Page 78 - Chronicles of Darkness

the investigation is a means to an end. Maybe the players’
characters need to stop a monster menacing the community.
Experience Costs Maybe they’re trying to uncover a mystical cure to a family
member’s terminal illness. Even when the desired result
Spend the following amounts of Experiences to is simply uncovering the truth, Clues help the characters
improve your character.
establish and qualify the truth, which may mean the differ-
Attribute: 4 Experiences per dot ence between being locked away for claiming the fantastical,
Merit: 1 Experience per dot and having hard data which can save lives and change fates.
Skill Specialty: 1 Experience Two Essential
Skill: 2 Experiences per dot Rules of Investigation
Integrity: 2 Experiences per dot
These two rules are important for maintaining the integ-
rity of investigations in your chronicle.
No Hard Answers
Investigation Don’t settle on hard answers up front. As Storyteller,

don’t devote too much energy to coming up with all the po-
The Chronicles of Darkness are tales of mystery, and pro- tential Clues and answers ahead of time. This could put you
tagonists are driven to uncover them. For a casual, momentary in a position where you’re railroading the players, and forcing
investigation that shouldn’t play a deep role in the story, you them to go along with your plans. Or worse, they could get
can use a single dice roll to represent the effort. However, in- frustrated as the puzzle pieces aren’t coming together in a way
vestigations can become the foundation for extended scenes, they expect. Improvisation is your best tool in investigation.
for stories, and even for entire chronicles. This system allows Let the players have some say in the Clues they establish,
for more depth than the standard dice mechanics. and work with them to bring together the results in a way
At its core, this system is about uncovering and accumu- that makes sense for everyone. This will give them an invest-
lating Clues, which serve to benefit later actions. Usually, ment in the story, and will take some responsibility off your
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Investigation