GURPS Mysteries

GURPS is a generic tabletop role-playing game (ttrpg) system with a gazillion supplements covering every subject you can imagine, and a few you can’t.

I used to play and run GURPS back in the early 90s, and even had an adventure published in GURPS Time Travel.

GURPS Mysteries, written by criminal defence attorney and author Lisa J Steele, is a supplement for GURPS covering mysteries – particularly murder mysteries and the genre of detective fiction.

This review, however, isn’t looking at GURPS Mysteries from the perspective of using it for a ttrpg. Instead, I’m looking at how useful it is for writing murder mystery games.

Reviewing GURPS Mysteries – what I’m looking at

While GURPS Mysteries does include some GURPS system information (such as advantages, disadvantages and skills used for creating characters), I’m not covering that here. To be honest, there isn’t much system in the book – maybe 10-15%.

GURPS Mysteries also has sections on incorporating mysteries into other typical ttrpg genres, such as fantasy, science fiction, and horror. But again, I will ignore that as it’s not relevant to most murder mystery games.

Instead, I’m going to look at the advice for crafting a murder mystery – especially the crime and the clues. And yes, while the advice is aimed at including a mystery in your ttrpgs, much of it applies to murder mystery party games as well.

GURPS Mysteries – what works

So, given those caveats, what did I find in GURPS Mysteries from the perspective of someone who writes murder mystery games? Well, quite a bit, actually.

First, GURPS Mysteries notes that games are not like books. In a book, the author has complete control over how information will be revealed. In a game, however, how a player solves the mystery will depend on who they talk to and whether they find the appropriate clues.

GURPS Mysteries also suggests keeping the mystery simple. Don’t have too many red herrings – your players are unlikely to be brilliant detectives, and too many false leads will just confuse them!

Types of mystery

GURPS Mysteries covers the different types of murder mysteries:

• The Cosy: Classic Agatha Christie style murders. These are the oldest style of murder mystery – and they are still extremely popular. (Richard Osman’s popular Thursday Murder Club series are cosies.)
• Hard-boiled mysteries: A more American approach, featuring private detectives and popularised by writers like Dashiell Hammet and Raymond Chandler.
• Procedurals: Police procedurals take a more realistic approach to police investigations. (Although how realistic they really are…)
• Thrillers: Arguably a related genre, but often constructed like a mystery.
• Puzzles and McGuffins: Arguably sub-genres, locked room mysteries and McGuffins can feature in other styles of murder mystery.

And of course, many murder mysteries defy strict categories. But for our purposes, most murder mystery parties are cosies.

Motive, means, opportunity

GURPS Mysteries would be remiss if it didn’t cover motive, means and opportunity of solving a crime. So, of course, it does, covering each and also talking about the murderer and alibis.

Clues, corpses and poisons

GURPS Mysteries has an excellent chapter covering clues, including forensics, a list of common poisons and their effects. There is even a section on how a murderer might dispose of a body (it’s not easy).

Although not particularly useful for a murder mystery, the book also examines non-homicide crimes and considers trials and punishment (which, for our purposes, usually occur after the game is over).

Witnesses

The chapter on witnesses is fascinating and covers all sorts of topics, including what witnesses know, what they remember (and how memory works), how to get people to talk, and more.

However, from a murder mystery party perspective, much of this is academic, since witnesses will almost always be players in the game. Often, it can be a case of finding the right witness rather than persuading them to talk.

(And in general, for a murder mystery party, I’d want my witnesses to be reliable and know what they saw. Solving murders is hard enough without adding unreliable witnesses into the mix!)

Timeline and bibliography

GURPS Mysteries includes two other useful resources, a timeline and a bibliography.

The timeline starts in 1248 (Hsi Lun Lu publishes a work on forensic medicine in China) and runs through to 2004 (the first major fingerprinting error comes to public attention) with plenty of details in between. Invaluable for a historical game, if you want to know whether you can include polygraphs (invented in 1902, ruled inadmissible in 1923). Much of the timeline is American, but it’s a start.

The bibliography is extensive, and covers fiction (er, famous works only – I have no doubt your favourites have been missed, as were mine) and nonfiction, films and television.

Other distracting asides

GURPS Mysteries also includes numerous other interesting asides. They’re not necessarily relevant to our purpose of writing a murder mystery game, but it’s hard not to be drawn into a section on the Pinkerton Agency, or Victorian thief-takers, or the Spanish Inquisition.

Overall

While much of this is available elsewhere, GURPS Mysteries is an excellent reference for anyone writing a murder mystery – even if it is a party game rather than a ttrpg.