rpg-clue-mapper

RPG Clue Mapper (Pathfinder 2e kit — the investigation layer)

What this skill is for

Build a clue map (revelation list) — the connective web that turns a campaign's secrets into a playable investigation. For every truth the players are meant to uncover, this skill lays down at least three independent clues across the world you've already built, connects the pieces with leads, and guarantees the mystery can't dead-end on a single missed roll.

This is the investigation layer of the kit (the "clue map" / revelation list a campaign needs after its foundation and world exist). It consumes the outputs of the other skills: the revelations come from rpg-campaign-foundation's "GM knows, players discover" bucket; the nodes where clues live are the regions, cities, locations, factions, and NPCs from the other creators. It is the capstone that makes a mystery runnable.

The core idea — this skill maps information, not fiction

Every other skill in the kit generates a fictional thing (a region, a city, a faction, a location, a campaign spine). This one is different: it designs the flow of knowledge. Its bedrock is not geography or drama — it's the architecture of discovery. The frameworks are unanimous (Justin Alexander, The Alexandrian):

• The Three Clue Rule: for each conclusion you want the PCs to reach, include at least three clues — because they will miss the first, ignore the second, and misinterpret the third. A mystery with one clue per conclusion is a trap that grinds to a halt.
• Node-based design: the world is a set of nodes (places, people, things, events); clues point from node to node (leads) or to a conclusion (evidence). A robust scenario gives each key node ≥3 clues inside it and ≥3 leads pointing to it.
• Proactive backstops: when the PCs stall, push a clue to them — a person walks in, a new incident happens, the antagonist moves. The investigation never depends on the players being Sherlock Holmes.