Hi! I created an adventure for the Age of Rebellion setting called Murder on the Merciful , a murder mystery aboard Nebulon-B medical frigate, the Merciful . I wanted to upload it first because I hope you enjoy it! I put a lot of work into the details and it's been a lot of fun to run with different groups.

If you really liked it and enjoy it, consider helping me out with concrete ideas for an extended campaign! The adventure ends with the PCs having their work cut out for them: they may or may not have stopped the killer, but they have a smuggler gang to track down, they don't know how far the rabbit hole goes, and they have political blowback for the Alliance to mitigate. I'm interested in high-intrigue covert scenes, high-octane combat scenes, high-emotion social scenes. I'm interested in exploring questions related to medical malpractice, moral marketing, and virtuous politics. I like scenes and characters that promote vivid details for storytelling.

I can't wait to see the ideas some of you might have for a concrete campaign path! Thank you!

EDIT (11/25/17):

Link to Hi-Res Murder on the Merciful.pdf (52MB) on Google Drive:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=15GN1nF_yRoj1BrvqnXt-VMfSpKRkEyeZ

Last edit of 11/25/17 was to fix a few small errors, to change some of the graphics, to add an opening crawl page, and to change the ending to allow/encourage the players to lay out their evidence against the accused.

(For posterity, link to original Murder on the Merciful.pdf on Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pefz-iKUv4pQ27mbFY44mv1zfh8aIKuA/view?usp=sharing )

(For the Hi-Res version, AAJohan of DeviantArt should be credited for use of backgrounds.)

OOOOOOOOOH thanks you for this I'll put it to good use

Hmm. Sounds great, but the forums are denying me access to the PDF. Is it available elsewhere?

Link is not working for me either

I just uploaded it to Google Drive, try this link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pefz-iKUv4pQ27mbFY44mv1zfh8aIKuA/view?usp=sharing

Please let me know if this works for you and what you think! And please let me know if the original file ever works for you. Thanks!

That works! Many thanks, this looks great!

That works! Many thanks, this looks great!

Just started reading, but for the shuttle encounter I have a few things..

- Why does the shuttle need to escape? Why can't it just transmit the coordinates of the Merciful via comms?
- What do the TIEs do after the shuttle escaped? They are not hyperspace capable
- What role does the encounter play at all for the adventure? Just to pop in a star destroyer in the end, which the players most likely can't do anything against?

MasterZelgadis: With the newer version I just uploaded, this should hopefully be clearer, but the shuttle needs to escape to warn the Empire of the Rebel attack on Cortica-3. My grasp of SW comm tech is not perfect, but Subterrel is in the Outer Rim, so my assumption would be that long range transmission would be required and could be blocked by the Rebels.

The TIEs' sole job is to get the shuttle out of there; they'll return to the moon or more likely take down the PCs if they can. The PCs will have a heck of a time taking them all down in normal circumstances, so they will need smart thinking (bring them around to the Merciful?) or good rolling to defeat them.

It's not expected that the shuttle would actually escape; the Star Destroyer would be the necessary result, however. The role of the encounter is to provide the players a chance to think cooperatively, since this may be their first time playing together or using the system. Also, it splits up the action/combat across the adventure so it's not hours before combat occurs for the players.

All that said: would take suggestions for a better scene to accomplish this! I hope you enjoy the new version I just uploaded.

I just uploaded a new version! Among other changes, I made a significant change to the ending to allow/encourage the PCs to lay out their evidence against the accused. I don't know why I never allowed for this, total blind spot. Agatha Christie novels very much influenced the adventure, and there was no opportunity previously for a Poirot-style explanation of the mystery. Now there is!

Awesome work!

Great layout and I like the dialogue. The various characters have unique voices and you offer good pointers on how to play them. Good skill tests and use of narrative results as well.

There are a few places where you do things I'd never do. One example early on is: after questioning the Imperial and he pulls the knife, tell the players their PCs left their weapons outside of the brig. This takes away player agency, and also breeds paranoid players imho.

I'll agree it was very Agatha Christie, which is both good and bad I like that it keeps you guessing to the end. But like most Agatha Christie novels, the last minute revelations means nobody can really figure it out. There's no way to discover the MMO (means, motive, opportunity), adding those could really enhance it. I have limited experience running mystery stuff, but if I was a player I'd feel kind of railroaded.

Complaints aside, it's well-constructed, and I think it could be easily tailored to suit anyone's needs.

That totally makes sense about the not-telling-your-players-oh-whoops-you-left-your-weapons-outside thing. I questioned that myself. Most of my experience GMing is with new or newish players, I don't have a regular gaming group, I just play with different groups of people when I have the chance; so, they have not minded it, but I can imagine a more experienced group feeling betrayed! Do you think simply having the guards tell your players "You'll have to leave your weapons here" would work? I think, as someone wanting to make a knife fight happen, I was afraid someone would say "Hold up, no, we're not doing that," but I think a) that'd probably be fine, they can wait outside, or b) they can get creative and avoid a knife fight, or c) they might not balk, and then it's sweeter when they are facing Schneid weaponless.

Haha, thanks for the Agatha Christie affirmation. I do think maybe even using that exact template of an MMO might be helpful: saying "You need to identify means, motive, and opportunity before an arrest," and that's what they lay out at the end, and giving them just a little more clarity on those points. Because, as it stands, like you said, they can't really grasp any of those pieces concretely... it's more like a constellation of factors / elimination of options. Running a mystery really is a unique experience - if you get the chance to run this, I'd love to hear your feedback! - because players are at once shockingly smart, as they always say, but at the same time they can run down rabbit holes you never thought they'd create for themselves and complicate what could otherwise have been so simple. In fact, I have made things clearer and easier as they stand in the present version than they were at one time for that very reason.

It's a ton of fun, though, running a mystery, so again, hope you get a chance to run it and let me know what you think if you do! As the Captain would say: cheers!

On 2017-11-25 at 10:00 PM, andynorton said:

Do you think simply having the guards tell your players "You'll have to leave your weapons here" would work?

You can have the guards ask, simply because that's the correct protocol. If the PCs don't want to comply maybe the guards threaten to call the captain, because that's also what they'd do. There are all kinds of ways to make this stand-off a fun part of the game, from a Coercion attempt by the guards on the PCs, or vice versa, or any other social skill for that matter. In the end, if the PCs don't back down, let the guards call the captain and he'll just override the requirement. Basically, you have to separate what the NPCs do from what you as the GM wish to happen. The guards should act "normally", but it shouldn't be a roadblock to talking to the prisoner.

Keep in mind that if they have their weapons it's not a great thing. In a small room, you can consider everyone to be Engaged. Ranged weapons should be subject to all the penalties for being Engaged, with the additional complication of possibly hitting a friend. You could even apply setback for every extra person beyond 3 (so 5 people total = +2 setback)...this would only apply to the PCs, since the NPC will be trying to hit anyone, whereas the PCs and their allies will be trying not to hit each other. You can add other environmental factors, e.g.: 3 Threat or Despair causes an ally to take damage. Make sure the NPC has a minimum of Adversary 1, and don't be afraid to flip those DPs... And these are things you don't have to tell the PCs before they all go in...

Finally, the Imperial agent should have a high enough Cool to help ensure he goes first in the initiative order...a good first strike should at least scare the PCs a little bit

On 2017-11-25 at 10:00 PM, andynorton said:

I do think maybe even using that exact template of an MMO might be helpful: saying "You need to identify means, motive, and opportunity before an arrest," and that's what they lay out at the end, and giving them just a little more clarity on those points.

Agreed, that would be pretty useful.

This is a helpful link on running mysteries in an RPG:

http://thealexandrian.net/wordpress/1118/roleplaying-games/three-clue-rule

I think you've done a good job of avoiding bottlenecks, and allowing the PCs to come to their own conclusions. But adding an MMO chart could help focus the players on the task.

Thanks for this.

Nabbed it because I lurve me a good investigation. From the quickie browsing I did it looks good! Thanks for your work.

Thank you for taking the time to make this! I will be using it with my players in the near future.

Thanks for creating this awesome adventure. Hoping I can rope the Mrs into playing with the kids and I on this one since though she loathes Star Wars she loves her a good murder mystery.

I have a few questions and I hope you can give me your insight as the author:

1. What is the deal with the Imperial officer? What does he hope to gain by shivving the PCs? Even if he were to kill them all he is still locked in a holding room with armed guards outside. If his motive is escape, why wait until spec ops shows up to execute his plan? Why not just wait until there was no attention on him and then deal with a couple of minion guards? I can't figure out where this encounter fits in to the adventure. His actions don't seem to represent a hardened, feared enemy agent. I think he would rather be trying to subtly obtain info from the PCs so that he could use it to plan his escape during the confusion of the inevitable climax while the ship was distracted.

2. Why are the body parts in Loading Bay B? I assume all the badness was going on in Bay C since the cameras were routinely shut off once per month when the Bay was signed out to medical.

3. How were the body parts getting off ship? Was the Firespray making regular visits to pick up the contraband? If so would the Merciful's crew think they were there for other reasons?

4. The TIEs bother me. I think they would have been harassing the Merciful the entire time in attempt to drive it out of the system thus turning the tide of battle for the Imperials as the rebels lose their medical support and means of evacuation. I understand they are there to set the momentum of the adventure and to give players the chance to roll some dice, but would it be more feasible to have the shuttle make a break for it solo? Or maybe have an escort with the Merciful- one the TIEs feared and thus stayed away from?

5. Finally, and probably most importantly, if I understand the plot correctly Zarander was in deep with Falstrom when it came to selling the organs, but he bailed when he figured out Falstrom was actually killing patients for the parts. Is this correct?

I apologize if this is all nitpicky but I really want the lid on this thing tight before I run it with the family. They tend to think like I do and I anticipate needing an explanation for the above.

15 hours ago, drbino said:

Thanks for creating this awesome adventure. Hoping I can rope the Mrs into playing with the kids and I on this one since though she loathes Star Wars she loves her a good murder mystery.

I have a few questions and I hope you can give me your insight as the author:

1. What is the deal with the Imperial officer? What does he hope to gain by shivving the PCs? Even if he were to kill them all he is still locked in a holding room with armed guards outside. If his motive is escape, why wait until spec ops shows up to execute his plan? Why not just wait until there was no attention on him and then deal with a couple of minion guards? I can't figure out where this encounter fits in to the adventure. His actions don't seem to represent a hardened, feared enemy agent. I think he would rather be trying to subtly obtain info from the PCs so that he could use it to plan his escape during the confusion of the inevitable climax while the ship was distracted.

2. Why are the body parts in Loading Bay B? I assume all the badness was going on in Bay C since the cameras were routinely shut off once per month when the Bay was signed out to medical.

3. How were the body parts getting off ship? Was the Firespray making regular visits to pick up the contraband? If so would the Merciful's crew think they were there for other reasons?

4. The TIEs bother me. I think they would have been harassing the Merciful the entire time in attempt to drive it out of the system thus turning the tide of battle for the Imperials as the rebels lose their medical support and means of evacuation. I understand they are there to set the momentum of the adventure and to give players the chance to roll some dice, but would it be more feasible to have the shuttle make a break for it solo? Or maybe have an escort with the Merciful- one the TIEs feared and thus stayed away from?

5. Finally, and probably most importantly, if I understand the plot correctly Zarander was in deep with Falstrom when it came to selling the organs, but he bailed when he figured out Falstrom was actually killing patients for the parts. Is this correct?

I apologize if this is all nitpicky but I really want the lid on this thing tight before I run it with the family. They tend to think like I do and I anticipate needing an explanation for the above.

Thanks for the thanks, and I hope you successfully get the Mrs involved! I have had a lot of fun running this at different times with three different Mrs' (only one was my Mrs, of course), none of whom particularly liked SW or RPG, and all of them had a blast, I hope you have the same!

Thanks also for really involving yourself with this and having great points and questions!

I think 1. and 4. have pretty much the same answer: I think you're absolutely right, both of these scenes don't quite "fit" naturally and both are or can seem a little like "wait, what was the point?" at least on reading. When I run the adventure, I always treat both these scenes as completely Optional, and I should write that into the PDF at some point. If I don't think they need a combat scene to start off with, I ditch the TIEs and they reach the Merciful without event. If I don't think the investigation needs spicing up, I don't introduce the Imperial officer. When I do introduce one or either scene, it has almost always made sense to the players and they have enjoyed it as an opportunity to use their combat skills and think together creatively. If you don't think your players need these scenes, however, definitely skip them!

With 2. and 3., I think typically they had been meeting in Loading Bay C, which is why the cams were turned off regularly and why Dr. Zarander was found murdered there, but they must have decided to move to Loading Bay B to meet for this final shipment where the killer could escape with them, since Loading Bay C was a watched crime scene. I'm not sure if that's wholly satisfying, but I think that was my intent with it. And yes, the Firespray was making regular visits, and I had not thought up an exact reason for why the crew thought that was ok or what they thought was happening... potentially, you can use that angle to provide more evidence against the killer, or to emphasize or de-emphasize a potential charge of grave negligence against the Captain, depending on how you'd like to go with it!

As to 5., great question, and I can totally see how that's how you would think of it. I strayed away from really laying out "Hey, this was exactly what was going on," basically to cut down on the chance of players accidentally seeing "Oh, so that's the killer, I see exactly how it happened" and to give the GM more room to maneuver in deciding who is exactly complicit with what, but my thought has always been, no, Dr. Zarander was not at all complicit with Dr. Falstom, rather, he started investigating on his own, confronted Dr. Falstom (perhaps not recognizing properly the danger, or perhaps hoping to keep this quiet to save face for his friend and for the Rebellion), and was murdered. The later evidence you gain from Kass Trobona and Gentii Dulovic hopefully help to paint this picture. However, if you introduce things that seem to point toward complicity and you find that more compelling, it would not at all be hard to move that way! I find it more tragic and more compelling that he was not complicit, but was rather trying to investigate it on his own (I actually get a little lump in my throat when Corporal Dulovic talks about his brother's death and how Zarander promised to figure things out).

What a fun conversation, thanks for asking these questions!

The adventure seems great and is perfect to follow up on my decisions... well I dropped a hint about MandalMotors employees smuggling body parts, I don't have an adventure tied to it ready, though. But looks like I got one now

I want to play your adventure next. Which NPC Pilots do you suggest for the TIEs, and which NPCs Pilot/crew do you suggest for the Lambda? I hope I get the mystery investigation right!

@andynorton - this looks great. I may run it after we get through Friends Like These.

I will read over the weekend, but I was wondering in advance, can you replace the Neb-B with a different Rebel cap ship? My players are in the process of building their own right now. It might be fun if this happens on their own ship...