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© 1998-2001 Dru
Pagliassotti
All rights reserved.
Genre: Writing the Mystery
Adventure
 A
"genre" is a "category of artistic, musical, or literary
composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content"
(Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition). Roleplaying genres
are very similar to novel and cinematic genres—they fall into the
same categories and are marked with the same motifs. Examples of common
RPG genres are western, detective/spy/mystery, horror, science fiction,
fantasy, and superhero. Many of the genres have subgenres, such as cyberpunk
or steampunk under the science fiction genre, splatter and monster under
the horror genre, and so forth.
There also exist metagenres,
such as noir—we can imagine westerns noir, detective noir, horror
noir, and so forth. (For those unfamiliar with the term, noir works tend
to be dark, brooding, and filled with moral conflict.) Comedy, tragedy,
and romance are also, arguably, metagenres.
The intelligensia have
traditionally looked down on genre works because they are not unique works
of art—genre material relies on common themes, motifs, stereotypes,
and cliches. The very best genre material uses them but also rises above
them, such as Clint Eastwood's superb movie "Unforgiven," which
calls on the western stereotypes but simultaneously investigates them
from the point of view of an older, experienced, more world-weary and
bitter man. However, most of us without such pretensions to high culture
simply enjoy genres for what they are—unassuming, entertaining,
familiar fare with its own history and tradition.
Every genre revolves
around one central theme—the Hero's Journey. In the Hero's Journey,
the protagonist travels through some sort of ordeal, physical or emotional.
In RPGs, there are multiple protagonists—the player characters.
They are called to the adventure, receive help from allies, pass tests,
and attempt to defeat the enemy, gain some sort of reward, and return.
The genre determines the trappings of the journey.
The Genre and Subgenres
The mystery is in many
ways an extension of the western genre, translating the lone cowboy into
the lone private eye, and the dangers of the untamed west to the dangers
of the untamed underworld. Even that greatest of all detectives, the Englishman
Sherlock Holmes, had his brushes with the American west, although in general
his alienation was of a more cerebral, artistic sort, fed by his genteel
drug addiction. The classic mystery is a "whodunit," characterized
by a problem that can be solved through careful analysis of all of the
clues or some sort of puzzle. These tend to be quiet, thoughtful mysteries,
the preferred reserve of the armchair detective.
However, in the first
American pulp detective stories, as in the American western, themes of
the individualist, alienation, and redemption ran paramount. Modern mysteries
have since moved away from those themes and embrace just about any possible
type of detective, from hardboiled loners to little old ladies to clergy
to school professors to gay activists to sports agents to occultists to
... well, you get the point. Still, the crux of the mystery depends on
hunting down clues, which is often done by individuals rather than groups,
and a final showdown with the criminal, which usually pits the protagonist
alone against the villain.
Mysteries can be roughly
separated into the subgenres of "hardboiled," "suspense/spy,"
"cozy," "forensic," and "legal." Hardboiled
fiction was made famous by the likes of Raymond Chandler and Dashiel Hammett,
usually featuring male ex-cops who are hard-drinking, tough-talking loners
who are suckers for a lady in distress and make their own rules. Suspense/spy
fiction was made famous by Ian Fleming's James Bond series and now features
works by authors like Tom Clancy or Jack Higgins. It is a high-testosterone
genre filled with high-profile crimes (or crimes to be prevented), car
chases, rescues, and violent final showdowns. The "cozy" or
"traditional" mystery, in contrast, is a high-estrogen genre,
featuring spinster sleuths a la Agatha Christie's Miss Jane Marple or
Ellis Peter's Brother Cadfael, who quietly figure out mysteries through
the careful observation of clues and character with a minimum of combat
or personal danger. In these cases the crime is usually low-key, such
as a local murder or theft, rather than world-threatening. "Forensic"
fiction is similar, with the protagonist using modern science instead
of more homespun wisdom to solve a crime; it is often gory, however, and
serial killers are popular antagonists. Finally, legal mysteries such
as those popularized by John Grisham's novels and movies have lawyers
as their protagonists and revolve around the intricacies of the legal
profession.
Mystery RPGs seldom
exist as a clear-cut genre; instead, mysteries are often built into other
genres. However, the out-of-print Top Secret and James Bond games were
specifically developed in the spy/thriller genres. Today, however, few
RPGs are dedicated wholly to mysteries, although a few like Dark Conspiracy,
Conspiracy X and Call of Cthulhu's Delta Green tend to revolve around
solving mysteries of one sort or another.
Themes, Motifs, Settings, and Events
In a mystery, the Hero's
Journey is usually a conflict designed to right or prevent a wrong. Typically
the protagonists fight to protect others, the "innocents" who
are being preyed on by blackmailers, thieves, murderers, politicians,
etc. In many subgenres of mystery fiction, the protagonist will eventually
face physical danger, but brawn is insufficient to succeed in this genre—intelligence,
analytical skills, empathy, and insight into human character are equally
important. Mysteries often contain more than one villian—while trying
to figure out the solution to one problem, the protagonist almost unvariably
unravels a few other lesser mysteries, as well.
Detective heroes may
work for the same organization or police force, be friends, lovers, or
married couples. Some may use only their brains, but many will use all
the scientific tools at their disposal, calling on a broad range of contacts
to gain information. In all cases, the detective must be motivated by
a desire to do good, even if that desire has been soured by cynicism or
tainted by a tendency to use violent methods to bring about justice.
The mystery setting
can be anyplace; from the distant past to the distant future. Most mysteries
are set in a large city in the present day, but there's absolutely no
reason to do so, and exceptions abound in literature and cinema.
Mystery themes include
a desire for justice, law versus chaos, the individual versus the corrupt
or indifferent employer or society, and protection of the innocent victim.
Some common western characters are cynical private eyes, corrupt older
police, idealistic young police, femmes fatales, women in distress, government
agents, lawyers, mobsters, criminal masterminds, squealers, gang members,
forensic psychologists, forensic anthropologists, meddling kids, and the
nosy media. Some common events are:
Fights (fisticuffs or exchange of gunfire) in a(n)
• street
• gas station
• abandoned building
• remote spot
overlooking the city
• fancy ambassadorial
ball
• munitions factory
• super-secret
laboratory
Daredevil showdowns between
• airplanes
• cars and/or
motorcycles
• railroad cars
• motorboats
• parachutes or
parasails
Gathering up or opposing a(n)
• police investigative
team
• government special
ops team
• international
terrorists
• drug smugglers
• serial killer
• arsonist
• cat burglar
Escape from a(n)
• mobster's hideout
• criminal mastermind's
death trap
• boring party
• vehicle plunging
toward certain doom
• ambush
Combining Genres:
Although not every GM
will want to cross a genre in a campaign, sometimes an adventure that
has another "feel" is a welcome change. Most
players will be familiar with the motifs of these other genres and will
recognize what's happening as the GM introduces them. In general, players
are happy to have their characters fall in with a particular genre for
a while. An entire campaign could be cross-genre, too, if the GM and players
are interested in pursuing such.
Fantasy
• Set the game in an alternate Earth or another world entirely
• Use magic as a tool to replace scientific devices for, say, DNA
testing or lie detection
• Use big monsters as the villain's thugs or agents
• Local crimes are similar, but high-profile crimes might feature
evil archmages or high priests, and threats to a kingdom
• Concentrate on personal combat with fists, knives, or crossbows,
and avoid the standard swordfight or clash of armies.
Western
• Set the game in the Old West
• Create NPCs who are consistent with the Old West, such as villains
who are desperados, saloon owners, cattle ranchers, sheriffs, railroad
barons, gold miners, etc.
• Feature chases on horseback, between stagecoaches, or on a train
• Run a mystery involving murder, most often, or perhaps theft from
a train, bank, or Wells Fargo stagecoach.
Horror
• Emphasize gory, unusual deaths with an occult edge, or the sighting
of ghosts or other creatures, as the mystery
• Let the detectives follow red herrings until they're left with
nothing but the supernatural explanation
• Ghosts of the victims may provide clues to the murderer
• Make it clear that the villain cannot simply be arrested, but
must be destroyed or sent away through some unusual means
• Set the final scene in an appropriately spooky area; abandoned
subway tunnels, an incomplete high-rise, a cemetery, a morgue, etc.
Science Fiction
• Emphasize the use of technology, especially James-Bondesque gizmos
• Make the crime that has occurred or that must be prevented something
high-profile and dependent on technology, like nuclear holocaust, theft
of all electronic funds around the world, mind control, cloning, etc.
• Make the villain hard to take down simply by shooting -- the villain
is extremely protected, a government committee, a secret branch of a large
megacorp, an artificial intelligence, an alien invader, etc.
• Show the characters' vulnerability to technological tampering
in their lives by the villains, who may cancel all their credit, rewrite
their identity, take their children, and so forth.
Superheroic
• Create either "the perfect crime" that must be solved,
or set the superheroes up to prevent commission of some awful crime.
• The villain should either be another super-person or some large
institution that the superheroes will find much harder to combat, such
as a government branch or large, public organization.
• Throw out red herrings to indicate that one of the superheroes
might be behind the crimes, or members of their families, or some sort
of important friend to the group
• In general, focus on forcing the heroes to use their brains rather
than their super-abilities. Mysteries can be the great equalizer between
superheroes and the rest of the world.
Adding Metagenres
Metagenres should be used sparingly and, usually, consistently. Players
might get confused or annoyed if one game is noir and the next comedic
and the next romance and the next tragic. Remember that each metagenre
will have a lasting effect on the character and the campaign.
Noir
• Emphasize London fogs or the steam from city gratings; acid rain
or grey, cloudy days.
• The protagonists should be cynical but good at heart; feel free
to test their cynicism by putting women and children into danger. If the
victims die, grind the protagonist's face in it.
• Organizations such as the local police force, city government,
the DA's office, and so forth should be rife with corruption
• Dwell on the dirt, both real and metaphorical -- emphasize inequality,
bitterness, problems too large for any one person to solve
• The villains should be more likely to beat up or cripple the protagonists
than to kill them, unless the protagonists are close to stopping them.
Noir villains don't need to set up fancy deaths -- a shot to the head
is sufficient.
Comedy
• The "caper" subgenre of mysteries. Emphasize lovable
but humorously incompetent characters, coincidences, and funny misunderstandings.
• Silly or overbearing relatives are often a feature of comedic
mysteries -- maybe a nosy kid sister or a gentle mother who is determined
to "keep her boy safe." Don't put them into any serious danger;
just have them bumble in at the wrong moment.
• Emphasize slapstick (the lowest but easiest form of humor in an
RPG) and/or verbal humor (if you and your players are witty) and incongruous
events; possibly mistaken identities.
• Keeping throwing setbacks at the characters, but never in a way
that will make the characters despair or that will turn the comedy into
a tragedy.
• End on an upbeat note, with everything falling in place in the
end and everybody getting their "just deserts."
Tragedy
• Emphasize catastrophic events, such as riots, a recent disaster,
a bad storm, or a police strike.
• Create characters with both good and bad sides; no matter how
good the individual, s/he must have a tragic flaw that will lead to his
or her downfall. In a mystery, this may be alcoholism, inability to trust,
etc.
• Emphasize a spiritual or moral struggle that accompanies the physical
struggle. If the detective is part of the police force, make the detective
choose between participating in a cover-up or squealing or running away;
in general, make the consequences of solving the mystery something that
will ultimately harm the investigator.
• Every time the detective hesitates, something else goes wrong.
Another person dies, the situation worsens.
• Emphasize things falling apart or coming undone, an ending that
may resolve part of the problem but doesn't even begin to address the
greater social issues, or an ending that solves the crime but costs the
lives or reputations of even the innocents involved. Note that tragedy
should NOT be used often in RPGs!
Romance
• In a mystery, romance may spring between the protagonists or between
a protagonist and a victim who comes to him or her for help
• Make the romantic interest good-hearted and good-natured, proactive,
ethical, courageous, respectful, and resistant to pressure. In a mystery,
the romantic interest has inner strengths and will encourage the protagonist
to continue no matter how gloomy things become
• If the protagonist is cynical, use the romantic interest as a
foil, showing him or her that jusatice can prevail, love can triumph,
and good things can happen in life. While roleplaying the romantic interest,
try to tease a smile or laugh out of the hardbitten detective!
• Have fun with romantic rivals, but try not to make the romantic
interest the villain in the end, unless running a hardboiled mystery.
This sort of ending oves the romance toward a romantic tragedy, usually
not as satisfying for the player.
• Emphasize positive values, the healing power of love, and the
growth that two people can help each other achieve. Both members of the
couple should be equally strong and vulnerable, with neither always becoming
the victim to be rescued, even though one may have begun as the victim.
originally written September 29, 2000
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