Murder Mystery One-Shot

[MakChavez8]

Hello all! It's my first time ever DMing and I am writing a murder mystery one-shot for 6 people (I know, it's a lot)! I currently have writers block and was looking for some help with my story. Here's what I got so far:

BACKGROUND
The great wizard, Tiberius, is celebrating his 100th Birthday, and has invited the entire party to his mansion to celebrate!

OVERVIEW
The adventurers receive invitations to Tiberius’s party and then must make their way to the party’s address. Once there, they find a portal, activated by their invitations, and are whisked away to Tiberius’s pocket dimension and the birthday party. After mingling with the guests, a scream is heard coming from Anabella, and the party goes to investigate. Once there, it is discovered that Tiberius is dead.

PLACES
o Parlor
o Bedroom
o Garden
o Kitchen
o Hidden Study

NON-PLAYER CHARACTERS
o Vexx Killian – partner to Tiberius, gifted necromancer, appears to be most guilty
o Theopert Brouset – apprentice to Tiberius, clumsy and shy, incredible intelligence
o Anabella Loehr – Tiberius’s girlfriend, though she appears to be having an affair with Vexx, sweet and bubbly personality
o Ms. Potter (Phoebe Potter) – Crochety and mean maid, seems to dislike people almost as much as she dislikes messy floors

I want the big plot-twist to be the Tiberius faked his own murder. Whether it was to make Vexx look guilty, or to make the entire party look guilty, and have all the NPCs in on it (was thinking of giving each PC some motive for the murder, and have the reason Tiberius faked his own murder basically to just scare the hell out of them). Let me know if there's any advice you have for me! Thanks!

[Spiritchaser]

When I did a murder mystery I did it as the first adventure, with a campaign to follow if they liked it. I had each player roll up a character and quickly sketch out multiple backgrounds, at least one of which had to be “good” and at least one had to be “evil”. I did a bit of extra legwork to try and minimize their work. I had the PCs recover from being poisoned by a rare Yuan Ti concoction that wiped out their memories for a while.

They awoke at a table set for a hearty meal of poisoned food, with one dead body on the floor.

They had to figure out who they were, and who the man on the floor was, and who killed him.

And then pirates attacked.

By having some information locked in memories that unlocked at intervals I figured I could at least count on the PCs staying close to the plot. It kind of worked.

Do not underestimate the PCs ability to ignore hints that you think are obvious and obsess about details that you had not intended to have any weight.

Wherever possible just go with it

[Laserlight]

Do not underestimate the PCs ability to ignore hints that you think are obvious and obsess about details that you had not intended to have any weight.

Quoted for truth. OMG so much truth.

If I were running a murder mystery, I might just plant a bunch of clues and see what the players come up with. If they work out a clever theory, go along with that as being what actually happened. Then throw in your twist and perhaps a boss fight.