Writing Scenes & Roles for Mystery Fan Games

Gary Whittaker

🎭 Preparing for Play – Writing Scenes, Roles, and Character Sheets for Mystery-Based Games

How to structure immersive fan-fiction-style roleplay games without breaking the flow—or the lore

💬 Hook

Creating the world is step one. But how do you make it playable? Mystery-based fan games thrive on interaction, tension, and secrets—but only if the players are given clear scenes, meaningful roles, and space to bring their characters to life.

This article guides you through how to write scenes, rounds, and character roles for a fan-fiction-inspired narrative game—based on the mechanics I developed for my Hogwarts 2025 mystery project.

🧩 3 Core Components of a Narrative Game Session

A successful mystery game needs:

  1. Structured Rounds – to move the story forward

  2. Defined Roles – so each player has a purpose

  3. Secrets and Conflict – to drive emotion and discovery

We’ll break down each of these using the model that has powered your Hogwarts-based game—but with general principles that apply to any fandom.

🎬 Scene and Round Structure

✅ Keep It Modular

Each round is like a mini-scene. It includes:

  • A narrator setup (from the game master)

  • A new clue or shift in what’s known

  • Player reactions or suspicions

  • A decision point or reveal

🧱 Your Base Format (10-Round Model)

Round Focus Purpose
1 Arrival Establish the world, mood, and who the characters are to each other
2 Spark Introduce the mystery or magical disturbance
3 Friction First signs of mistrust or a misstep
4 Revelation A new piece of the past emerges (letter, ghost, object)
5 Choice Point Players vote or discuss where to go or who to trust
6 Backlash Something goes wrong—trust is broken or danger rises
7 History Returns A legacy character or spell reveals context
8 The Conflict Player goals come into conflict—can’t all win
9 The Twist The “safe” path turns out to be risky, or vice versa
10 The Decision Players vote, act, or choose—and live with the outcome

This keeps the game tight, immersive, and self-contained, ideal for a 90–120 minute experience.

🎭 Writing Player Roles

Each role should give a player:

  1. A clear identity (name, background, tone)

  2. A primary objective that feels personal

  3. A hidden agenda or emotional tension

  4. A reason to collaborate and compete

Here’s an example role prompt (inspired by your Hogwarts game):

🧍♀️ Role: Michelle – The Hero Student

  • You’ve been invited to Hogwarts for a reason that confirms your wildest theory: you belong here.

  • Your mission is to prove it by unlocking a magical mystery—without getting shut down by adults who think they’re protecting you.

  • Your secret? You believe the artifact they found is tied to a prophecy—and to you.

🎯 Objective: Convince at least one adult to support your investigation.
🎭 Hidden Risk: If they say yes, they might regret it.

You can do the same for each player. Include a printable version or email in advance to set expectations.

🔁 What the Game Master Prepares

The Game Master (GM) needs:

  • A round-by-round script or outline with key beats

  • Prewritten clue cards or scene descriptions

  • A truth-only the GM knows (who the deceiver is, what’s real)

  • Optional tiebreakers or "God Rolls" (as you introduced) for conflict resolution

This keeps the game moving without needing cards, tokens, or elaborate props.

💡 Tips to Make Scenes Feel Magical (Without Breaking Canon)

  • Use ghost appearances, shifting castle layouts, or magical echoes

  • Include letters, riddles, or spells that must be deciphered aloud

  • Keep all clues just ambiguous enough to allow misinterpretation

  • Build tension not with jump scares—but with choices that feel emotionally risky

  • Never reveal everything until the final scene

🔥 Jack Righteous Universe Integration

This approach gave me the perfect test ground for character-based design. In the Hogwarts game, I worked out tension points for future JRU characters—like:

  • Conflicting goals between protectors and truth-seekers

  • What happens when someone believes in destiny—and someone else believes it’s a trap

  • Moral dilemmas that don’t have clean answers

And all of it was tested in a story no one needed to "win"—only experience.

💬 What Are You Building?

Are you working on a mystery-based roleplay or story experience?
Do you write character sheets or round-based drama for friends or readers?

👉 Drop a comment below:

  • What structures work for your storytelling format?

  • What helps your players or readers stay immersed?

📚 Previous Articles in This Series

1️⃣ Fan Fiction Game Worldbuilding: A Jack Righteous Case Study
2️⃣ What Hogwarts Looks Like in 2025 for Fan Creators
3️⃣ The Marauders’ Legacy: Hidden Lore for Story Creators
4️⃣ The Anti-Muggle Underground – A New Threat with Old Roots
5️⃣ Hogwarts Staff & Allies in 2025 Fan Stories
6️⃣ Mapping Hogwarts – Secret Spaces, Magical Threats, and Lore-Friendly Clues
7️⃣ Magical Objects for Fan Fiction: Canon-Friendly Guide
8️⃣ Why Muggles Might Visit Hogwarts in 2025
9️⃣ Design a Fan Game Without Breaking Canon

📚 Coming Next: Player Psychology – Designing Motivations, Conflicts, and Personal Stakes

Now that you know how to build structure and scenes, we’ll explore how to give each player an emotional reason to care, and what happens when their goals collide.

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