Image by Cecilia Ferri
The Murder Mavens: Brindlewood Bay Campaign
You play as a group of elderly women in the style of Golden Girls but in a setting of Murder she wrote with Lovecraft vibes!
$5.00
/ Session
Details
3 players following this game
Weekly / Wednesday - 3:00 PM UTC
Session Duration / 2–3.5 hours
1 / 5 Seats Filled
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Meet your party members
1/5
About the adventure
I am a firm fan of the CfB (Carved from Brindlewood) systems that the Gauntlet has made and will let them sell themselves! BRINDLEWOOD BAY is a roleplaying game about a group of elderly women—members of the local Murder Mavens mystery book club—who find themselves solving actual murder mysteries in their quaint New England town. They become aware of a dark occult conspiracy connecting the murders, and will eventually have to defeat that dark conspiracy to save their community. The Murder Mavens is a mystery book club that has been meeting on the top floor of The Candlelight Booksellers every Saturday evening for the last ten years. The Murder Mavens are particularly fond of The Gold Crown Mysteries series by Robin Masterson, featuring the globe-trotting super-sleuth, Amanda Delacourt. The Mavens themselves are all elderly women whose partners have passed away and whose children have long flown the nest. Now, they’re enjoying their golden years in the picturesque town of Brindlewood Bay, keeping their homes the way they like, pursuing their hobbies, and finding comfort and companionship in each other. The Mavens are also amateur detectives, and by the time the game starts, they have helped local police solve several high profile crimes. Sometimes people approach them to get their help on a case, but usually the Mavens just stumble onto it—much to the chagrin of the authorities, who almost always resent their meddling. The game is directly inspired by the television show Murder, She Wrote, but also takes inspiration from the cosmic horror genre, “cozy” crime dramas, and American TV shows from the ‘70s, ‘80s, and ‘90s. On the surface, this game is about little old ladies solving murder mysteries—and it is definitely that! But it is also more than that: the game becomes very dark as you progress through it. Cosmic horror, graphic violence, ritual sacrifice, and other unsavory things come up quite frequently.
Game style
Roleplay Heavy
Puzzle / Mystery Focused
Meet the Game Master
5.0
(1)
1 year on StartPlaying
Highly rated for: Inclusive, Knows the Rules, Teacher
Average response time: Under 1 hour
Response rate: 100%
About me
I am a TTRPG GM/player of over 20 years. I have been Running and playing D&D, Pathfinder, Vampire, GURPS and a multitude of other systems throughout my life. I have a love and appreciation for the what TTRPG games can bring to people. Which can be as a little as a highlight to their week to something long form and you can express yourself through. In recent years I have found myself exploring things beyond the typical D&D campaigns and leaning more into other systems. I have enjoyed systems such as Lancer, ICON, Pathfinder 2e, Brindlewood Bay/The Between, Wickedness, Animon etc. I find myself leaning more into the players' characters (stories and progression) over the systems as of late. I am a LGBTQIA+ friendly DM and I like to have a meet and greet/Session 0 prior to the first session. I have ran pre-written campaigns but like to run campaigns that I can make with the players or we all have a clear idea for. I look forward to playing with any and all players joining me in the adventures to come!
View Profile →Character creation
Creating your character
We will be using a combination of Foundry and a Excel document that will help track our game and progression. The foundry system is for background images, music and vibes. I like to have a quick chat with my players prior to starting for real. Session 0 will be free and of no charge but the actual game sessions will be charged. I prefer to run my games through Discord but I can also run via Zoom also.
What to expect
Preparing for the session
Make and account on Foundry if you'd like to join in the music and visual vibes but is not necessary. We will use either Discord or Zoom for voice chat (video is not required). The use of the online Character sheet will be mandatory as it's the easiest way to track your characters, mysteries and a way to keep notes. I will also encourage a google document to be shared amongst the group for general note keeping that everyone can leave some info in.
What Kyle (Khan) brings to the table
I like to do voices and set up descriptive scenes for my players. I also like to include music and background images to invoke a particular vibe that I am wanting my players to feel. I am by no means perfect or a professional in this field but I do my best! I like to make sure that my players are having fun. I have been running and playing games for over 25 years. I have been told that I am good at keeping the game flowing even with shenanigans happening throughout scenes. Something I like about this system is the stars and wishes. We all deserve a pat on the back and also it is good to hear what my players are looking forward to or are wanting out of the game that I am running.
Homebrew rules
Not really homebrew but I do forget the occasional rule or two and lean on the side or Rule of Cool for when I get things wrong in the moment but may rectify or change later. I have had splinter scenes in which we have retconned things in order to fix a scene in which a rule that was misunderstood or other mistakes/issues.
Equipment needed to play
Internet
Computer
Microphone
Platforms used
Safety
How Kyle (Khan) creates a safe table
I do a session 0 with all my players individually via messaging and then a group call where I can tell all my players what the expectations throughout the game will be. I will go over the game the style of play and the rough timeline of when we expect to finish the campaign. I will be, in the individual messages, sending lines and veils so it's anonymous amongst the players. If a player ever encounters something that they do not like and need too use a X,N, or O it can be in any way that works best for the player. If you are using a camera you can hold up a card or your hand. If you have no visual means then you can message the group or myself to let us know that a line has been crossed.
Content warnings
Safety tools used