Solving Mysteries in Games
In reply to GreenTongue (msg # 12):
Mysteries in my games tend to have a few notes sections. People of interest, I usually call this Icons or NPCs or STPCs. Then I have one on places. A next one on esoteric notes. For instance; I GM a nine group game IRL on Table-top simulator (it uses cards for conflict resolution and is much faster paced); and one of the big mysteries is something I call Numera, and Mantles. In short they are mythic (not card rarity persay) tranferrable traits and positions into the society. They are so powerful they make one an undeniable god. Well, they require collecting pieces, or hunting certain sites for certain icons. All this together allows the players to ignore the quests, as they desire, or as a few groups are doing, labor over researching these Numera and Mantles. One has gotten a few of the Mantles, and one Numera. They felt ultimately vindicated having worked for RL months researching, fighting, dying (and having to face the state of being shade seeking reincarnation) to have such very potent magic, and also access to very plot sensitive information. In this case, for the mysteries sake, this main group, the Sun, know the Timelord's Identity, they know secret passages between worlds, they know how to predict omens with precise detail, rather than vague and mostly worthless prophecy.
I also have clue cards in their decks. All the cards have comments, but some contain secret information. The player simply has to take the time to read them. This also creates an economy of lore that the players feel invested into learning. One minor problem was going from being a shade to life again. A player read the card's description, saw the "code word" and said it, and then gained access to place they could soulbind their lifeforce to, but would have to soulbind again if they died and wanted to secure their soul again.
As far as framing. This is often character centeric, not plot centeric, but yes, I'm doing this in my big 9 group TTMMORPG. I have a few characters that are framed. A few loyalists that believe it, and few that don't. It isn't, and I must tress this, it isn't a plot point. The plot is something far more engaging, as in an imperative action "protect, destroy, kill, rescue" A criminal pursuit/profile/trial is a spectacle and one I do sparingly and even then only when players are told "there is a trial" and they want to watch. I make sure the trial has the ability to be interrupted, but there is penalty, and I run off general script, to keep clues and information very crisp and clean. Character cenetric framing comes out naturally. An innocent man executed for crime he didn't commit doesn't end the game, it enhances it, even if for tragedy. A framed job never impedes or paces the story. Again though, my mysteries are different. It's character point, the elimination is tangential, relevant, but tangential to the plot. It's not the main objective, or even side objective necessary. IT is never center stage.
In the framing of few good people, anmd masquerading of villains, I have at least a dozen people have the pieces necessary to solve it, by simply asking them the right questions, or even better giving them the right prompting. "Do you know who Droy is?" "Oh yes...he a died a horr-..." "He's not dead Count Valune" "What?! My gods! There's still time!" and then such kind of prompts, that over ten people can trigger a dialogue. Sometimes it's bread crumbs, sometimes it's learning or getting lucky to find the whole loaf. After all, if a mystery is a loose floor tile, then a certain character is the perfect tool to fix that tile. I just don't stop with a single one being available. I also make sure the players have more than sufficient tolls within their own repertoire. In one group, we have loremaster of sorts. In another it's all good old boys soldiers. The latter mostly want to out source investigation, and so frequently gossip and chat with people they meet. The former is very much a secretive one, and what she learns is by observation. She has a master infiltrator that head a spy's and assassin's guild.
I think mysteries, as whole, are better as spectator stories. If players like that, they Won't be as engaged. If they are engaged, they'll not just want to follow clues, they'll want something more pressing to DO. Finding a serial killer is okay. Having to save victims, or set up traps, or have a car chase appropriate to the genre, I think is more engaging. Even in deep intrigue, with next to no action in the genre, having the players do things like recruit intelligence "You have $2,000. You might hire private investigator to help. You can buy a computer to access the dark web and have relay to avoid detection. Or you can buy grade A survellence equipment to assign to a crime scene to see if the culprit returns" adjust these fore genre, but keep in mind the players have options, they have agency, they have tools to accelerate success in avenues they want. In the first case, they have a strict time saving strategy. The P.I. can now work while they sleep, socialize, or build something. The computer might let them go rogue, even deep undercover and try to meet shady people while maintaining anonymity. In FUBAR worst case, if "caught" they have their relay, which would have a hangman switch to detonate if proximity is breeched; basically ensuring even with the most state of the art tracking against the ToR and astronomically skilled task force, it's still a disposable ID. In the last case, they save time but also have objective record. Sure, they have spend time to watch it, or it's no good, but they can also PROVE in court that the culprit did what was on the recording. Eventually the group may be able to hire the PI just to watch the survellence. So there's synergy.
In any RPG, the Storyteller or GM or DM, ideally should have this idea in mind. Create a barrier, and then layer the field with tools to circumvent, destroy or control/occupy said barrier. Unless failure is a desired list of outcomes, you're only going to stall something you want to see happen. It's a case of gambling, and the odds are against you. The barrier should be malleable. Options are good. Too many might be bad, but more is usually better. I personally would find it boring if all I was doing was finding a murderer, and that WAS the plot. It's what I call spectator activity. In that case You're following the GM's clues like a GPS, you're bound to the road, and just taking the directions, in a rather often tedious journey. These make better subplots, after the players are deeply invested into characters and the world.
That's my last advice. Best of luck! You (anyone really) can Rmail me if you want a clarification. Otherwise, I should get off CC, I have my own games to work on. ;) Cheers!