Splatbook*

Creating clues

If a provocative, juicy clue just occurs to you, or something in Book II suggests a clue that resonates, then ask yourself whether it contradicts your prep or any established truths. If not, use it!

Otherwise: start with the revelation, the thing you want the PCs to potentially learn. Work backwards from there. Imagine a clue that could lead to the revelation, such as:

  • Signs left on the environment (tracks, crushed grass, an old firepit, etc.)
  • Physical remains (blood, bones, hair, fur, scales, feathers, droppings, etc.)
  • Something out of place (a clean bowl on a dusty table, a strange idol, etc.)
  • Writing, art, or markings (a note or letter, a mosaic, idle graffiti, etc.)
  • An NPC's/monster's behavior (a ghost pointing, a liar's shifty eyes, etc.)
  • Noises, glimpses, scents (a howl in the distance, smoke on the wind, etc.)
  • Rumors, reports, tales, or gossip (heard from an NPC, remembered, etc.)
  • Flashes, omens, or revelations (a dream, a psychic impression, etc.)

Some clues point directly towards their revelation. Others merely hint at it, and make sense only with some effort or in hindsight. Present clues that fit in with the established fiction, and play to find out what happens.

If you're stumped, maybe tell the players the revelation and ask how they figure it out. "What should you be on the lookout for? Hmm. The hdour's watching this place via magic, and they know you're here! What do you notice that tells you this?"

Rhianna and her crew Forage and pick "You discover something interesting or useful." I decide to reveal that a trio of feathered drakes is in the area, but that they've fed recently and aren't actively on the hunt right now. The clue itself seems obvious to me: Rhianna finds the remains of their most-recent kill.

"Wisent bones," I tell her. "Chewed-on and snapped. Looks like drakes did it; you find claw prints and a few shed feathers. There's offal, too—the flies are real bad—so this can't be more than a day old. What do you do?"

She studies the scene, Seeking Insight and asking, "What should I be on the lookout for?" I tell her that these were full-grown drakes, two of them driving the wisent towards a third waiting in ambush. I ask how she figures that out. "Mostly from reading the tracks. And, like, knowing about drakes. Hey, you said this was recent, right? Like in the last day? So they're probably not hungry right now. If we hustle, we can probably clear their territory before they start hunting again. Yeah?" Totally!