Mansion Murder Mystery

Tips: Advise players that taking notes of important information (where/when etc) is recommend.

Tips: Youtube music.

The squeaking of the carts wheels wind to a stop as you look out over the large mansion before you. The building is new, but the crawling ivy, dead trees and heavy clouds create a dark and gloomy atmosphere. A cold and cutting breeze blows past you bringing a strong smell of animal manure. A few cages with beasts, some strange and some familiar can be partially seen around the corner. Lord Druat seems to be a collector of some sort.

By the main entrance stands a well dressed man with a greying handle bar mustache and soul-patch.

(William) " Welcome honored guests. I am William, the butler and estate manager for lord Druat. Please follow me inside. "

Inside you're greeted with the sight of a incredibly beautiful foyer. Potted plants, ornate statues and rugs and expensive paintings decorate the walls and floor.

(William) " Wait here a moment I will announce you "

William opens the doors to the main dining area and walks through, the smell of fine foods and wine waft out from the door. You overhear William introduce the arrival of the Heroes of Melvaunt but before you can even enter the lights in the room flick out. You hear a crash and the sound of Lord Druat screaming.

(Druat) " What is this, how did you.. ARGHHH MY CHEST "

Then a bone chilling crunch and the sound of blood being spattered.

''' --If for some reason the players do not enter you can proceed to the exploration section of the map. After a short while describe a bluish glow that appears around the mansion preventing anyone from leaving. When the players final do enter, describe the murder scene and have them enter an argument between the four suspects about who is the killer could be, before finally deciding to have the players investigate as they were the only ones not in the room at the time-- '''

The room is still dark and you can't even see your hands in front of your face. You hear the shuffling of seats and the clattering of a few dishes before *woosh* the candles flicker back on. Scattered around the room you can see Lord Davol port, Lord of keys Trethon Bruil, William and a young woman with you have never seen before.

(William) " What happened, Where's Thomas? What.. what's with all that blood. "

You can see the head dining chair is just covered with blood, to the point its fairly obvious if it belonged to a person that person is definitely dead. However there is no body that you can see.

(Trent) " It would appear as if someone has murdered lord Druat. Although I hate to point out the obvious but I believe the murderer must be in this room. To destroy a person so fully without leaving any traces it must be the work of an incredibly powerful magician ".

A young woman whom you do not recognize speaks up. She has long dark hair and an impressive jewel around her neck that draws attention to her bosom. It is clear she comes from extreme wealth.

(Isabell Estavana) " Not necessarily" she snaps "I've seen a few magics in my time and I have never seen anything like this ".

"(14 DC insight) She seems defensive as if she was being directly accused."

At this point you hear a loud hum and a bluish light spills in a little from the hallway.

(William) " Oh no, it's really true then. Thomas is dead. The security fail safe has activated. Which means we are all trapped inside ".

"(14 DC insight) You can tell that he seems to be quite upset, there is guilt and loss in his eyes, but there's also a well hidden trace of joy and anticipation."

(Isabell Estavana) " Trapped? What do you mean. I'll have you know if my family should hear about this, Melvaunt will have hell to pay "

(Trent) " Calm down Isabell, there is no need for that. We would never intentionally keep someone of your standing trapped. All of us lords have this security feature in our homes to ensure the death or capture of our assassins, however while it is true we are trapped. It may not be for long. By now my guards stationed outside will have notice the commotion and will likely begin to break the barrier from the outside. It will at most be 2 days before we are able to leave. Of course it is for the best that we discover the murderer before then. "

You hear the cracking of thunder and see a bright flash of light. The whole room shift uneasily slightly startled. A few seconds later the heavy sound of rain on tiles can be heard.

Davol port who has seeming been quite this entire time finally speaks up.

(Dave) " We must make an example out of whoever would dare to strike at us lords, otherwise it's only a matter of time before they strike again. I propose the heroes of Melvaunt to investigate this crime, as the only people not in the room at the time of the murder, they are the only ones we can know are actually innocent. With no where to hide, surely it will be easy for them to find the evidence they need. We can simply all wait in the lounge while they search the premises, after they can interrogate which ever one of you is the murderer. ."

"(14 DC insight) On success players can see he is visibly angered and definitely shocked by the event, but he's also exhibiting signs of nervousness, fiddling with his keys and constantly looking around the room."

(William) " Of course, of course, Thomas has a sizeable reward of at least 1000 gold for the capture or death of his murderer, should he ever unfortunately meet an early demise. We won't ask you to do this for free. Find the killer and the reward can be claimed at any of the adventurer guilds, as long as you obtain signed documentation by providing substantial proof to the captain of the town guard. "

''' --If the players agree have William inform the players they have a cook, a maid and a Gardner. However as they were not in the room at the time I doubt they could have killed him. Still they might be able to learn something useful from them. Stress to the players that in order to get the reward they need to provide sufficient evidence.-- '''

1) Dining Room
The room is messy, plates, wine and furniture have been knocked over and and large pool of blood covers the chair at the head of the table. Too much blood that whoever who it belonged to is surely dead. 6 Suites of armor are placed evenly around the room, one with a battle axe. A large fine painting of a poodle hangs behind the head of the table.

Head Chair:

 * Investigation reveals nothing
 * Attacking the chair starts mimic fight encounter.

Suits of armor:

 * (DC10 Investigation) reveals some sort of magic formation inside the armor you're unsure as to it's purpose. There are smudges of makeup against the armor.
 * (DC10 Aracana) reveals a primitive magic formation designed to cast a weak version of darkness, that would only last 5-10 seconds at most.

2) Isabella's guest room
Fine clothes are hung over dividers and the smell of perfume is clearly present, most likely Isabells room. The curtains are open giving a view of the outside. There's a washing basin is still slightly wet indicating they have at least spent 1 night here. A small chest by the bedside does not match the decor, probably belongs to isabell. There's a romantic novel on top.

Book:

 * 5 Ways to Rouse Your Man’s Halfling - Woody Kum

Chest:

 * The chest is small and light, but locked. (DC8 Lockpicking) To open (DC8 Strength) To smash
 * (DC 10 investigation, unless specifically stated, or smashed) You find a bunch more romantic novels, and some letters embossed with the logo of what appears to be a merchant group. The letters detail plans to obtain the businesses owned by Lord Druat. They state Isabell should use whatever means necessary to ensure the deal succeeds and that failure is not an option.
 * (DC14 Investigation) Hidden in one of the books is a powerful spell of suggestion. It describes using a darkness formation to instill a small amount of fear creating a gap in the targets mind allowing the charm spell to be more likely to succeed.

3) Lord Of Keys guest room
Inside a large fine bear rug covers the floor. The curtains are dark and thick with multiple layers and they appear to be adhered to the wall to prevent opening. There's a bedside stand and the bed shows no signs of use. However there are worn clothes that seem to match the style of the lord of keys. Which shows he has likely stayed here at least one night.

Bed:

 * (DC 10 investigation) The bed has not been used or slept in for at least a few days.

Bedside Stand:

 * There's a box inside. It's weirdly filled with dirt.

4) Davol Port guest room
The room is surprisingly simple for a guest room, a large mirror sits in one corner and a large bedside chest sits next to the bed, the curtains are drawn. A simple jacket lays across the bed, The size and cut reveal it's for a stockier man, and the style is easily recognizable as belonging to Lord Davol Port.
 * (DC 6 Peception) There's a strange smell, like burnt varnish.
 * (DC14 Investigation) The ash in the fireplace is thin and fine. Not what you would usually find from heavy burning wood.
 * (DC18 Investigation) In amongst the ashe you find the leg of a piece of furniture.

5) Spare guest room
A simple well maintained guest room. The decor is nice but the lack of windows give the room a depressing feel. Dusting the beside tables you see a young woman dressed in a tan dress beneath a brown coat with white slacks and a cleaners apron. Her black hair is wavy and long. Her face is full, her cheeks are rosy.

(Louise-Maid) " Oh Pardon me sirs. I did not realize this was your room. I can come back later. "

--If the players ask for to stay --

(Louise-Maid) " What would you like to know sirs, I don't want to brag but there's nothing that goes on in this house that I don't know. " GOTO NPC INFORMATION LOUISE MAID

--If the players let her leave and investigate -- It is just an empty spare room. All the closest and draws are clean waiting for a guest.

6) Maid/Louise room
The room is simple and bare, A maids uniform is hung up by the window. There's a small bedside table, wardrobe and a simple chair --If the players have not talked to the maid, or did not ask the right questions--
 * You find a diary filled with gossip and rumours, among the more interesting parts are  --List information in--   NPC INFORMATION LOUISE MAID

7) Caretakers room
Tracks of dirt and muddy foot prints embedded in the carpet reveal this room is likely the care takers. There's a small bedside table and a large wardrobe but otherwise bare. The rug seems shifted up and scrunched in places.
 * (DC 6 Investigation) A faint stain of blood is visible on the carpet. Some of the furniture has been shifted slightly from its initial position on top of the scrunched rug. It appears a struggle has taken place here somewhat recently but has been hidden.

8) Butler/Williams room
The room while small is better decorated than the rest. There are some nice paintings hanging from the wall that seemingly cost more than what a butler could afford. The furniture and bedding are also of a high quality. There's a small cupboard and a chest lays at the foot of the bed.

Cupboard:

 * Contains a few romantic novels featuring only males and a few spare sets of clothes.

Footside Chest:

 * There a few items in a box that seem to hold personal significance, a sketch of what looks to be the butler as a child and possibly his mother. There is also a big stack of some obscure looking herb or plant flower.
 * (DC 6 Nature) You recognize this herb from a description in a novel you once read. This is Nightglory, in sufficient dosage over a long period of time it is a deadly and untraceable poison.
 * (DC 14 Nature) However In smaller doses when combined with a type of tea it acts an aphrodisiac, helping men to stand at attention for longer.

9) Cook/Jeffs room
A small stove sits in the corner and the smell of home cooked bread wafts past your nose. There's a few food stained aprons in a washing pile in the corner.
 * There is a book entitled "How to lure your prey" it contains detailed information about what kind of foods certain monsters eat.

10) Lounge/Games room
A wide and cozy lounge area. A small fire burns near a row of book cases containing close to at least 1000 books that line most of the entire back wall. 3 large leather chairs sit around the center of a beautiful rug. On the other side of the room there is a pool table with a game that looks half finished. There's also a target with a few throwing daggers one of which seems to be missing and one is lodged perfectly dead center. One of the players is skilled with daggers.

Bookcase:

 * There are too many books here to go through. There's a few works of fiction, but there also seems to be an entire section dedicated to information on rare and unusual beasts.
 * (DC 10 investigation) Among the myriad of books, it just so happens you chance upon one that has been dog eared at a specific page. It describes a strange and unusual beast that can take on the form any object it desires. It's most a work of speculation with very little real information.

Dartboard:

 * Based on the accuracy and strength of whoever through this dagger. It is clear they are extremely well trained and dangerous. It's impossible to tell who the thrower was.

11) Kitchen
The kitchen is packed with scraps and unwashed dishes. It appears the servants have not yet had time to tidy up. A man dressed in a chefs apron and hat seems to be searching through the cupboards for something.  --If the players interupt him or do something that makes a noise-- 
 * (DC 8 investigation) There is nothing of interest, just food and spices. There does seem to be an unusual amount of a particular type of cheap tea leaves though.

(Jeff) " AHHH "

He jumps back startled.

(Jeff) " By the gods, you scared the life out of me. I'm sorry sirs. Is there something I can help you with? " NPC INFORMATION  JEFF/COOK

12) Storage
The room is dank and a little bit dusty, shelves of unprepared food, boxes of spices and dried meats, casks of ale and vases fill every usable corner. The smudging of some faintly visible tracks can be seen on the dust in the floor. Something was dragged through here from what looks to be some kind of cellar.
 * The hatch is firmly locked.
 * It is incredibly tough as it was specifically designed to keep the monsters from getting out
 * It automatically closes and locks if the players pass through with a key or by lock picking

Hatch:

 * (DC 10 investigation) You can see the hatch was designed to automatically close and lock.
 * (DC 8 lockpicking) The hatch opens.

13) Foyer
Potted plants, ornate statues, tapestries and expensive paintings decorate the walls and floor. As the main focal piece an exaggerated statue of one of the famous disciples of the god Loviator rests. Large stairs split across the edges of the room meeting in the center at the top to a doorway that appears to lead to the master bedroom.

14) Master Bedroom
Inside the main master bedroom is the most gaudy and pretentious room you have ever seen in your life. Gold rimmed paintings that clearly don't go together cover the walls. Even the candle holders are made of gold. The book shelves lay untouched lined with the works of famous poets and novelist renown for the sophistry. In the corner an alter to the god of Loviator still has candles and incense burning.
 * The barrier runs around the balcony preventing any escape.
 * There's around 1000g worth of items if players wish to ransack.

Bookshelves:

 * One book case contains a bunch of intellectual posturing while the other seems to contain ledgers of debts and business expenditures.


 * (DC intelligence 9) (Ledgers and Accounts) A quick browse through it's mostly just business accounts, in goings and out goings, you can tell that Lord Druats businesses are doing incredibly well, and also there seems to be a large debt owed by Davol Port.

Bed Chest:

 * Inside you find a copy of Lord Druat's last will and testimony. It's not the original.
 * There's a fake mustache, A bear mask, A goliaths loin cloth, some body paint in Tiefling red and a bunch of other obscure disguises.


 * (Last Will and Testimony) The will contains all the usual but shockingly the entire bulk of the main fortune and control over all the businesses will go to the butler William. The document has been officially sealed and signed.

Alter:

 * Small blood stains can be seen on the carpet, they are dried and discolored. They have been here for some time. The same stains can be seen on a small whip next to the side of the alter.
 * (DC 8 Religion) Those who worship Loviatar often whip themselves to show their devotion or cleanse themselves of their guilt or sin. Based on this is seems reasonable the blood probably belongs to Lord Druat. It does not appear to be related to the murder.

15) Cellar
You find yourself at the bottom of the ladder, the hatch above you snaps shut. The room is now pitch black. players with dark vision can barely make out a few candle holders and a large steel barred fence that runs from one side of the room to the other. 

-- If the players have not light the room--  all players with dark vision have disadvantage on perception and investigation rolls. Any other player automatically fails any ability check that requires sight, suffers disadvantage on attacks and anything attacking them has advantage.

 If the players attempt to light the candles  Go to Encounter (1)

 If the players light the room or have finished fighting and then light the room  Looking around the room you can see two rooms partitioned by a large metal fence with thick bars. Thick drag marks through the dust on the floor show something large and heavy was dragged out of the smaller of the rooms. You can see some rope an open and empty chest and a bunch of ruble where the wall seems to be slightly collapsing. In the bigger of the rooms you can see large spider webs, a pile of bones that look to belong to a bunch of different large animals possibly deer or cows, a large backpack lies in the corner of the room and a suspiciously wrapped up body hangs from the wall next to it.

Tracks

 * (DC 8 Investigation) Whatever was moved was too large for a normal woman to move. Whoever did this was strong.

BackPack

 * The bag has been torn open like something was trying to get inside. There are spatters of animal blood. It likely contained some animal food.
 * A smashed bottle of some kind of gas, when smelt it makes you kind of drowsy and dizzy.

Wrapped corpse

 * Cutting away the webbing inside you find the dried corpse of a human. He has dirty servant clothes. Similar to what you would expect to see on a Gardner or caretaker.
 * (DC 8 Investigation) While the body is drained of fluids there are also knife wounds, possibly from some kind of dagger. They were not inflicted by a beast and seem to have been inflicted some time before his death.
 * (DC 12 Investigation) The only way down and back up are with a set of keys, and his are missing.

General Information: Information everyone knows.

 * The game of daggers was between Lord Davol Port and the Lord of Keys. Lord Davol was a crack shot and a true expert with daggers
 * The Caretaker has not been seen since yesterday. Perhaps he got locked outside after the security system activated.

Lord of Keys:
Roll playing Lord of Keys; The lord of keys is a slow speaking deep voiced man. He never seems bothered by anything and always keeps his cool. This whole event seems to be nothing more than amusing farce to him but he still plays his part.
 * Knows nothing about the rumors of Lord Druat sleeping with his wife.
 * Claims he has insomnia and does not sleep often if asked about why no one has slept in his bed last night.

Isabell:
Roll Playing Isabell; Isabell is a seductress, she uses her good looks and powerful position to charm others into doing what she wants. She is a powerful mage in her own right which makes her the perfect diplomat for negotiations.
 * If players question her about the notes she simply says that it was her job to acquire Lord Druat's businesses and that the note merely refers to her being able to offer a substantial sum.
 * If questioned about the spell she caves and admits that she was going to attempt to use a spell to make Lord Druat more amenable. However when all of the adventurers arrived she panicked as she had heard you were all powerful and couldn't wait so she cast the spell before they could enter. Her charm spell had succeeded by when the lights came back on Lord Druat was already dead and missing. She had no reason to kill him as now she will not be able to acquire his businesses for some time until his properties have been passed on.

Davol Port:
Roll Playing Davol: Gruff stern and to the point. Davol is the murderer, he was in large amounts of debt to Lord Druat, he will not admit to any of it unless the players provide sufficient evidence. If the players catch him he does not put up a fight. He will just laugh and tell the players he will be out of jail within a day.

Evidence

 * He has the caretakers keys to the cellar which no non employee should own.
 * He is proficient in daggers as was the murder weapon used on the car taker.

-
 * He was in large amounts of debt to lord Druat due to a few failed exports where his ships were attacked by some of the many enemies he has built up.
 * There was a leg that came from the original head chair of the dining room before it was replace by a mimic
 * If the players have 3 or 4 of the pieces of the evidence, he admits he was the killer and does not resist allowing the players to capture him and turn him over.
 * If the players only have 1 or 2 peices of evidence, they must pass a social check.
 * If the players have discovered no evidence, he simply never admits.

William(Butler):
Roll Playing William; William was secretly sleeping with Lord Druat. If will not reveal any information about this easily for he is afraid to ruin Lord Druats Reputation. Players should make a decent intimidation or persuasion check to get him to reveal his information.
 * The argument about the will was him trying to convince Lord Druat to take him out of the will for fear of the loss of reputation should others find out.


 * The herbs in his room are only a poison in high doses. When mixed with a specific tea leaf it becomes a potent.. erm, male enhancement drug.

Louise(Maid):
Roll Playing Louise; Louise loves to gossip, she offers as much gossip to the players as she can, if they don't ask she'll still try to tell them anyway. She's a spicey little dwarf. She tells the players she thinks all the guests might have motives.
 * Several months ago she overheard the butler arguing the Lord Druat. The butler was shouting something about changing the will back otherwise there would be trouble. When she tried to get closer she knocked over a book and had to run away.
 * Her girlfriends told me that Lord Druat had been secretly heading out at night to visit the Lord of Keys wife.
 * A few weeks ago she overheard a conversation between Lord Druat and the Lord of Keys. Lord Druat was claiming Lord Davol has burnt down one of his shops in town.
 * Last night lady Isabella attempted to put the moves on Lord Druat, acting all flirty and bashful, but he rejected her outright and she did not seem to like that. She flew into a rage and told him that'd he change his mind the end of the night tonight or there would be consequences.

Jeff(Cook):
Roll Playing Jeff: Jeff is a scared and jittery man. He hates this job because it's scary and a lot of work cooking for both people and monsters.
 * He makes the food to feed the giant bats, panthers, skeletons, phase spiders and zombies and the rest of the creatures lord Druat kept. They also received a new beast a few days ago but he isn't sure what it is as it's being kept a secret for the big reveal today.
 * Only the caretaker would know what beast it was.
 * The special sleeping gas the care taker uses to put the monsters asleep if he needs to enter their cages has been missing since this morning.

1
2 Phase Spiders (after slaying the spiders the final strike should peirce through the abdomen revealing a golden bracelet with runes carved around the edges. While it appears to be just a fancy bit of jewlery you notice there are some sliding pieces almost like it's a contraption of some sort.
 * (detect magic) it resonates magic
 * (identify) Bracelet of holding, bag of holding rules, except when the the mechanism on the bracelet is turned so the runes are facing a certain way it enlarges to about the size of a head and items can be stored inside. This item is incredibly old and probably one of a kind. The magic involved is far beyond what people are capable of now.

2
Mimic

=

After a day or so the blue shield preventing you from leaving fades. Captain Edestra is there waiting outside with half the towns gaurd. She approaches you.

"Did you discover the murderer?"

It appears she was familiar with the defence mechanism already set up.

--if the players have got enough evidence, she provides them with a certificate of proof saying they have identified and turned in the killer. The certificate can be exchanged at any of the Adventurer guilds. The closest being the silver cloud guild in myth drannor.