GURPS - 4th Edition - Mysteries

MYSTERIES

An e23 Sourcebook for GURPS® from Steve Jackson Games

GURPS, Warehouse 23, and the all-seeing pyramid are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games Written by LISA J. STEELE
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GURPS Mysteries is copyright © 2005 by Steve Jackson Games Incorporated. JONATHAN TURNER, and HANS-CHRISTIAN VORTISCH
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Stock #82-0104 Version 1.2 April 19, 2005

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . 4 2. “A LITTLE REDDISH EXPANDED INFLUENCE
MOULD . . .” . . . . . . . . 30 AND REACTION RULES . . . . . . . . . 53
About the Author . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Working with Police . . . . . . . . . 54
About GURPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 HOMICIDE INVESTIGATIONS . . . . . . . . 30 Optional Modifiers to
Describing the Scene . . . . . . . . 30 Investigator’s Skill Roll . . . . . 54
1. THE IMPERFECT CRIME . . . 5 Crime Scenes and Criminals . . . 31 Detecting Lies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Cause, Mechanism, and Subsequent Interactions . . . . . . 56
SOME GROUND RULES . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Manner of Death . . . . . . . . . . 32 Using Social Skills on PCs . . . . . 56
Mysteries Are Not Like Time of Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Real Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Homicide or Suicide? . . . . . . . . 32 4. OATHS AND ORDEALS –
RPG Mysteries Are Not Dramatic vs. Realistic LOW-TECH MYSTERIES . . 57
Like Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Forensics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
RPG Mysteries Are Not Like Causes of Death . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 LOW-TECH MYSTERIES . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Other RPG Adventures . . . . . . 6 Disposing of Bodies . . . . . . . . . . 34 The Low-Tech Investigator . . . . 57
Identifying a Body . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Amateur Sleuths . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
DESIGN PRINCIPLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Other Crime Scene Adapting Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Keep it Simple! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Evidence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 The Low-Tech
Information Management . . . . . 7 GM Note: Game Mechanics . . . . 40 Crime Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
The Path of Least Resistance . . . 8 Other Times and Places . . . . . . . 59
Writers’ Advice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 NON-HOMICIDE INVESTIGATIONS . . . . 40 The Low-Tech
Information Management: Arson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
An Example . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Burglary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Why Can’t I Invent
Kidnapping and Blackmail . . . . 43 Fingerprints? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
A TAXONOMY OF MURDER . . . . . . . . . 9 The Veil of Night . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 3. THE DEADLIEST OF The Confrontation . . . . . . . . . . . 62
To Murder, or Not to Murder? . . . 9 REVEALERS . . . . . . . . . . 44 Gossip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Matching the Mystery Undercover Investigations . . . . . 63
to the Characters . . . . . . . . . 11 WITNESSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Punishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Plot Structures . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Solving Mysteries . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Sample Organization:
Single Adventures and Handling the The Inquisition . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Talking Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Sample Organization:
Is Failure an Option? . . . . . . . . . 14 Who is a Witness? . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Victorian Thief-Takers . . . . . 65
Is There a Shortcut? . . . . . . . . . . 15 Perception: What Does
a Witness Know? . . . . . . . . . 46 5. THE MODERN
DEEP BACKGROUND: Sense Roll Modifiers . . . . . . . . . 47 DETECTIVE . . . . . . . . . . 66
THE CRIME’S STORY . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Memory: What Does
The Adversary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 a Witness Recall? . . . . . . . . . 49 MODERN MYSTERIES . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
The Mark of Cain . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 How Reliable is the NPC? . . . . . 49 The Modern Investigator . . . . . 67
The Least Likely Person . . . . . . . 17 Getting People to Talk . . . . . . . . 50 Adapting Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
The Victim . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Accomplices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
The Supporting Cast . . . . . . . . . 18
Killing Victims . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
The Hook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
The Curtain-Raiser Scene . . . . . 20

GOING FOR THE RIDE: THE
INVESTIGATION’S STORY . . . . . . . . 21
Using Your Chosen Format . . . 21
The Great Mysteries . . . . . . . . . . 21
Cozy Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Hard-Boiled Format . . . . . . . . . . 22
Procedural Format . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Thriller Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Scenes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Improvised Scenes . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Stirring Up Trouble . . . . . . . . . . 26
Hiding Clues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

THE CONFRONTATION . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Drawing-Room Speeches . . . . . 28
In the Lair at Gunpoint . . . . . . . 28
In the Interrogation Room . . . . 28
The Villain’s Response . . . . . . . . 29
The Resolution . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

2 GURPS MYSTERIES

The Modern Crime Scene . . . . . 68 Adapting Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 Sample Organization:
The Modern Investigation . . . . 69 Magical Trace Evidence . . . . . . . 84 Tau Station Public
Can I Invent Investigations Using Magic . . . . 84 Psi-vestigators . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Time Modifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Fingerprints First? . . . . . . . . . 70 Questioning the Dead . . . . . . . . . 85 7. CHARACTERS . . . . . . . . . 100
Confrontations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Spells and Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Defense Investigators . . . . . . . . . 71 Magical Confrontations . . . . . . 86 PRIVATE EYES AND POLICE . . . . . . . 100
Lawyering Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 Gods of Thieves and Secrets . . . . 87 CHARACTER CONCEPTS . . . . . . . . . . 101
Punishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Fantastic Punishments . . . . . . . 87
Sample Organization: Sample Organization: Defense Attorney . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Another Day, Another
The Pinkerton Agency . . . . . 73 The Guild of Seeker . . . . . . . 88
SCIENCE FICTION MYSTERIES . . . . . . 74 A COMPENDIUM OF USEFUL Dead Body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Fire Marshal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102
The Science Fiction GURPS SPELLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Untraditional Detectives . . . . . . 102
Investigator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 For Investigators . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Genius Detective . . . . . . . . . . . 103
For Criminals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Hard-Boiled Detective . . . . . . . 103
The Science Fiction HORROR MYSTERIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 Investigating Mage . . . . . . . . . 104
Crime Scene . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 The Horror Investigator . . . . . . 93 Medical Examiner . . . . . . . . . . 104
The Horror Crime Scene . . . . . 93 Police Detective . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Adapting Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 Adapting Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 Private Psi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
“As You Know, Bob . . .” Monster Hunting . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 Specialist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Monsters as Investigators . . . . . 94 That Darn Kid . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
– The Perils of Exposition . . 76 Does Cthulhu Have ADVANTAGES, DISADVANTAGES,
The Science Fiction AND SKILLS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Fingerprints? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 Advantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Confronting Monsters . . . . . . . . 95 Disadvantages . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Bio-Tech and Other Closure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96 Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Sample Organization: New Advantage . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Genre Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 New Combat Technique . . . . . 112
1984 and the Dana Detective Division . . . . 96 EQUIPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
PSIONIC MYSTERIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 Binoculars (TL5+) . . . . . . . . . . 113
Death of Privacy . . . . . . . . . . 77 Body Armor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Confrontations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Four-Color Mysteries . . . . . . . . . 98 Cameras (TL5+) . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Alien Outlooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 Psionic Investigators . . . . . . . . . 98 Crime Scene Equipment . . . . . 114
Sample Organization: Psionic Crime Scenes . . . . . . . . 98 Defensive Sprays
Investigating Psis . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Universal Coverage Adapting Plots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 and Tasers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Insurers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Confrontations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 Firearms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Flashlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
TIMELINE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 Handcuffs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Weapon Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
6. PARANORMAL BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
MYSTERIES . . . . . . . . . . . 82
INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
FANTASY MYSTERIES . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
The Fantasy Investigator . . . . . 82
The Fantasy Crime Scene . . . . . 83
Technomancer . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

GURPS MYSTERIES 3

INTRODUCTION

“Yeah, that’s me, Tracer Bullet. I’ve got A mystery adventure is part stage So put your feet up on the desk, and
eight slugs in me. One’s lead and the rest magic. It works by sleight of hand. The let’s see who comes in the door.
are bourbon. The drink packs a wallop, audience, or in this case, the players,
and I pack a revolver. I’m a private eye.” expect to be fooled – at least for a while. ABOUT THE
GURPS Mysteries lays bare some of the AUTHOR
– Calvin, classic tricks. It explains why some tricks
Something Under the Bed is Drooling that work for mystery writers won’t work Lisa J. Steele is a criminal defense
for GMs and what tools GMs have that attorney and author based in
At their root, mysteries are about writers don’t. It also describes specific Massachusetts. She is a vice-chair of the
man’s quest for knowledge – something challenges inherent in running low-tech, National Association of Criminal
is hidden and must be found out. Order modern, science-fiction, and paranormal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) Forensic
must be restored. Honor and integrity mysteries, and specific tools that GMs Evidence Committee. She represents
must be maintained in spite of corrup- can use in each of these settings. clients accused of crimes ranging from
tion and indifference. Mysteries are minor traffic offenses to capital murder.
about puzzle-solving. Reason, logic, and For players, Mysteries explains how Ms. Steele is the author of several legal
perseverance let investigators triumph to portray experienced investigators. It articles about criminal defense, GURPS
over a criminal’s cleverest schemes and describes modern forensics and modern Cops, and Fief, from White Rose
darkest deceptions. theories on interviews and interrogation, Publishing. She is a contributing author
as well as low-tech investigative meth- to White Wolf’s Dark Ages: Europe and
This universal drive to find the truth ods, spells that can help or hinder an Spoils of War. Her personal interests
is what makes mysteries so compelling, investigation, the use of psionics in mys- range from science fiction to economics
and also what makes them so compati- teries, and more. Whether you are play- to medieval history to firearms.
ble with all types of settings. GURPS ing a forensic expert, genius detective,
Mysteries delves into the mystery genre, meddling kid, or jaded gumshoe, there is
showing how to structure a mystery something here for you.
campaign, or layer a mystery plot over
an existing campaign of any type.

About GURPS

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4 GURPS MYSTERIES

CHAPTER ONE

THE IMPERFECT
CRIME

“A person who is tired of crime is tired ize your ideas into an interesting adven- The mystery adventure fits into any
of life.” ture. Subsequent chapters will provide setting, and can be used with nearly any
you and your players with technical group of players and characters. You can
– Horace Rumpole, information, rules mechanics, setting use the basic idea in a near-infinite num-
Rumpole of the Bailey specific ideas, and character templates ber of ways: there are puzzle mysteries,
and equipment. action mysteries, funny mysteries, dark
So you want to run a mystery adven- mysteries, horrifying mysteries, high-
ture in a roleplaying game? Let’s get the This chapter contains essential guide- tech mysteries, low-tech mysteries, his-
bad news out of the way up front; it’s lines for how to structure a mystery torical mysteries, psychological myster-
going to be a lot of work to prepare and adventure. It comes first because it lays ies, scientific mysteries, computer mys-
run the session. However, done well, it’s out some vital groundwork for GMs. teries . . . as many mysteries as there are
worth it. That hard work will pay off Players may want to skip this chapter settings. What they all share is one of the
with a rewarding and unusual adventure and start with Chapter 2. Mystery adven- most powerful central ideas in story-
that taxes your players’ wits, teases their tures are more enjoyable when GMing telling: something is hidden, and it must
imaginations, and leaves them hungry sleights-of-hand and misdirection come be discovered.
for more. as a surprise.

This chapter will help you avoid
many of the obvious pitfalls and organ-

SOME GROUND RULES

Your preparation begins well before shocking and tragic, aren’t hard to solve. you need to use the same principle. Yes,
you actually start designing the adven- Real people seldom use elaborate fake this is meta-game thinking – and you
ture. You need to start with some basic timetables, elaborate alibis, or cunning should use it! Cluttering up the crime
“gotchas” that aren’t necessarily obvious, poisons; if they think about covering up scene by describing random and unim-
even to experienced Game Masters. at all, they generally just try to guard portant details is realistic, but it gives
against witnesses and fingerprints. Even you bored and frustrated players when
MYSTERIES ARE serial killers tend be lonely, marginal fig- lead after lead comes up dry.
NOT LIKE REAL ures with histories of child abuse and
LIFE mental illness, not charismatic geniuses A mystery has a definite resolution,
a la Hannibal Lecter. where the loose ends are tied up. The real-
You can use real-life crimes for inspi- world justice system is complex and
ration. The tabloids, the newspapers, In a mystery story or game, that’s a slow. Criminals can make bargains with
and the True Crime section of your local recipe for anticlimax. The crime itself may police and prosecutors for lighter sen-
library or bookstore will provide you be impulsive or meticulously planned, but tences. It can take months, sometimes
with stories of crime and punishment on solving it should be a real achievement. years, to bring a complex case to trial.
a daily basis. Real detectives have to justify their
A mystery is rational. Real crimes are methods and conclusions to jurors while
But that’s about as far as you should full of uncertainty and loose ends. In real- being cross-examined by a skilled attor-
go. The mystery genre – for good reason ity, if there’s a spot of garden soil on the ney. Even after a conviction, a criminal
– has evolved a powerful set of conven- carpet by the body, it may merely have may challenge the detective’s work in
tions, which have nothing to do with been tracked in by the family dog, and appellate courts and habeas corpus pro-
realism but everything to do with the have nothing to do with anything. It’ll be ceedings for years to come. And some
demands of drama. If you violate these put in an evidence bag and subjected to questions may never be answered.
conventions, you’ll have a harder time some fairly routine analysis, which prob-
coming up with a satisfying adventure. ably won’t turn up anything anyway. At the end of a mystery story, by con-
Here are some of the most important: trast, the investigator usually has no
In a classic mystery, that spot is prob- doubt about the villain’s guilt. The crimi-
A mystery has a worthy adversary. ably there for a reason. If it weren’t, the nal’s punishment is a nigh-certainty. In
Real criminals usually aren’t dramati- author wouldn’t have mentioned it. (At any case, it’s beyond the scope of the plot,
cally interesting. Their crimes, while the very least, if the spot is a red herring, which is completely and satisfyingly
the detective is given a fair chance to fulfilled by unmasking the bad guy.
deduce that it isn’t important.) As GM,

GURPS MYSTERIES 5

RPG MYSTERIES reader’s undivided attention through the careful attention to what your PCs are
ARE NOT LIKE book. He can provide a map and a doing and why. There should be multiple
BOOKS detailed cast of characters. If the reader ways for the PCs to find key clues,
is confused, he can turn back a few rewards for clever deductions, and con-
You can also use mystery novels, pages and re-read key encounters. He sequences for not thinking logically.
movies, and television shows for ideas. can set the book aside to think about it.
There are thousands of mystery novels at And he’ll enjoy the book even if he’s Written mysteries are talky. The cen-
your local library, bookstore, or used fooled, as long as he’s fooled fairly. terpiece of any investigation is asking
bookstore. If you have a large selection people questions. The question-asking
of television channels, you can probably Mystery television shows and movies scene can dominate the entire story. One
find a mystery television show being are much simpler; the viewer has a classical mystery format can be summed
shown at any hour of the day. These sto- shorter attention span, and isn’t expect- up, with no exaggeration, like this:
ries are a treasure trove of plot twists, ed to re-watch a key scene if he become
settings, and interesting characters. confused. Still, the mystery television 1. The suspects assemble.
Mine them shamelessly for your adven- writer can and does ensure that every- 2. A crime is committed.
tures – especially the lesser-known ones. thing that needs to be clarified is clari- 3. The detective interviews each of
But bear in mind that you don’t have fied, that all of the supporting cast are the suspects in turn.
authorial control over the PC investiga- easy to remember and identify, that plot 4. The detective announces the solu-
tors. This makes an enormous difference twists come at the right times and are tion.
in what you can expect to get away with. explained clearly. This makes good reading, if done
Here are some things you need to well, but it makes a slow RPG. After all,
remember: All of this is too much for players to nothing happens! As a GM, you need to
remember. A plot that’s perfectly clear on be aware of the pacing of the adventure.
The mystery author and the reader are the page, or even on the screen, tends to Think about putting action scenes in
on opposite sides. Like the audience at a be dizzyingly unclear to PCs caught in among the Q&As. Try to instill a sense of
magic show, a mystery reader comes to the middle of it. People in a face-to-face urgency. Don’t let players babble on and
the book expecting to be fooled, but hop- setting mishear things, misunderstand on without getting anywhere.
ing to figure out the trick. The audience what they hear, and misremember what Summarize, rather than roleplay, small
follows alongside the investigator as he they understood. Furthermore, you only encounters whose only purpose is to give
unravels the crime, and tries to solve the get one chance to get it right; if you the PCs important information.
case at least as quickly as the investiga- explain something badly (come on, it
tor does. If the reader fingers the crimi- happens to the best of us), you’ll leave RPG MYSTERIES
nal within a few pages of the crime, he’ll everyone in a muddle. ARE NOT LIKE
usually feel disappointed. If, on the other OTHER RPG
hand, he’s totally baffled until the last A mystery author has complete con- ADVENTURES
chapter – or, better yet, sure of himself, trol. If the story logically hits a dead end,
but turns out to be completely wrong – he can go back and rewrite it to avoid the A classic RPG adventure can often be
he’s likely to feel happy and satisfied! problem. The author can make the described as: “The PCs are walking
detective as insightful, or as dense, as the through the woods/dungeon/city when a
In a game, surprising as it may plot requires. He controls what the big monster/robber/gang jumps out and
sound, the GM and the players are on investigator sees, whom he talks to, and attacks them.” (Or, alternatively, “A big
the same side. You want your PCs to when he makes key deductions. If the monster/robber/gang is sitting there in
solve the puzzle you’ve given them, and story needs a brilliant piece of reasoning the woods/dungeon/city when the PCs
catch the bad guy. If they don’t, they to keep moving along, the detective charge in and attack it.”) Much mayhem
won’t be happy, and neither will you! It’s makes it. If the story requires that the ensues. The iconic fantasy dungeon or
like running a combat adventure in detective not put the pieces together wilderness adventure, therefore, doesn’t
which the PCs – through no fault of their until the last minute, he doesn’t. If the have or need much of a plot.
own – are overmatched, fail miserably, story requires that the detective suspect
and run away or get killed; everyone the wrong person so that a second mur- Mysteries do. The perpetrator has a
feels glum and let down. der can occur, that’s what happens. The plan. In carrying out that plan, he leaves
writer determines when the investigator behind clues. The investigators need to
Nobody likes to fail, even if it’s rea- gets information easily from a suspect, find those clues and put them together
sonable that they should. Equally, when he picks the wrong approach and to figure out who the villain is. That
nobody likes to have to sit there while an gets nothing, when he’s lied to and means you need to come up with the
NPC expounds the solution that the notices it, when he’s lied to and doesn’t clues ahead of time, make sure the PCs
players couldn’t grasp. Worse, a mystery notice it. find them, not let the clues and subplots
has the particular complication that the get too complex, and yet still fool every-
players have almost no control over the Needless to say, you can’t do that with one until the appropriate moment. It’s
setup; if the setup isn’t fair, they will your players. Mystery RPGs are interac- particularly challenging because you
blame you, and probably rightly so. tive; the players, not you, are in control have to steer very carefully between two
of the investigation. You, as GM, have no equally dangerous reefs: railroading and
Written mysteries are far more compli- control over whether they recognize a thrashing.
cated than any RPG can ever hope to be. clue, how they interpret it, whom they
The mystery writer can count on the interview, or what questions they ask.
You need to be flexible and you need to
keep things simple. You need to pay

6 GURPS MYSTERIES

Railroading takes place when you, the GM: It doesn’t work. You need a very clear idea of who the
GM, determine that there is one and (Repeat until PCs hit upon the one NPCs are, what their motivations are,
only one linear path through the adven- true path, if they ever do.) how the clues fit together, and what the
ture that will lead to the end. It’s a seduc- Thrashing, by contrast, results from ultimate goal is in order to run a satisfy-
tive thing, because it lets you plot out a too little GM planning. Clues, gimmicks, ing mystery adventure. It’s not enough to
satisfyingly dramatic conclusion in and plot twists don’t just happen; they just have a general idea of who’s around;
advance. have to be meticulously thought out a good mystery proceeds through a
ahead of time. If the PCs are at point A, series of discoveries, each of which
But it’s a weak adventure design. and you have no clue how to get them to builds in a dramatically satisfying way
Usually, the players end up guiding their point B, they may just flounder helpless- upon the others, until it reaches a logical
PCs off the path – not necessarily out of ly. Or, if they’re really unclear on your resolution. In the worst case, not just the
malice, but because they think different- intentions, they may go off on some players but you yourself will lose the
ly than you do. You will then have to sit completely unrelated tangent, and never thread of what’s going on, and have no
there and repeat, ad nauseum, some reach point B at all. idea of how to bring the adventure to a
variation on this interchange: close.

PC: We try X.

DESIGN PRINCIPLES

Now you have some idea of what not your adventure. It’s easier to steer your Table, for instance, there are three differ-
to do. Once you’ve said something dur- players in the right direction if the steer- ent and quite plausible murderers
ing the session, you can’t go back and ing is designed into the adventure, not uncovered within as many chapters.
change what you’ve established if the improvised at the table. Resist the temptation to be that clever in
plot isn’t working out. You can lead your a game. One plot twist or brilliant deduc-
players to clues, but you can’t make KEEP IT SIMPLE! tion per adventure is usually enough.
them understand them, or make them
ignore something until the dramatically This can’t be stressed enough when Similarly, a puzzle that’s perfectly fair
right time. Short of blatant railroading, you are planning your adventure. A typi- and comprehensible in written form is
you can’t be sure the PCs will discover cal Agatha Christie story can have over a usually far too complex for a game. An
the clues in a meaningful order, will not dozen suspects, witnesses, and signifi- adventure that seems far too simple to
bypass (or kill) important information cant characters. That’s a lot of NPCs if you, the GM, is likely to feel just about
sources, or will not go off on a wild- they are being introduced all at once for right to your players.
goose chase. Do not think of this as the this adventure. Try that in a game, and
PCs doing something wrong. There isn’t it’s most likely that your players won’t be INFORMATION
a right or wrong way to investigate an able to keep track of them all, will get MANAGEMENT
RPG mystery. There are just more or less confused, and will therefore miss vital
effective ways to do it. What seemed clues. The single most important thing you
obvious and logical to you in your plan- need to think about when you plan an
ning may not seem so to them in the A good rule of thumb is the Rule of adventure is control of information.
midst of the adventure. Seven: limit yourself to seven key items
of any kind per adventure. Design your As much as possible, you should plan
You need to be flexible and quick. plot with no more than seven named your mystery so that every scene moves
You need to master your adventure, so NPCs, no more than seven vital clues, the plot forward. That means that every
that you can improvise answers to unan- and no more than seven important ideas. scene should ideally some piece of infor-
ticipated questions or tactics on the fly. In fact, if you can, limit yourself to seven mation that the investigators need,
total items among all these categories! either immediately (to find the next clue)
You need to pay attention to your Established NPCs, clues, and situations or in the long term (to unmask the guilty
players, especially when they seem frus- don’t count against this seven-item limit, party at the end).
trated and foundering. Otherwise, you’ll but don’t go overboard. You need to keep
have no idea what they are thinking track of all of these items and facts, too. You can start with the one scene
when they pursue certain leads, and you that’s pretty much guaranteed to happen
may not have time in the middle of the Your players’ short-term memory has the way you want it to: the discovery of
adventure to figure it out. limits. People tend to remember names, the crime. Identify the key clues that you
facts, phone numbers, and other bits of want the PCs to garner from the scene –
And, most of all, you have to plan. The information for only a few seconds. there should be two or three, at most, in
more you plan, the easier it is to control Repeat names, dates, or other facts if accordance with the Keep it Simple!
you want them to stick in the player’s principle. Come up with some promi-
minds. Repetition, notes, handouts, and nent ways to give them those clues.
other aids will help your players keep Repeat. You can also work back from the
track of the plot. end, by identifying what data is required
in order to solve the crime. Again,
A book or movie can have multiple remember to keep it simple – don’t have
plot twists, surprise endings, and clever too many intermediate steps between
revelations. In Christie’s Cards on the the discovery scene and the climax.

GURPS MYSTERIES 7

A clear understanding of what infor- THE PATH OF (they happen to overhear a telephone
mation the investigators need at any LEAST conversation in the next room).
moment will help you to keep the adven- RESISTANCE Whatever it is, it ensures that there is
ture on track. If they miss a key point, you something that the PCs can do that will
can arrange to get that same information One useful technique is the “path of get them further forward, even if they
to them via another path. If they go off on least resistance” method. You can think can’t think of anything on their own.
a wild-goose chase, you can arrange for it of the adventure as consisting of a num-
to providentially give them the clue they ber of scenes: the Finding of the Body, Don’t let the path of least resistance
really need. You can reveal or conceal the Interview with the Butler, the degenerate into railroading; these are
information in order to make sure that Discovery of the Hidden Will, the Search things the PCs may do, not things they
events happen in a sensible order. of the Mysterious Catacombs, etc. For must do. If the investigators don’t follow
each such scene, make sure that there is the cue, that’s fine! (You may be able to
Good information management will at least one reasonably obvious pointer re-use it somewhere else.) If they find a
help you avoid the twin perils of railroad- that the investigators may follow to get shortcut around a scene – say, by discov-
ing and thrashing. If there’s a key clue to another scene. This can be informa- ering the secret panel in the library on
that has to be discovered, make sure that tion (the butler tells them about the old their own – that’s fine too!
there are two or three ways to discover it secret panel in the library), or action
– and, equally important, telegraph clear- (they spot a mysterious stranger trying A good example of this kind of struc-
ly to your players that there’s something to overhear their conversation, and ture can be seen in television’s Columbo.
vital to be found. Identify likely spots for chase him), or out-and-out coincidence If you watch a few shows, you’ll notice
the investigators to get bamboozled, and that the screenwriters always give
think about ways to get them back on Lieutenant Columbo something to do
track. that gets him a little further forward.
He’s never sitting around scratching his
Information Management: head; there’s always at least one little
An Example thing, one loose end, for him to pull
upon.
Let’s take a scene from the example in Chapter 4. The private detective is
looking over a car belonging to a young female graduate student who alleged- WRITERS’ ADVICE
ly committed suicide.
Aside from the peculiar technical
In this instance, the key bit of information the GM wants the private eye to problems of an RPG, there’s still the
find is that the gas tank is full and there is a receipt for gas purchased shortly more general problem: what makes a
before the suicide. good mystery story?

The car’s interior is clean – no textbooks, no papers, no bottles to return. Raymond Chandler suggested some
The only items visible are two receipts: one for the local turnpike, one for gas, rules for mystery writers in his essay
both dated the day of death. (The trunk and glove box have typical items the “Twelve Notes on Murder.” These are
GM can make up on the fly.) good ground rules for GMs as well.

A clean car gets rid of extraneous red herrings items, which is good GM 1. It (the crime) must be credibly
planning. The “in-story” reason is that the victim cleaned the car before her motivated – plausible actions of plausi-
death. Tidying things might indicate a suicide, or that she was meeting some- ble people in plausible circumstances.
one and wanted to make a good impression. That she got receipts and saved
them suggests that this was a business trip and she wanted reimbursement 2. It must be technically sound as to
later. the methods of murder and deduction.

The gas receipt itself and the full tank of gas are the important clues. A full 3. It must be honest with the reader
tank of gas means that it was filled somewhere near the site where the body (or, in this case, the players).
was found. The receipt leads the detective to the gas station, which leads him
to a security video showing the victim meeting someone at the station. 4. It must be realistic as to character,
setting, and atmosphere.
So how does the GM get the clue to the P.I. (and thus the player)?
1. Hope the investigator thoroughly checks the victim’s car. (The clue that 5. It must have sound story value
got him to this town in the first place was a traffic ticket from a local patrol apart from the mystery – the investiga-
officer.) tion must be an adventure worth reading
2. If the investigator does not look at the car carefully, his NPC contact (the (or playing).
local police officer) mentions that the car is in the impound yard and offers to
let him look. 6. To achieve this, it must have some
3. If the investigator still skips the car, the victim’s credit card record will form of suspense, if only intellectual.
show a large purchase of gas on the date of her death. If the PC hasn’t asked
about credit card records, his NPC secretary may call and tell him this, having 7. It must have color, lift, and a rea-
been checking information on the missing student in the background of the sonable amount of dash.
adventure.
8. It must have enough essential sim-
plicity to be explained easily when the
time comes.

8 GURPS MYSTERIES

9. It must baffle a reasonably intelli- 12. It must punish the criminal in one plainly stated and described; there must
gent reader. (Or challenge a reasonably way or another, not necessarily by oper- be no love interest to divert the story
intelligent player.) ation of the law. away from the puzzle; the culprit should
not be the detective, one of the official
10. The solution must seem inevitable You can also consider S.S. Van Dine’s investigators, a servant, a professional
once revealed. Twenty Rules for Writing Detective Stories, criminal, or a member of a secret society.
published in 1928 and available on Van Dine’s rules have been broken by
11. It must not try to do everything at several Internet sites. Van Dine’s advice many writers in later decades, but his
once – it must be consistent. focuses on the “fair play” aspects of the reasons for them are worth reading.
mystery. For example: all clues must be

A TAXONOMY OF MURDER

Now that you’ve got an idea of what to ed conventions. If your particular cozy remote island, a mountaintop castle, a
do and what not to do, you can start to needs to have a car chase in it, go ahead. snowbound railroad car, or a family
think about your adventure. Even with If you want to require some clever mansion that was locked up for the
the restrictions described above, though, deductions in the middle of your police night. In other cases, it’s clear that the
you have a lot of choices to make. How procedural, that’s equally fine. only plausible motive for the crime is
you make them will determine how your restricted to members of the group.
adventure comes together. The Cozy
The cozy is by far the talkiest format.
FORMAT Books by authors such as Agatha Many “Golden Age” cozies have no
Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and P.D. James action scenes whatsoever. There will
One of the most important choices is best reflect the traditional English mys- rarely be any chase scenes or violence;
the format. A format is simply a set of tery, or “cozy.” This is the oldest clearly even the crime scene will often be
interrelated conventions about who’s defined mystery genre. described with a genteel detachment.
likely to be killed, who the suspects are You may want to consider modifying
likely to be, how the crime is solved, and If you choose a cozy format, your vic- the cozy setup to include some more
what happens thereafter. Picking a for- tim is a member of a small group of peo- physical tension.
mat for your mystery helps you and your ple. They’re often well-known to each
players have a sense of what to expect other – for instance, they may be mem- Your PC investigators will often be
and what to do. bers of the same extended family. If not, gifted amateurs or retired police officers
they may well fall into well-known types: who are accepted, perhaps with some
Format-wise, mysteries come in four the Retired Indian Colonel, the Talkative reservations, within the small society of
very broad subgenres – the English cozy, American Tourist, the Unpleasant Young suspects. Commonly, the investigator is
the hard-boiled detective story, the police Man. One of the major foci of the inves- neither a cop nor a licensed private inves-
procedural, and the thriller. (Fans and tigation will be on uncovering the com- tigator; he’s someone who is asked to help
experts will argue about these divisions, plex relationships between the suspects: out in the investigation – perhaps by one
and their subdivisions, but this is a good affairs, secret marriages, children born of the suspects in order to clear his name,
place to start for RPGs.) There are also a out of wedlock, embezzlement, a secret or by a third party who’s convinced that
couple of related subgenres within the will, and other private matters which the police have the wrong man.
category of the gimmick story: puzzles can provide motives for crime.
and McGuffins. Choose a cozy format if you want to
Another characteristic of the cozy is explore the interrelationships between
These descriptions are frameworks, that this group of people forms a closed the NPCs in depth. The cozy setting can
not straitjackets! Use them to help guide universe: it is highly likely, or even man- also be used if you want to explore an
your thinking and to pick out what will ifestly certain, that the criminal is one of organization that your PCs often interact
work for you. But don’t feel that you them. To accomplish this, the cozy is with, like a corporation, guild, or club. If
absolutely must be limited by the accept- often set in an isolated location: a your PCs like to move in moderate-to-
high society and be rewarded with a rep-
utation for solving difficult puzzles, this
is a good format to choose.

To Murder, or The Hard-Boiled Story
Not to Murder?
The works of Dashiell Hammett,
Most great mystery novels are murder stories. Short stories are quite a bit Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane,
more variable, but even there, murder leads other crimes by a wide margin. and Robert Parker are all typical of the
hard-boiled detective mystery, which
Most of GURPS Mysteries will follow this convention by assuming, if need developed in the 1920s. Hard-boiled sto-
be, that the crime is a murder. However, much of the information here can be ries often adapt easily to RPG adven-
adapted to most kinds of crime: robbery, arson, even white-collar crimes. tures because the detective is a cynical
but honorable tough-guy, a modern-ish
knight-errant similar to many PC
adventurers.

GURPS MYSTERIES 9

If you choose a hard-boiled format, you a chance to put that knowledge to instructive differences from the straight
your victim is generally involved some- good use. mystery, which in many ways make it an
how in organized crime, prostitution, excellent source for RPG ideas. Thriller
and other facets of the seamy underside If you choose a procedural format, writers range from Ian Fleming to Tom
of society. In the course of the adventure, your victim can be anyone. Typically, Clancy, to say nothing of the vast num-
the investigators will be threatened by your victim is an ordinary person going ber of thriller movies.
police officers, politicians, criminals, about an ordinary life. The victim might
and possibly even their own client. be attacked by a criminal, stalked and Here’s one of the key differences: in a
People will try to intimidate them. killed by an old flame, or otherwise typical mystery, the big crime tends to
People may try to shoot them. caught up in the sort of crime you could happen at the start of the adventure,
find in your daily newspaper. During the when the investigators come across the
A hard-boiled format means more course of the adventure, the investigators corpse or the crime scene. The adven-
action. There are likely to be several fist- will often have to balance several com- ture is about figuring out what hap-
fights, perhaps a gunfight, maybe a car peting cases and obligations. The cases pened, restoring order, and punishing
chase. The crime scene will include are often thematically interrelated, but the malefactor. A thriller often starts
more blood and gore, often described not committed by the same villain. The with a crime, but that tends to be a prel-
with a touch of sensationalism. There’s investigators are typically police officers ude to a much bigger crime that the hero
still a lot of talking to people, but the talk or government officials. A panicky sus- must stop. The adventure is about dis-
scenes are more confrontational. pect may threaten them, but most crimi- covering what’s really going on that
nals will not plot to kill a police officer. prompted the initial incident.
Your PC investigators will often be Crime scenes tend to be gory, but
former police officers who retired or quit described with clinical detachment. Thus, if you choose a thriller format,
after becoming disillusioned with a cor- the initial crime is just a prelude to the
rupt system. Unlike the cozy investiga- Procedural investigations can be real problem. For instance, a murder
tor, who often has some nebulous inde- almost as talky as cozies, although the victim might be an accomplice with cold
pendent income, the hardboiled detec- potential for violence is always lurking feet, or an undercover officer who stum-
tive often struggles to pay the bills and in any police setting. They can also turn bled into the crime, or a guard killed
keep his office open. He is tempted by dull if you emphasize only the routine, while the villain stole an item vital to his
debt to take jobs that border on illegal. form-filling, evidence-tracing side of scheme. During the course of the adven-
Often, the people he encounters dislike police work. Consider borrowing some ture, the investigators encounter ever-
detectives in general, and dislike him in of the cleverness of the cozy, or the per- more-sinister and powerful forces. The
particular. Many suspect he too is cor- sonal edge of the hard-boiled story to villain and his minions escalate the seri-
rupt, and refuse to believe that he might liven up the adventure. ousness of their crimes as they build to
be trustworthy or honorable. their big scheme. Often, the plot has a
The investigators will typically be “bait-and-switch” aspect: the investiga-
Choose a hard-boiled format if you police detectives or crime scene special- tors think they understand their foe’s
want to explore the underside of your ists. Often they have families and family plot, but then suddenly realize it is much
setting, expose hypocrisy and corrup- obligations. The detective may have to larger and more dangerous than they
tion, and pit your PCs against an uncar- make a choice between interviewing one expected.
ing world. If your PCs like small victo- more witness and missing his son’s
ries, a job well done, and a client’s life or recital or his daughter’s soccer game. Another common element of thrillers
reputation saved, this is a good format. Police detectives may come across evi- is betrayal. This is similar to the tradi-
dence of police corruption or misdeeds tional setup of the cozy, where the objec-
The Procedural Story and be placed in a difficult ethical tive is to have the criminal be the one
situation. person nobody suspected. In the thriller,
The police procedural story is about that person is frequently someone who
how dramatically realistic police officers Choose a procedural format if you was ostensibly on the same side as the
solve fairly realistic crimes. It is the and your players are interested in how investigators – superior, love interest,
youngest of the genres; the first example police and specialists do their job. A pro- sidekick, helpful specialist, and so on.
appeared around World War II. The cedural emphasizes relentless proce- You need to be careful about using this
genre ranges from CBS’ CSI: Crime dure, which wears away the villain’s trick in an RPG; it gets old fast. However,
Scene Investigation to Ed McBain’s 87th elaborate plots and schemes. Generally, that’s not to say that you can’t use it
Precinct novels to comparable stories set your PCs will be rewarded with little sometimes, especially if you’ve had the
in nearly every country and time from more than a pat on the back from their chance to establish the betraying NPC as
the late 19th century onward. Often, as lieutenant, or maybe a commendation friendly over several adventures.
in the above examples, the adventure from the chief, and the gratitude of the
focuses on the squad or the unit, not on victims’ families. Crime scenes tend to be spectacular.
individual “star” investigators. Schemes tend to be grand. There’s a lot
The Thriller of action, which may or may not make a
Procedurals try to accurately reflect lot of sense. This is the format to choose
how real detectives operate. The story The thriller format is either a kind of if you want an over-the-top Hollywood
may showcase forensic techniques like mystery, or a closely-related genre, cinematic adventure. However, players
ballistics, DNA, and fingerprints. If you depending on whom you ask. The setup have a lot more time to think about logic
and your players are versed in the details is definitely mystery-like, usually in a and plausibility in a game than do
of actual police work and forensic hard-boiled or procedural format. audiences in a theater, and may catch
methods, then a procedural format gives However, the thriller format has some you out if you’re careless; you may want

10 GURPS MYSTERIES

to temper the standard thriller setup version of this kind of story, although If you’re starting up a new campaign
with the more reasoned approaches of the gimmick is hard to use because it is from scratch, and you want to run some
the other formats. so well known. mysteries in it, you’ll want to think a lot
about what kind of characters you’ll sug-
The PCs will typically be police detec- McGuffin stories are about a mysteri- gest and accept. If you want to concen-
tives, federal agents, crime scene special- ous object (or sometimes a person) that trate on cozy-style adventures, for
ists, or, more rarely, private investigators the characters pursue. The object exists instance, you won’t want a group full of
or lone geniuses. Often they are the only to drive the plot and give the characters James Bond-style spies or Spenser-style
ones who see and understand the rela- a reason to run around killing people, gumshoes.
tionship between seemingly disparate stealing objects, betraying each other,
cases and must persuade their superiors and generally causing trouble. Character If you’re thinking about running a
to give them the resources and personnel and clues are of secondary importance. mystery in an existing campaign, you’ll
to stop the big scheme. They may even The Maltese Falcon, for instance, is a need to think about matters the other
be discredited or implicated, and have classic McGuffin: Hammett has to way around: what kind of characters do
their superiors and coworkers trying to explain what the Falcon is to satisfy the you have in your group, and what mys-
imprison or kill them. audience, but the explanation is mere tery formats are appropriate to them?
detail, and not vital to the plot. (Incidentally, a mystery offers good
Choose a thriller format if you want a chances to reward a character for a
fast-paced adventure with a race against McGuffin plots are also classic fanta- minor skill – make that obscure
the clock, a big chase, or a large fight at sy tropes. In that guise, the PCs are look- language or hobby skill important!)
the end. The higher the stakes, the ing for the lost king, the eight parts to
greater the recognition and reward for the magic wand, or an honest man. The first thing to think about is
the PCs at the end of the day. One very whether the characters will be insiders
desirable feature about the thriller as an From the GURPS Mysteries perspec- or outsiders – that is, whether they’ll be
RPG format is that it avoids one of the tive, there is not much to say about the investigating in some official capacity, or
big problems in a traditional mystery: gimmick story. It can be done in any set- as nosy private citizens. There are
the climax is not a talking scene, but an ting and with any group of characters advantages and disadvantages either
action scene. whose abilities will not let them immedi- way. If the PCs are outsiders, for
ately bypass the gimmick or find the instance, they’re not subject to orders,
The Gimmick Story: McGuffin. Generally, you set up the and can investigate whatever they want.
Puzzles and McGuffins problem, and then let the characters try They’re not obliged to follow official
various ideas until they figure it out. procedure. And they can move on to
There are two minor formats within other adventures when the mystery is
the gimmick subgenre: the puzzle MATCHING THE done. On the other hand, they have no
mystery and the McGuffin quest. MYSTERY TO THE official standing: people don’t have to
CHARACTERS answer their questions, and the real
Locked-room mysteries are the clas- authorities may interfere with or even
sic puzzle stories, going back to Poe’s “And I had a sudden wrenching urge to arrest them. For insiders, it’s the other
The Murders in the Rue Morgue: a person shed my own identity and be somebody way around: they have a lot of authority,
is murdered, but it seems impossible else. Somehow I had managed to lock but they also have a lot of restrictions.
that the murderer could have gotten into myself into this unlikely and unsatisfying
and/or out of the murder site. In these self, this Travis McGee, shabby knight At a more detailed level, you can think
and similar puzzle-story setups, charac- errant, fighting for the small, lost, unim- of detectives as divided into four loose
ter and plot are secondary to explaining portant causes, deluding himself with the types: eccentric genius, private eye, cop,
a seemingly physically impossible belief that he is in some sense freer than and specialist. There’s a rough correlation
conundrum. The perpetrator may even your average fellow, and that it is a very between the four investigator types and
be obvious, in which case it’s the means good thing to have escaped the customary the four formats: cozy = eccentric genius,
that are mysterious. Puzzle stories are trap of regular hours, regular pay, home hard-boiled = private eye, police proce-
like elaborate dungeon traps or riddle and kiddies, Christmas bonus, backyard dural = cop, thriller = specialist. It’s not a
games: the point of the story is to have bar-B-cue, hospitalization, and family hard-and-fast rule, though. Of the other
the PCs scratch their heads for a while burial plot.” possible combinations, some work better
until they figure out how the trick works. than others.
– Travis McGee,
Dorothy Sayers’ short story, “The The Empty Copper Sea There are also some stories in which
Fascinating Problem of Uncle the detective is not just an outsider but
Meleager’s Will,” is also a puzzle story. So who are the PCs who will confront a complete naïf, who’s thrust into the
Lord Peter Wimsey helps a disfavored this mystery adventure? Police officers? tale by circumstance and has no special
niece find her wealthy uncle’s will nam- Wisecracking shamuses? Retired genius- skills for it. Most of Dick Francis’ rac-
ing her as his heir. The uncle cleverly hid es with a penchant for puzzles? ing-oriented mysteries, for example, fea-
his final will, leaving behind an earlier Members of a crack forensic science ture this kind of protagonist. This can
one that named a charity as his heir. The team? Criminal defense lawyers and be fun on occasion, but in general play-
young niece will only be rewarded with their investigators? Complete amateurs ers will be happier if their characters
his estate if she (or Lord Peter) can out- caught up in mysterious events? can feel competent and effective in
wit the dead uncle’s last puzzle and find whatever situations commonly occur.
the will. Poe’s Purloined Letter is another

GURPS MYSTERIES 11

The Eccentric Genius The genius detective generally works figures, and show off his underworld
best in the cozy format. He’s also found contacts.
The eccentric genius detective is usu- in thrillers, often as a brilliant scholar or
ally a larger-than-life character, with a scientist caught up in the adventure. He’s The private eye generally works well in
wide variety of odd habits, gifts, quirks, almost never seen in the police proce- a hard-boiled format. He’s also a good
and talents. He’s often accompanied by a dural, and is almost equally rare in the match for a thriller. He is rarely found in
bright sidekick who chronicles his adven- hard-boiled subgenre. cozies, and he’s almost never found in
tures. Famous eccentric geniuses include procedurals: if the cops are doing the
Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes, The Private Eye investigation, the gumshoes are generally
Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and impediments, not heroes.
Miss Jane Marple, Dorothy Sayers’ Lord The private eye is a tough profession-
Peter Wimsey, Margery Allingham’s al investigator. He generally works alone, The Cop
Albert Campion, Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe, or with a few trusted allies. The abrasive
and television’s Lieutenant Columbo. nature of his personality and his stub- Cops – including local police, federal
born unwillingness to follow any rules agents, and the occasional spy – are com-
The genius is demonstrably smarter make it difficult for him to work in a mon protagonists. Some geniuses are
and more observant than anyone else in team. The private eye is tougher than (nominally) policemen by profession, but
the adventure. Some geniuses, like anyone else in the adventure, and gener- the true police hero doesn’t depend on
Hercule Poirot, are not shy about mak- ally will prove it whenever challenged. genius; he depends on professionalism,
ing sure everyone else realizes how bril- Famous private eyes include Dashiell procedure, thoroughness, and the
liant they are; others, like Miss Marple Hammett’s Sam Spade, Raymond unshakable logic of police technique.
and Lt. Columbo, prefer to be underesti- Chandler’s Philip Marlowe, Ross Famous police detectives include the cast
mated by their opponents. MacDonald’s Lew Archer, John D. of Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct series, Tony
MacDonald’s Travis McGee, Robert Hillerman’s Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn,
The genius may be an insider or an Parker’s Spenser, and television’s Jim P. D. James’ Adam Dalgliesh, Det.
outsider. He’s often a complete amateur, Rockford. Recent years have also seen a Leonard Briscoe and his partners from
in which case the officials may try to spate of female private eyes, such as Sue NBC’s Law and Order, and Captain Frank
stop him investigating unless he has Grafton’s Kinsey Millhone and Sara Furillo’s squad from NBC’s Hill Street
some excuse to do so – Wimsey, for Paretsky’s V. I. Warshawski. Blues. Several of these examples are
instance, is both an aristocrat and a groups; the unit, not just an individual
close friend of Inspector Parker of The private eye is, almost quintessen- detective, is the focus of the adventure.
Scotland Yard. tially, an outsider rather than an insider.
He may have one or two trusted friends Police detectives are as much insiders
On the other hand, a genius may be, in law enforcement – Marlowe has as private eyes are outsiders. They can be
at least nominally, a professional. He Bernie Ohls; Spenser has Martin Quirk – good PCs, but players may chafe at the
may make his living as a private investi- but as a rule his relationship with the restrictions implicit in the job. Cops,
gator, like Sherlock Holmes; but, if so, he authorities ranges from cold to actively after all, have to do paperwork, follow
is totally unlike the common gumshoe. hostile. In many cases, the official forces orders, and give Miranda warnings to
He may even be a policeman, like Lt. of law and order are organizationally suspects. On the other hand, they can go
Columbo or Colin Dexter’s Inspector indifferent or actively corrupt, leaving anywhere and question anyone, plus they
Morse; but, if so, he gets his results via the private eye as the only recourse for get completely legal weapons. They also
brilliant insights, not through plodding justice. have access to police laboratories and
police routine. forensic specialists, which are great ways
The private eye is a natural archetype for the GM to give out clues and hints.
It’s hard to GM for an eccentric for a player character. He’s tough, he’s
genius in an RPG unless the player him- independent, he’s skilled, he’s heroic in a Be cautious when you mix law
self has similar skills. It would be very kind of down-market way. He doesn’t enforcement officers and civilians in the
difficult, for example, to give a player have to make spectacular deductions same adventure. PCs tend to bend or
enough information to have him like the eccentric genius, although he break the law. A police character who
respond with one of Holmes’ classic can’t afford to be stupid. He doesn’t need takes his duties very seriously may
deductions about an NPC’s life or recent to have a lot of detailed technical knowl- oppose the other PCs’ efforts to take
activities. You could, however, give the edge, either, which reduces the chance shortcuts, thus diverting the adventure
player a skill roll and the result of his that the GM will have to do a great deal into an inter-party squabble. Non-cop
observation and let him invent (within of exposition in order to advance the PCs, on the other hand, are unlikely to
reason) an explanation for how he came plots. have much to do during any scenes that
to that conclusion. involve “official” police work.
You can have more than one private
It’s even harder to have a game with eye in an adventuring group, but it’s Police detectives are, of course, espe-
two or more eccentric geniuses in it. If helpful to have some clear relationship cially common in procedurals. However,
you want to have an eccentric genius among the detectives. They might be they’re not uncommon in cozies (either as
PC, consider encouraging the other PCs partners, co-employees of the same larg- investigators, or as assistants to eccentric
to be other types of characters. For a er organization, or rivals thrown togeth- geniuses), and they’re seen in thrillers as
written example, look at Rex Stout’s er for the adventure. Give the private eye well. They don’t generally appear in hard-
Nero Wolfe mysteries: Nero Wolfe is an character opportunities to intimidate boiled mysteries, unless they’re rogue
eccentric genius, but Archie Goodwin, witnesses, make wisecracks to authority cops striking out on their own against an
his sidekick and narrator, is an expert ineffective or compromised department.
private eye.

12 GURPS MYSTERIES

The Specialist Single Adventures and
Campaigns
The specialist is anyone who is not a
police officer, but works with the author- Occasional mystery adventures spice up a campaign. They’re a change of
ities frequently enough to be part of the pace, a chance to use social advantages and skills, a way to meet important
extended police “family.” Specialists can NPCs, and a way to interact with parts of the setting the PCs don’t often see.
be lawyers, investigative reporters, pros-
ecutors, forensic experts, medical exam- One caveat is that mystery adventures work best with a small group of play-
iners, social workers, psychologists, and ers. Detective stories usually have a single private detective and a sidekick
so forth. Prominent fictional specialists assistant, or two police detectives working as partners. Having two characters
include Cyril Hare’s lawyer, Francis gives each a chance to discuss ideas with someone they can completely trust –
Pettigrew; Aaron Elkins’s anthropolo- a rare thing in the investigators’ world. Large ensemble groups are rare, and
gist, Gideon Oliver; Patricia Cornwall’s hard to handle. If you have a large group of PCs, you may have trouble keep-
forensic pathologist, Kay Scarpetta; psy- ing them all interested in a mystery adventure. You might want to break your
chologist and psychopath Hannibal group up into smaller teams.
Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs;
and television’s medical examiner, Dr. Sustaining suspension of disbelief in a mystery campaign can be harder. If
Quincy. your PCs have to solve too many challenging crimes in the same place or short
period of time, it may strain the setting’s plausibility. Setting up a whole mys-
The specialist is usually an insider, tery campaign is a great deal of work. You may want to vary adventures. A
but he can be an outsider who gets swept mystery campaign can easily shade into police work (GURPS Cops) or espi-
into the center of the adventure by hap- onage (GURPS Espionage). Private investigators may work as bodyguards,
penstance or coincidence. This is a good bounty hunters, or repo men between more intellectual adventures.
archetype for a PC “expert” who consults
for the police and has other adventures. Either way, before you start working on a mystery adventure, find out if
However, it can occasionally be frustrat- your players like mystery stories. What sort do they read or watch? How famil-
ing, because a real specialist has a great iar are they with the standard tropes? Will it be hard to create a mystery that
deal of professional knowledge that will challenge them?
most players lack; you may end up
telling the player “Well, your character There’s a lot of talk in a mystery. Investigators get most of their information
knows that . . .” a lot, which is not par- by talking to NPCs, observing their actions and reactions, and listening to their
ticularly interesting. If you’ve got a spe- answers. Chases and fights happen, but a mystery is a duel of wits, not fists. If
cialist in your group, give him some- your PCs are combat-optimized, then you may want to use a hard-boiled style
thing to do beside roll dice and have you rather than a cozy, so that they’re not completely lost.
tell him what he finds.
There are also a lot of details in a mystery. The vital clues are usually
Specialists mix well with other types obscured by lies and red herrings. Players who are good at remembering
of characters, including other special- details or who take good notes will have an advantage over players who do not
ists. It would be perfectly possible, pay attention, just as players who have a good sense of a combat system have
though perhaps not plausible, to have a an advantage over those who don’t. If your players are not good with details,
party composed entirely of specialists, you may want to use a ball-of-twine rather than a jigsaw-puzzle style (below)
such as the forensic team in CBS’ CSI: to give them a clear path through the adventure.
Crime Scene Investigation.
investigation. Your chosen format Jigsaw Puzzles
Specialists can be used in any for- should give you some ideas how and
mat, although they’re least common in why the crime occurred, and maybe Picture a large puzzle scattered on
hard-boiled stories – it’s hard to be a some ideas for NPCs and events during the table. The pieces are the clues.
convincing two-fisted, hard-drinking, the investigation. The characters in your They’re all right there in front of your
.38-toting evidence technician. They’re campaign should give you some ideas as nose. You just have to fit them together
common in procedurals, in which it’s to what kinds of skills and attitudes the in the right order to solve the crime. For
the specialist’s procedure rather than party will have to work with. Now you example, in the third-to-last chapter of
everyday police work that’s highlighted. need to think about the structure of the Christie’s Evil Under the Sun, Hercule
They’re almost equally common in adventure. Poirot lists the following clues:
cozies, where their specialized knowl-
edge allows them to rival the eccentric There are two basic plot structures: Gabrielle No. 8 (a perfume)
genius for brilliant detective work. the jigsaw puzzle or “fair-play” mystery, A pair of scissors
Perhaps their most typical role is in and the ball-of-twine mystery. They are A bottle thrown from a window
thrillers, where they’re often crack both a fair amount of work to prepare A green calendar
information specialists unexpectedly and to GM. The big difference is how A packet of candles
thrust into fieldwork. much information is given to the PCs at A mirror and a typewriter
once. A skein of magenta wool
PLOT STRUCTURES A girl’s wristwatch
Bath-water running down the waste-
A mystery is two stories in one: the pipe.
story of the crime, and the story of the

GURPS MYSTERIES 13

Poirot opines that “each of these killed the victim, put her body on the together. Or, almost as bad, they may see
unrelated facts must fit into its appoint- beach where the female killer had lain, the very first piece, make an intuitive
ed place. There must be no loose ends.” and used the scissors to cut up the hat leap, uncover the villain at once, and end
And, in the next two chapters, he pro- and dispose of it. The female killer then your adventure before it starts.
ceeds to fit each of them together to fig- took a bath to rinse off the body makeup
ure out who killed the victim and why. and threw the bottle out the window. The Another issue with the jigsaw-puzzle
The reader, on the other hand, is likely to pair accidentally left the scissors behind structure is that, once the pieces are on
be baffled as to why Poirot finds these near the body. the table, you have little room to
clues, and not the dozen other red her- maneuver. If the investigators put the
rings offered up earlier in the book, so
significant – until the explanation. Is Failure an Option?

The puzzle pieces all fit together. In One of the last (but most vital) style choices you need to consider is how
sum, one suspect gave her alibi based on much effect skill rolls and “dice luck” will have on your adventure.
the time told to her by the girl wearing
the wristwatch, which had been secretly One approach is to strictly let the dice fall as they may. If the PCs do not
altered by the suspect herself to be 20 have the right information gathering and analysis skills, or fail their rolls, then
minutes fast. Thus, the suspect’s alibi they miss the clues. It’s possible for the PCs to fail based on the die rolls. If they
could be discounted. After using the do, oh well . . . the crime is never solved, and the adventure ends on a flat note.
watch to establish her alibi, the suspect
(actually one of the killers) later altered The opposite approach is to focus on the story. Skills and dice results are
the watch back to the correct time while irrelevant if they prevent the PCs from solving the puzzle. In this case, it
the girl was swimming. Once Poirot doesn’t really matter who the PCs are, or what their skill rolls are, or what they
realized the suspect had access to the do; you’ll guide them to the solution no matter what.
watch before and after the girl told her
what time it was, he knew the alibi was Most games fall somewhere between these extremes. If you want the play-
unreliable. ers to be able to solve the adventure, you can minimize the effects of bad dice
luck by having multiple ways to get the same clue. You can also cheat – dis-
The candles were used by the girl to creetly! – to ensure that the PCs get the vital clues. Bad dice luck can make
curse her step-mother (the victim). She the adventure harder, but shouldn’t by itself make the puzzle unsolvable.
believed the curse had caused her step- Don’t overuse this technique; if the players feel that failure is impossible, the
mother’s death, and so had been acting adventure will feel like a pointless exercise.
suspiciously. One of the killers discov-
ered the girl reading a book on witch- Many jigsaw puzzle mysteries use the pieces together, the mystery is solved. If
craft, saw the candles, and used that to cozy format, and vice-versa. The combi- they don’t it isn’t. There’s very little room
frame the girl as an alternate suspect. nation of the two is often called a “clas- for degrees of success or failure, and lit-
sical mystery.” There are a few procedur- tle opportunity to nudge the plot in one
The skein of magenta wool, mirror, al stories that use this format; Ed direction or another.
and typewriter all show that another wit- McBain, for instance, uses it in several
ness lied. A witness was fetching the books featuring the master criminal Balls of Twine
skein of wool and did not see another called “the Deaf Man.” It is rarely found
witness who he should have encoun- in a hardboiled story or a thriller. The classic fantasy dungeon has a
tered if the second witness’ story was ball-of-twine plot structure. The adven-
true. The lying witness said he saw in the In a jigsaw-puzzle structure, it’s easy turers enter at one point – metaphorical-
mirror another suspect typing, which he for the detective to acquire information. ly, one end of a big tangle of string. They
could not have seen at that moment and Witnesses talk freely, the police surgeon proceed room-by-room in a certain
therefore had to move the typewriter tells him an approximate time of death, order until they get to the big fight.
later to establish his story. and clues are found all over the place. It’s There may be side-paths and detours,
the interpretation of that information but generally the heroes must face spe-
The bottle contained body makeup that’s hard, often requiring feats of cific encounters in an order the GM has
used to help one of the actual killers dis- deductive intellect. set up in advance.
guise herself as the tanned victim. The
green cardboard was used to create a hat Jigsaw-puzzle plots are easy to plan, The ball-of-twine mystery plot works
similar to the one worn by the victim to but hard to run in an RPG. The GM can the same way. The detectives start with a
hide her face from a witness who discov- assemble the crime scene, throw in a single fact or thing to investigate. That
ered her “body,” while in the company of bunch of suspicious NPCs, leave some fact leads them to the next fact, which
the second killer. (During this time, the loose ends, and let the investigators find leads to the next fact, and so on. They
real victim was alive and hiding in a the ends in any order. The players have never have to sit down, scan over a big
nearby cave from the female killer, whom to discard the red herrings and assemble batch of clues, and say “Aha!” If they
she thought was just an intruder who the puzzle. They may spend a fair keep following the thread, eventually
had come across her during a planned amount of time thrashing about without they get all the information they need to
rendezvous with the other killer. The making any progress because they’ve confront their adversary.
scent of the victim’s distinctive perfume missed a puzzle piece, added in a red
was in the cave when Poirot examined herring, or just can’t see how it goes
the area.) Thereafter, the witness went to
get the police while the two murderers

14 GURPS MYSTERIES

Is There a Shortcut? find yourself bogging down in an endless
series of alternatives: “If they do A, then
The converse of bad dice luck is the player who comes up with a brilliant B; if they do C, then D; if they do E, then
intuitive leap that solves the mystery straight off. For instance: The villain F, unless they did A . . .”
walks into the room. You describe him. A PC exclaims, “Jim, this man’s a
Klingon!” And your plot crumbles under your feet. On the other hand, a ball-of-twine
plot lets you present the clues in your
As discussed above, you can limit the likelihood of a shortcut by limiting preferred order, along with the appropri-
the amount of information the investigators have at any one time. If you don’t ate distractions and red herrings. Since
give out the key clues until the PCs have done a fair amount of investigating, the PCs are only getting one clue at a
then it’s less of an anticlimax if they solve the mystery on the first big clue. time, you have some control over when
they have enough information to make a
Have some ideas about what to do if the PCs figure things out early. The vil- brilliant leap of logic that solves the case.
lain can run, grab a hostage, or fight. Capturing him may become an adventure
in its own right. It’s less likely that they will thrash
about aimlessly in a ball-of-twine plot,
Alternatively, the detectives may still need to prove their case. In television’s since – ideally – there’s always something
Columbo, the audience knows who the killer is and how the crime was com- for them to do. On the other hand, the
mitted from the start. Often Lt. Columbo suspects that person fairly quickly. PCs may feel railroaded if they don’t
The adventure becomes not “whodunit,” but how will you prove it. believe that they can step away from the
twine to follow some other path that
You can create an emergency backup villain, whom you can cast in the looks interesting. You need to make sure
adversary role if your primary villain gets caught immediately. This is very, that there is more than one path to suc-
very difficult to pull off, since you’ll need to prepare a plausible and dramati- cess. Don’t punish them for doing some-
cally convincing case that fits either your primary villain or the fallback villain. thing inventive that ignores the bread-
Therefore, as tempting though it may seem, you probably shouldn’t switch bad crumb trail; if it actually makes
guys in mid-crime unless you’ve thoroughly prepared for it. progress, give them the clue they are
looking for.
In a thriller, the criminal who’s caught may be only a henchman of a more
powerful adversary. Or he himself may have a loyal henchman who will carry Mixed Format
out his plan in his absence, or an ambitious underling who will use the same
setup for something completely different. You may find it advantageous to mix
elements of the jigsaw puzzle and the ball
Be flexible, and think a bit about the worst cases when you plan the of twine. Your overall structure probably
adventure. will be mostly one of the two, but you can
work in individual stages that follow the
In a ball-of-twine plot, it’s often hard Ball-of-twine plots are harder to plan, alternative paradigm. For instance, rather
for the detective to acquire information. but easier to run. You have to have a very than having one big jigsaw puzzle, you
He may have to tail suspects, intimidate clear idea of how each scene leads onto can have a number of smaller ones that
mobsters, and even dodge the law. But the the next one. A flowchart can be useful. the investigators have to solve in succes-
information itself is usually fairly clear, More importantly, you have to be very sion, following a ball-of-twine path from
and doesn’t require a brilliant analytical careful to think about alternative paths one to the other. Or you can have an over-
leap before it can be followed up. at almost every step, since you want to all jigsaw puzzle, but the gathering of the
avoid railroading the players. You may pieces can follow a ball-of-twine route.

DEEP BACKGROUND:

THE CRIME’S STORY

Remember that a mystery is really Plausibility (which is not the same as You’ve heard it before, you’ll hear it
two intertwined stories: the story of the realism) is your goal. You can get away again: keep it simple. You might think it’s
crime, and the story of the investigation. with about one amazing coincidence; easy to simplify an adventure in mid-
You control the story of the crime; the everything else needs to follow logically stream. It is easy to do, but it’s hard to do
players largely control the story of the from the set-up you create. This is par- well. By the time you realize that things
investigation. You need to set up the ticularly important in campaigns that are too complicated, your players are
crime in such a way that the investiga- include magic, super-science, or the probably utterly confused, and trying to
tion flows smoothly. The work you do in supernatural. The players, not just their simplify will lead to a tangle of loose
establishing the back story is like an ice- characters, need to understand what is ends and anticlimactic resolutions.
berg: the players will never see most of it, possible and not possible in the setting
yet it’s vital as a foundation for the bits in order to solve the mystery.
that show.

GURPS MYSTERIES 15

THE ADVERSARY cunning person who will do anything to introduce some moral ambiguity, even
achieve his goals. If you think of him as give the villain a convincing rationale for
The adversary drives the plot. You an honorable or sympathetic adversary, his actions, while keeping him firmly
can start with the crime and design a you may risk an anticlimactic ending as worthy of his fate. A cozy doesn’t gener-
person who would commit it, or start the PCs debate how to resolve the case. ally introduce moral ambiguity,
with a villain and think about what he If you think of him as just a murderer, although there are some exceptions.
might do. Either way, the villain needs to you may subconsciously miss the other
be a foe worthy of the PCs’ efforts. He’s possibilities for crime. You should think The antagonist must be introduced,
larger than life, especially in a thriller. of him, and portray him, as a villain. at least by reference, early in the adven-
He’s clever, resourceful, and devoted to ture. Even in police procedurals, the
the success of his crime and his escape. This does not mean your villain must detectives often have a minor encounter
Were it not for the PCs, he’d get away be a scene-chewing caricature. He may with the villain as an informant, witness,
with it. be a study in contrasts. He may have a or chance bystander. He might be one of
respected, even saintly demeanor, and a the logical suspects in the crime, or he
The term “villain” is used a lot in this dark underside. Or perhaps he’s a might be a common person linking sev-
book. This is deliberate. The villain is the vicious, unscrupulous man who cares eral seemingly independent crimes. If
bad guy, the adversary, the criminal, the deeply about his family (in his own dark the perpetrator is someone whom the
murderer. A mystery villain is (usually) way) or has a rigid code of conduct. He PCs never hear of until the final scene,
clearly a bad person intent on doing bad must be sufficiently wicked to be worthy they’ll be rightfully dissatisfied.
things. He may present a facade of social of capture and of punishment. In a hard-
respectability, but inside is an amoral, boiled or procedural format, you can Motive

The Mark of Cain Why did this person commit this
crime? Need, greed, power, passion, fear,
Real-world killers aren’t much like their mystery counterparts. The cool, and a need to dominate and control are
composed killer who casually commits murder, then attends a tea party with- typical motives. How did he benefit from
out missing a beat, is almost entirely a fictional creature. his misdeeds? How do the drives that
made him a criminal show up otherwise
When a person kills another human being, he breaks the most fundamen- in his life? How has his crime changed
tal rule of every human society. This can have significant psychological conse- his behavior? Who has he told, if any-
quences. Even those whose killing is sanctioned by their society, like soldiers, one?
police officers, or duelists, are likely to have some psychological reaction, espe-
cially if their family, friends, and society are ambivalent in approving of their The villain’s mental disadvantages
acts. should be part of his reason for breaking
the law and provide clues that might
Those who study modern killers say that their sleep is disturbed by night- lead the investigators to him.
mares. They often have eating disorders (either no appetite or overeating com-
fort food). They withdraw from social activities, especially if talking about If the crime is one of passion, give
their acts would make those around them uncomfortable. (Uncaught murder- your antagonist disadvantages like Bad
ers often withdraw from society to avoid saying or doing something that Temper, Berserk, Bloodlust, Bully,
would give themselves away.) They often have sexual dysfunction (either an Fanaticism, Impulsiveness, Jealousy,
inability to have intercourse or a heightened desire for it). They may want to Obsession, or Sadism. This logically
visit their victims’ graves and justify themselves to the dead, or to their rela- leads to spur-of-the-moment crimes
tives. (Police often secretly watch murder victims’ graves to see if their killer often fueled by drugs or alcohol. A classic
makes just such a visit.) passionate killer is the abusive spouse
who kills his partner when she demands
These sudden changes in a killer’s behavior will be obvious to those who a divorce, then tries to cover up her death
know him well, even if they do not understand why the change is important. as an accident. Such crimes are good
If the killer is an actual sociopath, the change in behavior may come before fodder for procedurals and hard-boiled
the crime, when he is working himself into the mindset to kill, and with a stories. They’re less good for setting up a
return to calmness afterward. cozy or a thriller, which usually require
that the criminal have a cunning and
The “Mark of Cain” doesn’t just affect criminals. It has been observed in well-thought-out plan.
modern soldiers and police officers who take a life with legal justification.
Whether similar symptoms affect dueling Musketeers, medieval knights, If your crime is about a big score,
Viking raiders, or Japanese samurai is up to the GM. The key seems to be give the criminal disadvantages like
whether the character’s peers and society are uncomfortable with his actions Gluttony, Greed, or Miserliness. The log-
and being around someone who has killed, even with legal sanction. ical result is a financial crime like
embezzlement and fraud, or possibly
How does this affect your setup for the crime? It depends. In a cozy or a homicide. A classic greedy killer is a man
thriller, you can pretty much ignore this information. In a police procedural, who kills to prevent a wealthy relative
you can use it to add verisimilitude to the investigation – perhaps the cops from changing his will from favoring the
bring in a (PC or NPC) psychological profiler. For a hardboiled story, this can villain to favoring another heir. This is
be worked into the confrontation between the detective and the criminal. most common in cozy mysteries, but it’s
useful across the board.

16 GURPS MYSTERIES

Vain criminals want somebody to The Least Likely Person
know how clever they have been. They
often have disadvantages like Above everything else, you usually want to keep the players guessing about
Fanaticism, Jealousy, Overconfidence, or the criminal’s identity up to the very end. The ever-popular way to manage this
even Trademark, which lead them to is the well-known ironclad alibi. However, some players may immediately
taunt police. Taunting is more common sense that nobody except the culprit is likely to have such a thing, and home
in fiction than in reality; it adds tension in on the alibied one at once.
and a personal stake to a crime. Vain
criminals collect clippings about their Fortunately, there are a number of other ways to divert suspicion away
exploits. They hint or even brag to their from the true wrongdoer. For instance:
friends about their role in “something
important.” They hang around crime ● The villain appears to have no motive, and indeed appears to lose heavi-
scenes watching investigators. Some are ly as a result of the crime.
police “buffs” and may try to worm their
way into the investigation. A killer who ● The crime appears to be the result of long planning, and the villain isn’t
strikes to get rid of a rival (a promising the planning type.
young rising star) or to silence someone
who saw a moment of weakness is a typ- ● The crime appears to be the result of a sudden impulse, and the villain
ical vain criminal. This kind of grandilo- isn’t the passionate type.
quence lends itself well to the thriller, and
can work in the police procedural as well. ● The villain is someone highly unlikely due to age (a child), relation to the
deceased or investigator, social status and reputation, or personality.
The villain’s disadvantages affect his
actions; those in turn affect the set of ● The villain is someone unlikely due to his profession (physician, detec-
clues and leads that you provide at the tive, judge, or clergy). Generally, the villain is likely to be someone
start. The crime scene left by a methodi- “respectable” rather than a servant or employee.
cal greedy embezzler trying to shield his
theft from discovery should look differ- ● The villain seems to be another victim of an attempted attack, threats, or
ent from the scene left by an angry fanat- harm. The villain may even feign his own death, although that’s hard to do if
ic who kills young minority women. anyone carefully examines the body.
Think about how the villain’s disadvan-
tages – impulses powerful enough to ● The villain seems to be clumsily incriminating himself to protect anoth-
drive him to kill – are otherwise reflect- er. The related trick is an innocent person who tries to incriminate himself in
ed in his life. What sort of clues to his order to protect a person he thinks is guilty (but who is also generally inno-
nature will the investigators find when cent).
talking with him; talking to his family
and co-workers; in his house, office, or ● The villain actually comes to the investigators, tells them that he’s been
car? falsely accused of a crime, and begs them to help clear his name. This sets up
a strong presumption in their minds that he’s actually innocent, particularly if
Also think about what caused him to he seems sympathetic.
commit this crime now. A growing
obsession? A sudden opportunity? An and hard-boiled mysteries, and they can crime scene and divert attention from
unexpected risk of exposure for some be master villains in thrillers. himself.
ongoing problem (affair, embezzlement,
extortion, etc.)? Job or family problems The disorganized criminal is a less- If your villain is organized, he may
that created stress he needed to relieve smart person, often with an unstable have left a trail the investigators can find
by crime? If the investigators study this life. He strikes spontaneously, or with lit- as he acquired the means for his crime,
person’s past, what will they find out? tle planning, with the weapons and tools researched his target, and tested his
at hand. Often he uses sudden, excessive methods. In one poisoning case, the FBI
Means force, and leaves a messy crime scene was able to find the murderer’s finger-
with a great deal of potential evidence. prints in books on poisoning he’d
How did this villain commit this The disorganized criminal has no plan. checked out from his local library. If
crime? Was the criminal organized, dis- After the crime he needs to improvise an your villain is disorganized, he may have
organized, or a mix of the two? escape route; disposal of any weapons, chosen to dispose of items in places he
bloody clothing, or other evidence; and was familiar with, and felt comfortable
Organized criminals are smart and possibly an alibi. Disorganized criminals would not be observed or disturbed.
socially adept. They plan their crime and are common in procedurals. They’re also
bring with them all the necessary tools found as henchmen in thrillers – their Opportunity
and weapons. They have a plan for entry carelessness and violence may lead them
and escape, and leave minimal evidence to commit an unnecessary crime that What must the guilty person have
at the scene. An organized offender likes brings the investigators onto the scene been able to do, or know, to commit this
control of the victim, of the scene, and starts exposing the grand scheme. crime? Is there something unusual
and, indirectly, of the investigation. about the place or time of the crime that
Organized criminals are ideal for cozies Most criminals are a mix of the two fits only one suspect?
types. The crime starts as organized, but
the criminal has forgotten something, or A thorough villain may try to arrange
the victim has done something to make an alibi. A too-solid alibi is as good a
his plan go awry. Or the crime starts as reason for suspicion as none at all, but it
disorganized, but the criminal swiftly takes a lot of confidence to rely on a
pulls together a plan to clean up the realistically “thin” alibi.

GURPS MYSTERIES 17

You can give your suspects alibis by The corpse isn’t going to tell the was commonly known? What secrets did
hiding the time of death or the identity detectives about himself. You’ll need to he have and who knew about them?
of the victim. Thus, for instance, the sus- show what he was like through his fam- What sort of impression did he give the
pect can stay continuously in the com- ily, friends, and acquaintances, as well as world through his clothing, his work-
pany of unimpeachable witnesses from through his clothing, his house, and his space, and his home? What were his
the time the presumed victim was last office. All of these are fertile grounds for hobbies?
seen until the body is discovered. So your ongoing information management
long as no one realizes that a sleight of efforts – the number of ways that you Your victim should be sympathetic to
hand has occurred, the alibi seems rock can convey clues is almost infinite. the investigators. They are going to
solid. The story of the investigation will spend the adventure figuring out what
therefore center on feeding the players For instance: What do people think happened to him and why. If they don’t
the clues they need to discover the trick about your victim? What sort of reputa- care about him, then the adventure will
– a good setup for a cozy mystery. tion did he have? What sort of gossip have less impact. That doesn’t mean the
victim has to be a saint – a homicide vic-
In a less intellectual setting, such as a tim in a mystery needs to be the sort of
hard-boiled or procedural story, alibis person that several people had a reason
tend to be simpler. They usually consist to kill – but he needs to have some sym-
of the bad guy getting some buddies to pathetic aspect. (You can relax the rule
lie for him. If you use this setup, you can in a procedural, though.)
use the NPCs involved to build some
good interaction scenes in which the THE
investigators try to sweat the truth out of SUPPORTING CAST
them.
Even more than in conventional RPG
The next chapter discusses some of the adventures, a mystery requires that you
technical details involved in determining make your NPCs distinctive, memo-
identity and time of death. rable, and useful. Your players are
immersed in the toils of a plot which
THE VICTIM seems complex, even baffling. If they
have a raft of poorly delineated NPCs to
The victim’s story is also important to contend with, their confusion and frus-
the crime. The investigators will be tration will redouble. Remember the
spending a great deal of time talking to Rule of Seven!
NPCs about the victim. By figuring out
what kind of person he was, and why Every important NPC should have a
someone would want to harm him, they specific function that’s germane to the
can get closer to the villain. plot. Most of them, in fact, should exist
for the single and sole purpose of trans-
Killing Victims mitting one or more pieces of informa-
tion to the investigators. This is a vital
Most RPG rules systems make it relatively difficult to kill a person who is piece of your information management
not utterly surprised, asleep, bound, or otherwise helpless in one or two blows. scheme – knowing which NPCs have
This prevents PCs from dying too frequently, or as victims of unlucky die rolls. what information, and how and when
It also prevents them from wading through too many adversaries without a they can be induced to part with it.
challenge. On the other hand, real people can and do die, while awake and
fighting back, from a single gunshot, knife wound, or other unfortunate blow. Some or all of them may need to be
suspects. Spend some time deciding
Most systems make it easy to kill helpless or surprised victims. If a villain who’s going to be a suspect, why, and
is killing a victim who is neither helpless nor surprised, assume that the attack- how you’re going to get that information
er does well with his die rolls and the victim does poorly, and fails rolls when into the investigators’ hands. If one NPC
needed. If the victim or aggressor is a PC, on the other hand, you probably will is the obvious suspect, your players will
need to roll through the encounter, and may find that RPG characters are immediately deduce (knowing the con-
harder to kill than their real-world counterparts. ventions) that he’s not the guilty party;
you should have at least two other NPCs
On a related note, hard-boiled and thriller detectives generally fall down on who are also plausible.
the first blow when hit with a blackjack, slipped a mickey, or otherwise inca-
pacitated by a villain for purposes of capture. PCs, on the other hand, gener- Archetypes and typecasting are use-
ally hate to be captured and will work very hard to resist it. You may want to ful tools. Many cozy mysteries, as previ-
reassure players that a convention of these genres is that their characters will ously mentioned, have characters who
not be killed by their captors while helpless, and will generally have a chance fall into easily-identifiable stereotypes:
of escape or release before being tortured or seriously harmed if they keep the Dignified Butler, the Spoiled Heiress,
their wits. the Absent-Minded Vicar, and so on. The
authors do this because the archetype
saves them time and focuses the reader
on the puzzle, not the people.

18 GURPS MYSTERIES

Another rule of thumb that’s even assign them to monitor an official inves- background check – when suddenly the
more useful in mysteries than in stan- tigation with politically sensitive party stumbles across a dead body. The
dard adventures is to give each NPC one aspects, or assign them to investigate stakes are raised. What was routine
distinctive trait – either a physical trait, where there are no police or other suddenly becomes important.
or a personality trait, or a mannerism, or officials.
a turn of phrase. The butler constantly With a bait-and-switch, you need to
rubs his nose as he talks; young Lady Private detectives need clients. A pri- carefully balance the original and the
Pamela says “oh, er” at the start of every vate eye, or an eccentric genius who revised adventure goals. You can use
speech; Jack Perkins has a big droopy works as an inquiry agent, might be compelling bait – our heroes are deliver-
mustache. Once again, your objective is hired by the lead suspect’s attorney, by ing vital medicine to Ceres Base when
to eliminate confusion and muddle so the family, by an insurance company they receive an automated SOS from a
that your players have a clear idea of worried about fraud, or by anyone else nearby ship – to create narrative tension.
what’s going on, whom they can talk to, with an interest in the case. An eccentric Here, our heroes have a reason to try to
and what they’ve been told. genius with good police contacts, such resolve the problem quickly so they can
as Sherlock Holmes or Lord Peter get on to saving lives at Ceres. But the
Make sure that the NPCs’ names are Wimsey, might actually have the cops bait shouldn’t be so compelling that it
distinctive, too. Don’t have two NPCs come to him. distracts from the investigation plot, oth-
with even remotely similar names – try erwise the characters will just do the
not to even use the same initial conso- Personal Involvement equivalent of calling 911 and moving
nant. If there’s an NPC who’s an unim- along. On the other hand, if the bait is
portant background figure, signal this Professional hooks are OK, but you boring – our heroes are inspecting the
fact to the players by giving him an may be able to make the case more bilge of their ship for a leak – then bring
unmemorable name (“John”), or no absorbing by giving the characters a per- in the interruption quickly. There’s only
name at all (“the gardener”). Think hard sonal stake. The victim might, for exam- so much you can do with a routine event
about the implications of the names you ple, be someone important to the inves- before you lose the PCs’ interest. Once
give: naming the victim’s son “Harry” tigators. This trick is easily overused, but the players are bored and distracted, it
will give the players a completely differ- can still have emotional impact if the can be hard to get them motivated, even
ent mental image than naming him victim is someone unexpected. with a good plot.
“Reginald.” Once again, stereotypes are
your friends – use them! The victim might also be someone Legal Involvement
unimportant who the detectives have
THE HOOK met previously – an informant, a rival, a You can make the investigators the
family member, a business associate, a suspects. This works well if the victim is
“What really matters is plenty of bodies! contact, even a previous client. You can a known rival or adversary of the PCs.
If the thing’s getting a little dull, some more use the PCs’ investigation as a way to Perhaps they’ve tangled with him in the
blood cheers it up. Somebody is going to posthumously provide details and depth past, threatened him in public, and will
tell something – and then they’re killed to a minor character and suggest that profit handsomely by his demise. They
first! That always goes down well. It comes NPCs have lives outside of their interac- have an obvious incentive to clear their
in all my books – camouflaged different tions with the PCs. You can even use it to good names, and serious problems get-
ways of course. And people like untrace- show the PCs as reflected in the lives of ting information and cooperation from
able poisons, and idiotic police inspectors those around them. witnesses and the authorities.
and girls tied up in cellars with sewer gas
or water pouring in, such a troublesome Coincidental Involvement Emotional Involvement
way of killing anyone really, and a hero
who can dispose of anything from three to It’s perfectly reasonable, in some You can make the crime horrific – a
seven villains single handedly” cases, for the PCs to be minding their child is accidentally shot in a dispute
own business when the crime happens between rival gangs; a serial killer slays
– Mrs. Ariadne Oliver, right in front of them. This is a favorite all but one of a college sorority house; a
Cards on the Table mechanism for eccentric geniuses, many terrorist assassinates a local judge. This
of whom appear to be mobile high-crime starting point often leads into a thriller
The last stage of the story of the crime areas. Coincidence is less useful with plot.
is the involvement of the PCs. This is private eyes, who need paying clients for
where you set the hook, get them excited, both practical and legal reasons. Police Intellectual Involvement
and get set up for the investigation that is detectives and specialists may stumble
to follow. across crime, but for them it’s not much You can also make the puzzle itself
different than a day at the office. the problem. Locked room mysteries,
Professional Involvement missing wills, or seemingly impossible
A variant of coincidental involvement crimes demonstrate that someone clever
Some characters get paid to be that’s good for parties who aren’t prima- is at work. The situation may challenge
involved. Police, for instance, investi- rily investigators is the bait-and-switch the detectives to match wits with the
gate crimes because it’s their job. The plot: the PCs stumble across the crime in villain.
captain or bureau chief calls them in, the course of another adventure. The
gives them an address, and off they go. adventure begins as something else – a
Or the characters’ superiors might missing persons case, a divorce investi-
gation, a simple bodyguard job, a

GURPS MYSTERIES 19

THE CURTAIN- you a chance to do some foreshadowing example, that he knows something
RAISER SCENE and plant some clues before the PCs are important and will reveal all in the
on guard. The problem is, it can wreck morning. Meta-game thinking will derail
Once you’ve decided how to set the your plot before it gets started. your plot: even the most dull-witted PC
hook, it’s time to build a scene around it. will want to shadow the soon-to-be-
The curtain-raiser scene is vitally impor- Cozy stories, in particular, often deceased.
tant in that it’s the only one that you can begin well before the crime. The reader
be reasonably sure will happen as you or viewer is introduced to the victim and Similarly, in Murder on the Orient
planned. Use it to establish the key NPCs, suspects in a social setting; the investiga- Express, the soon-to-be deceased even
plant some clues, and give the detectives tor is not present. This is hard to do in an asks Poirot for help, is refused, and is
at least one obvious thing to follow up. RPG, since there’s no omnipresent nar- subsequently promoted to full deceased.
This is also a good scene for prepared rator to describe key scenes. Not many That won’t happen in an RPG. Even if
materials – crime scene sketches, maps, players will sit still for a long GM mono- your investigators refuse the request as a
and other handouts. logue full of flavor-text. They may also group, one of them is likely to keep a
ask questions, the answers to which discreet watch, thus foiling the crime
In at the Deep End would reveal the mystery at once. In one and the adventure.
of Randall Garrett’s Lord Darcy short
The simplest curtain-raiser scenes stories, “The Ipswich Phial,” the narrator For all of these reasons, the slow-
involve plunging the PCs into hot water describes a woman finding something buildup approach has to be handled dif-
right away. shocking on the beach. It is very impor- ferently in a game than in books. You
tant to the story that the omnipresent may wish to have the crime take place
Here’s one starting scene: the investi- narrator does not describe exactly what before the PCs arrive, or have it take
gators walk into the crime location. You the woman sees. If your players hear place off-stage while they’re doing
don’t care how they got there, what that, you can bet they’ll ask you the obvi- something else (another bait-and-switch
equipment they brought, or what they ous question. When they don’t get an setup). If you do want to have the PCs
saw before walking into the room. If answer, they’ll know something’s wrong, interact with the victim and suspects,
those details are important, you can fill and there goes your setup. have a plan in mind in case the heroes
them in later. However, some players are decide to protect the victim. You might
more resistant than others to having the Another curtain-raiser is to have the even be able to take advantage of meta-
GM drop their characters in the midst of detective on the scene, but not currently game thinking by setting it up so that
a situation without time to prepare involved in detecting anything. In the person whom they expect to be the
equipment, spell components, and so on. Christie’s Evil Under the Sun and Murder victim, isn’t!
on the Orient Express, for instance,
Another approach is to back up a bit Poirot is at the scene of the crime and If you want to give the players a
and start with the detectives learning interacts with victim and suspects before chance to warm up before being
about the problem and gathering their the death. This situation is easier to por- dumped into the crime scene, you can
gear. Some players may accept a “teaser” tray in an RPG; however, players are have an opening scene in the cozy detec-
where you briefly establish the crime exquisitely sensitive to narrative conven- tive’s garden, the hardboiled detective’s
scene, then pause to let them decide tion, and that will cause you trouble. office, or the police detective’s squad
what they might have reasonably done Some players may, consciously or not, room. Give the detectives something to
on the way to the scene, then proceed realize the nature of the adventure and do in the scene – some local gossip
with the investigation. Try not to let the probable victim. If they do, they’re (related or unrelated to the story), a bill-
things get too bogged down in equip- quite likely to shadow the proto-victim – collector inquiring about overdue rent,
ment and procedure; a good mystery making it difficult or impossible for the or a bystander to banter with. Once the
doesn’t hinge on an investigator having killer to act, and once again derailing players have had a few minutes to get
the right tool or skill. your plans. into character, you can then plunge
them into the mystery with the call for
Then there’s the classic film-noir cur- This is a particular problem if the PCs help, the client walking into the office, or
tain-raiser, useful for all private eyes and are present when the victim says, for the dispatcher’s summons.
for some eccentric geniuses: “I was sit-
ting in my office when in walked trou-
ble.” Trouble is usually a client, and – in
an overused cliché – often an attractive
woman. Trouble can also be an enemy
coming to issue a threat, which is partic-
ularly effective if the detective doesn’t
know why he’s being threatened.

The Slow Buildup

The other approach is to bring the
PCs gradually into the adventure, so that
the curtain-raiser occurs before the
crime is actually committed. This offers

20 GURPS MYSTERIES

GOING FOR THE RIDE: THE
INVESTIGATION’S STORY

“The best way to get to the bottom of a able to reliably determine the cause and gain by his death, and nobody has much
murder is to pick out any pertinent fact rough time of death. (If he might be of an alibi.
which hasn’t been explained and find the wrong, you’ll want to clearly signal the
real explanation of that fact.” possibility during the course of the ● There’s an obvious suspect who
adventure.) Other evidence at the crime apparently can’t be guilty. The person
– Perry Mason, scene may include suggestive physical who clearly benefits from the crime has
The Case of the Sulky Girl clues like broken mirrors, stopped an unimpeachable alibi.
watches, signs of things having been
Now that you have created the story burned in the fireplace, dying messages, ● There’s an obvious suspect who
of the crime, you can – at long last – footprints, spots of dirt, and so on. None looks guilty, but the investigator thinks
prepare for the story of the investiga- of the physical evidence is definitive, or hopes otherwise, because the suspect
tion. Ideally, you’re aiming for a delicate however, and forensic evidence such as is a client/an old friend/not the type to
balance of characteristics: fingerprints is at best mildly helpful. The have done it/etc.
cause of death may be ordinary (a gun-
● The investigators are puzzled by shot) or devious (a cunningly-adminis- All of the suspects, and possibly some
events, but still have a clear sense of tered dose of poison). Figuring out how of the other witnesses, will have a dizzy-
who’s who and what’s happening. the crime was committed may itself be ing array of domestic secrets they want
one of the puzzles. to protect, such as extra-marital affairs,
● There’s a satisfying balance of blackmail, a criminal past, drug use, ille-
action scenes, interaction scenes, and Almost invariably, you’ll want to use gitimate children, and financial troubles.
investigation scenes. one of these four setups:
If the villain has an alibi, it will
● The characters always have enough ● There’s no obvious suspect. Maybe depend on easily verifiable information,
information to move forward, but never nobody seems to have a motive, or every- like clocks or railroad timetables or
enough to see the whole picture until the one seems to have an alibi. being seen in public, not on the dubious
end of the adventure. testimony of his poker buddies. If he has
● There are a lot of obvious suspects. a strong motive, he may try to conceal it,
USING YOUR Everyone hated the victim, or stood to or make it appear that someone else has
CHOSEN FORMAT an even stronger motive.

Each of the four formats – cozy, The Great Mysteries
hard-boiled, procedural, and thriller –
has its own typical structure and char- “Fundamentally, it is the same careful grouping of suspects, the same utterly
acters. That’s good; it gives you, and incomprehensible trick of how somebody stabbed Mrs. Pottington Postlewaith
your players, some idea about how the III with the solid platinum poignard just as she flatted on the top note of the Bell
plot should flow. You don’t need to stick Song from Lakmé in the presence of fifteen ill-assorted guests; the same ingenue
slavishly to the whole set of conven- in fur-trimmed pajamas screaming in the night to make the company pop in and
tions, but you shouldn’t violate it with- out of doors and ball up the timetable; the same moody silence the next day as
out a clear purpose: the conventions they sit around sipping Singapore slings and sneering at each other, while the flat-
have evolved together because they feet crawl to and fro under the Persian rugs with their derby hats on.”
work well together.
– Raymond Chandler, The Simple Art of Murder
Plotting the Cozy
You should definitely read some of the best-known authors – like Chandler,
You’ll be hiding the villain’s means, Christie, McBain, Parker, Peters, and Sayers – for ideas about the genre. If
motive, and opportunity under a web of nothing else, it’ll give you some idea of what your players might be expecting.
social interactions. Your investigators
are introduced to all of the suspects early But be wary of borrowing ideas from famous authors or books, like Arthur
in the adventure. Often the crime takes Conan Doyle’s or Agatha Christie’s most notorious works. You may discover,
place in some isolated location like a generally midway through the adventure, that one or more of your players has
resort, train, island, or small village, either read the source, or seen a pastiche of it, and suddenly recognizes the
where it would be difficult for an out- plot twist. Things will go downhill from there.
sider to have done the foul deed. Several
NPCs have access to the victim and the If you borrow, change the details so that there’s at least a sporting chance
means to commit the crime, although that nobody will recognize the source. If you borrow literally, borrow from
this may not be immediately apparent. less-well-known authors, or from series television, where the source is less
likely to be remembered.
If there’s a doctor or coroner available
to provide forensic information, he’ll be

GURPS MYSTERIES 21

crime scene, and are frequently accused

Cozy Format of complicity. The people they interview
are often not forthcoming – they’re
Tone: An orderly world has been set askew by a crime. Order must be drunks, grifters, gamblers, criminals,
restored. quack doctors, broken-down former
actresses, haughty millionaires, and

● Detectives introduced. tough guys. The PCs will have to use lies,

● Crime presented along with suspects and clues. misdirection, intimidation, and seduc-

● Investigation, in which the suspects are interviewed and motives tion to get information, and the

elucidated. information they get may not be reliable.

● Detectives announce and explain solution. On the other hand, the information

● Postscript or dénouement. they get seldom requires the kind of

genius-level deductive skills that the

cozy demands; it’s often no more than

the name and address of someone else

The detectives will have an easy time obvious as in the cozy. The suspects still whom the detective can visit. At worst,

finding evidence, as a rule. If NPCs lie to have their secrets, at least some of which the detectives might pick up two seem-

them, they should have a fair chance – involve social ills like prostitution, loan- ingly unrelated facts from disparate

either immediately, or as a result of shark debts, gambling, and drugs. One or sources, and have to see how they fit

some subsequent clue – to figure that more suspects may have some tie to together.

out. To the unimaginative police, the evi- organized crime, or to corrupt police Therefore, your information-man-

dence will either seem to make no sense who will threaten the detectives. agement scheme should be heavily cen-

at all, or to point in what the PCs think If the gumshoes have a client, the lat- tered on the NPCs: who they are, what

of as the wrong direction. ter often has a strong motive for com- information they have, and how the var-

Therefore, your information-man- mitting the crime. He’s usually, but not ious approaches that the PCs can try will

agement scheme should consist of feed- always, innocent. On occasion he (or, play out. Your goal should be to keep the

ing the investigators clues that help more often, she) is trying to play the investigators in trouble, but always with

them make sense of the information detectives for patsies. During the course something further to do.

they find. If they figure it out on their of the adventure, the PCs will often have

own, great; if not, you’ll need to be ready to hide the client from police, or hide Plotting the Procedural
to prompt them. evidence that incriminates their client.
Meanwhile, the client will usually hide Your adventure centers on the routine
Plotting the something from the detectives, often his of police work and of forensic experts.
Hard-Boiled Story reason for wanting the case solved. Some NPCs are introduced early; they’re
the witnesses to the crime and/or part of
In a hard-boiled story, you’ll be If the investigators encounter fake the victim’s immediate circle. Other
exploring the gritty underside of society alibis, they’re the result of lies, bribery or NPCs come to light in the course of the
through the gumshoes’ investigation. The intimidation – not clever manipulation adventure, via the mechanisms of patient
case will often start with something of the crime scene. There’s almost never police work: questioning, following
seemingly simple, such as a missing per- any doubt about the motive for the down leads, computer or forensic work,
son. The detectives meet important NPCs crime, which often concerns sex, drugs, knocking on doors, and interviewing
one by one as the story progresses. While corruption, old family secrets, unscrupu- informants. The villain is often one of the
they will likely encounter the villain early lous business dealings, or something initial NPCs – cops will always look first
in the story, they may not recognize his similarly shady. at spouses and other close acquaintances
importance until much later. – but proving the case may take the
The detectives will have a hard time investigation far afield.
If there is a homicide, the cause of finding evidence; even the client may not
be on the level. They’ll be intruders at the

death is obvious and violent. Physical

clues, if present, are seldom more com-

plicated than a cigarette end or a Hard-Boiled Format
dropped business card. Forensic infor-
mation is hard to come by; the police are Tone: The bad guy will win, and justice will be denied – unless a very
reluctant to share anything with nosy determined investigator makes it his business to see that justice is done.
gumshoes. Indeed, important forensic

data may be missing, contaminated, or ● Detectives introduced.
falsified by corrupt officers. It’s very ● Crime presented, often as a seemingly simple task that leads into the
common for a private eye to find the adventure.
crime scene before the cops and then be ● Investigation, focused on the heroes’ struggle to overcome intimidation
accused of concealing or meddling with and obstacles.
the evidence. ● Confrontation: the investigators must make a moral or ethical decision.
● Dénouement, justice achieved at a price.
The suspects may be connected
through family, friends, hobbies, or

employment, but their ties aren’t as

22 GURPS MYSTERIES

Procedural Format cinematic, the adversary can be a
scenery-chewing megavillain bent on
Tone: Hard work and steady investigation will solve the most perplexing achieving vast wealth and power.
problems.
The detectives will enter the investi-
● Detectives introduced, often simultaneously with the discovery of the gation when they’re called on to investi-
crime. gate a crime, which is not necessarily a
murder. The crime itself may have some
● Investigation, focused on dogged police work and interesting forensic strange or unusual characteristics
science. requiring the PCs’ expert attention.
Alternatively, the crime may appear to be
● Confrontation, often in the interrogation room. a small, routine matter until the investi-
● Dénouement, arrest, and postscript about trial and conviction. gators start poking around the crime
scene, at which point they will discover
Often the case will focus on the suspect. Police may be subject to clues that lead them to believe that all is
mechanics of studying the crime scene. political pressure, departmental politics, not as it seems.
There can be plenty of physical evidence, inter-service rivalries, and other con-
as in the cozy, but it’ll mostly be a lot less cerns that don’t affect a gumshoe or Either way, the crime scene will defi-
complicated: jimmy marks on the win- ordinary citizen. nitely have a clue or two, and they won’t
dows, hidden stashes of cocaine, names be too subtle. They should immediately
scribbled down in address books, Alibis are simple or nonexistent. hint to the investigators that this is part
receipts from restaurants, and the other Motives are usually obvious. of something else, something bigger.
minutiae of daily life. Some of the evi- Forensic evidence in a thriller is often
dence may be hidden in logical but Police procedurals develop evidence especially useful and revealing; at the
obscure places; you’ll want to prompt gradually. It’s not necessarily hard to initial site, you can use it to highlight an
your players to tell you where their char- find, but finding it is time-consuming, inconsistency in the ostensible crime.
acters are searching. In a procedural, and may involve a lot of false leads and (“Hey, Lieutenant? If this guy committed
forensic information is copiously avail- boring legwork. (In an RPG, you’ll prob- suicide, why doesn’t he have powder
able and generally reliable, although it ably want to understate that part of the burns on his skin?”) If the PCs aren’t
may be slow in coming. The cause of adventure.) Once found, the evidence themselves experts, assume that they
death may be routine, but a routine case usually doesn’t require feats of analysis have ready access to whatever forensic
may mask a more mysterious method to understand, but it’s often ambiguous, expertise is required to move the plot
that’s revealed by the careful work of incomplete, or unlikely to stand up in forward.
experts. court.

The suspects and supporting cast are Your information-management strat-
only loosely related – or are not related egy should be to explore the different
at all, except through the victim. ways in which police or their allies can
Sometimes the victim has led a double put together a case. You’ll be testing your
life, like a respectable banker who’s players’ thoroughness and organization-
involved with diamond smuggling on al ability as much as their cleverness, so
the side, and there will be two quite dis- be prepared to feed them a large number
tinct groups of NPCs. As with a cozy, of small clues and indefinite-but-sugges-
many of the NPCs have something to tive leads. Any time the investigation
hide, although the secrets in procedurals starts bogging down, you can always
tend to be petty rather than grand. have a “major break in the case” due to
Typical NPCs range from ordinary citi- new forensic evidence or a new witness
zens, to first-offenders who are other- coming forward. Furthermore, it doesn’t
wise upstanding members of the com- destroy your plot if the cops make a
munity, to career criminals deeply stunning leap of logic and finger the vil-
involved in street gangs and organized lain in the first scene – they still have to
crime. prove it.

If the PCs are professional law Plotting the Thriller
enforcement officers, a trope of this for-
mat is to play off of that status. You may The thriller is fast-paced. It starts
offer them temptations to abuse their with a small crime that involves the PCs,
power and take shortcuts to solve their then runs through an escalating series of
case. There’s also physical danger: while crimes and action sequences to reach a
suspects usually can’t threaten a police big final shootout. The ultimate antago-
officer as they can a private investigator, nist might be a serial killer, a serial
cops still risk being shot by a nervous arsonist, a looming gang war, or a group
of professional burglars trying to pull off
the big score. If you want to be

GURPS MYSTERIES 23

The thriller, unlike any of the other Thriller Format
formats, needn’t confine itself to a set
group of suspects who are closely linked Tone: An ever-escalating battle against sinister forces.
to the initial crime. Instead, the PCs are
likely to deal with a changing set of NPCs ● Detectives introduced, often simultaneously with the discovery of a
as they work their way up to stopping the minor crime.
big crime. The investigation seldom con-
cerns the niggling details of alibis, hidden ● Investigation, which leads the PCs to other crimes. Alternatively, the PCs
motives, or detailed examinations of wit- are interrupted by seemingly unrelated crimes that later form a pattern.
nesses. The initial clues get the action
moving. Thereafter, whenever the plot ● Confrontation: the PCs’ theory is rejected by their superiors. If they per-
slows down – or whenever your investi- sist in a disfavored line of investigation, they are suspended or punished.
gators show signs of getting lost or con-
fused – there’s another crime, more spec- ● The Big Scheme: the detectives confront the villain in his minions and
tacular and more consequential than the must thwart his evil plans.
last one.
● Dénouement, death (typical) or arrest (less common) of villain.
It’s desirable to introduce the villain Postscript, if needed, about trial and conviction of villain, minions, and others
early in the adventure, but it may not be involved.
desirable to have him actually appear.
You can have him referred to by name, never stymied, and fair enough that they and investigation. Books, and to a lesser
or you can have his henchmen appear won’t complain afterward. extent movies and TV shows, can get
on the scene and throw their weight away with being almost entirely one
around, or you can have a scene set on The easiest way to think about this kind of scene. Cozies, for instance, are
property that he owns. It’s not always middle part is as a series of individual biased heavily toward talking scenes,
necessary that the PCs be kept in the scenes. Each scene should ideally take while thrillers are filled with action
dark as to the villain’s identity – knowing place in one location, and contain one or scenes. In an RPG, you’ll probably need
who he is and being able to take him two NPCs, although both of those guide- to strive for a more balanced approach,
down are two different things. lines are flexible. Each scene should unless you have an unusual group of
have a specific purpose in furthering the players.
If the PCs are law-enforcement offi- plot – this is your information-manage-
cers, one of the important NPCs may be ment strategy – and should be intended Investigation Scenes
the superior officer or politician who to smooth the way for one or more
doesn’t believe them, demands that they subsequent scenes. “I admit,” I said, “that a second mur-
stop pursuing certain lines of inquiry, or der in a book often cheers things up. If the
won’t give them the resources they need You should think, not only about the murder happens in the first chapter, and
to proceed. This confrontation is impor- scenes, but about how you’re going to you have to follow up everybody’s alibi
tant to the mood. Often, it results in the make the transitions from one to the until the last page but one – well, it does
PCs being suspended, which gives them next. This is a good time to remember get a bit tedious.”
the freedom to take necessary actions to the path of least resistance method
stop the big scheme. (p. 8); there may be more than one way – Captain Hastings,
to make the change, but you want to The A.B.C. Murders
The PCs will have an easy time find- make sure that there’s at least one. The
ing evidence, and that evidence is usual- ways in which you can change scenes Investigation scenes showcase
ly easy to interpret. Your information- are almost infinite, but here are the detectives searching for clues,
management problem is reduced to some of the most common: analyzing information, exploring a
making sure that you feed the investiga- place, or using their forensic skills.
tors a steady diet of interesting scenes, ● The investigators get some The primary investigation scene is the
with enough connecting clues to make a information that points them to crime site, although you can have others
narrative, until they get to the big payoff a particular person, place, or as well.
at the end. course of action. Investigation scenes should be metic-
ulously planned out – the more detail,
SCENES ● As the scene is finishing the better. Fortunately, planning them is
up, some kind of action starts more time-consuming than difficult.
All four major formats follow the nearby. They’re pretty static, especially the initial
same basic structure: crime, investiga- one: you can set them up beforehand
tion, solution. You’ll usually start out ● An NPC comes in; he with reasonable confidence the PCs
with a clear idea of the crime, and prob- wants the investigators to go will encounter them as prepared. Avoid
ably a pretty good idea of the solution. somewhere or do something. improvising investigation scenes – it’s
But building the path connecting the too likely that you’ll provide a clue
two of them can be hard. You want it to ● An NPC does something
be difficult enough to engage your play- that makes the investigators want that either gives the game away,
ers’ wits, and drawn-out enough so that to talk to him. or hopelessly confuses people,
they don’t immediately jump to the con- or contradicts some other
clusion, yet simple enough that they’re ● A blatant coincidence hap-
pens. (Use this one sparingly.) information you’ve given out.

Roughly speaking, mysteries con-
tain three kinds of scene: action, talking,

24 GURPS MYSTERIES

Improvised Scenes mation. In a cozy, the detective is rarely
in personal danger, and rarely tries to
No matter how well you plan, at some point you’re likely to run into a spot intimidate a witness with physical force;
where your players are stymied, you’re frustrated, and the plot is going specialists almost never are intimidators.
nowhere. You’ll probably find yourself improvising
intimidation scenes when the PCs try to
Raymond Chandler once said that whenever he felt that the story was slow- get information from a recalcitrant wit-
ing down, he wrote a scene in which a man came into the room with a gun. In ness, or have drawn the ire of an NPC
spite of the known merits of careful planning, you may have to take the same who has connections to thugs or to the
tactic: if your players are floundering, throw some trouble at them. It can be police.
Chandler’s gunman, especially in a hard-boiled format. It can be one of the
suspects getting arrested, particularly if it’s someone whom the PCs think is Fight scenes often arise out of an
innocent. It can be a deliberate attempt by an NPC to feed the detectives false intimidation. Alternatively, a villain may
information, which tells them that that NPC has something to hide – this send thugs to take something in the
happens a lot in cozies. investigator’s possession, or knock him
out and leave him in a compromising
This can be hard to do in a story structure as tightly plotted as a mystery. location, or beat him up to scare him off.
Once again, to do it successfully, you need to think in terms of the information (That trick never works, but villains
you want the PCs to have. If you just have a gunman show up and get punched never stop trying it.) Brawls are better
out, then you’re no better off than before. If, on the other hand, dealing with the fight scenes than gunfights, because you
gunman gives the players the information that they need to move on – or makes can plausibly presume that they have no
them realize that they had that information already – you can get your plot significant consequences. Gunshots
unstuck. Don’t worry too much about why the gunman is coming into the room attract the police to a private eye, at the
just now, or who sent him, or what he’s hoping to do; you can come up with risk of his license; police who fire
justifications for that stuff afterward, if anyone asks you or questions him. weapons face an investigation. Brawls,
on the other hand, attract little attention,
Handling an investigation scene is Action Scenes so long as neither party is badly hurt.
usually equally simple. You’ve decided
beforehand what information the investi- Action livens up a mystery, but that A chase scene involves the PCs trying
gators can get, and what they have to do, doesn’t mean you should toss them in to catch an NPC, or vice versa. Some
in general terms, to get each datum. They willy-nilly. The key to making action well-known chase setups include:
tell you what they do; you tell them what scenes work well in the adventure is to
they get. Your chief danger is that they’ll integrate them into your ● A witness flees rather than answer
stand around arguing about what it all information management. questions.
means for so long that the game bogs They’re not just there to
down. For that reason, you may want to give the combat-orient- ● Heavily-armed thugs come after
consider using the path of least resist- ed PCs something to the protagonist.
ance principle (p. 8): if the PCs don’t do; they happen as a
transition out of the investigation scene consequence of some ● Somebody snatches a key piece of
on their own, something else happens piece(s) of information evidence.
that changes the scene for them. that the detectives uncover,
and they give rise to further Chases are more likely to be satisfy-
One of the classic investigation information that the detectives ing if you plan them in advance. Have
scenes in all four formats is the second can act upon. You’ll need some a good idea of the ground to be cov-
(or third, or fourth) murder. Second preparation, but not as much as ered, likely obstacles, monkey
murders very often come about because in an investigation scene: some
the victim knew something about the basic statistics for the NPCs wrenches you can throw into the
first murder. This scene works so well involved, and some ideas about works, and the general likely
because it does several things: it height- the consequences if the scene courses the chase may take.
ens the tension by upping the stakes, it doesn’t go as you expect. A race scene involves both
removes a potential suspect, and it gives the PCs and the NPC(s) trying
the protagonists a whole new crime Typical mysteries use four to get to the same goal, with
scene and set of circumstances to basic kinds of action scenes: the prize going to whoever
explore. It’s an excellent idea to have a intimidation, fights, chases, and gets there first. In some cases the
Second Murder Scene ready to use if the races. race is against an outside force,
detectives aren’t making any progress; like a ticking clock, rather than
you simultaneously give them a hint and The intimidation scene is most
provide an unpleasant consequence to common in hard-boiled stories, against NPCs directly. Races of all
their slowness. where the detective must stand sorts are especially common in
up to the pressure of police and crimi- thrillers – stopping the villain’s
nals. Police officers also have to intimi- fiendish master plan, for instance,
date some witnesses into providing infor- often requires that the heroes act
quickly and under pressure. You

can use them occasionally in
hard-boiled mysteries and pro-
cedurals, and even in cozies, as
a way of building up tension. Like chas-
es, they’re best planned rather than
improvised.

GURPS MYSTERIES 25

Talking Scenes When you do have to improvise, read this sort of scene in mystery fiction.
write down what you say, so you can be This is a very useful tactic because it
“A good questioner will ask a question, consistent later. Your players will forces the GM to improvise the NPCs’
get what sounds like a complete answer, assume that everything you say in the responses. The players expect that you
and sit there in silence, mildly quizzical, voice of an NPC is important; they’ll (and thus the NPCs) will make a mistake
until you qualify or add to the answer. A assume that any mistakes or omissions when you have to react swiftly.
good questioner will ask very simple ques- are clues.
tions requiring short and simple answers When you are planning your adven-
and slowly increase the pace until when Give the players a good sense of the ture, expect the players to try to stir
he throws a curve, the silence seems to NPCs’ personality. Detectives, especially in some trouble – particularly if they’re
last too long, and you feel a compulsion to a cozy, depend on finding patterns in sus- stymied. If they do surprise you, you are
give an answer quickly. Any answer. . . . A pects’ behavior, then trying to match that not obliged to respond at once! This
good questioner will give you back your personality with the crime. Reward play- may be a good time to call a meal break
answers, twisted very slightly, and wait for ers who listen carefully to the NPCs. (See while you think about how the NPCs
the correction. . . . If you can know and pp. 53-55 for optional rules for interaction should respond.
anticipate and deal with the skilled ques- scenes.)
tioner, you slowly begin to realize that you The monkey wrench can be a prob-
are doing so much bobbing and weaving Think about the setting. If the detec- lem for you, but it can also be an oppor-
that, in itself, it becomes significant.” tive meets with the witness in an official tunity. If the adventure is stalled, you
or semi-official guise (police detective or should think about exactly what infor-
– Travis McGee, private investigator) he’ll usually go mation the PCs need, and use the mon-
The Empty Copper Sea somewhere where the witness will be key wrench to provide it.
comfortable – the witness’ office or
Mysteries involve lots of talking. The home, for example. (This also gives the Here are a few typical things
characters will probably end up talking investigator a chance to learn some- characters do that cause trouble:
to each individual witness and suspect at thing about the witness’ character from
least once, maybe more. Badly handled, his housekeeping, furnishings, and his Threaten ’em: Cozy detectives may
these interview scenes will become dull family or co-workers.) If he intends to threaten to reveal whatever personal
and repetitive. Your challenge, then, is to approach the witness in an unofficial secrets they have discovered. Hard-
make each individual interaction way, then he may meet the NPC on the boiled detectives usually threaten to beat
different, distinctive, and memorable. street, or in a bar, or in any other appro- the suspect unless he cooperates. Police
priate location for the approach he has detectives can threaten to prosecute the
From a story perspective, of course, in mind. suspect or someone he cares about for
the function of the interview scene is to unrelated offenses, or threaten to leak
give the investigator some piece of infor- Think about ways that your investi- word that the suspect is cooperating
mation that the witness knows. Even gators can verify the information they with them.
more so than the other scene types, an get. Think, too, about how you can sig-
interview that doesn’t add to the PCs’ nal that an NPC is lying – either during Spook ’em: Make a target nervous
knowledge is a waste of time and possi- the talking scene, or with another scene with a “rough shadow” – someone tails
ble source of confusion. Also, you that comes later. Information that the target in an obvious, easy-to-detect
should avoid talking scenes with more comes from multiple unrelated sources fashion. The target sees the shadow, gets
than one or two NPCs; the more NPCs is more trustworthy than information nervous, and calls for help. Usually, the
there are, the more likely it is that your from a single source, especially if that rough shadow is supported either by a
players will lose track of who said what. source has a reason to lie. Information hidden second shadow or a means to lis-
that conflicts with the physical evidence ten in on telephone calls. On occasion,
Interview scenes require less prepa- is also suspicious. Any time the PCs can the investigator presents himself as the
ration than investigation scenes, and the establish that an NPC has lied, that’s a person whom the target can go to for
preparation isn’t as clear-cut, since you great lead for them, and a powerful way help.
don’t know exactly what the PCs will to push the story forward.
ask. Be sure you have a good handle on Fake ’em: Investigators can lie to sus-
exactly what information the detectives STIRRING UP pects about the evidence. This is a risky
absolutely require from the scene, and TROUBLE move; if the suspect sees through the
what information would be useful but fib, then the investigator’s credibility is
not critical. Have notes about what the “My way of learning is to heave a wild shot. On the other hand, suspects are
NPC knows and doesn’t know. and unpredictable monkey wrench into often willing to believe that an accom-
the machinery.” plice has betrayed them, or that they
Think about how the NPC will react missed some important bit of physical
to the detectives, based on their appear- – Sam Spade, evidence.
ance, race, class, and position. Think, The Maltese Falcon
also, about how the NPC will react to Draw ’em: A PC deliberately makes
the various tactics the detectives “Trouble” scenes are created by the himself a target, and hopes that the
employ. What happens if they’re friend- players who feel they have reached a NPCs will come after him. This one hap-
ly? If they try bribery? If they’re hostile? dead end and want to stir up the NPCs to pens quite a bit in hard-boiled stories –
If they try to be seductive? If they try generate clues, because stirring trouble and also in procedurals, since this is a
subterfuge? can be fun, or because they’ve seen or recognized police technique. In a cozy,
the equivalent approach is for the detec-
tive to pretend to have knowledge that
he doesn’t really possess.

26 GURPS MYSTERIES

HIDING CLUES in an RPG are pernicious, because the and/or players who are well-versed in the
players have to rely on their memories – mystery genre: let them find one trick.
Jigsaw-puzzle mysteries, particularly they can’t rewind the videotape, or read
cozies, are at their most devious when back a couple of chapters, to see exactly Meta-game thinking – applying out-
they’re fulfilling the requirement to play what was said. Remember, one clever of-game knowledge and assumptions to
fair with the reader. The writer tries to trick per adventure is usually enough. in-game play – works as well for the GM
present crucial clues in such a way that as meta-book thinking does for the mys-
the reader either doesn’t notice or misin- Remember, also, that your objective tery author. Players, like readers, may
terprets them. The more clues get slipped is not to fool the players permanently – have spent hundreds of hours reading or
past the reader, the more satisfying the only to keep them in the dark until the watching mystery stories before they
mystery. right time. If you sneak a gimmick past come to your adventure. They’ll be look-
them, you should also plan on giving ing for the gimmick. They’ll be looking
In an RPG, you don’t usually want to them the clue that reveals the gimmick for gaps in information, white space in
do that. to them at the appropriate time. timetables, and information given by
only one source, especially an unreliable
Remember, the writer wants the read- Classic Obfuscatory one.
ers to be fooled; you want your players to Techniques
be successful. Most of the time, when Having found a gimmick, they may
you give the characters a piece of infor- ● Hide a piece of physical evidence relax, believing they’ve outsmarted you.
mation, you want them to act on it. Or, at by putting it in a long list of other pieces What they often don’t realize is that
the very least, you want them to remem- of physical evidence, most of which are they’ve found a decoy. The real gimmick
ber it, so that it can match up with boring and irrelevant. This is perhaps slipped past while they were congratu-
another piece of information later. Keep the single most common rhetorical trick lating themselves on their cleverness.
it simple! of mystery writers.
Red Herrings
However, you can get nearly the same ● Something that should have hap-
“mystery novel” effect by judiciously pened didn’t happen. A red herring is a false clue – a piece
using the tricks in this section – perhaps of data that points away from the real vil-
once per adventure. You’ll often want to ● Something that should be present lain and toward someone (or someplace)
slip a crucial piece of information past is missing. else. Red herrings can be accidental, cre-
the detectives very early on. Then, much ated by the NPCs’ own innocent actions,
later, you can give them the additional ● Obscure the time of death by tam- or deliberate plants by the criminal.
clue that makes them slap their fore- pering with mechanical devices, manip-
heads and cry out “D’oh! That’s why the ulating the forensic evidence, having an Used sparingly, the red herring can be
housecat keeps looking in the upstairs accomplice pretend to make a telephone your friend. Having an innocent NPC
cupboard!” Done right, you can give the call or shout to a bystander while mas- whom the PCs can suspect is a good way
investigators a completely incorrect view querading as the deceased, or having of keeping their attention away from the
of the situation without ever lying or someone pretend to be the victim and be real criminal, at least for a while. They
concealing information. You can conceal seen from a distance. may follow the suspect, search his room,
the perpetrator, the motive, the means, run background checks on him, even
the time of the crime, the location, the ● Have an authoritative NPC assault him.
true victim, or even the type of crime misidentify the cause of death.
that was committed. But, once again, don’t overdo it. One
● Disguise murder as a suicide or red herring per adventure is usually
Of course, the more you do this, the accident. enough. Make the false lead convincing
greater the chance that someone will enough that the PCs have to keep it in
pick up on the clue, and short-circuit ● Disguise natural death as murder, in mind, but not so overwhelmingly con-
your plot. And if you do it in every adven- order to frame a suspect or for insurance vincing that they get fixated on it to the
ture, your players will start looking for purposes. exclusion of other possibilities. Again,
this trick. remember that you don’t have complete
● The obvious motive for the crime control: if they abandon the main thread
Keep the Rule of Seven in mind, and turns out not to be the real motive. to chase down a red herring, you may
don’t get too caught up in layers of false not be able to get them back!
clues and diversions. Misunderstandings The Double Whammy

Here’s a trick that’s especially appro-
priate for highly-experienced players,

THE CONFRONTATION

“I’ve never liked this scene,” I said. detective. Only murderer never does. The confrontation is the key scene in
“Detective confronts murderer. Murderer Something always happens to prevent it. your adventure. It’s the counterpart to the
produces gun, points same at detective. The gods don’t like this scene either. They big fight with the “boss” monster in a fan-
Murderer tells detective the whole sad always manage to spoil it.” tasy dungeon expedition. You have been
story, with the idea of shooting him at the building up to this one scene; the hardest,
end of it. Thus wasting a lot of valuable – Philip Marlowe, most vital scene in your adventure. You
time, even if in the end murderer did shoot The Lady in the Lake need to help the PCs carry it off.

GURPS MYSTERIES 27

The goal is for the true culprit to be Murder of Roger Ackroyd, for instance, Frequently the detective has to make a
revealed. Order is restored; justice is Poirot gives the guilty man a chance to moral judgment or choice. He may, for
done. The PCs should understand the spare his family the shame of his trial instance, have to decide whether to pro-
who, the why, and the how of the crime. and commit suicide. In Murder Must tect his client by leaving some of the
(There may be a few twists during the Advertise, Wimsey suggests that the vil- truth unrevealed. Or the offender may be
final scene, but avoid entirely new reve- lain allow himself to be killed by his someone he liked and respected. Or he
lations.) If the investigators have missed criminal associates rather than expose may have to make an ugly bargain with
some vital clue, you may want to have an his family to the shame of exposure or a criminal in order to catch a bigger
NPC supervisor or assistant remind suicide. Alternatively, the investigator criminal.
them of it. Armed with that knowledge, may offer to conceal a family secret or
they must confront the offender, estab- another NPCs misdeeds (to a point) if In one common variant of this scene,
lish his guilt to the satisfaction of all, and the NPC villain confesses to police. the investigators have proof that the vil-
prevent him from escaping. lain has betrayed one or more of his
If the investigators believe that the men. During the confrontation, the
DRAWING-ROOM crime was justified, they may decide not heroes intend to expose the villain’s
SPEECHES to punish the criminals at all. In Murder treachery; the thugs are expected either
on the Orient Express, for example, to step aside and let the villain be arrest-
The traditional cozy confrontation is Poirot does not reveal what actually hap- ed, or shoot the villain themselves. In In
the drawing-room speech, where the pened because he feels the crime was the Best Families, for example, the crim-
investigator gathers all the suspects justified by the deceased’s misdeeds. inal mastermind is too wealthy, power-
together, explains how and why the ful, and well connected for Nero Wolfe
crime took place, and finally identifies Legally, many of these resolutions and Archie Goodwin to merely expose
the guilty party. Traditionally, the police make the investigator an accomplice to him to the police. Instead, they trick his
are waiting in an adjoining room to the crime. The consequences of this accomplice into shooting him. The
arrest the offender before he can menace rarely arise in mystery fiction, but being accomplice is then shot in turn by a
the detective or escape. an accomplice to a murder may not sit henchman. Justice triumphs and the
well with some members of a group of wicked are punished, but not in a public
This is a very difficult scene to investigators. If the party is inclined way.
arrange in an RPG. Part of the problem toward this resolution, make sure they
is that it’s a talk scene, not an action are all agreed upon it – an argument An equally common variant is the
scene, but the fundamental weakness between the detectives in front of the vil- scene in which the villain – usually
goes deeper than that. In a story, the lain is unlikely to make the scene work. someone rich and/or powerful – admits
audience – ideally – still doesn’t know the all, sneers at the detective, and chal-
truth. Narrative tension comes from the Another variation is to have someone lenges him to prove it. If you’re going to
audience’s anticipation of the answer, outside the party stage the drawing- set up this variation, you should try to
mirrored by the tension in the innocent room scene. Of course, the NPC has the make sure that there is, in fact, some-
suspects who are waiting to find out wrong solution, but it’s plausible enough thing the investigators can do to turn the
what happened. In a roleplaying game, that an innocent person may be arrested. tables on the crook.
on the other hand, the PCs and you This variant forces the PCs to out-argue
should both know the answer. Ergo, no the NPC and convince the police that IN THE
tension. their solution is the correct one. It can be INTERROGATION
especially effective if it’s the villain who ROOM
In addition, if you have more than actually stages the scene.
one detective, it’s hard for any one of A procedural detective confronts the
them to reveal the scheme in a mono- IN THE LAIR AT villain in an interrogation room. The
logue. The other detectives want to be GUNPOINT detective, constrained by Miranda and
part of this scene, too; they’ll tend to other rules, must get the villain to con-
interrupt or correct the person who is A hard-boiled detective or thriller fess by any legal means.
speaking. This can confuse the scene, hero usually confronts the villain in pri-
and lead to an anticlimax. vate, often in the villain’s lair along with Tactics vary. The good cop/bad cop
his thugs. This is the kind of scene the routine is a cliche because it works sur-
Suggest that if the PCs want to stage heroes may be more comfortable with. prisingly often. Appeals to morality, fam-
the drawing-room scene, they agree All they need to do is either outfight the ily responsibility, and religious values
among themselves who will speak and villain’s thugs, or set things up so that can also work. Pretending to be sympa-
what is being said first. You may want to the police can step in and arrest the vil- thetic or understanding sometimes
give them some time alone to plan to lain and his thugs. In Looking for works, as can vague promises to “put in
provide some tension in the scene. Rachael Wallace, for example, Spenser a good word” or “do what I can” for the
breaks into the villain’s home to rescue cooperative suspect.
A variation on this scene is a person- his kidnapped client, and shoots the bad
al confrontation between the investiga- guys in a clear self-defense situation. The key to the procedural confronta-
tor and the perpetrator. The investigator tion is hope – persuading the villain that
might offer a sympathetic villain a deal. Thriller confrontations are usually he can win his freedom and go home if
He may give the villain the face-saving free of moral ambiguity (and often only he cooperates with the detective.
option of dying rather than being highly cinematic, too). Hard-boiled
publicly exposed as a murderer. In The confrontations may not be so clear-cut.

28 GURPS MYSTERIES

THE VILLAIN’S fight for his freedom, it’s a lot more fun your villains will not escape and make
RESPONSE to let the PCs know they were right. comebacks. Nor, in most mystery sto-
ries, do the vanquished villain’s family,
How the PCs confront the villain is THE RESOLUTION friends, or associates threaten the inves-
primarily up to them, but they are likely tigators. The exception is the thriller, in
to pick one of the traditional options. “When you hire a boy in my line of which vanquished villains or their fol-
The villain’s response, on the other hand, work it isn’t like hiring a window-washer lowers frequently show up, longing for
is your bailiwick. and showing him eight windows and say- revenge, in a sequel.
ing: ‘Wash those and you’re through.’ You
Once the villain has been confronted don’t know what I have to go through or Once your detectives have solved the
with the proof of his guilt, he may try to over or under to do your job for you. I do case, it’s not a traditional part of the
explain or lie. The investigators should it my way. I do my best to protect you and genre for them to later learn that they
respond with hard fact after hard fact I may break a few rules, but I break them mistakenly accused and punished an
that seals his fate. If they do not have in your favor. The client comes first, innocent man. This is one of those
sufficient evidence of guilt, they may try unless he’s crooked. Even then all I do is places where the genre diverges from
to brazen it out and trick the villain by hand the job back to him and keep my reality: knowing the truth solves the
claiming they have evidence and con- mouth shut.” problem, period. Introducing evidence
vincing him to confess as all is lost – if he that clears the villain in a later adventure
confesses he can hope for lenience. This – Philip Marlowe, may give your PCs an interesting ethical
response can work well as a tension- The Big Sleep dilemma, but it will also make them
builder if there’s some third party who more hesitant and indecisive in later
has to be convinced – perhaps a judge, The resolution is the dénouement, adventures. That’s bad for a continuing
perhaps a police officer, perhaps a dis- the moral, the cherry on top. Mystery campaign.
traught relative with a gun. adventures shouldn’t leave any loose
ends. Written mysteries, even series fic- The resolution is also the place to
Another classic approach is to set a tion, tie up the loose ends at the end of handle any serious mistakes the detec-
trap for the villain. Here, the investiga- each book. Television detective series are tives made. This isn’t a traditional part of
tors let information slip to several sus- also episodic: each adventure stands the written or filmed genre, but it’s a
pects that they have some proof that the alone. Your players should have that necessity if you’re running an ongoing
villain might be able to destroy if he same feeling – they’ve solved the puzzle, campaign. If they’ve acted inappropriate-
moves quickly enough. The person who wrapped up the package, and set things ly in their zeal to solve the crime or pro-
tries to destroy the evidence is the to rights. tect their client, they must explain them-
villain. selves. Official investigators may be chas-
Take a few minutes to describe what tised by their superiors; private investiga-
When confronted with enough proof happens to the villain, if it wasn’t tors may be threatened with the loss of
of guilt, the perpetrator frequently con- resolved previously. Explain anything their licenses; interfering private citizens
fesses. However, just having him hang that still needs explaining. If the investi- can be shamed in the newspapers or even
his head and mumble “yeah, I killed gators have questions about a clue or an sued.
him,” is not dramatically satisfying. Give NPC, resolve them. On the sly, while
your offender something interesting to you’re doing so, make notes for yourself Finally, the resolution is the time to
do in this scene. Your players want to about how the adventure worked: what give the PCs their rewards for a job well
feel confident that they got the right man was clear, what they’re still confused done. Typical rewards may include repu-
and that he deserves the punishment he’s about, where you needed to prepare tation, money, favors, patrons, and new
about to receive. more, where you could have prepared contacts, in addition to experience point
less. awards. Contacts may become more
Have him justify himself. It’s human available to the investigators, or more
nature to want to justify your deeds. Your secondary and tertiary reliable. Clients or superiors may help
Even the most vicious villain, when con- NPCs can reappear, perhaps to be bury the evidence of any minor misdeeds
fronted, will want to explain how his reused in other adventures. Generally, the investigators may have committed.
conduct was virtuous – avenging himself
for a wrong, claiming to be the victim of You can also give
society or “the system,” or just claiming them intangible
that “everyone else does it.” He may rewards, like flat-
claim that it is the victim’s fault; the vic-
tim deserved his fate. Have his justifica- tering stories in
tion include some minor revelation or the media that
twist – nothing that changes what the provide only
detectives have figured out, but perhaps temporary fame.
something that explains some clue that
had puzzled them for a while.

But do have him make an admission,
even if he doesn’t confess fully. While it’s
more realistic for the confronted villain
to clam up, demand a lawyer, and vow to

GURPS MYSTERIES 29

CHAPTER TWO

“A LITTLE
REDDISH MOULD . . .”

“For example, observation shows me Mysteries focuses on solving crimes, and noticing unusual things than from
that you have been to the Wigmore Street criminal PCs in other genres can also use trace evidence and fingerprints.
Post-Office this morning, but deduction this chapter for ideas on how they can
lets me know that when you were there try to avoid detection by NPC detectives. In a hardboiled story, the private inves-
you dispatched a telegram. . . . tigator often does not have access to the
Observation tells me that you have a little Some of this information may be primary crime scene. He learns about it if
reddish mould adhering to your instep. seem familiar to those who read or watch he can gain access to the police reports.
Just opposite the Wigmore Street Office mysteries. It is repeated here to ensure During the course of the story, the private
they have taken up the pavement and that everyone at the game table is work- investigator may come across other crime
thrown up some earth, which lies in such ing with consistent facts, drawn from scenes, but he often does not have time for
a way that it is difficult to avoid treading forensic texts, to avoid confusion and a detailed examination. He doesn’t want
in it in entering. The earth is of this pecu- misunderstandings. Some of these tools to be found by police at the scene. At min-
liar reddish tint which is found, as far as may not be available to the investigators imum, he would be delayed by their ques-
I know, nowhere else in the neighborhood. because of the campaign’s tech level, or tions. At worst, he might be accused of
. . . I knew that you had not written a let- because they use magic in place of sci- committing the crime. In reading reports
ter, since I sat opposite to you all morning. ence. Even in those situations, the GM or surveying the scene, detectives may ask
I see also in your open desk there that you will want to make sure that the obvious questions that the GM was not anticipat-
have a sheet of stamps and a thick bundle details are consistent with modern ing but which should logically be in the
of postcards. What could you go to the knowledge so the players, and thus their report. Here, as in the cozy, it is more like-
post-office for, then, but to send a wire? characters, are not misled by what they ly that the key clues will come from ques-
Eliminate all other factors, and the one might know about basic forensic science. tioning and intimidating witnesses than
which remains must be the truth.” from forensic analysis.
How much forensics affects an adven-
– Sherlock Holmes, ture depends on what kind of adventure The police procedural story often
The Sign of Four it is and who the investigators are. In a involves detailed descriptions of the
cozy, the gory details of death are often crime scene and the body. If the adven-
The scene of the crime is a key loca- glossed over. The scene focuses on clues ture includes a PC scientific specialist,
tion in any mystery adventure, contain- left in and around the area. Genius and then the adventure will likely include
ing vital clues about what happened and amateur detectives, the most common clues that use that character’s skills. The
to whom. This chapter gives GMs and investigators in a cozy, frequently rely on GM should be prepared for detailed
players an introduction to modern NPC experts to provide basic informa- questions about the crime scene and
forensic science. GMs can use this chap- tion about time and cause of death. That have consistent, logical answers ready.
ter to generate useful clues. Players can doesn’t mean that detectives in a cozy
use it for ideas about the kind of things may not ask detailed questions about the This chapter focuses on homicides,
they might discover at a crime scene and body and its surroundings. However, it is but some of the forensics information is
what they mean. Although GURPS more likely that they will find their more generally applicable. It also deals
answers through questioning suspects with factors specific to arson, kidnapping,
and a few other crimes.

HOMICIDE INVESTIGATIONS

DESCRIBING THE seventeen steps, because I have both seen perpetrator enter and leave? What win-
SCENE and observed.” dows and doors are open or unlocked?

“You see, but you do not observe. The – Sherlock Holmes, What does the scene sound like? Is it
distinction is clear. For example, you have A Scandal in Bohemia noisy or calm? Are there nearby sounds,
frequently seen the steps which lead up like construction or a highway, which
from the hall to this room? . . . Then how When the GM reads flavor text might have concealed sounds of a strug-
many are there? . . . You have not describing the crime scene, pay attention gle? Are there sounds missing, like
observed. And yet you have seen. That is to the details. What does the scene look Holmes’ famous dog that did not bark,
just my point. Now I know that there are like? How is it illuminated? Is the body or an alarm that sounded when police
outdoors or inside? If it is in a room, entered, but not when the struggle
whose room is it? What sorts of things occurred?
are in it? What things that should be in it
are missing or disturbed? How did the

30 GURPS MYSTERIES

What does the scene smell like? Are When a properly trained officer arrives tographed in place, and its location
there any unusual odors? Is it unusually at a modern-day crime scene, he will measured from two fixed points. If
warm or cold? not touch anything unless there’s an there’s a corpse, it is removed by the
injured person there who needs to be medical examiner after its location and
Now think about the victim. Where helped, or an imminent danger like a position have been photographed and
is he? What position is his body in? Has fire or gas leak. The officer will call for documented. (The corpse’s personal
it been moved? Has it been cleaned? backup, then secure the crime scene effects may be removed by detectives at
What’s the victim wearing? Where are unless there’s a very good reason to the scene or documented later at the
the wounds? Are his personal effects abandon it; to immediately pursue a morgue.)
still present? dangerous suspect, for example. He will
try to isolate the witnesses from each Once a piece of evidence is collected,
The GM may provide a crime scene other so they cannot discuss among it will be packaged separately and
sketch. A typical sketch is a simple line themselves what they saw. appropriately. Generally, anything that
drawing, normally to scale, showing the is damp needs to be stored in paper so
location of key aspects of the scene. It A well-trained officer will write down that the moisture can evaporate.
generally includes the location of everything about the situation. He will Material with blood or other body flu-
entrances, exits, bodies, blood spatters, record the time of day, the day of the ids on it is marked with biohazard
weapons, ammunition, and other indi- week, the weather, the temperature, warning labels and stored in a contain-
cations about what happened. The who arrived at the scene and when, er where it can air-dry naturally.
detectives who prepare real crime scene what doors and windows were (Sealing it in an airtight container or
sketches are not artists – the sketch is a open/closed/locked, and any other detail trying to dry it with heat can cause it to
functional aid in recalling and analyzing that seems important to the officer at decompose and reduce its value as evi-
the scene. the time. dence.) A swab can be used to collect
moist fluids; the swab is stored in its
Props can also be very useful and fun. When backup arrives, the respond- own vial of preservatives. Most things
Many toy stores have toy firearms, toy ing officer turns the scene over to a that aren’t damp can be stored in plas-
knives and weapons, and kids’ finger- detective, who is responsible for pro- tic or glass. If the detective suspects
printing kits. For GMs interested in more cessing the scene. The detective’s job is there may be fingerprints on an item,
graphic props, photographs of wounds to figure out how big the crime scene is, he’ll try to suspend it in a large box or
and bodies can be found in medical texts to photograph evidence, and to collect can so that the prints are not rubbed off
and on some medical web sites. it. The detective will take notes and by the container. A paper grocery sack
measurements. Before any object is can also work because it is too stiff to
GURPS Cops discusses police pro- moved or collected, it should be pho- rub off prints unless it is badly
cedures at a crime scene. For a mystery, mishandled.
PCs only need to know the basics.
Detectives or forensic technicians
Crime Scenes and Criminals will look for latent evidence like finger-
prints or hidden blood stains.
What a murderer does at the scene can tell the investigators a great deal Detectives will look for hidden evidence
about his personality and motives. The scene itself may help them figure out under furniture, in drawers, and so on.
what kind of criminal they are looking for. If necessary, they’ll pull the plumbing
traps to see if any evidence was washed
If the corpse was killed with a precise, single wound, then the investigator or flushed away. Detectives may also
is likely dealing with an experienced killer and may be able to find earlier use an evidence vacuum, which is
crimes by the same person. Generally the body will be left in place, or moved cleaned before each use, to collect trace
to hide it from a casual observer. evidence like hair, fibers, soil, and
pollen.
If the corpse was killed by many wounds, especially if the medical examin-
er finds that some were inflicted after death or many of the wounds were to If there’s a suspect, the detectives
the face, genitals, or breasts (on women), the investigator is probably dealing may process him for trace evidence.
with a very angry killer who disfigured the body out of rage against that per- They may seize his clothing and the
son or that type of person. It is likely that the criminal knew the victim and the material under his fingernails, test his
attack was very personal. The body may be left in place, or partly covered by hands for gunpowder residue, and take
a murderer who felt some remorse after his rage passed. his fingerprints. In some states, they
need a warrant to collect a DNA sam-
If the corpse has been casually dumped or left in plain sight, it may show ple, although it can be easy to discreet-
the killer’s contempt for him or for that type of person. A corpse that has been ly collect one from a cigarette he
displayed in some specific fashion shows a dangerous killer acting out some smoked or clean drinking glass he used.
mental fantasy.
Detectives do not need to restore the
Similarly, a burglar who steals a few valuable items with a minimum of property to its original condition, but
destruction is an experienced professional, likely with a buyer arranged before they generally try not to unnecessarily
the crime. A burglar who steals common household items and makes a mess damage the scene. Major cities have
looking for them is likely an amateur out for a quick sale. A burglar who just cleaning companies that specialize in
steals women’s underwear or shoes is a fetish burglar and may be working his crime scene cleanup for the family or
way up to sexual assault or even serial killing. property owner.

GURPS MYSTERIES 31

In roleplaying games, as in reality, Homicide or Suicide?
not every crime scene will be ideally
processed and appropriately handled. In a mystery adventure, the apparent suicide usually is a homicide, dis-
Typically, in a mystery, the scene will be guised by the villain. However, there are a few stories where a villain disguis-
processed well enough to generate key es a suicide as a homicide to frame a third person. Real-world victims some-
information. Obvious mistakes may times try to disguise suicides as homicides or accidents so that their families
themselves be clues that a detective or can collect their life insurance. Telling one from the other is difficult for real-
evidence technician is corrupt, or world investigators. Here are some things the PCs might look for.
perhaps even involved in the crime.
Motive
CAUSE,
MECHANISM, AND Many people commit suicide because of ill health, marital strife, emotion-
MANNER OF al stress (unhappy love affairs, separation, or divorce), financial troubles,
DEATH humiliation (actual or perceived), loss of a loved one, or revenge on a spurned
lover or parents (common in adolescents). Alcohol, narcotics, or serious men-
“Crime is about life, death and the lib- tal illness may be involved.
erty of the subject; civil law is entirely con-
cerned with that most tedious of all top- Means
ics, money. Criminal law requires an
expert knowledge of bloodstains, police- Women are traditionally more likely to use poisons like sleeping pills. Men
men’s notebooks and the dark flow of are traditionally more likely to use firearms; however, since the 1980s,
human passion, as well as the argot cur- firearms are the preferred method for both male and female suicides. Women
rently in use round the Elephant and are more likely to choose methods that do not disfigure the body; if a firearm
Castle. Civil law calls for a close study of is used, the shot is often to the chest.
such yawn-producing matters as bills of
exchange, negotiable instruments and Among the common means and indicators are:
charter parties.” The victim may have a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the temple or head
(more than one wound is possible). The powder marks, gunpowder residue,
– Horace Rumpole, and blood spatter around the wound should show contact or near-contact
Rumpole and the Age of Miracles (arm’s length distance), however, gunpowder residue on hands is not found in
30% of cases. The victim may try to make suicide look like a gun cleaning acci-
When the investigators receive an dent, however an actual death in a cleaning accident is very, very rare.
autopsy report from the medical exam- The victim may have died from hanging even if his feet or even knees are
iner, it will usually list the cause, mecha- still on the floor.
nism, and manner of death. The victim may have been poisoned. If medicine or illegal narcotics were
used, it is hard to tell a suicide from an accidental overdose.
The cause of death is the injury or dis- The victim may have drowned.
ease that produced the biological effect The victim may have cut himself and bled to death. There may be hesita-
that resulted in the victim’s death. tion marks from earlier attempts and the wound may be shallower at the end.
Gunshot wounds, stab wounds, and The victim may asphyxiate himself with carbon monoxide. There’s no spe-
coronary arteriosclerosis are all causes cific way to tell this from an accident or homicide.
of death. The victim may jump from a high location. There’s no specific way to tell
this from an accident or homicide.
The mechanism of death is the biolog- The victim may have died in a single vehicle “accident.” The investigator
ical effect that resulted in death. should look for the impression of pedals on victim’s shoes and a lack of skid
Hemorrhage, septicemia, and cardiac marks.
arrhythmia are all mechanisms of death. A victim may combine multiple methods of suicide, like taking a fatal
overdose of drugs, then shooting himself, just to be certain of dying.
The manner of death is the reason for In 75% of suicides, the victim does not leave a note. Note writers are more
the injury or disease. Natural causes, likely to use firearms, hanging, and poison than other methods. Women are
homicide, suicide, accidental, or more likely to leave notes that detail the funeral arrangements they would pre-
undetermined are all manners of death. fer. The investigator may want to have a handwriting expert make sure the
note is genuine.
TIME OF DEATH
to determine the time, the less precise A villain could try to fool the estimate, by
Time of death is a key clue in most the estimate can be. delaying the discovery of the body while
murder mysteries. Fixing the time of altering the temperature with an air
death rules out suspects with solid alibis Time of death and time of injury are conditioner or heater set on a timer.
and helps locate witnesses who might not the same. For example, a person
have observed something unusual. An could be fatally injured, but linger The major factors in determining
NPC expert will normally determine unconscious for hours before finally time of death are:
time of death. In general, the longer the dying. Time estimates can also be rigged.
time between the death and the attempt

32 GURPS MYSTERIES

Algor Mortis: Normal loss of body Decomposition: The progress of on the specific microclimate around the
heat over time. A corpse loses about 1.5ϒ decomposition of the body’s cells and body from time of death to discovery,
F per hour until it reaches the ambient putrefaction by the body’s bacteria. locations of major insect activity, the
room temperature in about 16 hours. A Putrefaction begins at death. Visible amount of insect activity, presence of
body submerged in water loses about 5ϒ signs start appearing within 24 to 36 absence of insect predators, season, geo-
F per hour and reaches ambient water hours, depending on temperature. If the graphic location, and barriers to access
temperature within 5 to 6 hours. This body is left outdoors exposed to scav- by insects to the corpse. Many crime
formula was adopted in the late 19th engers, it can be reduced to a skeleton in scene technicians do not collect insect
century. Modern researchers criticize it nine to 10 days. When a body is sub- evidence unless the corpse has been left
as too simple. There are tremendous merged or buried in very wet soil, its undiscovered for a significant period
variations in temperature loss due to fatty tissues decompose into yellowish- because of the time, effort, and skill
build, clothing, environment, blood loss, white waxy material called adipocere. involved in doing so accurately and
activity prior to death, and so on. Use Adipocere starts forming in an adult in completely.
this formula with caution from the about three months and completely
1950s onward. transforms the fatty tissues, muscles, Other exotic techniques: For bodies
and viscera in one to one-and-a-half found long after death, modern
Livor Mortis: The reddish-purple dis- years. A pathologist might “tongue test” researchers also look at pollen on the
coloration in the dependent (lower) old bones —- if his tongue sticks to the body, plant growth on and around it, and
areas of the body. The discoloration is bone, calcium is still present and the microbial activity in the dirt under and
caused by gravity pulling the blood into bones are likely less than 50 years old. around a decomposed corpse.
the smaller vessels in those areas. Livor
mortis is visible within 30 minutes to Dramatic vs. Realistic
two hours after death. If the body is Forensics
moved during that time, livor mortis will
shift. If it is moved afterward, the livor Forensic science has changed a great deal since the golden age of mystery
mortis pattern will reveal the body’s orig- writing. Assumptions that were accepted without significant question by
inal post-death position. (Since livor pathologists in the 19th century, such as the simple formula for determining
mortis depends on gravity, the rate may time of death from lost body temperature, would be used with great caution
be very different in science fiction set- by a modern medical examiner. Nevertheless, there are good dramatic reasons
tings.) Determining when livor mortis to use the simple formulas, and it is historically accurate to do so and for the
begins depends on the observer’s percep- investigators to assume that the results are reliable.
tion, on the hue of the corpse’s skin, and
on blood loss or anemia. Again, use this If the GM is applying modern forensic theory within a historical setting for
estimate with caution from the mid-20th realism purposes, and the PCs are applying the historical theory, then the play-
century onward. ers may be rightfully frustrated when their successful skill rolls lead to inac-
curate results. The GM should inform the players whether dramatic or realis-
Rigor Mortis: The stiffening of the tic conventions apply, although the characters may have no reason to doubt
body’s muscles due to chemical changes their methods.
after death. Rigor mortis usually appears
two to four hours after death and fully Stomach Contents: Since digestion CAUSES OF DEATH
develops in six to 12 hours. Rigor mortis stops at death, if there are any stomach
usually lasts 36 hours, then slowly disap- contents, during the autopsy the medical The cause of death will leave specific
pears. There is a rare, extreme version of examiner can try to determine the inter- evidence. An experienced investigator at
rigor mortis called cadaveric spasm, in val between the last meal and death. A the scene might spot some of the evi-
which muscles lock in place at the small meal like a sandwich is digested in dence. Other evidence will not be evident
moment of death. Typically, cadaveric about an hour. A large meal typically until the autopsy. If the GM describes
spasm affects the hands; however one takes about three to five hours. Again, something atypical for the assumed
medical examiner described a corpse this is highly variable; experts in the O.J. cause of death, that may be an important
(who had been shot) found kneeling, Simpson trial admitted that stomach clue that all is not what it seems.
with his right arm extended upward, content analysis is one of the most unre-
with a straight razor clenched in it. liable postmortem time scales. Asphyxiation
Rigor mortis can be affected by stress
and activity before death and the victim’s Insect Activity: Forensic entomology Asphyxiation is not a common type
fitness which all affect the chemical bal- is a new field based on the life cycle of of homicide. Normally, asphyxiation
ance in the muscles. insects that feed on human remains. means strangulation by hand or by liga-
Research in this area began in the 1960s, ture, but it also includes drowning and
The vitreous humor test, popular becoming more common in the 1980s. suffocation.
from 1963 to the early-1990s, also tests Insects can narrow the time of death to
chemical changes. The test uses the fluid within days, but not hours and depends
in the eye, but is prone to contamination
by retinal cells if not performed properly
and can also be affected by the environ-
ment and by a pre-mortum infection in
the corpse.

GURPS MYSTERIES 33

Strangulation assault where the attacker is trying to used to strangle a victim. The mark will be
is personal. keep the victim quiet during the crime. a bruise and a furrow in the victim’s neck.
The victim is often restrained; incapaci- The mark may have the pattern of the
The killer tated by disease, alcohol, or drugs; a object used. If it slants upward toward a
needs to be child; or elderly. point, then the victim was likely hanged. If
in close con- it encircles the neck horizontally, the
tact with the Investigators should look for: victim was strangled.
victim during Petechiae – pinpoint hemorrhages
his struggles. And produced by the rupture of small blood Bruising and abrasions on the nose,
it is difficult to strangle a vessels in the victim’s eyes, face, chin, or lips caused by an object or hand
healthy, conscious adult. epicardium, and lungs. used to smother the victim with a pillow,
Usually, homicides by stran- Ligature marks from the rope, cord, or by holding the nose and mouth shut.
gulation are a part of a sexual necktie, cloth, pantyhose, or other object

Disposing of Bodies

Getting rid of a body without a trace is exceptionally dif- speed of putrefaction depends on the water temperature,
ficult. Identifiable human remains have been recovered salinity, and whether the water is moving. A body sunk in
from the collapse of the World Trade Center and the deep cold water like the ocean or the Great Lakes may never
destruction of the space shuttle Columbia. Swiss climbers surface. In a river in a temperate climate, an unweighted
in 1991 found the body of a man who had been frozen in a corpse will surface in two to five days in the spring, 10 to 14
glacier since 2800 B.C. If the murderer needs to hide an days in the early winter, and possibly not at all during the
inconvenient body, here are some ideas. depths of winter. Generally, a body will take twice as long to
decompose in water as it would in open air.
● Burying a body in an isolated location is traditional.
The killer needs a location where his digging and the dis- ● Leaving the body for scavengers in a deserted wilder-
turbed earth will not be noticeable. Over time, scavengers, ness area may work. Large carnivores can drag a corpse a
insects, and bacteria will reduce the body to a skeleton. moderate distance before covering it with debris or burying
Buried bodies decompose slowly, 8 times more slowly than it for later meals. Coyotes in the Pacific Northwest will
those left in open air. Quick lime (calcium oxide) will speed reduce a body to a skeleton in 28 days, and disarticulate
decomposition by drawing water out of the body. It also and scatter most of the skeleton in 2 months. After a year,
prevents scavengers and earthworms from bringing the bones will be dispersed over a radius of 1,000 feet. Teeth
remains to the surface. and bone fragments may be found in the animal scat. Most
bodies are found within 50 to 200 feet of a trail or road
The speed of decomposition depends on the soil. because of the difficulty of moving a corpse through rough
Prehistoric bodies have been found preserved in oak water, terrain.
bog water, and ground with a high arsenic content. Bodies
left exposed in dry climates may mummify and remain pre- ● Storing the corpse, tightly wrapped, in a storage lock-
served for dozens, or thousands, of years. Buried bodies er. A Massachusetts woman murdered her husband and hid
can be located by the heat and methane gas they produce his body taped in a freezer in a self-storage facility for 13
while decomposing, by probing for soft earth, and by years. The body was discovered when she confessed to the
trained cadaver-sniffing dogs. murder on her death bed.

● Cremating a body is also traditional. Cremation ● One murderer in 1949 London used sulfuric acid. A
requires high temperatures (1,238ϒ to 1,490ϒF) applied large quantity of acid will reduce the body to an unrecog-
over two to three hours to reduce a body to ashes and nizable goo (which could still possibly be tested for DNA)
pieces of calcinated bone. The bone then needs to be and some bones. Gallstones, dental fillings, and crowns
ground up and scattered with the ashes to prevent discov- may also survive. This requires a great deal of acid and
ery. A murderer who has legitimate access to a crematori- produces toxic fumes.
um may escape detection for quite some time. Lacking an
actual crematorium, it is possible to burn a body on a large ● A Connecticut man used a wood chipper in 1985. He
grill using the body’s fat to feed the fire. A large pottery kiln froze his wife’s body in a large freezer, dismembered it with
can also reach the proper temperatures – and is said to a chainsaw, then fed it through a rented wood chipper, aim-
leave an attractive red glaze on any pottery fired along with ing the exit chute over a local lake. Police were able to
the body. recover some hair and small bone and tooth fragments
from the riverbanks and extract enough DNA to match the
● Disposal in the water or at sea is also traditional. The remains to the man’s missing wife. Members of organized
corpse will usually sink, but air trapped in its clothing may crime are rumored to dispose of bodies by rendering them
keep it on the surface. Once the corpse has sunk to the bot- in meat plants.
tom, it will remain there until the gases caused by putrefac-
tion cause it to rise to the surface and float. Weights or heavy ● Intermingling the body with victims of wars, mass dis-
clothing will delay, but usually not prevent, this floating. The asters, and disease outbreaks will hide it, as long as no one
looks at it carefully enough to realize that its cause of death
is different from other victims.

34 GURPS MYSTERIES

Bruises and fingernail marks in a man- If the GM needs to describe burns, most common historical poisons –
ual strangulation. If the hyoid bone and there are six different kinds: flame burns arsenic, cyanide, and strychnine – and
thyroid cartilage in the neck are frac- (caused by actual contact with fire), con- most modern chemicals are easily
tured, it may mean that the victim was tact burns (caused by contact with a hot detected by modern toxicological tests.
manually strangled; however, similar surface), radiant heat burns (caused by Many medical examiners’ offices rou-
marks may accidentally be made during heat waves), scalding burns (caused by tinely perform a complete toxicological
an autopsy. hot liquids), chemical burns (caused by screen of any corpse aged 70 or younger
strong acids, alkali and other substances that comes into their office.
A fine, white froth or foam in the air- that produce blisters), and microwave
ways and around the mouth and nostrils burns (rare). Scald burns and contact Starting at TL5, chemical tests
in drowning cases where the victim was burns from cigarettes and hot irons are become available for traces of poison in
alive when he entered the water. Similar often indications of child abuse. a corpse. Roll against Forensics,
foam can be found in cases of heart fail- Diagnosis-3, or Chemistry-5. Modifiers:
ure, drug overdose, and head injuries. Burns are usually described as first- -5 to -10 without a proper laboratory; -5
degree (superficial, like a sunburn), sec- or more for a rare or obscure poison; +1
It is very hard to tell if a victim found ond-degree (minor tissue damage, forms per additional dose of poison after the
in the water drowned, or died and fell or blisters), third-degree (damage to all lay- first. (See p. 79 for a list of specific dates
was thrown into the water. Water will ers of the skin, skin has dry, leathery in history when tests for various poisons
make its way into the lungs in either case. appearance without blisters), and first became available.)
Usually, the medical examiner deter- fourth-degree burns (damage to the
mines the death was by drowning if the tissues under the skin). The victim may detect the poison.
victim was found in the water and all (see pp. B437-438, pp. CV73-76.)
other causes of death have been excluded. Badly burned bodies are generally
identified by DNA, dental records, or When poison is suspected, investiga-
Burns comparison of X-rays with the suspected tors should ask if the victim complained
victim’s medical records. of headaches, confusion, drowsiness,
For mystery purposes, the key ques- convulsions, diarrhea, vomiting, cramp-
tions with a burned corpse are: the iden- Electrocution ing muscles, or stomach pain. Cramps
tity of the body; whether the deceased and stomach pain are classic symptoms
was killed before or after the fire; and Death by electrocution is infrequent – of arsenic poisoning. Cyanide poisoning
whether the fire was the cause of death. homicides and suicides using this includes convulsions, nausea, and vomit-
Without laboratory testing, it is not pos- method are rare. Electrocution can ing, but adds difficulty breathing, irrita-
sible to distinguish pre-death burns cause burns, bone fractures from muscle tion of the nose, mouth, and throat, and
from postmortem burns. (A leading contractions, cardiac arrhythmia, and the smell of bitter almonds on the breath.
forensic text considers spontaneous fatal damage to the part of the brain that Strychnine poisoning also includes con-
human combustion to be “absurd and controls breathing. vulsions, nausea, and vomiting, but adds
warrants no further discussion.”) strong muscle contractions similar to
If a killer drops a plugged-in electri- those in tetanus. The muscle contrac-
Bodies found after a fire are not cal device into a bathtub while the vic- tions can contort the body so that it arch-
always charred and disfigured. As dis- tim is taking a bath, the victim will usu- es backward with only the heels and the
cussed above, it is hard to cremate a ally die. In many cases, there will not be top of the head touching the ground and
body in a normal fire. The corpse may an electrical burn (the current is spread a fixed grin on the face called the risus
have no evidence of injury or it may have over a large part of the skin). If the sardonicus. Check the stomach contents,
only some third and second-degree device is removed, the cause of death garbage, dishes and containers, and any
burns. Burned bodies are often found in may be missed. A normal fuse or circuit uneaten portions of the victim’s last meal
a pugilistic pose caused by heat damage breaker will typically not react to this for uneaten poison.
to the muscle fibers – the upper torso electrocution. If the device is plugged
looks like a boxer holding his hands in into an outlet with a Ground-Fault Look for the amount of poison and
front of him. This pose has nothing to do Current Interrupter (required in modern possibility of an accidental dose or a sui-
with whether the person was alive or kitchens, bathrooms, and outside out- cide. Stereotypically, women are more
dead before the fire. Similarly, blisters lets), the current will be shut off before likely to kill (or commit suicide) with
can form after death. electrocution occurs, much to the killer’s poison since it involves little physical
chagrin. contact with the victim and minimal
Investigators should look for blood mess. Poisoning generally requires the
tests that show fatal levels of carbon An individual who has been fatally poisoner to have access to the victim’s
monoxide. Bodies who died of smoke electrocuted may yell out before losing food, especially if the poisoner wants to
inhalation (carbon monoxide poisoning) consciousness. Immediate first aid may be sure only his victim is harmed. Mass
generally have soot in the nostrils, save some victims; in a few cases, the poisonings, like the 1982 Tylenol prod-
mouth, throat, and lungs. However, a heart may self-correct its rhythm. uct tampering incident in Chicago, also
lack of soot does not mean the person require access to the tampered product
was dead before the fire started. The Poisoning and the poison (cyanide in that case).
body’s organs will also show a typical Investigators should be aware that,
cherry-red color, but this can also be Death by poison is uncommon in occasionally, a product-tampering inci-
caused by cyanide poisoning or a body reality, but a staple of the cozy setting. dent is a cover for a homicide – the poi-
that has been exposed to the cold for a Prescribed medicines, over-the-counter soner tries to cover the death by placing
long time. Inhaling hot air rarely burns drugs, and a large number of household tampered products into circulation.
the lungs. chemicals can cause fatal poisoning. The

GURPS MYSTERIES 35

Common Poisons effects cease, roll vs. HT to avoid perma- Carbon monoxide is an inhaled poi-
nent loss of 1 HT; this roll is at +2 if a son that acts by bonding to hemoglobin,
The descriptions below include some physician is in attendance. Like most blocking oxygen transport in the blood.
of the commonly used poisons both in alkaloids, atropine has a distinct bitter Initial symptoms are headache, drowsi-
fiction and in actual crimes. Some com- taste (+2 to Taste rolls). Holdout rolls are ness, and mild confusion. This is a an
mon poisons, and the rules for poisoning at +2; Sleight of Hand rolls are unmodi- area-effect respiratory agent. Roll vs. IQ-
are discussed at p. B437-439. Some exot- fied. $20 per dose (note smaller doses 2 to realize something is wrong. Once
ic poisons can be found in GURPS are used for medical purposes). carbon monoxide reaches lethal levels,
Covert Ops (See pp. CV73-76). there is a 10-second delay and an HT roll
Physostigmine (TL7) is a last resort in to resist. If the target fails the HT roll, he
The poisons listed here have modi- cases of massive atropine poisoning. is Drowsy (p. B428) with a -2 to DX, and
fiers to Holdout (to hide them on the poi- Roll vs. HT; on a critical failure it causes IQ and begins to suffocate (p. B436).
soner’s person before administration) a Heart Attack (p. B429), but on any
and Sleight of Hand (to administer them other roll it stops further damage. LC2. If the target succeeds, he is still in
unobserved while others are watching). life-threatening danger until he finds
The difficulty of transporting and admin- Barbiturates are a class of synthetic fresh air. Cannot be detected by smell.
istering the poison may give investigators compounds derived from barbituric Not normally purchased; can be pro-
some clue about which suspect might acid; the basic compound is TL5, but the duced by incomplete combustion of
have been capable of the poisoning. useful derivatives are TL6. Treat these as charcoal (TL1) or in internal combus-
overdoses of a sedative or painkiller (p. tion exhaust (TL6). LC4.
Antimony (TL3) has effects quite sim- B441) No distinctive taste. Holdout rolls
ilar to those of arsenic (p. B439); usually are at +4; Sleight of Hand rolls are at +2. Curare is the active element in a poi-
administered as tartar emetic, a medici- $50. LC2-3. sonous Amazonian vine, Strychnos tox-
nal substance sold in the Victorian era ifer, used by tribal cultures to make poi-
and used, among other things, as a seda- Botulin toxins are produced by soned blowgun darts (TL0); the pure
tive. It has a slight bitter taste (-3 to Taste Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium that substance was extracted in the 19th cen-
rolls, see p. B437 regarding Taste rolls can develop in food under anaerobic tury (TL5). The injected drug has no
for poisons). Holdout rolls are at +2; conditions; oxygen is toxic to it. The delay and weakens and paralyzes the
Sleight of Hand rolls are unmodified. $1. need to culture the organism under muscles, eventually including the heart
LC3. anaerobic conditions makes production and respiratory muscles. Roll vs. HT-6 to
of the toxin difficult, but it is now used resist the effect. Success leaves the vic-
Arsenic trioxide (TL1), the usual toxic as an alternative to cosmetic surgery. tim at -5 DX and -5 ST for 15-HT min-
form of arsenic, is a white powder that The toxins are digestive with a 2d hour utes (minimum 1 minute). Failure
acts as an ingested poison (or a respira- delay. Roll vs. HT-2; if the roll succeeds results in total paralysis (p. B429) and
tory agent if breathed). Arsenic poison- the toxin does 4d toxic damage. Failure requires a roll vs. HT to continue breath-
ing can occur accidentally by improper- results in total paralysis (p. B429) and ing. If this second roll fails, the victim is
ly handling pressure-treated wood, from requires a roll vs. HT to continue breath- also suffocating, as from choking (pp.
damp or moldy wallpaper or wall paint ing. If this second roll fails, the victim is B428, 436) (see Botulin toxins above).
that contains arsenic (normally Scheele’s also suffocating, as from choking (pp. The target rolls HT every 1/2 hour to
green and Paris green), and from ingest- B428, 436). Breathing can be main- recover from the poison. Note that
ing naturally contaminated well water. tained by First Aid (p. B425). Roll First curare does not cause unconsciousness.
Chronic arsenic poisoning creates char- Aid-2 for every 1/2 hour of care, or apply Holdout rolls are at +6; Sleight of Hand
acteristic white bands (Mee’s lines) in mechanical respiration. (Note that CPR rolls are at +4. $5. LC2.
the fingernails and toenails. The main is very tiring costing 1FP per minute for
symptom is severe abdominal pain if full CPR, 1 FP per 3 minutes for just res- A combination of atropine and
ingested, or a cough, runny nose, and piration, 1 FP for 5 minutes if the victim neostigmine is an antidote for curare,
laryngitis if inhaled. As a digestive agent, has been intubated and a bag or other but will not take effect until 30 minutes
it has a one-hour delay and a HT-2 roll to device is used to help breathing.) If the have elapsed.
resist. Inflicts 1d Toxic damage, repeat- resuscitation fails, the target begins suf-
ing hourly for eight cycles. Arsenic triox- focating again. Assuming that artificial Cyanide (TL4), includes hydrogen
ide has no taste. Holdout rolls are at +4; respiration is maintained, roll HT-2, cyanide, a respiratory poison that dis-
Sleight of Hand rolls are at +2. $1/dose. every 12 hours, for up to 1d/2 days, to solves in water to form hydrocyanic acid
LC3. recover from the paralytic effect. Cannot (also called prussic acid) and potassium
be detected by taste. Holdout rolls are at and sodium cyanide, digestive and blood
Atropine (TL5), the main toxin in bel- +6; Sleight of Hand rolls are unmodified. poisons. Hydrocyanic acid is a digestive,
ladonna (Atropa belladonna) and jimson- $200 and up. LC2. blood, and contact poison. Causes 4d
weed (Datura stramonium), is a digestive toxic damage per dose with no delay by
or blood poison. The natural plants are inhalation or injection or after a 15 min-
also digestive poisons (TL0). Symptoms utes delay in contact or digestive forms;
include dry mouth, blurry vision, racing death is by cardiac arrest. Can be identi-
pulse, delirium, seizures, and coma. As fied by a slight bitter almond flavor (-2 to
an injected agent, it has 1 minute delay. Taste rolls). (Approximately half of the
As an ingested agent it has a 15 minute population can’t smell it, however, and
delay. Damage is 2 HP toxic, repeating at get no Taste roll.) Holdout rolls are at +6;
15 minute intervals, HT-6 to resist, for Sleight of Hand rolls are at +4. $2/dose.
up to 5 hours. The victim is at -4 DX and LC2.
-2 IQ after the first failed HT roll. After

36 GURPS MYSTERIES

Cyanide decomposes in the blood Identifying a Body
and may be impossible to detect if the
body is not discovered within a few days. One of the classic sleights-of-hand in mystery fiction is misidentifying a
Finding cyanide during an autopsy does badly damaged corpse. In earlier decades, a corpse could be identified by fin-
not necessarily mean the victim was poi- gerprints, dental work, and calculations on skeletal fragments to estimate age,
soned. Many common synthetic materi- gender, and sometimes race. There are techniques to try to reconstruct the face
als, when burned, produce cyanide in from an intact skull. These techniques are still used, but are being replaced
amounts insufficient to cause death, but with DNA databases.
enough to show up in some tests.
Cyanide can also be produced during Look for the fingers, teeth, skull, and long bones.
normal decomposition, which can also If someone with forensic training has the pelvis, skull, and arm bones of an
produce a misleading result on lab tests. adult, he can determine with reasonable accuracy gender, race, and handed-
ness. He can determine height from the long bones of the legs. Weight is hard
Ground Glass: a physical “poison.” to determine. It is also hard to determine sex from the bones of a child who
The sharp edges of the glass inflict has not entered puberty.
numerous cuts on the digestive tracts, For dental records, the investigator needs to determine a possible identity
leading to internal bleeding and, if that and obtain that person’s dental chart from their dentist. Dental records are
doesn’t kill the victim, to a risk of almost as good as fingerprints; a single tooth, or even the structure of the jaw
infection. itself can identify a person. It is rare for dental records to be mistaken; how-
ever, there have been cases of dentists recording non-existent work and fraud-
The immediate effect of ground glass ulently billing insurers and Medicaid, and of not recording work they per-
in the digestive system is 1d of impaling formed to hide income from the IRS.
damage to the vital organs (see p. B399). Fingerprint records will identify convicted criminals, military personnel,
Armor does not help. After this, apply anyone who has ever held a federal security clearance (required for many
the optional bleeding rule (see p. B420), administrative jobs), holders of firearms permits in many states, and so on.
even if it’s not used for ordinary injuries. Employers may also have employee fingerprint records in their files.
If this doesn’t kill the victim, roll against DNA databases are much smaller. They are generally limited to military per-
HT-1 to avoid infection in the abdomen sonnel and some criminals. If a detective has a possible identity for the victim,
(see p. B444). LC4. he might be able to find DNA on the victim’s toothbrush, hairbrush, or comb.
DNA tests generally take hours to days to perform, longer than fingerprint tests
Ricin is a blood, digestive, or inhaled or dental comparisons, especially if the sample is small, old, or contaminated
poison (TL5) extracted from the seeds of with other biological material.
castor beans (Ricinus communis); the
natural seeds are also digestive poisons identify cause of death are at +4. of a pipe or outline of a striking hand
(TL0). It has an 8 hour delay. Roll vs. HT- Strychnine has a strong bitter taste (+3 can be clearly seen.
2 at this time. If the target succeeds, he to Taste rolls). Holdout rolls are at +6;
takes 3d toxic. Survivors must roll vs. HT Sleight of Hand rolls are at +4. $5/dose. Gunshot wounds are a kind of punc-
or permanently lose 1 HT to organ dam- LC2. ture wound. The medical examiner won’t
age. A successful Physician roll by an be able to tell much about the weapon
attending doctor gives +1 to these HT While not a poison, per se, it is possi- from the wound’s size. Nor can even a
rolls. No distinctive taste. Holdout rolls ble but difficult to kill someone by inject- detailed examination distinguish wounds
are at +6; Sleight of Hand rolls are at +4. ing air into his veins, which will cause a from hollowpoint bullets from round-
$1. LC1. Heart Attack (p. B429). A relatively large nose bullet wounds. Rifle wounds are
amount of air (100-250 cm3) is needed, distinct from handgun wounds because
Strychnine is primarily a digestive which usually means using an rifle bullets are fired at a higher velocity
poison, but the dust can be a respiratory established intravenous line. Contrary to and have more energy when they strike.
poison (TL5). It occurs naturally in the popular fiction, the amount of air means
dog button plant (Strychnos nux- that it is easily detected in an autopsy. It is easy to confuse entry and exit
vomica) (TL0). The effect is convulsive wounds, especially if the muzzle of the
contractions of all the muscles at once, Wounds weapon was more than three feet from
producing violent convulsions after a 15 the victim when the shot was fired.
minute delay, the convulsions are a form Many victims will have wounds of Shots fired from three feet or less leave
of seizure (p. B429) lasting 5 minutes. some kind. Abrasions (scrapes), contu- soot, unburned powder, and powder
Starting five minutes after the convul- sions (bruises), lacerations (cuts), punc- burns, which will help the investigator
sions begin and every 5 minutes there- tures, and gunshot wounds will be most figure out the distance to within a half-
after, roll HT-6. If the roll fails, the common. foot or so.
seizures continues, and the character
loses 2 FP. The seizure can last up to one Abrasions and contusions sometimes Hacking and chopping wounds from
hour. If he succeeds, the seizure stops; show the pattern or shape of the object meat cleavers, axes, and machetes leave
target takes 2 FP. If the target’s FP reach- that made them. If enough force is used, characteristic damage on the victim’s
es 10, his respiratory muscles are para- fine details like the threading on the end bones. Microscopic analysis of the bones
lyzed and he is suffocating, as if from can broadly distinguish between these
choking. (see p. B428, 436-37). After a types of weapons.
total of 2d hours, the paralysis ends. The
convulsions produce a distinctive facial
expression, the risus sardonicus; rolls to

GURPS MYSTERIES 37

Punctures don’t hold shape as well. In theory, any contact between two patterns. The higher the speed, the small-
Skin is elastic. A knife wound might be surfaces leaves trace evidence of each on er the individual drops. The stain’s size
longer, shorter, or the same as the knife’s the other. Forensic equipment has also reveals how far it traveled from its
width. The depth may be more, less, or become more sensitive in recent years, source (the larger the drop, the larger the
equal to the length of the knife blade. allowing investigators to match all sorts of distance). Blood from a gunshot wound
When there are many punctures, a med- trace evidence to suspects. However, use- that strikes a close wall or object will have
ical examiner might be able to estimate ful forensic evidence like fingerprints or small drops in a tight pattern; blood that
the size of the knife by comparing multi- DNA associated with a suspect is only strikes a more distant object will have
ple wounds. The medical examiner won’t found in 5-10% of all crime scenes. This larger individual drops that are more
be able to tell whether the weapon was section is a very brief introduction to widely spread out. Blood that lands on an
single- or double-edged or whether the examining this evidence. Players and GMs angled surface or a wall will have different
edge was straight or serrated. He won’t involved in forensics-oriented police pro- patterns that blood that lands on the floor.
be able to match the knife to the wound, cedural adventures may want to look at “Contact smears” indicate that a bloody
unless part of the weapon broke off in some of the sources in the bibliography. object brushed against or touched
the body. another surface.
A police department has to be realis-
Stab wounds that have an “L” or “Y” tic in how it uses its limited personnel, Look for the number, shape, size, and
shape mean that the victim moved while laboratories, and budgets. Not every location of blood spatters to try to figure
the knife was being withdrawn. They case warrants a full-scale investigation. out how the blood was spilled. Check to
don’t necessarily mean that the attacker A detective with a hunch may battle make sure the stain is human blood and
twisted the knife in the body. superiors for extra resources on a seem- collect laboratory samples for blood type
ingly minor case. Private investigators and DNA matching.
Stab wounds from ice picks are dis- have whatever resources their client can
tinct from knife wounds, but can look afford to examine and test whatever Bullets and Casings
like wounds from a .22 caliber bullet or information the police might have pre-
shotgun pellet. In fact, a single ice pick served. If the crime scene has been Experts can match a fired bullet to
wound might not be noticed on a curso- released and not contaminated too other bullets fired from the same weapon,
ry examination, if it did not bleed much. much, private investigators might be as long as the bullet isn’t too badly dam-
able to find key information themselves. aged. Bullets are matched using the rifling
Wounds from other weapons like patterns impressed on the bullet by the
barbecue forks, screwdrivers, and scis- Blood Spatters barrel as it is fired. Unrifled weapons like
sors all have identifiable patterns. shotguns can’t be matched this way. Fired
Violent crimes often involve a large casings can be matched to other casings
Investigators should look at the loca- amount of blood. First, the investigator from the same weapon based on the
tion of the wound, but keep in mind that needs to locate the blood. Blood that’s markings impressed on the casing by the
victims can and will move during a fresh and not mixed with other materials breech, extractor and/or ejector, and firing
struggle. There’s a tiny, but important is easy to identify. Luminol and other pin when the bullet is fired. Without a
delay between when a shooter begins to reagents will reveal trace amounts of recovered weapon, a ballistics expert can’t
draw and fire a handgun and when he blood left behind when a stain was match a recovered bullet and a recovered
actually does so. The bullet can strike the cleaned up or wiped against another sur- casing to each other, but he might be able
side or the back, even if the shooter and face. Other chemicals like Hemident can to say that they were both fired from the
target were facing each other when the distinguish human and animal blood same model of firearm.
shooter began to fire. from other reddish stains like brake fluid.
Laboratory tests are needed to be certain Changing the barrel, extractor/ejector,
Look at the number of wounds, but blood is human, and to tell the blood type and firing pin can alter a firearm’s mark-
keep in mind that people, especially and isolate DNA. ings. The markings can be damaged
intoxicated people, can be very resistant beyond matching with files and abrasives,
to pain and may keep moving well after It’s hard to tell how old a bloodstain is, but it will be obvious that the weapon has
they received a fatal injury. but experts can tell a great deal from its been altered. Over time, the markings will
size, shape, and location. If the wounded change by routine wear and cleaning, but
Look for defensive wounds on the body part was moving as it bled, the shape unless the weapon is allowed to badly cor-
victim’s hands and arms suggesting that of the spot will show signs of the speed rode, it can generally be matched even
he tried to block a weapon or blows dur- and direction of movement. Dripping after a few thousand rounds have been
ing the fight. If there are no defensive blood produces “low velocity” patterns. fired through it.
wounds, the victim may have been The shape and size of these drops tell an
asleep, unconscious, or surprised. investigator how far the blood fell. (Up to Look for recovered bullets and cas-
about 72 inches. A drop falling from a ings. Do not dig bullets out of the wall
OTHER CRIME height greater than 72 inches produces with a knife. Remove the wall around
SCENE EVIDENCE the same pattern as one falling from 72 them and let the lab extract the bullet.
inches.) Blood cast off a moving body part Do not stick a pencil or other object into
“Cause and effect rule the world; they or expelled when the attacker hits the vic- the barrel of a firearm – that may dam-
may be a mirage but they are a consistent tim with something like a bat or a fist pro- age the rifling marks. Casings are round
mirage; everywhere, except possibly in duces “medium velocity” patterns. Blood and light – they roll and can be easily
subatomic physics, there is a cause for moving at high speed, typically after a pushed by wind or kicked. Smaller cas-
each effect, and that cause can be found.” gunshot wound, produces “high velocity” ings can even get caught in the tread of a
boot and carried away by investigators.
– Trevis Tarrant,
The Curious Mr. Tarrant

38 GURPS MYSTERIES

If the detective does not have a sus- contributors to it, which lets a lab deter- Look for fingerprints in locations where
pect firearm, he can take digital images mine if a suspect and victim’s blood is the suspect might have forgotten to
of the casing or bullet and match it intermixed. The amount of DNA needed clean, or might have touched before he
through the national ballistics database. is getting smaller with each year. Some put on his gloves or after he took them
At present, this database only contains experts are predicting that labs will be off. Look for prints on the inside of
images from crime scenes. Maryland able to extract DNA from the organic recovered gloves. Do not expect to find
and New York are experimenting with material in a latent fingerprint by the fingerprints on firearms; their surfaces
databases that contain images of bullets end of the decade. are specifically made to avoid the corro-
and casings provided by the manufac- sive effects of fingerprint oils on metals.
turer for every firearm sold in their Look for a reference sample from the Do not expect to find fingerprints on bul-
states. (As of late 2004, neither of these suspects. The investigator may need let casings; the surface is small and any
databases had provided a lead to investi- their permission or a court order to get a marks tend to get rubbed off in the
gators.) There are discussions about reference sample. Or he might be able to chamber during loading and firing.
expanding this program nationwide and get one from a cigarette, or a glass the
concerns about costs, accuracy and suspect drank from. If there isn’t a sus- Even if a detective does find finger-
search time. Remember that the com- pect, it is possible that entering the DNA prints, they may be of insufficient quali-
puter does not match the image to the information into a database may turn up ty to match. Mistaken matches are rare,
evidence. It provides its most likely can- a match with another unsolved case, or but possible. Three senior FBI examin-
didates. An expert then needs to com- with a prior offender. ers, and an outside examiner appointed
pare the current evidence to the actual by a court, misidentified an Oregon
evidence from the past crime scene. At this point, DNA cannot be forged, attorney as part of the Madrid bombing
but blood or other fluids could be in 2004. Spanish authorities identified
Ballistics matching cannot be forged, planted at a crime scene. the actual culprit separately.
but bullets and casings can be planted at
the crime scene. There are also various Fingerprints Fingerprints can be forged. There are
ways to make ballistics matching diffi- no known cases of fingerprints being
cult, like using specially-made bullets in Fingerprints are produced by the forged by criminals, although one enter-
which a smaller caliber bullet is set into friction ridges on each person’s hands prising prisoner had a confederate plant
a slightly larger casing and fired from a and feet. Fingerprints are formed dur- an object with his fingerprint on it at a
weapon designed for the larger casing. ing gestation, are unique to each person, later crime scene in an effort to under-
When fired, the smaller bullet receives and remain consistent throughout life. mine the validity of fingerprint compar-
only faint impressions from the barrel, Even identical twins have different fin- isons. (The ruse failed and his accom-
and is “obviously” the wrong caliber for gerprints. Fingerprints can be “patent” plice confessed.) Sadly, some police offi-
the weapon. (easily seen), if made in ink, blood, or a cers have taken latent fingerprints from
soft surface like putty. They can be objects handled by suspects during an
DNA “latent,” created by tiny amounts of arrest or interrogation, then claimed to
sweat and skin oils. Latent fingerprints have found those prints at crime scenes.
DNA is the molecule that carries each can be made visible with a variety of Be sure that recovered prints are proper-
person’s genetic information. It is used chemicals and powders. The quality of ly documented to avoid forgeries.
to distinguish individuals. Every person, the fingerprint depends on the amount
except identical twins, has different of sweat on the suspect’s fingers, the Searching the computerized finger-
DNA. It can be extracted from most surface the mark is made on, how the print databases can take hours or days
body tissues, including hair (if there’s a surface was handled, and how the print unless the investigator can narrow the
root), blood, saliva, sweat, and various was developed. search with some information about the
bodily fluids. There are separate tests for suspect like gender, race, or age. And
nuclear DNA (from cells that have a Fingerprints can be recovered, with remember that the computer does not
nucleus) and mitochondrial DNA (which varying degrees of success, from many match a fingerprint. It provides likely
is found in most cells, but is shared by surfaces, including human skin. They candidates for a human expert to match.
every child of the same mother). can’t be recovered from rough surfaces
like brick, rock, stone, unfinished wood, Gunpowder Residue
DNA testing is complex and requires and cloth.
a laboratory. The current testing meth- When a firearm is fired, it produces a
ods take 24 hours to extract DNA from a An expert cannot tell an investigator cloud of residue composed of materials
sample, and two to three hours to type it. how old a fingerprint is, just that it was from the primer (mostly lead, antimony,
DNA testing is in high demand; labora- made after the surface was last cleaned. and barium) and sometimes unburned
tories are often backlogged for weeks or A fingerprint will be most useful to an or partially burned powder. The residue
months with requests. Typing does not investigation if it is found somewhere will adhere to skin, clothing, and any-
match the entire DNA strand, only a por- that is not accessible to the public in thing else within a foot or so of the
tion that is statistically unlikely to match general, and not otherwise to the suspect firearm’s muzzle, but it can be easily
anyone other than the suspect being in specific. Washing, wiping, or just rou- removed with soap and water, or just
compared. tine contact with other surfaces can normal contact with other surfaces.
destroy fingerprints. There are a variety of tests for gunpow-
Look for DNA in nearly any bodily der, which should be used within a few
fluid or tissue. It is possible to tell Look for fingerprints, but don’t be hours after the weapon was fired.
whether a DNA sample has two or more surprised not to find them. Many crimi-
nals know enough to wear gloves at a
crime scene or clean up after their deeds.

GURPS MYSTERIES 39

GM Note: Game Mechanics handled that contained lead or antimony.
Check to make sure that the officers who
Often you will want to give your investigators accurate crime scene infor- arrested and handled the suspect prior to
mation, like time of death, which will lead them to other clues. But forensics testing had not fired a weapon, or han-
is not an exact science. If you want to introduce the possibility of error, you dled a fired handgun, within a few hours
should make a skill roll for the characters involved. before contacting the suspect.

First responders roll at Forensics or Law Enforcement skill (p. C58) of 10 Handwriting and
or 11. Apply penalties if the crime scene is particularly grisly. Failure means Documents
the officer made a minor mistake like touching something, leaving multiple
witnesses together too long, or allowing the wrong person access to the scene. There are a variety of techniques for
Critical failures mean the mistake tainted or destroyed critical clues. trying to match handwriting with known
samples and trying to match typewriter
Detectives and experts make Sense and Forensics rolls to gather physical and printer marks. It is harder to match
evidence and Criminology rolls to interpret it. Whether the detectives make marks from copiers, fax machines, and
the rolls themselves or leave it to experts depends on the department’s computer printers, but it may be possi-
resources and whether your adventure is dramatically realistic or cinematic. ble. It is also sometimes possible to
Evidence technicians have Perception rolls of 11, and Criminology and match documents by the kind of paper
Forensics skills of 13 to 15. or ink used.

Autopsies use Forensics and Diagnosis. Forensic Entomology, Forensic Toolmarks
Anthropology, and Forensic Dentistry are sub-skills of Forensics and default to
it at -4. Firearms matching is a subspecialty
of toolmark analysis. Many tools will
Adjust for the size of the department and apparent importance of the case. leave impressions on softer surfaces
Apply reasonable modifiers depending on the difficulty of finding and inter- when they are used. Those marks often
preting the item. Finding and preserving a latent fingerprint on a glass sliding can be microscopically matched to the
door, for example, is at a +1 bonus to Criminology and Forensics. Finding the type of tool, and possibly to the tool itself
same print on human skin is at a -4 and must be done within 12 hours of the if it is recovered.
print being made.
Other Physical Evidence
Ask investigators for a rough description of where they are searching.
Determine from there what they find. (Investigators with Luck or Common Dirt, fibers, glass, paint, and pollen
Sense may be given information they didn’t ask for.) can all be matched to reference samples.
There are disputes about how well hair
You will generally make one roll to gather information per PC (or per unit can be matched to a specific person.
for NPCs) for the crime scene. You can give each PC investigator one roll to
interpret the information or take the best roll from the PCs as a group for the Look for any sort of trace evidence,
result. Give characters additional interpretation rolls when they get significant especially if it seems out of place. Be wary
new evidence. of crime scene contamination by the
police, bystanders, or forensics experts.
Reports are written using the officer’s or expert’s Writing skill (usually 11 or
12) with a +1 to +3 bonus depending on how much time the officer is given to Don’t forget to look for the obvious –
complete it. Failure means something was left out. Critical failure means answering machine messages, caller ID
something vitally important was left out. logs, phone bills, appointment books,
computer records, PDAs, video from any
Look for gunpowder residue on the suicides by handgun failed to detect gun- security cameras that might overlook the
suspect’s hands and clothing. If none is powder in about 30% of all cases. If crime scene, tire tracks, shoe tracks, and
detected, it doesn’t mean the suspect residue is present, it could be a false so on.
didn’t fire a weapon. Tests of known positive from something the suspect

NON-HOMICIDE INVESTIGATIONS

A mystery adventure does not need to The thriller climax usually includes a nothing skill check. While the investiga-
include any deaths. Arson, burglaries, set-piece confrontation, often in a location tors will generally have a fair chance to
and kidnappings all can be high-stakes of the mastermind’s choosing, where the stop the plot and capture the bad guy,
puzzles to interest a group of detectives. heroes have to disable the nuclear bomb, the GM should have contingency plans
Often, non-homicide puzzles follow a stop the ritual summoning of Cthulhu, or to prevent the adventure from ending in
thriller structure instead of the mystery save the heiress from the deathtrap. If an anticlimax if they uncover the villain’s
structure (see p. 24). Instead of solving they capture the villain before the set- scheme too early – e.g., an undiscovered
just one crime, the investigators often piece fight, he will often reveal that he has minion or superior who carries on the
find themselves facing a serial arsonist, a left some bomb or deathtrap that they evil plan. The heroes in a thriller should
burglary ring, or an elaborate blackmail must find to prevent disaster. be rewarded for cleverness as they figure
ring run by organized crime. out the plot, but they should still face a
Stopping the big plot usually will challenge in the final scene.
involve a series of actions, not one all-or-

40 GURPS MYSTERIES

ARSON policy. The number of different investi- has large, rolling blisters, the fire was
gators can lead to bureaucratic battles, rapid and intense. If the wood has flat
“Why is it that the crime of arson has especially in a high-profile case. charring, the fire was low-intensity. The
the lowest arrest and conviction rate of relative depth of the charring tells the
all? The reason is simple. The arsonist is Fire marshals are often experienced investigator which parts of the fire were
weak and insecure, and usually perpe- firefighters. They are often notified hottest, and thus where it started or
trates his crimes in the dark, generally in while the fire is being fought that the on- burned longest.
seclusion. Sometimes he uses time delays. scene fire personnel suspect arson.
Additionally, the evidence is almost Investigators typically arrive while the Look for traces of accelerants (flam-
always destroyed, if not by the fire, then by firefighters are working on the blaze and mable liquids), using Perception rolls,
firefighters during extinguishment.” will ask specific questions about how the instruments, and trained dogs.
firefighters entered the building,
– John Orr, whether doors or windows were open or Look for remains of timers or other
former arson investigator, convicted closed, locked or unlocked, and, if there devices used to start the fire. Matches
is an alarm, whether the burglar and fire and gasoline are the tools of youths and
serial arsonist and murderer alarms were working. pyromaniacs. More sophisticated chem-
icals, timers, and explosives are the tools
Arson has long been recognized as a An insurance investigator generally of seasoned arsonists.
serious crime, second only to homicide. will not arrive until well after the fire has
Fires spread. A person who deliberately been put out. First, the fire department Look for valuables and papers that
sets a fire, even to an abandoned build- has to locate the owner of the property. have been removed from the property
ing, endangers any neighbors and, of Then the owner needs to contact the before the fire.
course, the firefighters who respond to insurance company and submit a claim.
put out the blaze. Fire is a traditional At that point, the company will assign its Look for obvious profit motives like a
way to destroy evidence after a murder. investigator. failing business, impending mortgage
foreclosure, and large debts (especially
Fires are normally classified as Once the fire has been put out, the large debts to organized crime). The
incendiary (deliberately set to burn the marshals and insurance investigators more severe the debt, the more likely it is
property), suspicious (cause undeter- will begin looking through the debris. that the person set the fire himself or
mined), and accidental (not willfully or hired a professional arsonist.
maliciously set). The fire itself, and the water and
chemicals used to fight it, will destroy a Look for indirect profit motives such
Typically, incendiary fires are deliber- great deal of evidence. Firefighters often as long-term declines in rental income,
ately set for profit. The owner has need to tear down walls and ceilings to rent-controlled tenants who cannot be
insured the building for more than its make sure they have gotten all of the easily evicted, inventory that was selling
value and burns it to collect the insur- fire. They may break windows, doors, poorly, or a business that needs to
ance settlement. Often, this is a desperate even roofs and walls to ventilate the remodel or relocate to survive.
action by a failing business, a way to dis- smoke. Fragile evidence like hairs,
pose of unsalable inventory, or a way to fibers, fingerprints, and blood is likely to Look for unscrupulous rival business
destroy a dilapidated or condemned be lost. If the fire is hot enough, metal competitors, extortion schemes, labor
building for urban renewal. Some busi- bullets, cartridge casings, and weapons troubles, jilted lovers, feuding neighbors,
ness owners set fires to destroy competi- may be warped or just lost beneath the and disgruntled employees.
tors, or destroy a customer’s stock to pro- other debris.
voke a reorder. Fires are also set out of Look for a pattern, both in the means
jealousy, for revenge, to destroy evidence Look for where and how the fire of arson and in the owner’s finances.
of another crime, by firefighters or fire- started. If there is more than one point There is an insurance industry registry
buffs in order to heroically save someone of origin for the fire, suspect arson. A that keeps track of fire, burglary, and
from the fire, and by pyromaniacs. fire that starts on the uppermost floor is theft claims, looking for fraud. An NPC
also suspicious – the water used to fight might be listed in that registry, although
Accidental fires are caused by many the fire causes a great his presence there could be a clue or a
things – children playing with matches, deal of damage to the red herring.
smoking in bed, cooking accidents, lower floors, which
defective heaters, dryer and chimney increases the insur-
fires, lightning, and so on. ance loss.

Arson investigations attract many dif- Look for signs of
ferent official investigators. In America, the fire expanding
the local or state fire marshal’s office upward and outward
generally investigates arson. If an explo- in a distinctive “V”
sive was used, the Bureau of Alcohol, shaped burn. The
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, a point of the burn
division of the Justice Department, may indicates the origin of
investigate as well. If someone died, the the fire.
local police will investigate the homicide
aspect of the crime. If the building was Look for alligator-
insured, the insurance company will ing (charring of
assign an investigator to determine wood) to determine
whether it must pay the fire insurance the heat intensity of
the fire. If the wood

GURPS MYSTERIES 41

BURGLARY the burglars had access to a key, or to a perfect cover for selling goods stolen
conveniently unlocked door, the investi- from warehouses and from trucks, or by
RPG mysteries sometimes involve gators should suspect an insider accom- shoplifters. Fences prefer to own shops
recovering an important stolen object, plice. Similarly, if the burglars are able that deal with large amounts of cash
often with a minimal amount of publici- to circumvent or disable alarms, avoid with few receipts so illicit profits can
ty. A private investigator or insurance cameras, or quickly find hidden safes, easily be laundered. Fences usually have
investigator may be able to make a deal the investigators should suspect an a specialty, like furs and clothing, or fur-
for the return of the item, without wor- insider’s aid. niture and antiques, but are willing to
rying about prosecuting the burglars. In deal in a wide variety of goods. Some
a game scenario, the stolen item may be If the authorities suspect an insider, fences only deal in specialized goods,
far more important than it seems. It may police and/or insurance investigators such as art or jewelry.
have mystic powers, have valuables con- will go over the employment records of
cealed beneath a mundane-seeming sur- everyone who had access to the area, Fences usually buy stolen goods at
face, or contain secret information. including significant former employees, 10% to 20% of their value, and then sell
looking for criminal records and associ- them at a third or half of the value. A
If the PCs are police officers or pri- ates, recent financial troubles, disagree- fence generally has no qualms about
vate security forces who receive a signal ments, or other signs that an employee cheating a thief who does not know the
from an alarm of a burglary in progress, might have been vulnerable to a value of what he is selling. The fence
they need to approach quickly, but care- burglar’s solicitation. may claim that genuine jewelry is fake,
fully. Professional burglars may have or that an item is an undesirable model,
lookouts or may monitor police and The investigators should also think or that it is less valuable without some
security radio frequencies. Even ama- about what’s missing. An amateur bur- accessory the thief overlooked.
teur burglars will bolt if they hear the glar will take obvious valuables, often
wail of approaching sirens. Only 13% of overlooking more expensive items that Typically, about 80% of a profession-
burglaries are solved nationwide, so the cannot be easily sold for cash. If, on the al fence’s stock is legitimate – overstock,
investigators should try to catch the bur- other hand, the burglars stole specific damaged goods, factory closeouts, and
glars at the scene. Give them a fair items that don’t sell fast on the street, seconds. If a fence has a steady supply of
chance to do so. If they do, then the GM then they may be professionals working a particular stolen good, he may buy
can design the plot around finding the directly for a client like an unscrupulous small amounts of the same good legiti-
mastermind the burglars were working art collector or a rival business owner. mately in order to mix his illegal goods
for. If they do not, then the mystery may Since professionals tend to spend weeks with the legitimate goods and have a
just be about catching this band of bur- or months making painstaking studies legitimate-looking paper trail. His profit
glars. If the GM doesn’t want the bur- of their targets, the police should ask margin is about the same as a fully legit-
glars to be caught, he should let them security guards and staff if they recall imate business. His costs are lower, but
bypass the alarm. The police will arrive any frequent or odd visitors. The investi- his prices are lower too. A fence makes
on the scene long after the criminals gators may also examine security video- his money on the volume of his sales.
have left. tapes looking for frequent visitors or
people conducting surveillance. Often, the fence is at his store by 6
Once the police arrive at the scene, a.m. to meet with burglars and delivery-
they need to figure out how to watch the Investigators will often suspect that men who stole during the night, and with
exits and search the building. This scene there’s more going on than they are wholesalers. In the afternoon, shoplifters
gives ample opportunities for chases and being told. One twist may be insurance who stole during busy lunch hours
scuffles. Clearing a building is danger- fraud. Their client might have stolen his appear with their goods. A fence will
ous, difficult work. The searchers should own property to collect the insured have one or more “drops” (garages,
worry about being ambushed by a pan- value, intending to sell the real item barns, attics, and other places rented for
icked burglar with a gun trapped some- when things get quiet. The client might cash for six months under a false name,
where in the building. have overinsured the property and then cleaned out and changed). Fences
destroyed it, or destroyed a good forgery generally carry large sums of cash with
If the burglars are gone, the investi- of it. The investigators should look for them to quickly wrap up a sale. A fence
gators need to figure out what’s missing financial troubles, just as they would in may carry a pistol or have a shotgun in
and how the burglars got in. Generally, an arson investigation. his shop. Some rely on reputation and
commercial buildings are entered at organized crime connections for protec-
night or on weekends from the rear, Fences tion.
using service doors and loading docks.
Residences are entered during the work- Professional fences can be useful A fence can be a contact or informant
day from the front, breaching the front sources and intermediaries in a burglary for police and private detectives. He may
door while disguised as a salesman, adventure. Fences have been around as also offer advice to police, stores, and
delivery person, or utility worker. If the long as thieves. Without a market for insurance adjusters about how to limit
burglars forced their way in, their tools stolen goods, few thieves would bother their losses, as well as teaching his sell-
will leave toolmarks that may allow an stealing anything other than cash and ers how to steal smarter. A large city will
investigator to match crime scenes to food. have two to four major fences and a
each other, and to the burglar’s tool if number of part-time or specialized
recovered. About a third of burglaries A traditional professional or occa- fences. Most fences have contacts with
involve entry without force, using a mas- sional fence for general goods operates organized crime and can find a buyer for
ter key, lockpicks, or an unlocked door. If his own store selling overstock, seconds, nearly any item.
and damaged goods. This gives him a

42 GURPS MYSTERIES

A PC who has a fence contact may be Blackmail, for obvious reasons, is rarely and authorities do not try to rescue vic-
able to recover a stolen item, for an reported in the press. Thus, the GM will tims for fear of causing their deaths. The
appropriate fee, and a promise that the need to look more at fictional models official plan is typically to get the victim
fence will not be prosecuted. If the fence than at reality. back, then locate and capture the villains.
betrays a thief, the fence will want a
promise of confidentiality. Usually the plan is simple. The villain Ransom demands can be large. Some
has something the client wants, like a companies have received demands for $10
Occasionally, police run undercover kidnapped loved one, or an incriminat- million to $25 million or more for kid-
sting operations where they set up a ing or embarrassing document. The napped executives. Negotiators may try to
front business and spread the word that client has something the villain wants – haggle with the villain. Most kidnappers
it is actually a fence’s operation. They usually money. Often, the client goes to a will settle for 10% to 20% of the demand,
will purchase stolen goods, videotape private detective seeking someone who but a few insist on the whole sum and
the transactions on hidden cameras, and can deliver a payment to the villain and have no qualms about sending back a
compile information about the local has the combat skills to defend himself victim’s body part to make their point.
thieves, then arrest their “customers” at in case of betrayal. If a company or per-
the end of the operation. If private inves- son has purchased kidnapping, ransom, A blackmail or kidnapping investiga-
tigators mistake a police sting operation and extortion insurance, the PCs might tion is similar to a burglary case. The
for a real fence’s store, things may get be private security experts hired by the investigators will be looking at what
very interesting. insurance company to resolve the crisis. skills and information were needed to
obtain the missing person or item.
KIDNAPPING AND However the investigators become Investigators trying to recover incrimi-
BLACKMAIL involved, something generally goes nating photographs taken of the CEO
wrong with this simple set-up. Typical and his secretary face a different kind of
Movies and books sometimes involve complications include a client who can- criminal than those trying to recover the
private investigators, or less commonly not, or will not, pay the ransom, or a CEO himself.
police, who need to recover a person or criminal who accidentally killed the
object from a villain. There are relatively hostage or destroyed the blackmail item Similarly, the means used to contact
few kidnappings for ransom in real life. and is bluffing, hoping to get paid any- the client may tell the investigators
In some countries, Western business way. If the client and the villain are deal- something about the villain. A kidnapper
executives, tourists, and government ing honestly, the police, the press, or a who uses cloned cell phones has a differ-
officials are kidnapped by local crimi- rival may clumsily intervene in the ran- ent level of technical sophistication than
nals or terrorist groups for money, but som delivery. one who uses a series of public tele-
that is a different kind of adventure. phone booths.
Generally, kidnapping victims are not
killed unless something goes drastically Even the manner of ransom delivery
wrong in the abduction or in a rescue, may give the investigators some clues. A
kidnapper who wants his payment in
uncut diamonds has different resources
than one who wants a briefcase full of
small, unmarked bills. Modern kidnap-
pings for ransom often involve organized
crime or terrorist groups, with payments
demanded by wire transfer to offshore
banks in the Middle East, Asia, or Russia.

What is taken, and what is demand-
ed, may give the investigators some clue
about the criminal’s motive. Why was
this particular person targeted? Does the
perpetrator have some specific grudge
against the client? Does he have specific
inside information that made this client
more attractive than some other target?

The GM can also make the investiga-
tors themselves the targets of a kidnap-
ping or blackmail plot. Dependents or
Secrets are disadvantages, after all. Be
aware that if a PC is the target of this
kind of crime, he will take it very per-
sonally and is unlikely to just pay his foe
and let him escape. Be prepared for the
heroes to expend vast amounts of
money, resources, favors, and effort in
order to recover what they have lost,
avenge themselves on the villain, and
deter anyone else from trying a similar
scheme.

GURPS MYSTERIES 43

CHAPTER THREE

THE DEADLIEST
OF REVEALERS

WITNESSES

“Oh, my dear friend, it is impossible Investigators need to talk to many can try to get information from them. It
not to give oneself away – unless one people to solve a mystery. This chapter is expands the existing GURPS reaction
never opens one’s mouth! Speech is the about witnesses – people who have
deadliest of revealers.” seen or know something important and influence
about the puzzle. It is about what wit- mechanics to
– Hercule Poirot, nesses know (perception), what they provide rules
Cards on the Table recall (memory), and how investigators for handling PC
questioning of NPCs.

Solving Mysteries

For players, sometimes the hardest part of the adven- Witnesses can be mistaken about what they saw or remem-
ture is figuring out where to start. Your character is pre- ber (see Perception, p. 46). If the witnesses talked about
sented with a group of NPCs, most of whom are lying to what they saw before you talk to them, they aren’t inde-
you about something, some forensic evidence, none of pendent (see Memory, p. 49). Generally you won’t need
which points directly at a suspect, and a crime. Where do more than two sources. If a key bit of information is com-
you start? ing from only one source, bear in mind that it could be a lie
or a mistake.
Listen to the GM. Most of what the GM is telling you is
being said for a reason. If he keeps repeating the same Have a plan before you approach an important NPC.
name, place, or time, then it is probably important. (Yes, You should discuss with the other players what approach
this is meta-game thinking, but it is part of how mystery you want to use, who’ll be doing the talking, and what ques-
fiction, and mystery RPGs, work.) tions you need to ask. Look over your notes before the
interview.
Take notes. (A large white board that all the players can
see is very handy for this purpose.) Keep track of who gives Listen to the NPC. You are not just listening to what he
you information as well as what they said. (Different colored says, but looking for clues about his personality. Is he the
markers can help differentiate notes from various sources.) kind of person who might commit the crime? What might
Keeping notes means you won’t forget something impor- motivate him to do so? Try to get a sketch from the NPC of
tant. Also, the act of writing may help you concentrate. Your where he was and what he saw. (This gives you, the player,
notes may help you see patterns in the information. something to look at later.)

You are looking for means, motive, and opportunity (see Look for evidence of unusual skills. If one of your sus-
p. 16). A chronology is often helpful. Keeping track of what pects is a dental assistant and the disfigured victim was
happened when will help you spot oddities in alibis and identified by his dental records, you may have been tricked.
events. If one of your suspects is a computer expert or hobbyist, be
wary of any computer records related to the crime.
If you have an obvious clue, by all means follow it. If you
have a choice of directions, start with the NPCs who have Ask NPCs what they think of each other. You can get
the least obvious reason to lie to your character. Generally useful gossip about their inter-relationships.
you will be able to trust police experts, but find out how
they got their answer. A disfigured corpse identified by a Take a moment before you leave the NPC to think about
distraught relative and not confirmed by fingerprints or any other questions you need to ask.
dental records is not a reliable identification in a typical
mystery. Have a plan for the confrontation scene. A confrontation
scene is the counterpart to the big fight scene in action-ori-
Triangulation is useful. In this context it means getting ented adventures. Review your facts. Figure out which PCs
the same information from two independent NPCs. will be doing the most talking. Have a plan in case the
guilty party (or someone else) tries to flee, shoot at you, or
shoot the bad guy.

44 GURPS MYSTERIES

HANDLING THE portrays the NPC, speaking and acting choose the right tactics for the
TALKING SCENE as that character would. The players por- encounter? If the detectives skip an
tray their characters, speaking and act- encounter utterly, are there multiple
Portraying a talking scene can be dif- ing as their character would. Skill rolls ways to get them key clues?
ficult. The two major pitfalls are are used rarely, as general guidelines.
thrashing and repetition. The other extreme is purely rolling dice. There are some suggested rules in
The GURPS Basic Set offers general this chapter for expanding the GURPS
Each talking scene is in the adventure rules for social interactions using Basic Set mechanics. These are intend-
for a reason: it provides information that Influence rolls (p. B359), reaction rolls ed to provide the players with tactical
advances the adventure (see p. 26). The (pp. B494-495), and the Reaction Table options. When the detectives initially
investigators are thrashing when they (pp. B559-562). The player says what encounter the NPCs, they will probably
either can’t figure out how to get infor- skills he wants to use. He, or the GM, have little information about them.
mation the witness has, or they continue rolls the appropriate dice and receives Through investigation and interaction,
the scene too long looking for informa- the appropriate information. The exact they will find out about the NPCs’ per-
tion the witness can’t provide. Repetition words of the interaction are entirely sonalities and thus find ways to use the
occurs when the investigators go back to abstracted. suggested modifiers to make it much
the same source over and over because more likely they will get the information
they forgot to ask for certain informa- Many GMs use a mix of both they need.
tion. (This can be especially frustrating approaches. The problem with pure
when the PCs shuttle between two NPCs roleplaying is that it favors glib players, Sounding Guilty
on opposite sides of town.) regardless of their character’s abilities.
In an extreme case, a player could entire- How can a GM make an NPC sound
In Murder on the Orient Express, ly forgo buying social skills for his char- guilty or innocent?
Poirot interviews each person in the acter, knowing that his own skills will
railway car once. He thinks about what make up for the lack. Pure roleplaying Use “I” for innocence. Investigators
he has learned. Then he interviews each also makes it difficult for a player who is claim that truthful people give state-
witness again, asking specific questions not skilled at verbal acting to play a ments using “I.” Any deviation like “we,”
to confirm his theory about what hap- suave, persuasive character. If a klutz skipping a pronoun, or using the passive
pened. Police in the real world use a can play a skilled fencer, then a wall- voice is taken as a sign that the speaker
similar method. Responding officers flower should be able to play a lothario. is not telling the whole truth.
take statements at the scene. Detectives
then interview important witnesses and On the other hand, a pure dice-based On the other hand, “we” is a sign of
suspects again, asking specific ques- approach can be boring. If a player rolls togetherness. If a suspect describes
tions. Once they have enough informa- well at Fast-Talk, the GM can ascribe something he did with his spouse or a
tion to make an arrest, they arrest and the results to a cutting quip, but often close friend and doesn’t use “we,” then
interrogate that suspect. the players want to know “what was that there may be something strained in their
quip?” Dice-based approaches can also relationship. “We” can also imply the
Both players and GMs should aim for be very random, especially if there are suspect’s involvement in a crime or his
that level of efficiency. The detectives only a few opportunities for rolls and closeness with an accomplice.
should be able to extract enough infor- not many tactical options. For example,
mation in their first encounter with an if a character routinely questions a mur- Possessive pronouns are also impor-
NPC to decide whether they need to derer about his alibi and rolls a critical tant. As any parent knows, there’s a big
interview that NPC again. In a second success, will the murderer blurt out a difference between “‘our’ son got an A on
encounter, the detectives should have a confession right then and there? his midterm” and “‘your’ son got called
specific idea what questions they need to Probably not. That would make for an into the principal’s office.” A suspect can
ask this NPC in order to prove whether anticlimactic adventure. try to distance himself from a person, or
he’s the perpetrator. In any later an item, by not using possessive pro-
encounter, the PCs should know whether Try different mixes of the two sys- nouns when it seems logical to do so.
the NPC is guilty and be focused on tems. Use a skill roll to guide the result,
gathering enough information for a con- with +1 or +2 for good roleplaying, or -1 Changing from using someone’s rela-
frontation. or -2 for bad roleplaying. Or allow glib tionship (“my friend,” “my wife”) to the
players to offer suggestions to less glib person’s name (“Jack,” “Helen”) can be a
Talking scenes are important, but it is ones as table talk, consistent with the way to distance the speaker from the
sometimes not important what the wit- speaking character’s skill roll, and let the subject being discussed. A suspect may
ness says. As Poirot observes, any speech player pick the suggestions he likes. find it easier to admit he killed “Helen”
reveals regardless of content. Tone con- than that he killed “my wife.”
veys emotion. Vocabulary conveys edu- In any case, in preparing the adven-
cation. What is omitted may be as ture, think about the best and worst pos- When answering questions, most sus-
important as what is said. A lie locks the sible outcomes of any encounter. What pects will use the past tense. If the NPC
witness into a story with facts that can needs to happen elsewhere in the adven- shifts suddenly to the present tense, it
be checked. How the witness lies can be ture to improve the best possible out- may mean that he’s now making up the
as useful as the truth itself. come? Decide what key clues the detec- story. Using the past tense to refer to a
tives must get from the encounter, missing person, on the other hand, may
There are two basic approaches to regardless of their approach. If they mean the suspect knows the person is
handling talking scenes in an RPG. Pure need to try a particular approach to get already dead.
roleplaying is one method. The GM information, what clues will help them
Extraneous details can be a sign of
guilt. Innocent people, it is claimed,
answer questions directly and concisely.

GURPS MYSTERIES 45

Suspects often want to justify their them in the right direction (both skills other criminals, sometimes with the
actions, so they will give information out default either way at -4). right contacts to get false legal identities.
of chronological order, or skirt around Criminal skips are least likely to leave a
the crime. WHO IS A clear verbal or paper trail, and most like-
WITNESS? ly to be protected by family and friends
Equivocating or modifying phrases from official investigators.
like “I think,” “I believe,” “kind of,” “sort A witness can be anyone, but like a
of,” “possibly,” “as far as I know,” and so Hollywood director, a GM only has a Finding a skip starts with what the
on are a way to distance the speaker limited “attention” budget for NPCs. The investigator can find about the target
from the event. It may be a way for a vic- more named, described people who are before beginning the search. A legal
tim to distance himself from the trauma introduced, the harder it will be for the name, date of birth, and (in the United
of the crime, a way to evade personal investigators to tell them apart. States) social security number are the
responsibility for the event, or a way to best leads. An investigator can usually
distance oneself from some deception in The villain, the victim, and the logical get this basic information from the
the statement. If the incident was con- suspects are going to take up several of client, or from the place the client last
fusing, on the other hand, qualifying those positions. There will also be inci- saw the skip. With these, a good investi-
statements may only indicate that the dental NPCs like the nosy neighbor, the gator can use Research to find financial
speaker did not perceive the entire event victim’s family, his friends, coworkers, and employment records that will lead
and is trying not to provide information and staff, any of whom the investigators to the target. Skip tracing can mean
he is uncertain about. may decide to interview. An NPC assis- interviewing the family, friends, cowork-
tant, like a secretary or junior investiga- ers, church members, and so on, to find
Investigators are also dubious about tor, who talks to all the “unnamed” NPCs out where the target might go, what
claims that “I don’t remember” or “I like the mailman, cable guy, college money and property he had with him
can’t recall.” roommate, and so on, and then gives when he fled, and who he might turn to
summary reports to the investigators at for help. The skill roll required depends
Usually witnesses will talk in equal useful intervals can free them to focus on the interviewee: talking with the tar-
detail about what happened before, dur- on the major characters. get’s mother might call for Diplomacy;
ing, and after the incident, including his belligerent drinking buddies may
what they thought and how they felt. If Finding Witnesses by only respond to Intimidation. (For more
the statement focuses too much, or too Skip Tracing details, see Getting People to Talk, p. 50.)
little, on one aspect, then investigators
suspect deception. The part that’s too Sometimes finding a key witness is an Once found, the investigator has to
detailed may be an attempt to justify the important part of the adventure. “Skip figure out how to make contact in a way
suspect’s actions or to stall. The part tracing” is the term private investigators that doesn’t make a jittery witness flee,
that’s not detailed enough may be an use to describe finding missing persons. or perhaps even attack.
attempt to hide important information. “Unintentional” skips are the people who
just drop out of sight, like an Army buddy PERCEPTION:
Use tone and body language. Studies or college roommate that a client wants WHAT DOES A
say that 38% of communication is not in to find. These people are not intentional- WITNESS KNOW?
the words, but tone, timbre, tempo, and ly hiding and are relatively easy to find
volume. Writers can only indirectly sug- with a little bit of research. “Intentional” “Is there any point to which you would
gest this with words like “said,” “whis- skips are people who have disappeared wish to draw my attention?”
pered,” and “shouted.” GMs can act out on purpose, but who aren’t trying to cre-
their NPCs’ words. Take advantage of ate a new legal identity. Deadbeat debtors “To the curious incident of the dog in
this tool. and runaway children are typical inten- the night-time.”
tional skips. Like the unintentional skip,
Body language is a large part of com- they can be found with a bit of research, “The dog did nothing in the night-
munication – posture, breathing, skin since they will tend to use their own time.”
color, and movement. Many people don’t names and keep in touch with some fam-
have fine control over their own body ily members and friends. “Criminal” “That was the curious incident,”
language, but GMs can get around this skips are another problem entirely. These remarked Sherlock Holmes.
by exaggerating certain aspects of NPCs’ are people on the run from the law or
body language for emphasis. People who – Sherlock Holmes and
fidget a great deal, cross their arms, or Inspector Gregory,
refuse to look the questioner in the eye Silver Blaze
are often deemed guilty, even when they
are merely nervous. (Fidgety GMs may In most cases, the GM can just decide
need to exaggerate this a great deal what a witness saw or heard. Glance
before their players catch on that they’re briefly at the Sense roll rules (p. B358
acting out the NPC.) and Sense Roll Modifiers, p. 47) for some
ideas about what is possible. If the wit-
Use these simple, common-sense ness saw or heard something that turns
guidelines as a way to make NPCs sound out to be highly unlikely or impossible
guilty or sound innocent. The players are under the rules, the puzzle may be side-
likely to pick up on the clues. If they tracked because a player calculates the
don’t, give them a die roll on their Detect modifiers and decides that the witness
Lies or Body Language skill to point must be lying.

46 GURPS MYSTERIES

Perception is affected by distance. Perception is also affected by alert- less attention to his face or clothes.
The range table (p. B550) provides a ness and stress. In reality, there’s a com- Apply a -1 or -2 modifier to the Sense
good rough guide for vision modifiers. plex curve involved. People who are roll as appropriate. People who are eas-
Sound is more complex. Use the range bored are less attentive and less likely to ily distracted (Distractible or Short
table, but add a further -1 per 100 yards notice unusual details. If there’s a sud- Attention Span) or flustered (Combat
over 300 yards (see Sense Roll Modifiers, den threat, they are often disoriented Paralysis or Confused) are less likely to
below). Perception is affected by con- and confused for a few moments. perceive details than those who are
trast. In a dimly lit environment, some- People who are in the middle of a dan- focused (Single-Minded) or calm
one wearing light colors will be easier to gerous situation, on the other hand, are (Combat Reflexes or Unfazeable). The
notice than someone wearing dark focused on the danger and are less like- GM may assess -1 or +1, as appropriate,
clothing. It is easier to hear an odd ly to notice peripheral details. A mug- per applicable trait.
sound on a quiet night in a rural area ging victim, for example, will pay very
than on a busy street corner. close attention to the mugger’s knife and Also bear in mind that a witness may
not be able to describe all of the details
Sense Roll Modifiers that he saw. If the mugging victim above
were threatened with a handgun, he
Darkness Modifiers might get a +1 or +2 bonus to rolls to
notice details about the gun, but he
Assign vision penalties based on the light level in the environment. might not have the knowledge or vocab-
ulary to articulate them. Many people
Modifier Light Level can distinguish between a shotgun and a
handgun, and maybe between a semi-
+0 to -1 Overcast day automatic pistol and a revolver, but the
-1 to -2 Indoors with warehouse lighting, emergency lights, and witness may not be able to tell a .40 cal-
iber Glock pistol from a .38 Webley
other poorly-lit spaces revolver, even if he saw the gun clearly.
-2 to -3 Twilight or overhead streetlights Similarly, a victim may be able to distin-
-3 to -4 Clear night, full moon guish between a van, a station wagon,
-5 to -6 Overcast night with moonlight and a sedan, but might not be able to
-9 Clear night, no moon reliably tell a Ford from a Jaguar. (If the
detail is critical and the PCs can trust
A character can’t see anything in complete darkness, such as inside a that the NPC knows what he’s talking
windowless cellar. about; the NPC may have a hobby or
background skill that helps him reliably
Contrast provides +1 to +3 for moderate to high contrast between objects describe a detail.)
and background.
In those rare cases where a witness
Duration has a delusion or hallucinates, those dis-
advantages can affect his perception in
Use duration modifiers when the witness needs to describe what they are ways that make the “true” situation
seeing. GMs can also use duration modifiers to describe sounds. Gunshots impossible to reconstruct later. If the
cause fleeting muzzle flashes and sounds. Anyone nearby will see and hear witness believes that squirrels talk to
both, but being able to describe them may be harder. him, then their “voices” may obscure
other sounds. Drugs or alcohol can also
Modifier Duration cause hallucinations and delusions.
Fatigue or illness may dull perceptions.
-3 Fleeting (less than 1 second)
-1 Short (less than a minute) As Holmes notes above, sometimes
+0 Average (1 to 2 minutes) the absence of something is also an
+1 Long (over 5 minutes) important clue. Dogs that do not bark.
Victims who let their assailant in, do not
Stress struggle, and do not cry for help. Valued
possessions, important papers, and fam-
Modifier Stress Level ily photographs missing from the debris
of a fire. An alarm that goes off when
-10 Immediate life-threatening danger present combined with police or firefighters enter that was
Combat Paralysis, Edgy, or other appropriate silent during the alleged burglary or
disadvantages. attack. All of these things that are not
present can be important clues for an
-5 Immediate life-threatening danger present investigator. In an adventure, as in a
-3 Sudden surprising event written story, the GM needs to provide a
-2 Routine event, no reason to distinguish from daily routine clear clue that the missing item is actu-
+0 Dangerous or interesting situation; or immediate ally missing, and not something that he
did not describe or forgot about.
life-threatening danger present combined with Combat
Reflexes, On the Edge, or other similar advantage or
disadvantage.

GURPS MYSTERIES 47

In general, witnesses are bad at accu- Sense Roll Modifiers
rately estimating distance, duration, and
speed. Physical evidence like tire skid (Continued)
marks, crash damage, blood spots, and
so on may give an investigator a way to Acoustic or Background Signature Values
cross-check a witness’ version of events.
GMs may want to have NPCs couch esti- Modifier Sound Type
mates of distance, duration, and speed
as “approximately” or “about,” to -6 Human hearing limit
remind players of this problem. -4 Stalking person, unusually quiet area
+0 Whisper, rural area at night
Witnesses are often good at recogniz- +2 Walking person, suburban area at night
ing familiar people, not just by their +6 Weapon action (cocking bolt, hammer falling, etc.), heavy
faces, but by clothing, voice, posture,
even smell. Recognizing strangers’ faces rain, conversation, urban area by day
accurately is hard. It is easy to mix up a +7 Gale force winds, car
stranger’s face with a somewhat familiar +10 Shouting, dog bark, very busy street, white water rapids
face. If the waiter who served a witness +12 Air rifle
just before a mugging had his picture in +14 Rock concert, chain saw
the police mug shot files, the witness +16 Very small caliber pistol shot (.22 LR)
might transpose the face that he saw +18 Small caliber pistol shot (.32 ACP, .380 ACP)
near the time of the mugging into the +19 Propeller engine (human pain threshold)
mugger’s face. It is also easy to make +20 Large caliber pistol shot (9mm .40 S&W, .45 ACP)
mistakes with cross-racial identifica- +21 Machine gun, very large caliber pistol shot
tions. Just because the witness is certain
does not mean he is accurate; the wit- (.357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .50 AE)
ness’ self-confidence has nothing to do +26 Rifle shot, heavy machine gun
with whether he is correct. +34 Grenade explosion

Characters do not need to roll to rec- Other Sound Modifiers
ognize a familiar person at short range
(in the same room or hall). To recall a Both sound source and listener are indoors, +2
stranger’s face, roll IQ + Vision
Bonus/Penalty - Range - Stress - in the same building
Duration modifiers.
Firearm not fired toward listener -3
Similarly, to recognize a familiar per-
son’s voice on the telephone or at short Sound originates in light vegetation (grass) -1
range, a character doesn’t need to roll.
To correctly identify an unfamiliar or or from carpet
unexpected sound, roll IQ + Hearing
Bonus/Penalty + Acoustic Signature - Sound originates in medium vegetation (woods) -2
Range - Background Signature. On an
especially successful roll, a character Sound originates in heavy vegetation (jungle) -5
with weapons familiarity might be able
to correctly identify a firearm by its Weapon suppressor used -2 to -6 (typical)
sound. (For more details on firearms
and “silencers” see p. MF16.) Intervening light wall -1

Assumptions Intervening medium wall -4

“To deceive deliberately – that is one Intervening heavy wall -9
thing. But to be so sure of your facts, of
your ideas, and of their essential truth, Bank vault or bunker wall -15
that the details do not matter – that, my
friend, is a special characteristic of partic- suspicion, my friend. The uncertain wit- by “truth” spells, drugs, or polygraphs,
ularly honest persons . . . She says she saw ness, who doesn’t remember, isn’t sure, or by all but the most skilled telepath.
her face distinctly because – being so sure will think a minute – ah! Yes, that’s how it The witness will sincerely recall the
of her facts – exact details do not matter! was – is infinitely more to be depended assumption as reality.
. . . She knows. And so she answers ques- upon!”
tions in the light of her knowledge, not by Some classic misperceptions include
reason of remembered facts. The positive – Hercule Poirot, hearing someone imitate a voice,
witness should always be treated with Thirteen at Dinner mistaking a recording for live speech,
seeing someone in disguise, mis-
One other aspect of perception is identifying a somewhat damaged body
assumptions. A key trick in mystery fic- (drowned/fire/badly disfigured), and see-
tion is having a witness assume he heard ing what seems to be a victim’s body at a
or saw something different from the distance. The GM should handle deliber-
truth. This is covered under “perception” ate deceptions as a Quick Contest
because the assumption will color how between the usual Sense roll, including
the person remembers the event and modifiers for distance, stress, and so on,
how he describes it. If a person believes and the deceiver’s skill at deception –
that he heard a familiar voice, or saw Disguise, Mimicry, etc. – instead of as a
someone he knew, then his mistake will flat Sense roll.
not be detected by skills like Detect Lies,

48 GURPS MYSTERIES

Another classic fictional trick is fail- How Reliable is the NPC?
ure to perceive something in plain sight.
Some everyday items and even people Just as certain elements of combat are abstracted in many games, human
are effectively invisible because they are nature is abstracted in a good mystery. Fictional witnesses are, usually, either
so common. Often people don’t recall reliable or lying. If the butler says that he brought Major Mustard his brandy
seeing postmen, waiters, meter readers, at 6:15 p.m. and stayed there for 5 minutes, then the investigator can rely on
and janitors. Common objects like mail- those times. If the facts prove that the butler could not have been there during
boxes, garbage cans, and fireplugs are those times, then he must be lying.
also effectively invisible unless one is
very familiar with the neighborhood. Real people are not like that. They make mistakes. They get confused. They
make assumptions (see p. 48). They are unreliable witnesses. For dramatic
The third version of assumptions is purposes, however, letting people be realistically unreliable makes it very hard
false associations. In 2002, Washington to create a solvable mystery. Here realism will not aid playability in this genre.
D.C. area police reported that a series of
sniper attacks might be linked to a white If an NPC is unreliable, look for uncertainty. The butler might say, “It was
van. In many incidents thereafter, wit- a little after 6 o’clock. Perhaps 6:10 or 6:15.” The witness might be obviously
nesses described seeing shots coming forgetful, easily confused, or very suggestible. Look for clear signals that the
from a white van. The snipers, it turned witness could be honestly mistaken, not a liar.
out later, were using a blue car. People
heard, and saw, what they expected to been done since 1980. Thus, early mys- “I’ll Never Forget
see and did not see what they didn’t tery writers were unlikely to be aware of That Face!”
expect. just how large the problem was. Second,
inaccurate memory makes a mystery There are many people who can recall
MEMORY: WHAT more complex. If Hercule Poirot or in great detail where they were when
DOES A WITNESS Sherlock Holmes can assume that the President Kennedy was shot, or the
RECALL? witness is either lying or telling the truth, Challenger space shuttle exploded, or the
then inconsistencies reveal as much as World Trade Center collapsed. Few peo-
“For many years I have remembered the truth. If the witness may be inno- ple question the accuracy of such memo-
how I heard of the news of the Japanese cently wrong, it is harder to figure out ries, and few have contemporaneous
attack on Pearl Harbor, which occurred the puzzle. diaries or recordings to confirm that
on the day before my thirteenth birthday. I what they vividly recall is what hap-
recall sitting in the living room of our To reduce memory errors in a realis- pened. The reason the memory is so vivid
house – we only lived in that house for one tic way, make sure that someone (the is not because something special hap-
year, but I remember it well – listening to investigators or an NPC police detective) pened in that moment of grief and shock,
a baseball game on the radio. The game takes an initial statement from witnesses but because people repeat that story so
was interrupted by an announcement of shortly after the crime occurs, and keeps often to themselves and to others.
the attack, and I rushed upstairs to tell my witnesses separated from each other
mother. This memory has been so clear for until all of them have given statements Crime victims may also have vivid
so long that I never confronted its inher- to avoid the witnesses confusing each memories of the incident that seem, to
ent absurdity until last year: no one others’ memories with suggestion and them, indelible and absolutely accurate.
broadcasts baseball games in December!” rumor. When the investigators do get It is an illusion. The same adrenaline
statements made long after the event, or surge that produces the fight-or-flight
– Professor Ulric Neisser, after the witness has read newspaper reflex when one is endangered also inter-
Memory Observed accounts or seen television news, have feres with the chemicals that store per-
an NPC mentor remind them not to take ceptions as memory. If the witness was
Realistically, memory is not a fixed, the statement at face value. A witness struck in the head during the crime, he
unalterable recording like a videotape. who sees a media account and whose might also have a concussion that can
Memory fades over time. The brain fills memory was thereby altered slightly cause minor amnesia for events just
in missing information and gaps with may use an unusual turn of phrase or before or just after the blow. The witness
logical inferences and after-acquired repeat an incorrect fact from the will fill in these gaps and jumbled per-
information. Suggestion can alter mem- account. ceptions with logical inferences to make
ory in large and small ways. What the a consistent narrative of the attack.
witness honestly remembers may be Use memory errors cautiously in an
very different from what actually RPG. The players will likely know that
occurred. memory fades over time. They know
that children’s memories are different
Memory errors don’t play a large part from adults’. They know that alcohol,
in fictional mysteries for two reasons. drugs, aging, and some diseases affect
First, it is only with the aid of contem- memory. But they may not be familiar
poraneous recordings that people have with subtle memory errors and may
begun to realize just how inaccurate a assume that a witness’ mistake is a clue.
normal person who’s confident in his
memory can be. Most of the psychologi-
cal studies that demonstrate this have

GURPS MYSTERIES 49

Having a witness describe in vivid investigators, encouraging players to use Having several investigators gang up
detail what happened to them can be a appropriate questioning methods can aid on a witness is a bad idea. Police detec-
very powerful RPG scene. Unless the roleplaying. tives interview witnesses alone or in
players are familiar with memory pairs, not in large groups. Interviews and
research, they are likely to believe the The basics of good questioning are interrogations deal with very personal
witness is right, even in the face of simple. Ask the witness to describe what matters. A suspect may be more willing
strong conflicting evidence. If the inves- he saw. Listen. Don’t ask questions that to confess to one detective than to a
tigator discovers that a suspect the wit- give the witness information that he group of people. Two or more detectives
ness is certain committed the crime can- didn’t already know. Ask simple ques- may confuse the witness by asking ques-
not have done so, based perhaps on DNA tions, not complex, complicated ones. tions simultaneously, or trying to outdo
or other strong physical evidence, the Good questions are open-ended like each other, or trying to ask the one lucky
resulting scene explaining the situation “What happened then?”, “What happened question that will make the suspect
to the witness may be very powerful as next?”, and “What gave you that idea?”. confess.
well. The investigator can ask the witness to
recall details like the weather or the fur- A team of investigators should brain-
Suggestion niture; or ask the witness to describe storm a list of questions, then pick some-
events in reverse order; or to describe one as a lead questioner. During the talk-
Poirot leaned forward confidentially, them as if seen from a different angle. ing scene, the others can take notes or
“You see this bunch of wildflowers on the make discrete suggestions. In a large
table here?” GETTING PEOPLE group, this may mean that several PCs are
TO TALK watching a talking scene and getting
“Yes,” said Miss Pierce – staring. bored – keep those scenes interesting,
“And you noticed that, when you first “The world is full of contention and tense, brief, and relevant to the adventure.
came into the room, I sneezed once or contentious people. They will not tell you
twice?” the time of day or day of the month with- Why would the NPC resist question-
“Yes.” out their little display of hostility. I have ing? In reality, people are afraid of legal
“Did you notice if I had been sniffing argued with Meyer about it. It is more penalties including fines, imprisonment,
those flowers?” than a reflex, I think. It is an affirmation and the stigma of a criminal record.
“Well – really – no – I couldn’t say.” of importance. Each one is saying, ‘I can They are concerned about their reputa-
“But you remember my sneezing?” afford to be nasty to you because I don’t tion, gossip, and bad publicity. Some are
“Oh, yes, I remember that!” need any favors from you, buster.’ It is afraid of how friends and family will
. . . He shut the door and came back also, perhaps, a warped application of react to them. Others have suppressed
into the room with his eyebrows raised. today’s necessity to be cool.” the memory of their acts and are unwill-
“But I did not sneeze,” he murmured, “So ing to confront those memories. Finally,
much for that. No, I did not sneeze.” – Travis McGee, witnesses may be afraid of retaliation
The Empty Copper Sea from the people who they implicate by
– Hercule Poirot, telling the truth.
Appointment with Death An investigator should be able to find
a way to talk to the suspects and wit- In a mystery, most people have one or
Memory is also vulnerable to sugges- nesses. GMs want the investigators to get more secrets that they are trying to pro-
tion. If investigators ask a witness “how information from the NPCs, and should tect. Past or present affairs, children
fast the car was going when it smashed work out several ways for interviewers to born out of wedlock, or other violations
into the telephone pole” they’ll get a high- obtain cooperation from each witness or of social norms or personal ethics are
er estimated speed than if they ask “how suspect. Using other approaches may good NPC secrets. Loyalty to another
fast the car was going when the accident elicit key information, but the investiga- person or organization can cause some-
happened.” If they ask a witness what tors will have to work harder to get it. one to resist cooperating. Sometimes the
color hat the bank robber was wearing, Some approaches may alienate a key witness believes that telling what he
the witness may recall and describe a hat witness entirely. knows will implicate a loved one. He
that never existed. If investigators show a may be afraid of gaining a reputation as
witness an array of eight mug shots and Roleplaying talking scenes can be a “snitch,” or of reprisals from the per-
tell the witness that the bad guy is in the similar to roleplaying combat. The play- petrator, or of publicity, or of having to
array, he’ll pick the person who looks er tries various conversational attacks, testify at a trial. He may approve of the
most like his memory of the suspect, and using his character’s influence skills crime, if the victim is someone he dis-
in the future remember the suspect as modified by his approach. The target liked, or may not want to help clear a
looking like the photo. defends with his intelligence (IQ) and suspect that he dislikes.
Will, if he’s trying to keep something
Suggestion is a big problem for real- from the interviewer or just does not feel Any response from the witness may
world investigators, who need to use like disclosing it. (Think of this as pick- reveal why he is uncooperative. If the
proper questioning methods to avoid ing the best verbal weapon to penetrate player can figure out the reasons for the
suggesting answers to witnesses. The GM the target’s armor of willpower, and look- witness’ resistance, his character may be
probably shouldn’t penalize players, who ing for weak spots for called shots.) No able to circumvent them. He can change
are not trained investigators, for using matter what the target says, the inter- his approach, promising to keep the
bad questioning techniques while speak- viewer will likely learn something that interview confidential, offering a bribe,
ing in their character’s voices and having will help him refine his approach in the or some other tactic. Or a different inves-
the errors affect the NPC’s memory. next encounter. tigator could approach the target hoping
However, if their characters are trained to gain a better response.

50 GURPS MYSTERIES