What no one tells you about MYSTERY ADVENTURES in D&D

Avoid these D&D mystery adventure MISTAKES like the plague!
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Discover how to master the art of running mystery adventures in Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop roleplaying games with tips to engage your players and enhance their experience. This video explores the secrets to crafting immersive investigations, building tension, and keeping your players hooked from start to finish. Whether you're a seasoned Game Master or new to TTRPG mysteries, learn how to avoid common pitfalls and design unforgettable adventures. With nearly 30 years of DM experience, I’ll show you how to create dynamic gameplay that balances exploration, intrigue, and player agency. Watch now to level up your mystery adventures and make every game session a hit!
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[@theDMLair]

👉 A Time Traveler’s Guide to Dinosaur Hunting | A collection of bonkers one-shots, colossal monsters, brutal weapons, primordial spells, and amazing player options for D&D 5e. www.kickstarter.com/projects/splatteredink/a-time-travelers-guide-to-dinosaur-hunting?ref=7wan88

[@dantemoose420]

@@theDMLair they hit their goal 5x over in less than an hour; just goes to show how badly we all wanted to play our own versions of A Sound of Thunder

[@ChrisHarperBooks]

...time travel *and* dinosaurs, why don't they just take my whole wallet already and just be done with it?!

[@MJ-jd7rs]

The intro: DM: "This happens every time we run a mystery adventure!" The Logical solultion: "Then stop running mystery adventures, obviously it's not the group's forte and they don't seem to enjoy them!"

[@theDMLair]

very true

[@LeonardAndHisBiscuit]

I tried running a- hate to brag, but- masterfully designed murder mystery with a group of obvious suspects to keep track of, a series of clues they could find through basic exploration, and open enough that I could make up new clues as the story progresses or the players do something I'm not expecting. All done with the wrong group, they didn't take any bites or follow up on any leads, just wanted me to tell them where to go next. It was so demoralizing.

[@shaclown7721]

The intro IMMEDIATELY brought back 'nam flashbacks to the Princes of the Apocalypse game i was part of. The "clues" the module scarcely gives out, seem to have nothing in common, which lead to the game duing before we got to any of the actual good parts..

[@procrastinatinggamer]

There's a really good resource for running murder-mysteries in tabletop RPGs - its advice works in any RPG ruleset but it's not a DnD book. It's an old adventure for Traveller called *Murder on Arcturus Station*, written by J. Andrew Keith and first published back in 1983. It works more as a toolbox for a mystery because, while the victim is set in stone, the murderer and how they did it is left up to the GM to decide. The biggest bit of advice it gives is to start planning the mystery not from how the PCs will approach it, but from the perspective of the actual culprit. Think through how they did the crime - where they went, what they used, what evidence did any of that leave behind and how well did they cover their tracks - and work out where all of your suspects and relevant NPCs were throughout not just the crime itself, but also in the lead up to it. If the crime required particular equipment, how and where did they get it and who might've seen them do so? Who in the area would know something that could point to a motive? Was a suspect seen talking to someone in a way that doesn't match up with what everyone knew (like the suspect being unusually familiar with someone who, by all accounts, they'd have never met before)? Murder on Arcturus Station also has a bunch of advice for how certain suspects could react to being questioned. Maybe they'll lie to protect the killer, or who they *think* is the killer. Maybe they try to blackmail the killer and now the party has two murders to investigate. Maybe they just don't like being interrogated so will be belligerent to the investigators even if they're innocent and know nothing of value (this one works particularly well in the adventure - it's a asteroid mining station, there's gonna be at least one old so-and-so who's causing trouble - if you've watched that Amazon show, The Rig, think Lars Hutton seeming to always cause arguments or fights on the titular oil rig). Maybe they're overly helpful but actually know nothing, even trying to insert themselves into the PCs investigation and causing more problems (or actually being more successful and the killer offing them before they can pass that information on to the PCs).

[@tiffanylamb1187]

I so love the Barbarian!! I can be having the worst day and after watching him in a skit, I always feel better.

[@theDMLair]

Awesome, thank you so much!!! :D :D :D

[@worldbigfootcentral3933]

That delusional DM in your thumbnail looks mysteriously like Ginny D.

[@theDMLair]

It's not. Just stock artwork.

[@CarlosLopez-wb2qn]

@@theDMLair sure. "Stock artwork" of DMs is a teal haired young woman with bangs.

[@danieldacosta3329]

thats the bait, she famously ran a mistery at dnd in a castle, but the mistery part was discovered by the players in the first session or something. she talked about it in a video

[@BegravelseinBrussels]

@@theDMLair But surely you also saw that it looked a lot like Ginny D when you chose it for the thumbnail!

[@DrewskiTheRed]

I love that a Mystery adventure can be something small, add it to travel to spice things up. As always, Thank you

[@Hot_Dice]

In terms of fingerprints, you’re just slightly off phrase. Every finger print found on an object doesn’t mean they were left during the crime. It could have been the butler who picks it up to clean it every other Thursday.

[@jennifermizutani6230]

Also do they have the knowledge to understand that fingerprints are unique?

[@michaelstengle5118]

Alternately, the fingerprints are legit but reveal the fact that multiple people are in fact the same person using multiple disguises.

[@thehobbyist7275]

I've done something similar. A murder took place, and the person who reported the crime had their fingerprints all over it. Turns out to their dismay(my party that is), that the knife was planted elsewhere to frame the person for committing the crime. That person just so happened to pick it up because they were horrified and confused as to where a bloody knife came from and innocently picked it up.

[@Marcus-ki1en]

The fingerprint is one of many clues, the players have the crime print, but not the prints of the suspects. Once they identify the suspects, the print can help eliminate suspects (or can it ???)

[@kevindaniel1337]

Additionally, they're could be multiple sets of prints. This is one of the spots to avoid red herrings, one of the sets should be the villain. Having none of the prints be the villain is misleading.

[@xriotte]

Native french speaker here: you could pronouce Hercule Poirot by saying Erkul Poaro. i'm running a campaign in 5e with a few mysteries.and this video is very interesting. So thanks !

[@razzlebazzle420]

But he's a Belgian!

[@xriotte]

@razzlebazzle420 sure he is. But also a french speaker like 41% of the Belgians.

[@razzlebazzle420]

@xriotte I know, that was the joke. They get super offended when you ask if they're french, though. I've met french speaking Algerians and Moroccans who take less offence! Poirot was the worst for it though.

[@xriotte]

@@razzlebazzle420 ahah you got me :). That's absolutely true.

[@JohnSpinhirne]

I just started playing DND again, along with three friends, after all of us being gone for the game for over 20+ years. I am now running an online game with them where I am just starting to include the mystery components, this video gave me some great tools to use. Thank you for all your videos that help me get us all back to a game we all love, going from 2E to 5E has been interesting and your videos have helped.

[@PanzerYeena]

Without a precision instrument, you're not gonna match fingerprints to the point of a single person. However, because there are multiple general shapes of fingerprints (wave, spiral, etc.) that you can see with the naked eye, you could use it to eliminate people who don't match that. Or people who couldn't leave a fingerprint in the first place, like any member of a species that physically doesn't have fingerprints.

[@richardgilson4704]

Shapechangers really make finger prints less definitive evidence just need to follow up with throwing doubt or an air tight alibi for the npc's whom''s prints match to start the players down that path.

[@tlamby1213]

Nice plug. Very seamless. And as I’m writing this the wizard calls it out 😂

[@theDMLair]

The wizard is quite astute. :)

[@RH-oy4hp]

I hope this channel never dies. I love you, in a strictly platonic way. 🎉

[@theDMLair]

Thanks!!! :D

[@j.m.verlaat9449]

I love videos on mystery quests like these because it always brings me back to the first one I wrote where I did almost everything wrong except the timer, after blowing two sessions on a single quest it made me realize I was living entirely in my head as the GM and didn’t give the party enough clues, thinking they’d think like me. Good times

[@b0therme]

Very bacon vid.! Love the puppy sighting! I use quantum clues, meaning my players think of a legit clue that I missed, "Are there signs of a struggle?" "Um, yes now that you're looking for it, it seems that someone has tried to cover it up." From our players perspective, every adventure is a mystery at least at the beginning making this vid. that much more important! I think every campaign I've played in ended up as "Scooby Doo" with swords. Yoinks! Jinkies! Rut row! Bacon!!

[@theDMLair]

thank you!

[@marhawkman303]

This works great when you're not sure what path the players will take in the adventure. Your planning is to layout the building floorplan, then decide, to use a Clue analogy, who did it, how, and in what room. Then just make up whatever fits the story outline as the players do weird random stuff like trying to find a secret passage connecting the Kitchen to the Library. You don't know what room they'll go to first or what they'll do so... writing out scenarios for each room is not necessarily worthwhile as you might compile several pages of notes you never use... and probably won't anticipate every outcome. BUT... you need a clear framework to work from.

[@b0therme]

@marhawkman303 Bacon.

[@storytime7408]

another excellent info video. This is why I keep coming back. I think the fact that some things were said multiple times is because this could have been a 13-15 item list. Still good tho. Thanks for doing what you do. And I literally laughed out loud when the barbarian started to plug the sponsor.

[@theDMLair]

I blame my script writer.

[@LordOz3]

Ran a mystery not long ago, and I expected the players to lean heavier on skill rolls. It quickly became obvious they wanted to tackle it through RP, so that's what I did, ditching almost all skill rolls, and they quickly became more invested in solving it.

[@AvatAR42420]

I love mysteries in D&D, particularly for one shots or mini campaigns. I think something that might be a weak point in my mysteries is I enjoy red herrings that might lead to other smaller mysteries or uncover other related crimes. It is nice to give players a little victory before the big payoff, but it might cheapen the central mystery.

[@GabeTetrault]

I really liked the skit for the product plug. So much more engaging!

[@YawdroGaming]

Excellent advice. I like mysteries as one-shots or short-shots so everyone knows what they are getting into and they can prepare their characters accordingly.

[@singe_malt9609]

Great content. Love the dog! More dog cameos… and bacon is delicious!

[@theDMLair]

Dog + Bacon = Hotdog

[@adventureswithfrodo2721]

Lot of excellent information Did my first mystery, one of the take aways I felt snd you confirmed is knowing yhe players. 3 players were not puzzle solvers. Finally my PC just went bad cop to get the solution. Very good video.😊

[@andras7015]

Dear theDMLair Team can you please add "timers" in the descriptions? Its helping so much to find a part when i want to watch a part later again in the future. Stick to your guidance Number 9! "Not Using a Timer"! Thx for the videos and Tips! 3:25 1. Not Setting Expectations 4:06 2. Having the Wrong Crowd 4:43 3. The Big Pitfall 5:35 4. Not Knowing the Plot 6:44 5. Not Knowing the Player Characters 7:30 6. Not Setting the Tone and Pace 8:25 7. Not Using the Rule of Three 9:40 8. Forcing a Location 10:27 9. Not Using a Timer 11:04 10. Forcing a Linear Solution 12:09 11. Not Splitting the Party 12:52 12. Using Red Herrings 14:15 13. Not Preparing for Failure 15:35 14. Screwing Up Clues 17:36 15. Not Varying Clue Methods 18:39 16. Not Placing Clues Correctly 19:18 17. Not Filling In Gaps 19:49 18. Not Sticking the Landing

[@SkorjOlafsen]

On a fingerprint pointing to 3 people: "it's clearly a human finger-mark, so we have 3 suspects". Fingerprints being unique to individuals is a modern concept, not a medieval one, but in a fantasy setting just knowing the species of a suspect from a footprint or fingerprint could be a nice clue. It's always obvious when the ogre done it. :(

[@HalcyonSerenade]

On the skill check thing, I've so far found success (in the very few mysteries I've run, and with only one table so far!) in presenting _strictly necessary_ information no matter what the result of the skill roll, then adding extra info that indicates stronger evidence depending on how well the roll went. At minimum, they'll always get a clue pointing to another person or location to go investigate; but with additional info, the priority for that "new suspect" may increase dramatically. That way, investigating that clue will always reward them with something useful, and a high character skill _also_ feels rewarding via this stronger evidence than can cause investigative priorities to shift. The players don't know which parts I'd only give out from a high skill roll vs which parts I'd give out regardless of the skill check result, so they feel rewarded for checking either way. This is still true if they rolled high on a skill check that's not necessarily relevant to the investigation in question. For example, let's say a player wants to roll Arcana on a mysterious half-empty vial of liquid they found in a suspect's bedroom: they roll high, but couldn't really deduce anything about the substance. That might tell them that it's not really a _potion_ so to speak, but a more mundane herbal concoction. Even though they didn't find out exactly what the substance was from that roll, the information they _did_ get at least tells them that that clue doesn't point to the local alchemist or wizard, so much as it does the herbalist or maybe apothecary. (Obviously, in this specific case, this depends on the players understanding that there even _is_ a difference between arcane potion-making and mundane medicine, but that sort of thing can easily be set up beforehand as they're being introduced to town and get introduced to the two different professions, before they even know it's going to be information that might be relevant to the mystery! Sharp, savvy players will see the foreshadowing for what it is, while players who are just interested in story but not necessarily savvy with story signals will accept it as world-building and _then_ have a fun "ah ha!" moment later)

[@annabarich4712]

Just ran a mystery this past weekend. I was aware of the rule of threes but intentionally ignored creating three suspects because my players tend to laser focus on their first plausible suspect and let confirmation bias fill the gaps. Better to just lean into it rather than risk them focusing on the wrong target. Instead I treated it as if who, how, and why were each separate mysteries, and made sure there were clues for each at each place they investigated.

[@marhawkman303]

Honestly, there's always the chance that a player will mis-understand the plot and choose a character you didn't intend to be a red herring as the designated red herring.

[@procrastinatinggamer]

Kind of feels like the TTRPG equivalent of how Monk and Columbo did things most episodes - where they often showed the audience who the murderer was during the episode's opening (often with the opening scene *being* the murder, or at least a part of it) and so the mystery was less who the culprit was and more how they did it, why they did it, and how Monk/Columbo would prove all that to the authorities. Monk: "He did it. I don't know how he did it, but he did it."

[@BubbleSlaya16]

I was planning on running my first murder mystery session so these tips are very well timed!

[@martinvoncannon6436]

Appropriately timed. I need this.

[@TJF-e5t]

my favorite session ever was a mystery! we solved it pretty quickly but we did some really creative stuff to get there

[@Citizen_J]

I felt that mini rant. This is my first time being DM, and overal its going well. However, my players constantly make plans that arent followed through on, often ignore obvious clues, and at times ive had to have the NPC they travel with, solve the problem. We are running Tomb of Annihilation. Ive dropped massive hints/clues that they need to go to Omu, but they refuse to travel south! Biggest gripe so for? A session ends and they discuss what they want to do next session. I prep around that. 90% of the time, they abandon that plan and my prep is out the window, leaving me to improvise many sessions.

[@homebrewfeverdreams]

@@Citizen_J I would encourage you to hold your players to the plans they set the week before. When you can prepare the game is better. That’s it. Also, if the Party needs to find or do something, like heading South, then make that happen. Don’t give the party 4 plot threads when there is only one that has to happen next.

[@theDMLair]

Yeah, I feel that. Welcome to DMing!!! Some of the most fun you'll ever have IMO.

[@tafua_a]

Sometimes you can put in red herrings by complete accident. I remember running a mystery adventure and the party suspecting the tavern owner for the longest time simply because I roleplayed them weird and didn't give them the "right" reaction.

[@Team_Orchid]

One thing you can do is make it a whodunit for the characters, but make it a howdunit for the players. I ran an Ace Attorney style mystery where the players got to see the villainess gloat in a scene without the characters present. The challenge I presented to them was figuring out how to prove that she was the culprit, and lemmie tell you it was great seeing them strut their stuff.

[@OdinAUT]

You get one like for the video. The doggy gets another 1000 for bringing the cuteness factor to 11.

[@theDMLair]

Thank you! Princess Tragedy is quite cute!!! :D

[@grave2501]

what i like to do with mysteries i play the crime/murder through, a botched skill roll while doing that is a clue left by the culprit. lets say the culprit entered throug a cieling window in the roof, botched roll means he left traces of breaking the lock on the window or disturbed the shindels without noticing it, a failed stealth check means a guard has percieved something that will enter their report giving a clue for the time the thing happened and so on and so forth. makes those clues a bit more natural in my opinion, the other stuff i fully agree with you, and sometimes even i have to admitt it takes me a few times getting the clue smacked in my face to recognize it as a clue as a player ;)

[@edwardkopp1116]

I'll give you a thumbs up just for that intro.👍

[@theDMLair]

Thank you! :D

[@jierdareisa4313]

I do really love ALL the DM Lair videos!!!! ❤

[@theDMLair]

Thank you so much!!! :D

[@erickiernan1578]

I loved running mysteries. I think it's best to reward players especially when they do very good RP. This one time they made a very convincing case of why 1 person was actually the guilty suspect and to be honest it sounded better than what I came up with. So I switched it on the fly. I wouldn't recommend doing that every time because like all adventures I think the possibility of failure should be there but Maybe a decent trick to pull once in a while.

[@nathanthroop1411]

Fine! Take your 'Like' and engagement! (Great video! Now I want to hit my players with a mystery side quest.)

[@theDMLair]

Thank you! :D Yeah, I need to run a mystery now, too!

[@TurboWulfe]

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen I feel is a great template for a D&D mystery, my opinion 😎🤘🍻

[@RyuuKageDesu]

I will put out there, that I often call for checks that nobody invested in. It helps push the idea that everyone is free to make any check that makes sense, and that it can still be a success. If it's important to the story, the check isn't if the party gets the clue, but what else they find along with it.

[@crapphone7744]

I congratulate you on your clickbait, you integrated that magnificently into your video. Don't listen to the detractors on this one you did great. I know you have to do some of this stuff because of KZbin's operating methods and I applaud your handling of it.

[@theDMLair]

my goal is to master clickbait and yet still have a 95% approval rating on my videos. so far, so good.

[@ultimatewitcherfan6677]

Whenever I run mystery adventures for my D&D group, I make sure to have the clues that point directly to the solution appear towards the end of the mystery when the players are close to solving it. I also throw in encounters with the big bad’s minions from time to time to make things more interesting. What I mean by that is having the big bad’s minions attack the players or attempt to lead the players in the wrong direction by planting fake clues or spy on the players to find out where the players are going next so they can get there first and destroy evidence, etc. That sort of thing. If mystery adventures aren’t your players’ forte, that’s ok! You don’t have to run them. Mystery adventures aren’t for everyone and that’s perfectly ok!

[@crapphone7744]

I once played in a War of the roses campaigns. Perjured testimony solved a lot of mysteries. It wasn't the true solution but it was sure politically expedient and darn handy. 😅. Imagine the fun when your player characters indict the wrong person, an innocent NPC gets executed for the murder, and then the player characters find out it was the wrong person. That paladin has a lot of explaining to do...

[@VeronicaWarlock]

I subscribed just now, but my reason for not doing it before was you have too many useful videos and if I saw them all in my feed I would need to watch and process them all, and want to implement them, and then my brain would explode from too many things and I would be overwhelmed. But I can just not do that.

[@simontmn]

Players will create their own red herrings, you don't need to add any!

[@theDMLair]

Amen! :D

[@ThalonRamacorn]

Once I played with the idea to improv a mistery and it went surprisingly well. I know my players will have a LOT of thinking and good ideas, find clues (or attempt to find clues in interesting ways) so I just went with a lot of bullshit they figured out. I reverse engenired their logic and created the mystery on the fly XD and it worked... never done this again since but it was an interesting take on inprovised games.

[@stevebrisendine6143]

Good thoughts here. I'm getting back into DMing (1st Ed, because 1st Ed is the best Ed), and my opening adventure (WIP) is a mystery with combat built in. The idea is a stand-alone that also leaves enough room for a long arc with a BBEG and several recurring NPCs. Rule of 3 is definitely a point to remember. Also, "AIR-kyool pwah-ROH."

[@HenriFaust]

Yes, a fingerprint (or even a DNA sample!) can point to multiple people (e.g. monozygotic twins, genetic chimerism, tissue grafts, burns or other significant trauma to the the finger). It is more likely when the print itself is of low quality. Still, it will greatly narrow the pool of suspects even if it does point to multiple people. The bigger problem is that you can add in fantasy elements like _Polymorph_ and doppelgangers that are far more commonplace.

[@TheSwamper]

"You need to know the mystery." Oh man, yes. I've seen DM's who'll hear someone speculate on who is behind it and they just choose that on the spot. Don't do that!

[@theDMLair]

I'm all for stealing ideas form the players occassionally, but I don't think a MYSTERY is the time to do it.

[@TheSwamper]

@@theDMLair Quite right.

[@EryxUK]

I ran a Call of Cthulhu non-mythos mystery scenarop about 10-12 years ago as part of the campaign I was running. The players came up with a much better plot than the published scenario, so I just copied their idea and ran with it. They were so pleased that they had solved the mystery on their own. My advice, listen to the players. They will come up with much better ideas mid-play than you did writing it up.

[@MarquisLeary34]

I've had that happen to, and yes, when it comes up, "Go with it" is the best advice.

[@lotharrenz4621]

Sometimes the DM just isn't suited to run a mystery. case in point: PCs are part of the princes' body guard and accompany him traveling to his auntie. in the middle of the forest PCs are assaulted, the king is killed. once the assault is over it becomes evident that it was staged, also the king left behind a doppelganger who got killed, and the PCs were made obviously traitors. the rest is a whodunitandwhy. thing was, the way to the solution (ursupators wanted to renew an ancient contract with a demon-like otherworlder for protecting the realm, and the king was supposed to be a first sacrifice) was surprisingly straightforward. also, the fact the PCs were sought after didn't make things different; we just put on disguises and could move freely. additonally the DM made the mistake to make the actual mystery take place in the capital instead of the provincial capital wehre we started, and where everybody knew the PCs. meanwhile we were able to thwart three consecutive attempts at sacrificing that were taking place the same night, without anyone noticing even though we left a lot of collateral behind... in the end it was a big battle, only that we won easily because the demon didn't get what he wanted and in the end turned his back. all the while the DM was complaining that we never tried to investigate closely, like talk to people or whatever. first, we didn't have to; it became very clear what was being planned and we could always catch someone to tell us where to go next. second, the PCs wouldn't have had the time for it, anyway, since most action was spread over two days and nights each. you just can't browse a library full of dusty scrolls when they want to sacrifice another virgin on the other end of the city... now I have to give it to the DM that on one side, he has ADHS, and probably not the patience to work out a mystery like that, and on the other, most of the mystery was improvised. at our table most adventures are improvised to some extend; it's like, our specialty. :P we do have three DMs, too, the other two are also creative as heck and involved in gaming one or another way. you never know where it ends. but mystery? nah, not from this one DM, maybe not from the others, either. just doesn't work like that.

[@v1de0gamr23]

Fortunately for me, a whodunit mystery is not something my players are ready for. They still get stumped on the "put the blue rock on the blue pedestal" puzzle.

[@WatjehtEuchditan]

It's the fingerprint of the victim and it has been found, very unexpectedly, in the pantry of the cloister. There you have it, multiple new suspects. Unfortunately, the monks have taken a vow of silence...

[@WolfmanXD]

You know what's funny? I'm actually rewatching castle right now. I'm currently in season 3.

[@jonsturgill6508]

Re: Uniqueness of Finger Prints, While a complete print is unique, a smudged or partial print may appear to match several people depending on the analysis techniques and equipment available.

[@jamesm2577]

LOL I looked at the thumbnail & rolled my eyes about to move on until I noticed who it wasn't from >:D Good video.

[@theDMLair]

What do you mean?

[@lostinalbion4223]

@@theDMLair The thumbnail looks like Ginny Di.

[@abettermind]

​@@lostinalbion4223 She's the absolute worst.

[@loganfields159]

Ginni D hater? But why?

[@jamesm2577]

@@loganfields159 I wouldn't say that I "hate" her, but she tends to lean too far into stale role play vrs roll play tropes of decades past.

[@panpiper]

There is nothing I loathe more than a 'mystery' adventure. We all stand around for hours scratching our heads and getting absolutely nowhere, every Effing time. I have NEVER seen a 'mystery' game that didn't absolutely suck.

[@theDMLair]

that's fair. not everything is for everyone

[@99zxk]

I feel like I haven't seen the characters for a while. Good times can't last forever.

[@gabriellajoie9486]

Didnt know you had a dog. ❤

[@theDMLair]

Yep! A chihuhua mix of some sort.

[@MagicKruger]

The group intros are back!

[@theDMLair]

Yes!!! Their 2 year strike was finally resolved, and they are back on set!

[@notcreativeside]

A whole fingerprint is unique. However elements within the fingerprint may not be. If someone or a program is only looking at certain parts of a fingerprint it's possible to have multiple people with those elements. There's been at least one case of someone being a suspect due to them sharing certain elements, but not the entire print.

[@AlexanderJWF]

My suggestion for making red herrings work: Have it make all the sense in the world ... but only in a particular context. If it wasn't the maid who killed the robber barren but his own wife, make sure that almost all of the clues point to the maid ... with the context that it couldn't be the wife, because she's dead too, remember! But when the players find out that someone very the-wife-shaped was seen at the pub in the next town over. Then the players can "figure out for themselves" that the maid was innocent all along! Even with her surprisingly shady past and proficiency with the murder weapon. It's all about what the players think is possible, due to the information given. As soon as the new context is provided l, then they can follow along the other logical probabilities.

[@gregpiet8428]

"use a physical timer for the players" a.k.a. Tell me you play ShadowDark without saying you play ShadowDark. ;)

[@theDMLair]

I do play Shadowdark. :P

[@doctorlolchicken7478]

My personal rule with mysteries is that they are side quests for some kind of reward. They are never essential. I don't like when players end up begging for clues or expecting clues because they meta game that the DM can't roadblock them permanently. Instead, I just make it something they either figure out or don't, and there's a reward if they do. For a main quest the mystery might make part of the campaign easier, but it's not needed. For example, clues leading to an item that is effective against a dangerous foe.

[@theDMLair]

That totally makes sense!

[@Clem68W]

Pretty sure it's "Herk-yule Pwa-row"

[@theDMLair]

Me no speakie.

[@almitrahopkins1873]

The biggest rule of running a mystery is not forcing it. If the players miss a clue, just slip in another somewhere else. Let them go off on wild goose chases. Be ready to abandon whole sections of what you have written. I don’t run mystery games. I use mysteries in games, but they aren’t the whole point of the game. Those mysteries pop up when they pop up and players miss at least half of them. I don’t use a single villain. More often than not, the mystery the players find is something pointing to the conflict between two or more villains who are in conflict with each other. That creates a different sort of game as the players race to disrupt the plans of multiple villains at the same time.

[@tscoff]

The time that I ran a mystery red herrings were created left and right by the players. There’s no need for the DM to create any red herrings, the players will do that all on their own!

[@thecrayola9]

Hey guys, I know all about mysteries, now watch me have no idea who one of the most famous characters in mystery fiction is.

[@israelmorales4249]

well in a mistery in a fantasy setting, a fingerprint could be faked by magic (ilusion and transmutation) Great video

[@theDMLair]

very true!

[@Lordtheobald]

fingerprints are unique, but if there are three different thumbprints on a knife, three people picked up that knife. That or one person has three thumbs.

[@euansmith3699]

😆

[@tinear4]

Aha! it was Zaphod Beeblebrox! Case solved.

[@Clem68W]

Thumbnail: A. Title: A+ Content: Purple.

[@theDMLair]

Purple is good, right?

[@Clem68W]

@@theDMLair Purple is quite a noble color.

[@Clem68W]

Your advice is always good, I have no authority to rate it, frankly. clickbait, though! We are all gaining proficiency in this devilish innovation.

[@MechbossBoogie]

I really want to start running a new game. This time around I'm going to be a lot more picky on who gets to play in it, though. I could write a book for all the cringe of one player in my last group.

[@alexr2753]

17:25 identical twins have the same fingerprints.

[@viomikey]

@@alexr2753 actually even identical twins have different fingerprints. Fingerprints are caused by developmental processes in the womb, so twins develop different fingerprints. I was very surprised to learn this myself!

[@viomikey]

I bet a clone created by magic would have the same fingerprints though!

[@alexr2753]

@viomikey the equipment needed to see the difference in identical twins fingerprints is so advanced and impossible to the naked eye, it's safe to say any fantasy setting before 1590 (invention of the microscope) identical twins would have the appearance of having identical fingerprints, fair? *Lowers eyeglasses like whispering library nerd battle*

[@alexr2753]

•que dramatic music from Food Wars

[@hershmergersh6733]

if you already did the sponsor plug during a skit, you don't have to do it again immediately afterwards -_-

[@theDMLair]

Are those the rules? I'm new at this.

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

Not all DMs are meant to run mysteries. Nice intro

[@strawberrylotlizard]

I just want my group back

[@DanSmith-x2p]

Ok, that intro was good. Very good.

[@theDMLair]

Thank you!

[@timothybruce9366]

7:18 Watson was far more charismatic than Holmes.

[@linus4d1]

Some of this seems to counter other parts. You say that the GM needs to know exactly what happened, but then you say not to force locations and not to railroad solutions. Maybe you (the GM) thought the butler did it, but the Players think the Maid did it. Well, now the Maid did it. You are not writting a Plot at all. Your players will never be lost if the story follows them. "Obvious" that the GM knows the answer? Nay, nay. The GM can be just as surprised as the Players.

[@dantemoose420]

They really got you sponsored for that on day one, huh? ..... Yeah, me too.

[@theDMLair]

I'm a sucker for piles of cash...

[@dantemoose420]

@theDMLair hell yeah, get paid!

[@Mr_GoR_]

That's pretty good attempt to pronounce Hercule Poirot (Her kyool Pwa roh)

[@theDMLair]

Thanks, I know I suck at pronouncing names. It's like my signature trait at this point. lol

[@timbuktu8069]

My players are dim. That's why I stopped running Call of Cthulu.

[@henrycaltagirone3959]

Engagement!!! See. I did it

[@kadeshaderow]

Play Call of Cthulhu and stop trying to fit the D&D-shaped peg into every single genre hole. Problem solved.

[@theDMLair]

So, if we're playing D&D, we can't have a mystery adventure every so often? Okay, cool. Then when you play CoC, no combat allowed.

[@CallumMacdonald-u8m]

Some people only have dnd

[@g0mikese]

It's not your fault if the script is bad. It's past you's fault! He must still be pissed at you for sleeping with his wife and petting his cats.

[@dcbandit]

Here's some help! Hercule Poirot is pronounced Herk-you'll per-roah, herk like jerk, and roah like woah.😊

[@jylietmaddyzpires2442]

I don't mind a little clickbait, but this thumbnail kinda sucks. Why call this random person delusional?? You don't even bring them up individually. Not worth disparaging some rando for a clickbaity thumbnail.

[@theDMLair]

Have you met this person? How do you know she's not delusional?

[@ThalonRamacorn]

Just by the haircolor she looks quite delusional to me :D

[@jeffjones4654]

I'm subscribed, why aren't you?

[@theDMLair]

I watch all my videos several times... I think a sub is overkill tbh...

[@MarquisLeary34]

This isn't just good advice for D&D, it's downright VITAL for games like Call of Cthulhu or many World of Darkness settings which are even more investigation heavy.

[@theDMLair]

Thank you so much!!!

[@BLynn]

I love "The Mentalist", but you realize it has been 10 years since it went off TV, right? "Cross" would be a more modern representation, though a little less 'mental'.

[@BLynn]

There is a family that has a genetic trait that they do not have finger tip ridges, but common finger prints as far as I know have not been documented. Though partial prints which is what is typically found might read the same. Though what D&D game has someone testing for fingerprints in the 1st place?

[@theDMLair]

I just say what my script writer tells me to. ;)

[@BLynn]

@ Just keep repeating that phrase, maybe someone will forget that you are your script writer too.

[@cascsiany]

Twins can have identical fingerprints, so they are unique. The involvement of twins throw those forensics investigations for a loop.

[@Lemaus433]

For the algorithm

[@tabletopgamingwithwolfphototec]

[ on subscribing ] I can't subscribe. As im already subscribed.

[@Grognard6Actual]

Is that supposed to be Ms. D? 😳

[@theDMLair]

Nope. Stock artwork

[@Fadexpl]

I think the tip about not splitting the party is BS. DND encounters tend to drag for hours, and what the orher players are going to do? Just sit around and watch as others have fun? Theres literally no benefit to splitting the party and scaling down encounters, all you're doing is making a bunch of your players have a bad time.

[@theDMLair]

that's a great point

[@mkklassicmk3895]

You can totally improvise a mystery, it just can't be very complicated. It will still take them forever to figure it out either way.

[@IddoKraOz]

hi

[@theDMLair]

hello!

[@shadowpoet4398]

cute chick in the thumbnail tho :D

[@mikevides4494]

An almost 2 minute intro involving a performance as an entire table of players with nails-on-chalkboard-irritating voices almost had me bounce off this video immediately. The next minute being a self-advertisement cinched it, and I'm out.

[@michaelmullenfiddler]

Lol. Ok, breathe deep: Hercule Poirot is pronounced air KYOOL pwa ROW. He's Belgian, and his name is French

[@theDMLair]

FACT: I will mispronounce 90% of all names regardless of complexity.