Talking Mysteries: Running Mystery TTRPGs

Around the Hearth

Aug 12, 2025•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 31

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Episode description

This is the edited version of an older seminar by Lowell Francis talking about planning and running TTRPG mysteries. It's about 50 minutes of talk followed by a Q&A. Lowell talks about his approach and best practices for running mysteries in rpgs. Topics include:

Kinds of mysteries (set, set variable, improv)
Plotting mysteries
The power of the timeline
Information handling
Keeping player involvement
Table management

...and more.

See here for an outline of the talk

Lowell is the designer and co-author of Hearts of Wulin. He's the ENnie-winning creator of the Age of Ravens blog and community manager for the Open Hearth Gaming Community.

You can find Lowell's work on YouTube, on Itch.io, and on DriveThruRPG.

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