#RPGaDAY 2019 11: EXAMINE

RPGaDAY 2019

11: EXAMINE

Handouts, props, visual references, and things you can examine out of character.

I’ll freely admit that I ask for perception rolls pretty often, and unless everybody fails dismally I give the result to whoever rolls best or makes more sense. The GUMSHOE approach of ensuring everybody gets relevant clues is the next step over.

But to talk about something more, things that the players can examine. Call Of Cthulhu (the inspiration for GUMSHOE) is famed for its player handouts, in-character newspaper clippings, telegraphs, letters and so on. The H. P. Lovecraft Historical Society just won ENnies for a gigantic box of physical props for the classic campaign Masks Of Nyarlathotep, including over a hundred handouts, League of Nations passports, and a USB stick of audio props hidden inside a replica wax recording cylinder.

Using props brings in the same issue as riddles and social persuasion, player versus character skill... and you might need red herrings so it isn’t obvious which props matter simply because they’re props... but it sure looks fun!