So, I just acquired Cthulhu Confidential and I'm digging the system, but instead of the [Hardboiled 30s detective + cosmic horror elements] setting it comes packaged with I'd rather apply it to a different combination of ideas.

I like the cozy mystery genre*, but I would prefer to combine it with a gimmick of some sort for extra spice. I don't mind running alternate earths or entirely new worlds with our current level of technology.

What gimmicks do you think would work especially well when mixed into the cozy mystery genre?

Some I've already been mulling over but would love to hear opinions on:
- Sci fi powers (telepathy, mind-reading, precognition, etc.)
- The existing Mutant City Blues setting from the same game company, but adapted to be more 'Murder She Wrote' instead of 'NYPD Blue'.
- Low-key alien invasion
- Shapeshifting minority hiding among humans and just trying not to get persecuted. Werecritters possible, but more low-key than White Wolf style.
- A spirit world that some people can interact with
- Frankenstein (in the style of Promethean: The Created)

I'm not really interested in a kitchen sink setting, so no Dresden File vibes. I'm not really into the undead except for the aformentioned Frankenstein stuff.

* Definitions: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cozy_mystery

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;947246Some I've already been mulling over but would love to hear opinions on:
- Sci fi powers (telepathy, mind-reading, precognition, etc.)

These seems a particularly bad fit for the cozy mystery genre, as it is all about talking to people and sizing them up. Once you know who the murderer is, you don't even have a shoot-out or car chase. You wouldn't have any story left if you could short circuit the part where you just get to know everybody.

Quote- The existing Mutant City Blues setting from the same game company, but adapted to be more 'Murder She Wrote' instead of 'NYPD Blue'.

This seems like something that could work. A super setting lends itself to a lot of eccentric characters that are fun to get to know during the investigation.

Quote- Low-key alien invasion

This could be another interesting fit. Agatha Christie's works often use colonial settings of the British Empire. You could use the same trope with cozy mysteries involving the colonial outposts of aliens on Earth instead of the British in Egypt.

Quote- Shapeshifting minority hiding among humans and just trying not to get persecuted. Werecritters possible, but more low-key than White Wolf style.

I'm not seeing an angle here. Cozy mysteries rely on a murder happening in a default cozy setting. Desperate monsters hiding among humanity doesn't provide the same base setting. I could see them as an occasional background element (a suspect who clearly is hiding something turns out to be hiding his monstrous nature, not his involvement in the murder), but not as a main theme in the game.

Quote- A spirit world that some people can interact with

Sure. Spiritualism is a big deal in original era of cozy mysteries. Just be careful to use it to add mystery rather than as shortcut to quick answers.

Quote- Frankenstein (in the style of Promethean: The Created)

Like with were creatures, I could see this as something that exists in the setting background, but I don't see it as a natural central element of the setting.

On the whole, cozy mysteries seem a good fit for one-to-one play. It fits well with the investigator being an unassuming individual poking around on their own rather than having a whole gaggle of PCs running around together.

Didn't know Cthulhu Confidential was out yet! Also looking forward to the one set in Harlem.

I like the cozy mysteries idea and it could fit with psychics if you spin it more towards the way psychic powers work in DON'T LOOK NOW or FULL CIRCLE where the message and meaning of the visions are part of the mystery instead of a PC controlled mechanic.

Quote from: Baulderstone;947263I'm not seeing an angle here. Cozy mysteries rely on a murder happening in a default cozy setting. Desperate monsters hiding among humanity doesn't provide the same base setting. I could see them as an occasional background element (a suspect who clearly is hiding something turns out to be hiding his monstrous nature, not his involvement in the murder), but not as a main theme in the game.

Theres at least one werewolf movie "The Beast Must Die" from the mid 70s which has a group of people gathered to a remote mansion in an attempt to figure out which one of them is a werewolf.

Quote from: BaulderstoneThese seems a particularly bad fit for the cozy mystery genre, as it is all about talking to people and sizing them up. Once you know who the murderer is, you don't even have a shoot-out or car chase. You wouldn't have any story left if you could short circuit the part where you just get to know everybody.

Oops, I should have specified that any sci fi powers gimmick would be built around the recommendations in Mutant City Blues (which I own), obviously. They made sure to carefully design powers like mind-reading and the legal responses to them so as not to negate mysteries entirely.

Quote from: BaulderstoneI'm not seeing an angle here. Cozy mysteries rely on a murder happening in a default cozy setting. Desperate monsters hiding among humanity doesn't provide the same base setting. I could see them as an occasional background element (a suspect who clearly is hiding something turns out to be hiding his monstrous nature, not his involvement in the murder), but not as a main theme in the game.

Hmm, good points. Such a gimmick would have to be 'cozified' to some extent. I also think perhaps the setting would need player-facing toys that add a twist to investigation and NPC-facing toys that add special dangers and uncertainties to tracking down suspects...

Quote from: OmegaTheres at least one werewolf movie "The Beast Must Die" from the mid 70s which has a group of people gathered to a remote mansion in an attempt to figure out which one of them is a werewolf.

Yes, like that, except the detective has a few tricks of his own and the "werewolf" (or any similar gimmick) has enough tricks to be used differently in different scenarios (sometimes the perp, sometimes a red-herring, sometimes a tricky henchman that has to be "solved" like a puzzle, etc.)

Quote from: VorosDidn't know Cthulhu Confidential was out yet! Also looking forward to the one set in Harlem.

Pre-ordered it, netting me the PDF and a forthcoming physical copy.

Quote from: VorosI like the cozy mysteries idea and it could fit with psychics if you spin it more towards the way psychic powers work in DON'T LOOK NOW or FULL CIRCLE where the message and meaning of the visions are part of the mystery instead of a PC controlled mechanic.

Good idea. That sort of thing likely works even better with a single PC, though I would still want them to have something 'activated' too. Cthulhu Confidential is pretty minimalist, so there isn't much room to go overboard mechanically.

Quote from: BaulderstoneThis could be another interesting fit. Agatha Christie's works often use colonial settings of the British Empire. You could use the same trope with cozy mysteries involving the colonial outposts of aliens on Earth instead of the British in Egypt.

Ah, Alien Nation*, but with miss Marple instead of cops.

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_Nation_(TV_series)

Quote from: Voros;947345Didn't know Cthulhu Confidential was out yet! Also looking forward to the one set in Harlem.

I like the cozy mysteries idea and it could fit with psychics if you spin it more towards the way psychic powers work in DON'T LOOK NOW or FULL CIRCLE where the message and meaning of the visions are part of the mystery instead of a PC controlled mechanic.

I retract my objection. That does sound pretty good. Psychic powers that aren't so much mind reading but more like Agent Cooper's dreams in Twin Peaks could be a lot of fun. While Twin Peaks is a little dark too be a cozy mystery, it had enough elements in common to draw inspiration from.

Quote from: Omega;947356Theres at least one werewolf movie "The Beast Must Die" from the mid 70s which has a group of people gathered to a remote mansion in an attempt to figure out which one of them is a werewolf.

I do agree that you could have a good werewolf mystery in the cozy genre. I just don't know if having secret werewolves as an ongoing campaign element is a good fit.

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;947365Oops, I should have specified that any sci fi powers gimmick would be built around the recommendations in Mutant City Blues (which I own), obviously. They made sure to carefully design powers like mind-reading and the legal responses to them so as not to negate mysteries entirely.

I have a copy of that and should really read it some day. Buy Voros has me convinced it's a good idea anyway.

QuoteHmm, good points. Such a gimmick would have to be 'cozified' to some extent. I also think perhaps the setting would need player-facing toys that add a twist to investigation and NPC-facing toys that add special dangers and uncertainties to tracking down suspects...

Sounds interesting. If you develop the idea further, you need to share it.

QuoteAh, Alien Nation*, but with miss Marple instead of cops.

I hadn't thought of that example, but that would be an interesting way to tackle it. Obviously, the buddy cop element wouldn't work with a single PC, but a lone investigator having move back and forth between alien and human cultures during investigations is interesting all by itself.

Quote from: Baulderstone;947419Sounds interesting. If you develop the idea further, you need to share it.

I'm working on a proposal, but I don't have time to post it in detail right now. Basically a de-horrified combination of Children of the Damned and Society (the movie).

Alright, here's a rough pitch...

Gimmick 1 (player facing)

It's a world similar to our own, but every 20,000 births or so is a telepath. This has been a part of life since pre-history, so culture and the law (and criminals) have adapted to it. Telepaths walk an established but uneasy line between the mass of humanity and their own subcultures. The player detective could choose to be a telepath and would possess some combination of appropriate abilities adapted from Mutant City Blues, probably Mind Reading, Memory Alteration and/or Mind Control. These abilities give the player additional investigative options normally outside the genre while also presenting possible challenges in mystery resolution if NPCs use the same abilities.

Gimmick 2 (NPC fodder)

In addition to telepaths, the world has body-altering shapeshifters that are also born at similar rates. These have the ability to boost their physical capabilities to extraordinary levels, regenerate, and change their physical forms within some tight limits (grow claws, extend limbs, instantly disguise their face, swim better with fins, etc.) They are a feared minority but rarely form subcultures, preferring to work for others due to quirks in how their minds work. This would basically be a super henchman type that can easily evade capture, escape imprisonment, and doesn't look like a threat until it's too late.

I do realize gimmick two is a serious strain on the cozy mystery concept that might lean a little too hard into Mutant City Blues. I'm open to alternatives. I might end up with something more Magnum PI than Murder She Wrote at this rate...