I'm running the Rise of the Runelords adventure path, and am coming to the end of the first chapter, so prepping to head into the Skinsaw Murders. My concern is this- my players took a real shine to Aldern- including the target of his obsession. I take partial blame for that, since I like to assign photos to NPCs to make them more memorable and I made the mistake of using Kit Harrington for Aldern. And his "Lust" target is now *into* him, despite him being overly familiar early on. She encouraged his crush on her and sought opportunities to hang out with him far beyond what the module suggested, and gave him a keepsake to remind him of her when he left.
So on the one hand, this is great- the players are super-involved and that will make him turning out to be the Skinsaw Man all the more horrifying for them. However, I strongly foresee them figuring out it's him almost immediately- even as the current adventure wraps up they're talking about going to Magnimar to hang out with him, so as soon as the name "Foxglove" comes up in any context (Manor, River, etc.), or most likely as soon as his obsession target gets the very first note addressed to her specifically, they're going to be on it like white on rice.
Anyone have any thoughts on how to handle the mystery such that it will actually be something resembling a mystery? I was toying with the idea of the Skinsaw Man actually being Aldern's brother, and making Aldern simply end up as one of his victims (with the obsession transferring out of Envy more than Lust). I just feel like the blindingly obvious culprit for this group is going to be Aldern, and would rather it not be a case where the party rejects it as too obvious and then has it turn out to be the case anyway.
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Normally there is a time gap between meeting Aldern, and being brought into the murder investigation. The time lag is essential. I had the party invested in the Catacombs, Thistletop and a couple of side adventures before the second book. Changing the Skinsaw Man takes away from the surprise. Start making separation between Aldern and the party. Don't mention him again. Focus on other things. Have a side quest of two to help the player's memory and focus to fade. Throw in every once in a while that a personal item has gone missing from the possessions of the object of affection. Even if players begin to guess, ignore them and push onward. Try to keep them guessing by throwing in a Red Herring that some other NPC may be the murderer.
Happy gaming!
Mazra
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I had him start killing people in town in graphic horrifying detail. Pinning people to walls like dissection animal in a lab, etc. I focused on the inhuman depravity of the crimes, and the reaction of the townsfolk, which is quite intense after the Late Unpleasantness.
Have many of the NPCs come talk to the party and have the sheriff get them involved. Once they start helping with the investigation, have a few NPCs act suspicious or sneak around at night. These could be sczarni, young lovers meeting for a rendezvous, or a cat burglar, but none of them are the true culprit. Red herrings as it were...
Plus, even when they figure it out, start having him leave notes behind at his killings suggesting he was doing them because the target of his affection desired it. This will cause her to get her own attention from townsfolk, and not all of it positive. IMC, I had him finish by killing Scarnetti, who was his love interest's family nemesis, and the Hellknights from Magnimar came to inquisit her since he was a town councilmember. The party had to go kill him and return with his head to prove that she was not the mastermind pulling his strings. :)
Whenever I come across an old thread like this, I always hope to find an update post to let us know how it played out.