Let’s Talk About Secrets

When do you keep a secret a secret?

When I first started gaming, secrets were a big part of the game. We passed notes to each other, We had quiet confabs in other rooms. The GM took players aside to tell them things in confidence. Sometimes these secrets enhanced the game, sometimes they caused train wrecks, and many times they did nothing at all. Fun ideas would never come to light and would mean almost nothing to the game at large. It always kind of bothered me. We’d be at Denny’s weeks later and someone would say “did you know that my character was actually undead?” and we’d all say “No! That’s awesome. What if this had happened.” That cool idea never came up, and we never got to see what would happen. Like I said, it bugged me.

When I first started listening to gaming podcasts I listened to an episode of Sons Of Kryos that blew me away. What if we didn’t keep secrets from each other? What if we told each other the things our characters kept hidden and as players, pushed against those secrets when it would make the story more interesting? What if we played our characters as if they had no idea what was going on, but set up ways that those secrets could be exposed and explored the resultant drama of those situations? I was hooked.

I was starting a new game, a fantasy military campaign about a unit of misfits, and my friend Deke, who absolutely loves characters with secrets came to me with his character. “He has the magical ability to control small animals and see through their eyes, but he doesn’t tell anyone because he doesn’t want to get drafted into the mage corps.” I thought it was a really cool idea. I asked him if it would be OK to tell the table about this, and explained what I had learned. We tried it. Suddenly we had this drama happening where one character kept noticing the local wildlife acting strangely, and Deke’s character pretending not to know what she kept bringing up. It made for a very entertaining side story and actually came up during a key scene about sneaking past a much larger enemy force. Eventually Deke’s character had to have a long conversation with the leader of the group, trying to convince him not to transfer him. Then the leader had to roll dice to convince his superior officer to not ask too many questions. A secret became a side story, which became a plot point, which became a major story element as our little squad of misfits started getting more and more highly dangerous scouting missions.

So I started to tell people about this idea. Anyone who knows me can tell you that I get very excited about new techniques in ttrpgs. I started to preach the gospel of laying secrets out at the table and building story around them. I still think it’s a good technique and something to explore if you haven’t before.

Then things started to come up in conversations. What about that thrilling moment when you reveal a big game changing secret? At the time I had no answer. I’d had those moments, but I’d also had a lot of moments where the big reveal just annoyed everyone and lessened their enjoyment, as I’d also seen lots of big secrets fall flat or never even come up.

So that was the question. How do you make secrets count, when are they fun and when are they an impediment to fun, and how do you decide which are which?

I looked back on example in games I’d run and played, and I thought about how things had gone down and why. I talked it over with other people as well, got their opinions and anecdotes. I listened to podcasts and read articles, and I read and played games that were about secrets and had mechanics about secrets. What I eventually came up with as an answer was startlingly obvious.

Does the secret matter to the game?

Or, to put it another way, is it inevitable that the secret is going to come up in the game, whether it is revealed or not, and is it going to impact the story? If the bard is a werewolf and it will be the full moon in two nights and you’re all in the wilderness together, then that secret has a definite impact on the health and well being of the other adventurers; it has weight upon the game. If the thief is actually a badger that an annoyed old wizard turned into a halfling because she was digging up the wizard’s rosebushes, and that’s why she acts so weird, then maybe first that player and the GM, and then maybe the table as whole should have a conversation about that secret. Could finding this grumpy old wizard become a side quest? Is it going to be an inside joke among the players as the other characters stand around mildly baffled after she suddenly dives into a hole and emerges holding a rabbit for the stew pot in her teeth?

The distinctions between what secrets to keep from each other as players, and what secrets to share and let the characters be unaware of are all about how they will impact on the story and the enjoyment of the game. If the secret would otherwise just be a quirk, possible side story, or character enhancement. Then feel free to share it and make it a fun piece of drama to scratch up against when it comes up. If the story hinges on some kind of big reveal that is predestined and in itself a major piece of drama for the characters and the game world, then keep it unrevealed and find and pick your place to let the pieces drop into place.

So when do you drop the curtain to reveal a big secret?

The answer varies from secret to secret, but as a general rule, plan it out. Work to make the secret really mean something, not just to the story, but to the players. A good secret should increase the drama, the danger, and the stakes of the game. As well, don’t let the reveal of a secret be a fait accompli. No matter what the betrayal, change of theme, or flip of the script, the characters should still have a chance to get through it. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, like in certain horror games, but as they say, the exceptions make the rule.

Here are a few examples.

One

The adventurers’ trusty guide and long time companion has steadily steered the group towards a dangerous monster because they have made a bargain to bring this monster a group of sacrifices in trade for the release of hostages who happen to be the guide’s fellow villagers. As they near the monster’s lair, the minions they fight put up only a token resistance before retreating back into the woods. In the heat of one fight towards the end, the characters have the chance to hear a message passed to the guide “All is prepared.” This could be a chance for the characters to realize they’re walking into a trap, or they could find themselves abandoned by their guide as the monster bears down on them. “I’m so sorry. it’s the only way.”

Two

The party has stopped in a town to get provisions and some much needed rest. They visit a gambling den run by a few gents in artfully soiled tunics with bad outlander accents and outrageously pompous hats. Something isn’t quite right, but the games aren’t horribly rigged and no one tries to pick their pockets.

The truth is that the local crime gang are actually all actors hired by the mayor to pretend to be gangsters. They run a few seedy, but colorful dens of iniquity, but mostly keep the real trouble of organized thievery away from the town. It’s why they all act like ridiculous caricatures  of mobsters.

Since the group isn’t planning on staying in this town long, nor interacting with the local politics and drama. This secret is just a little flavor. that the characters would find a bit fishy, and maybe a little baffling, and the players can enjoy as it unfolds comically for their benefit.

Three

The fighter is actually deposed royalty from a far off land. They move from place to place in order to keep one step ahead of the assassins their usurper constantly sends after them. The GM and the player have a brief conversation as to whether this is just some flavor that they should tell the rest of the table about which can be a talking point, or whether this is something that will have a real impact on the game and will eventually be revealed no matter what. The GM says that they’d like to keep it hidden for the moment while they take some time to see if they can work this detail into the larger campaign. The GM eventually decides to make the usurper an ally of the campaign’s big bad. So when the players uncover that the evil baron is receiving money and goods from the far off land and wonder what they could do to stop those shipments, the fighter can put back his hood and say “well, about that…”

Try things out. See what’s right for your game.

If you’ve never played with an open secret that the characters don’t know, give it a try. if you’ve never had a character’s secret directly impact the story, talk with your GM about it. See you can both come up with something fun about the character’s secret that will change the way the game goes.

…and have fun.