight with a story about the evil "jimbo the ghoul/zombie/lich". also the ground around the right grave should be slightly disturbed.

at least that's how I'd do it

[daggaz]

Have them overhear two rough look men arguing, and they pick up this tid-bit:

"I told you! I told you the cemetary! Now your half!"

"Arch Stanton... its buried with Arch Stanton."

Of course, its buried next to Arch Stanton, and the PCs will have to defeat or devert the two men to get the treasure. If they go in first, the men get the drop on them, and all they get to do is dig.

(cookies to whoever gets this, but its pretty easy if you ask me :smallcool:)

[Crow]

Have them overhear two rough look men arguing, and they pick up this tid-bit:

"I told you! I told you the cemetary! Now your half!"

"Arch Stanton... its buried with Arch Stanton."

Of course, its buried next to Arch Stanton, and the PCs will have to defeat or devert the two men to get the treasure. If they go in first, the men get the drop on them, and all they get to do is dig.

(cookies to whoever gets this, but its pretty easy if you ask me :smallcool:)

I'm going to write the name on the back of this rock...

[daggaz]

Yeah.. the rock is better. Now all they have to do is kill the dual-wand-wielding-gish who ALWAYS wins initiative. Then they can get the name. :smallbiggrin:

[crimson77]

Does anybody have some decent ideas I can steal for this?

Have the name and date be on a piece of paper in code or a cipher. Look up various cipher and choose the one you think will work the best. I used Bacon's cipher in my campaign and it took the party a while to figure it out. I allowed use of the internet for them to figure it out since it was PBP. In a table top game, the start to the quest would be figuring out the key word or letter to breaking the cipher. Maybe they have to steal a book from the King's library or if the cipher is in runes (Look at masonic cipher) they have to travel to the ruins in the south to learn the code that is printed under the waterfall.

I would suggest having your parchment paper's message be in all letters (e.g., John Smith Born Winter one thousand twenty four Died one thousand sixty seven) which will allow you to have a longer cipher.

If you are looking for something simple. Just a simple letter replacement cipher will also work.

[xPANCAKEx]

depends how sharp your players are:

on the obvious end of the scale:
have one headstone stand out from the rest

on the less obvious
have the headstone of the plot/morsoleum in question give a difficult riddle. Its "cryptic" you see... *groan of the undead*