The Murders in the Rue Morgue removes the crime, as neither the orangutan nor its owner can be held responsible. Poe scholar Arthur Hobson Quinn speculates that later detective stories might have set up M. Le Bon, the suspect who is arrested, as appearing guilty as a red herring, though Poe chose not to. Poe wrote "The Murders in the Rue Morgue" at a time when crime was at the forefront in people's minds due to urban development. London had recently established its first professional police force and American cities were beginning to focus on scientific police work as newspapers reported murders and criminal trials. "The
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,