[PF]building and running a mystery

[genesaika]

In my campaign I am looking at having my players hunt through a city looking for the cause of some disappearances. I've never run or made a mystery and find myself rather lost on how to do it.

Any suggestions on how it should be run or how to build it?

[Studoku]

The rule I always see quoted here is the three clues rule. Specifically, if it's vital that the players find out a piece of info, make sure there are at least three ways of them finding it. If the entire investigation hinges on one clue, the party will miss it and will be left with nowhere to go.

Since this is D&D 3.5, bear in mind the amount of divination your players have access to. Speak with dead has ruined many murder mysteries. That said, divinations can be countered or, if you're feeling particularly devious, used to mislead players. What do they have available?

[00dlez]

A storyboard can be very helpful. Once you have a series of clues, events, and the conclusion, go back through and throw in some cold trails, false clues, etc.

Always remember though, never withhold important information from the party. Consider this scenario:
The Party needs to find the Princess' braclet on some street thugs in order to track her back to the thugs hideout. After beating the thugs, who were using only modest weapons and armor, the PCs don't bother to search them down and instead decide to chase the thug that ran off. Or they rogue botches a search check and doesn't find the thugs hidden pocket... Now how are they supposed to make the connection?

It's one thing to make the PCs work for their information, but if there is a piece of the puzzle that is absolutely critical, then, at least IMHO, you can never withhold it and expect the PCs to double back for it.

--

Now that I think of it, you might also want to watch a few Law and Order episodes to study how their story progresses, how they introduce red herrings and twists, etc

[Emperor Tippy]

What level?

[genesaika]

The rule I always see quoted here is the three clues rule. Specifically, if it's vital that the players find out a piece of info, make sure there are at least three ways of them finding it. If the entire investigation hinges on one clue, the party will miss it and will be left with nowhere to go.

Since this is D&D 3.5, bear in mind the amount of divination your players have access to. Speak with dead has ruined many murder mysteries. That said, divinations can be countered or, if you're feeling particularly devious, used to mislead players. What do they have available?

Well it's pathfinder and pretty low level ( probably between 6 and 7 when this happens) so I'm not terribly worried by divination spells, though I'll definitely double check their spells to be sure.

Sorry about not mentioning it was pathfinder, I figured it wouldn't matter too much.