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<blockquote data-quote="Azgulor" data-source="post: 4806023" data-attributes="member: 14291">I'm a fan of the targeted bait-and-switch, provided it's handled well, particularly for modern and sci-fi games.&nbsp; Where I think your GM went off course was mutating the one character.&nbsp; It's one thing to make a character thinking the game is going to be one way and changing course but it's quite another to invalidate a player's character concept before play even begins.Bait-n-switch example campaigns that can work well:The secret Horror campaign:Set-up: You're cops.&nbsp; You fight crime.&nbsp; You play through several sessions establishing your characters and working routine cases: homicides, robbery, etc.&nbsp; Then things start getting weird.&nbsp; The vic is drained of blood.&nbsp; The suspect doesn't go down despite knowing you and your partner put rounds into the bastard.Seriously, which is more enjoyable (i.e. scarier - cause that's what you want with horror): &quot;We're going to play a vampire hunter campaign&quot; and everyone shows with their Van Helsing, Buffy, or half-vampire knock-off character concepts or &quot;We're playing a dark/mature cops campaign&quot; and the characters discover through their own investigation that the crime family controlling the drug trade is a coven of vampires?Sci-Fi: Front Seat for the ApocalypseSet-up: The PCs are on a colony world and have their space opera or hard sci-fi characters ready.&nbsp; Then the aliens invade - and the colony loses.&nbsp; No space travel, no infrastruture, and no idea when/if help is coming.&nbsp; Oh, and did I mention the aliens have other plans for the colony?Sometimes, in order to avoid meta-gaming or really shock the players at the start of the campaign, the bait-and-switch is the best vehicle.&nbsp; Turning a character into a vampaign over the course of a campaign is a storyline.&nbsp; Telling the player in session 1, &quot;you were attacked by a vampire and are now his slave&quot; without any input from the player is just a bad move.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Azgulor, post: 4806023, member: 14291"] I'm a fan of the targeted bait-and-switch, provided it's handled well, particularly for modern and sci-fi games. Where I think your GM went off course was mutating the one character. It's one thing to make a character thinking the game is going to be one way and changing course but it's quite another to invalidate a player's character concept before play even begins. Bait-n-switch example campaigns that can work well: The secret Horror campaign: Set-up: You're cops. You fight crime. You play through several sessions establishing your characters and working routine cases: homicides, robbery, etc. Then things start getting [I]weird[/I]. The vic is drained of blood. The suspect doesn't go down despite [I]knowing[/I] you and your partner put rounds into the bastard. Seriously, which is more enjoyable (i.e. scarier - cause that's what you want with horror): "We're going to play a vampire hunter campaign" and everyone shows with their Van Helsing, Buffy, or half-vampire knock-off character concepts or "We're playing a dark/mature cops campaign" and the characters discover through their own investigation that the crime family controlling the drug trade is a coven of vampires? Sci-Fi: Front Seat for the Apocalypse Set-up: The PCs are on a colony world and have their space opera or hard sci-fi characters ready. Then the aliens invade - and the colony loses. No space travel, no infrastruture, and no idea when/if help is coming. Oh, and did I mention the aliens have other plans for the colony? Sometimes, in order to avoid meta-gaming or really shock the players at the start of the campaign, the bait-and-switch is the best vehicle. Turning a character into a vampaign over the course of a campaign is a storyline. Telling the player in session 1, "you were attacked by a vampire and are now his slave" without any input from the player is just a bad move. [/QUOTE]

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