DnD murder mystery inspiration

I wanted to make a murder mystery for my DnD group. When the moment came and I started preparing for the session I found there is a lot of advice, but not a lot of easy inspiration. There are a few prepared adventures, and those are not very polished or detailed. I used some of them for inspiration and a base and stole some ideas from them. Maybe you can take mine and improve it to have fun with your players.

I had planned his for along time as I expected that one of my players would not attend at some point. Perfect opportunity to throw the characters into a pocket dimension for a one shot without advancing the main story. I gave one of them this book with empty pages and a whirlpool on the cover.

Make sure to have prepared statblocks for all the stuff they can encounter.

I was greatly inspired by the adventure called "How not to host a murder mystery."

I have left out the names as I think it's easier to navigate the story since we are looking at it's structure and not for entertainment.

Everything starts in a whirlpool in the sea, hence the cover of the book. The characters are on a small ship with <victim> heading to the city on the coast. During the whirlpool another group of adventurers (goblins?), who read another book of the same type, are summoned on the ship. <victim>, <innocent> and his colleagues are on the ship, and the characters are offered to to stay in the <victim>'s mansion. They were all summoned because he found this book and wanted to figure it out so cast some spells and activated all the books. <victim> introduces <innocent> as his brave but foolish, quick to act apprentice.

The mansion, <victim> explains was built thanks to his father’s successful business of trading rapiers, short swords and daggers. His father died 6 years ago.


Garden:
Morning glory - a flower that blooms in the morning because of sunlight and it’s petals are closed when in shadow or darkness; a letter is hidden under the open petals in the day, but when darkness makes them close it is easy to spot. The letter is written with the same handwriting as the book of the <killer>, it is to the girl of the apprentice saying that he will not give up on their love. This can be used to have the <killer> try to frame <innocent>.

Time before dinner: the players are invited to do something before it is time for dinner:

• With <killer> and <innocent> to practice spells [openly said] (so all 3 including the PC seem suspicious); <killer> doesn’t want to waste mana; The <innocent> calls <killer> by his middle-name. The other players will not know whom this name belongs when they see it.
• With sister to show you around: offers a reward a knife from the father’s collection of rare craftsman knives [openly said] (so the sister and the PC sound suspicious) In private they find that one specific knife is missing from its stand - Lord Kelnor’s pearl dagger
• With cook to help prepare the big dinner. [openly said]; In private he tells the motive of both <innocent> and <sister>. He is grumpy and very skilled with cutting meat with his knife; he says the sister has a necklace with a gem that allows her to seduce and control weak men

The players are given the information separately through notes and they should get a bit confused and suspect each other.

Dining room:
During dinner the characters can talk to <innocent>, <killer>, <victim>’s sister who is a paid assassin, the cook, the old nanny

<killer> says he will go and help the cook to set up the table. <innocent> says that he will go and find the host <victim> because he should have been here already. He leaves the room and in a bit everyone hears him scream.

<victim> is stabbed in the heart in his study. There is no weapon there. Actually the knife <killer> used was conjured by Spiritual weapon.

<killer> points the finger at innocent and explains his motive. <innocent> explains that he had the choice to give up on his study, but made up his mind and was no longer interested in marrying the girl. <innocent> has a fresh letter to her stating that he will find a way to be with her and won’t give up on their love.

The real killer has to be found before sunrise otherwise the framed <innocent> will be hanged.

<innocent> is a young novice, brave but foolish, quick to act. <victim> doesn’t let <innocent> marry the daughter of a blacksmith because she will distract him from his studies.

Cook - not speaking a lot / low voice / bitter


The study:
Has a book with spells (belongs to:<killer>’s name on the inside cover), every page has notes in the margins. Some of the notes are crossed out and with another color and handwriting more notes are taken. The second notes match the handwriting on the papers on <victim>’s desk. On the spell Spiritual weapon there are a lot of scribbles and in all caps: HAVE TO ASK <killer’s middle name> HOW TO CAST THIS!

Trophies on a shelf saying: First place in spellcasting/conjuring/arcana competition - <victim>


Building the structure of the mystery:
<innocent> has motive and opportunity(to go bring victim), but no means

<killer> has motive(fame,praise), means(stabbing), opportunity(the fact that the apprentice and the sister now have a motive)

Cook has means(knife with blood), no motive and no opportunity

Sister has motive(she is younger and can inherit the mansion that she likes very much if her brother dies), but no means and no opportunity, but definitely suspicious being an assassin

Old nanny - no motive, no means, no opportunity