Detective stories are often hard to capture in a role playing session. There are often times when a system will rely on characters having select specialized skills to gather the specific information needed, and lacking those skills can cause the game to grind to a halt.
This is not a unique
feature of detective games mind you. I remember when Green Ronin brought
Warhammer FRPG back. One of their first ‘Adventure Paths’ involved some
wilderness exploration that required characters to have some wilderness or
tracking skills and well, things wouldn’t move forward without those skills. It’s
been a while so bear with me if I’m not remembering some 10+ year old adventure
with 100% accuracy.
Some products and
systems, like the Gumshoe system, try to move beyond such limitations by always
allowing the players to move forward in the mystery, allowing the other parts
of the game to take the crunch if you will.
For example, I’ve
mentioned Lorefinder before. It’s got all the crunch of Pathfinder but the
investigative components are specialized into the Gumshoe style which allows
potentially more satisfying results than just “make a skill check.” Mind you
the more skilled such individuals are, the more information they can unlock
with their skills.
But in dealing with role
playing games, there are many facets that should be considered and utilized
when possible. When of the things that Lindsey Davis does, is brings excellent
description to the reader. The first person narrations of Falco, have the detective
meet an Oracle who Falco describes in the following flowery manner:
“She looked about sixty.
Her straight dark gown hung from two small silver niello shoulder-broaches, so
her arms were bare, thought hidden in spare folds of the material. Her hair was
rather thin, mostly black yet with broad silver streaks. Her face lacked
professional mystique, except for severely hooded eyes. The eyes were no
special colour. It was the face of any businesswoman in the male world of Rome:
accommodating, yet with an underlying stubborn strength and a trace, faint as
snail tracks, of personal bitterness.”
It’s a great list and
includes age, clothing, hair, eyes, along with a few other characteristics
thrown in.
If this were a role
playing description, other elements, such as any noticeable aura, weapons, or
other strangeness, like say, floating Ioun Stones, would be marked.
Description is the
character’s key to the world. It doesn’t matter how much detail the Game Master
knows if he is unable to relay that information to the players.
Players tend to perk up
on details because they assume that the Game Master is providing them for a
reason. When in combat, it can be vital to know where a pillar is. How many
feet between floors in a three story building. How many skeletons are climbing
out of the graveyard.
The details in
description can provide a lot of depth and information to characters that pay
attention, but know your group. Just because you provide the detail, does not
mean that your group is paying attention.
If your group is one who
loves combat, all of the loving details about the weather, the increased
temperature, the rise in the flu, and other bits that hint at events, are
probably going to go by the wayside.
As a Game Master, you’ll
have to focus on what the player’s are paying attention to. See if they pay
attention to description’s of NPCs. See if they pay attention to rumors. See if
they pay attention to local events and holidays.
Another aspect to look
into when running a detective game, is investigation. The facets that should be
examined include the old standards: Who, What, When, Where, How, and Why.
In a role playing game,
the Who can be easy. In this case, Falco
is hired before a murder, to insure that no murder takes place! Serverina is a
three time widower former slave making her world in the ancient Roman world.
Those who've hired Falco want to insure that their friend, ally, and business
patron, doesn't fall to her.
To know about Serverina,
Falco goes through learning about how the past husbands died. Learning about
how Serverina used to live. Learning about those who've hired him, just in case
they themselves are not always what they seem.
This provides numerous
character hooks and builds the whole of Rome in that it allows many characters
to enter the realm of possible murderers, especially when Servenia’s husband to
be dies BEFORE the wedding. If she was a gold digger as feared, then there are
other suspects at play.
In addition to the
investigation, a role playing game can have other elements. One of the fun
things about gaming, are the rewards. In traditional games like Dungeons and
Dragons, this is usually a more powerful magic item. Some things might included
non-traditional rewards like titles or land.
In this novel, Falco is
awarded with a turbot.
A turbot in this time, is
a fish of royal importance. When caught it was often given to the Imperial
House to carry favor. Falco getting one? When he doesn't have the house or
means to properly prepare this giant fish? It borders on comic.
Giving players a reward
that has social status and requires them to work with it to get the full
benefit of that status? It can provide solid entertainment. Are there characters
with skills in music? Get them into a bard college for a special performance
that requires a special instrument.
Are there players who are
master weapon smiths? Have them learn how to craft exotic weapons, but have to
provide the materials and space to the trainers who will teach them.
With a little give and
take in the reward, the reward itself becomes part of the story.
One of the things that
players can learn, is a deeper history of their surroundings. For example,
consider this exchange between Falco and Severina.
“After a moment Severina
lifted her right hand, showing the cheap ring with a crudely etched Venus and a
small blob that was meant to be Cupid nestling her knee. ‘Now copper-‘ she
dlcared obscurely, ‘that’s for eternity!’
‘Eternity comes cheap!
Did you know, copper is named for the mountains of Cyprus, where the oxhide
ingots come from? I collect obscure facts. ‘And Cyprus is the birthplace of
Venus, so that’s why copper is the metal of Love-‘
These bits of historical information
may provide interesting tidbits of trivia to have, or may be important clues to
something coming down the pipeline.
Lastly, I would say that
detective stories, especially those set in a large city like Rome, benefit from
set pieces. Having a place that the characters can use as a compass, to know
where they’re at, that is a local spot that knows what’s going on around that
particular location.
For instance..
‘Before I stalked out the
gold-digger, I wanted to explore the Hortensius menage. People tell you more
than they think by where they live and the questions they ask; their neighbors
can be even franker. Now I had gained a general impression, the sweetmeat stall
where I had been given directions earlier was ripe for a return visit.
‘When I got there a hen
who liked the high life was pecking up crumbs. The place itself was just a
shack opposite a stone pine. It had a fold-down counter and a fold-up awning in
front, with a small oven tucked away behind. The accommodation in between was
so scanty that the stallholder spent a lot of his time sitting on a stool in
the shade of the pine tree on the other side of the road, playing Soldiers
against himself. When a customer turned up he left you long enough to get
excited over his produce, then sauntered across.
‘The freeholders of the
Pincian discouraged shops: but they liked their little luxuries. I could see
why they let this cakeman park on their hill. What his emporium lacked
architecturally was made up for by his bravura edibles.
‘The centerpiece was an
immense platter where huge whole figs were sunk to the shoulder in a sticky bed
of honey. Around this circular dish were tantalizing dainties set out in whorls
and spirals, with a few removed here and there (so no one need feel reluctant
to disturb the display). There were dates stuffed with whole almonds the warm
colour of ivory, and others filled with intriguing pastes in pastel shades;
crisp pastries, bent into crescents on rectangles which were layered with
oozing fruits and sifted with cinnamon dust; fresh damsons, quinces and peeled
pears in a candied glaze; pale custards sprinkled with nutmeg, some plain and
others cut to show how they were baked on a base of elderberries or rosehips.
On a shelf at one side of the stall stood pots of honey, labelled from Hymettus
and Hybla, or whole honeycombs if you wanted to take someone a more dramatic
party gift. Opposite , dark slabs of African must cake drowsed beside other
confections which the stallholder had made himself from wheat flour soaked in milk,
piercing them with a skewer and drenching them with honey before adding
decorative chopped filberts.
Lindsey Davis makes
ancient Rome much more interesting then just a place where detective stories
happen, and by engaging the players on multiple levels, you can do the same for
your own campaigns.
If you enjoyed the
ramblings, please +1, share, or comment. Talk about unusual rewards and what
you’re players did with them. Speak of skills rarely used save for those
special occasions.
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