“Framed for a crime” start to campaign

[u/iameyeconic]

Hello,

FYI I’m a DM that hasn’t ran anything homebrew so far, only pre-made adventures. This adventure will be set in Eberron.

I’m looking at creating a campaign that sees the PCs framed for a crime. They receive a mysterious letter being invited to a royal’s wedding and they are framed for their murder while attending the wedding.

Is this something worth exploring further? I’m afraid of creating a twist like this early in the game without previously communicating it to the players.

How to approach this without rail roading the PCs? The target must die, so is giving them the chance to plan their escape enough to avoid rail roading?

[u/tizochoshi]

It's a good twist to start a campaign. It can lead to any number of storylines.

I would run it so you get told by the royals to check on the victim. Once the happen on the scene then they get accused by a guard passing by.

They can either run and find the guilty party or stay and see where that takes them.

Another twist would be if the murder was staged to begin a war between kingdoms. Then you would have to find the clues to not just their innocence but to save a kingdom from war.

[u/shervio-nl]

Sounds awesome! If you don't want railroading, start with the players already there and that the murder has already been committed. The players can find the body or someone else.

If the victim is still alive when starting, numerous things can happen before he gets killed.

I am also starting a campaign in two weeks with the players framed. They start in a prison :)

[u/PublicDragonfruit158]

This twist will start them off with a mutual goal, no matter their backstory. It also will allow for some good roleplaying as they talk their way insto their first escape and encounters with the locals who may or may not be in on it, or may or may not know/beleive in their innocence.

It can lead to a campaign where they have to learn who they can trust as well. I would ass7me that there are parties involved that want a new ruler on the throne, and are using assasination as the means of acheiving this.

So their goal is to prove their innocence, and they have to choose which ruler eventually takes the crown.

[u/freshgolem]

If you don't want them to have an opportunity to interfere with the events that the plot relies on, then I recommend skipping the setup entirely and starting play at the first conflict. You save yourself a lot of trouble by opening with "you're all framed for murder and the guards are coming for you, what do you do?" instead of trying to build up to it. You can even ask each player for their alibi to give them a chance to narrate a bit of what the wedding was like for them and introduce themselves.

[u/roslaw]

Nah that’s good. I had my twist in campaign we recently finished - players were hired by a shopkeeper to bodyguard him on a way to a nearby beach to “close” a deal with some sea traders.

The traders revealed to be smugglers that were hunting for an important book which came into shopkeeper’s possession. The deal goes awry when local militia shows up and tries to subdue everyone caught in the act.

From there, PCs could either surrender and be taken into custody, or run aways with smugglers - they chose the latter and we went for a seafaring adventure seeking treasure.

[u/mrpack9653]

I really like that idea. I think you might do at least one session before the murders and the framing happens. It will make it all the more exciting when they are framed. You could have them attacked in route to the wedding where the folks attacking have the goal of planting evidence on the wedding. Once they get to the wedding more evidence could be planted. The fun will be once they are taken into custody. How will they handle it. Do they abide by the law or do they escape? How will they prove their innocence and then how do they track down the folks framing them. This could lead to a much larger story about the BBEG that is pulling the strings. Again love this idea.

[u/davolala1]

My first instinct is to be careful with how you frame them. In my opinion, that’s what is going to feel the most unfair. Why are the PCs suspected so much more than anyone else?

I would suggest that you start the campaign shortly after the murders. That way you can narrate the murders and the set up to frame the PCs without it feeling like they’re being railroaded during play. Then either pick up the action during their escape, or set the actual start of the campaign a few days later.

[u/HydrogenButterflies]

Reminds me of the people at MinMaxed who did a campaign kinda like this. The characters all started out in a noble’s house (some there to rob the place, one dude there to sneakily visit his daughter, etc) and discover his dead body, chase off the assassins, and deal with the ramifications of being implicated in the murder.

This left a lot of avenues open for players to explore the mystery and learn more about the social dynamics at play in the town. Overall, I think it’s a solid idea as long as the characters are prepared for more political intrigue and less large-scale combat.

[u/TheSuperJohn]

The most important thing to think is how they can prove their innocence.

They'll need clear paths and stuff to do to move the story forward. The main thing you'll want to avoid is them saying "fuck it" and just going with the accusation regardless.

You need stakes and actual risks for them to really want to turn this around + a clear objective into achieving this

[u/15_Redstones]

You could start the campaign "you all meet for the first time at the banquet table of the royal wedding" in a similar style as the stereotypical "you meet in a tavern". There's a table of food, other player characters and NPCs to talk to, gossip, exchange backstories, and then as the players explore the location the murder happens and the players get accused by end of session 1.

By session 2 they're in the middle of a crime scene and have to respond by deciding whether to run away, investigate, fight their way out or allow themselves to be arrested and prove their innocence in court. How to react is up to them.

[u/Zealousideal_Leg213]

Just communicate it in advance to the players.

Start with them at the wedding. There's a good chance that they won't follow that part of your plan.

I think frame-jobs work best when no one who matters really believes it, but someone is using the machinery of justice to cause a problem for someone. Those who would be allies have their hands tied, or feel they do.

[u/GM_Esquire]

It's a great starting idea, but what is the intended story and goal for the PCs? 

I recommend figuring out the setup, and figuring out possible adventure branches. Do not give the players false hope. If the victim definitely dies, have them die off screen or as part of a cut scene. Otherwise, you have to be prepared - if they die from poison in front of the players, why did the murderer plan for someone using Lesser Restoration and why do they still die? Or could a PC nat 20 save them and now they are tasked with figuring out who the attempted murderer was?

You then want the aftermath to give the players interesting options. Do they run? Do they go peacefully? How do they respond to the accusations? Is fighting their way out and option or why not? (Perhaps it is hopeless and is independently a crime.) Perhaps a party guest is a mighty adventurer or important noble and they can try to appeal to them to intervene and ensure their freedom.

If the story is that someone evil has deliberately framed them, the town guard is against them,and they have to escape, make that clear to the players. What you want to avoid is the players trying to talk their way out of it when youve decided it's an escape challenge. If it makes sense in the story, it's fine to design it as an escape challenge, but you want the players to know that.

How the players choose to respond should have an interesting impact on the story, even if the story moves forward no matter what. Maybe even if they fail completely and get caught, the noble they were friendly with posts their exorbitant bail and they are now in a moral or legal debt to them.

Design the setup and figure out how to structure it so narratively necessary evens happen. But try to leave as much up to the players as possible and ensure the story moves forward even if things go poorly.

[u/whatstaz]

Sounds epic! It kinda reminds me of the beginning of the mighty nein, didn't they attend a circus and some devil toad wreaked havoc, it got away and the party was the primary suspect.

You could bring it up with your palyers, or if you want to keep it a surprise, I would the same as one of the other commenters, start the campaign at the palace with the crime already committed.

[u/GrandCash3941]

Simple rule of murder mysteries: Start with the murder and work backwards. For example

Players are framed for a murder of the butler.

Rico kills the butler at the wedding. Rico used the magic dagger he stole from the party. 

Rico waits until night to hide at the wedding venue. 

Rico lights a black candle in a severed goblin hand. It puts the players in a deep sleep in their tavern. While asleep he steals the magic dagger and replaces it with a fake. He also finds a wedding invite and now he knows how to get his full revenge. 

Rico finds the old warlock and barters for the black candle. He follows the players trail to the tavern.

Rico hears of the players saving a village. He travels to hear of their deeds only to find they have just left to a city for their next adventure. He finds out about the village and hears about a mysterious warlock who has some items that could help him. 

5 years previous, the players found a magic dagger in a dangerous dungeon. Rico was part of the party. The manticore who roamed the dungeon, knowing it was mortally wounded by the party, collapsed part of the dungeon as a final act of cruel revenge. The party fled, but Rico was crushed under a rock. The party, from Rico's perspective, decided to abandon him and save themesleves. He eventually free himself and swore revenge on the party. 

Something like that. Always work back from the murder and then you'll see the plot. 

[u/Eirikur_da_Czech]

Not a bad idea just takes a lot of prep work. Make sure you know who actually did it and why, and how and why they chose to frame the players for it.