The opening of my soon-to-be-real Cairn RPG adventure, The Tide Returning, is a crime scene. The king of Zum and his sceptre has gone missing in the night. Hired to find him, you are allowed a tour of the royal bedchambers, to find clues to where he’s gone. Design objectives for this opening: Give players an idea of who and where their quarry is. Who did the king prefer spending time with? Why did he write a letter to the governor of a nearby town? Why was he swimming the span of the canal?...
