To the Courts: The Timeline

I mentioned in the last courts post that the Timeline was our next step in a judicial intrigue scenario. This is because in most cases (not all), timelines are necessary bits of evidence for any mystery plot at all.  

Every procedural at some point mentions stuff like ‘alibis,’ this basically is saying the person couldn’t have committed this or that act because someone or something can vouch for them being incapable of doing it, and usually that’s by being at a specific place (not where the crime was committed) at a certain time (usually when the crime was being committed).  Frequently, witnesses and suspects will of course, lie in these situations.

It’s important to develop a timeline, so that you the DM knows who was where and when, and why.  This can be usually accomplished by making a table of important plot locations and times, and then filling in with who was in what place when. You can add additional notes for yourself to flesh it out.

When you design a mystery like this, who was where when and why are important questions to ask yourself, because it defines the evidence the players will be desperately hunting for.   It’s also where you can easily hide inconsistencies the party can discover.

How could the town guard be at the castle, as his commander reported, at 9am, and then 20 miles away at the inn at 9:30 as the waitress reported? Is she lying to cover up for him, or is the commander ignorant of where his men are? Your timeline shows that he snuck out at 8am, and decided to visit his special friend at the inn, which means that let’s say him saying he saw our friend the accused at 9:00 from his guardshack was a lie and he’s just covering his ass. If the party can find out about the discrepancy between reality (as on your timeline) and what people are telling them, this is the essence of an investigation and they’ll feel clever for figuring it out.

The timeline also helps out a lot with on-going investigations or plots that are still in motion. Maybe a key witness will be killed at PCs+5 days unless they find him first, giving them an alibi they really don’t want for their friend.

Next time, I’m going to try to discuss a major issue for DMs and PCs. Liars.