The Murders in the Rue Morgue as the first detective fiction story, the character of Dupin became the prototype for many future fictional detectives, including Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes and Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. The genre is distinctive from a general mystery story in that the focus is on analysis. Poe's role in the creation of the detective story is reflected in the Edgar Awards, given annually by the Mystery Writers of America. "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" also established many tropes that would become common elements in mystery fiction: the eccentric but brilliant detective, the bumbling constabulary, the first-person narration by a close
Masque of the Red Death and Other Tales setting's fine, but it's a sidebar to the system overhaul. "Masque of the Red Death" makes a persuasive case for reality-based role-playing, where wits count more than muscle and a shotgun packs more punch than a fireball. Endearingly human, these are the only "AD&D" game characters I'd consider using as investigators in a "Call of Cthulhu" game or, for that matter, as adversaries in a "Vampire" campaign. And nitpickers who've been clamoring for a streamlined, skill-based "AD&D" game ought to be dancing in the streets. "Masque of the Red Death" doesn't qualify as the Third Edition of the "AD&D" game,