DM Metagaming?

[sirteabag]

I was curious if anyone ever set-up a game, out-side the game?

For example one campaign I had had anyone not Evil aligned (just myself) under the effect of a centuries old evil effect where they were slowly going crazy on an island they were dropped off on. This is out of their knowledge at the time and I had set an in game timer of two-weeks where if nothing was accomplished the adventurers would just simply lose more and more sanity. A series of checks I made and a death clock for them. I did however tell them the were losing sanity as the days went so they knew the consequences.

But anyway, that's back story. Outside the game a day before I confronted every player privately, Ben, Steven, and Rick lets say. I told Ben, Rick was "under my control" and was playing against the party. I told him this and said its just between us so Rick doesn't ruin everything, told him it was a gut feeling and to not mention it in-game. Just know about it and try to watch for his treachery... Then I told the others the same; needless to say the entire game, the "island" was breaking them down. Steven poisoned Ben, Ben forced Rick to enter a suspicious room first, etc.

I've done this in a few ways and I always try to leave one character alone, who doesn't know anything of the meta-lies to act as a pacifier. He is usually the strongest/smartest player and I leave it to him to try to save his friends.

Anyway, anyone have any thoughts?

 

[Kingreaper]

I think that sounds cool. I assume you know your players well enough to know they'll react well when they find out that you've been putting them in their character's shoes.

 

[OnlineDM]

That's creative. It's not my cup of tea, but I can see that some groups might really like it.

 

[Riastlin]

I agree with the above posters. With the right group of players, this could be really fun. Obviously though you need to be careful with what groups you do this with as some players will object pretty strenuously once they realize they've been had.

That being said, I don't really see this as a whole lot different than say, sending the party into a conflict with the elven nation when one of the PCs is not only an elf, but one who has ties to the leader(s) of the elven nation through her back story. In either case, the player's are likely to be watching the elf closely.

 

[Ryujin]

I don't know if I'd call this metagaming, or having a black belt in dirty tricks

I've done something similar, but without leaving the table. I find that fostering dicord among players, and therefore their characters, is best done through the appropriate use of private notes.

 

[Stumblewyk]

I find that fostering dicord among players, and therefore their characters, is best done through the appropriate use of private notes.

Ah, see, I just foster Grey and Gray Morality, and let my players fall on opposite sides of the same issues without any of them ever being truly right.

I accomplish the same thing, with about zero effort.

 

[moxcamel]

Sounds like a mix of Paranoia and Shutter Island.

I approve.

 

[Ryujin]

Ah, see, I just foster Grey and Gray Morality, and let my players fall on opposite sides of the same issues without any of them ever being truly right.

I accomplish the same thing, with about zero effort.

Oh, come on now. There's really nothing like handing the party thief a note asking what weapon he's going to have in his hand, just after the party has acquired a load of treasure, then following it up with another note to the Paladin, asking what cut his church will get

 

[sirteabag]

@Kingreaper; Yeah, they've been long life friends and I can't say they were really mad. They are usually the kind to solve things with a sword over their brains which led to many hours of work on my part being laid to waste because of the choice to say "I want to stab the old man and take his robes". Don't get me wrong, I facilitate the option to expand but they often seemed to sniff out my quest giver and destroy him. Dunno why.

[MENTION=90804]OnlineDM[/MENTION]; it worked, made things a lot more interesting at least

[MENTION=94022]Riastlin[/MENTION]; Yes I would agree and imagine it could be an icky situation, I don't try it with others for that reason. On the other hand in Bioshock love and lore I have come to telling one of the players (whom I know) to take any suggestion I give them as long as it begins with "you should kindly" I've found passing notes leads to very suspicious game play.

And as for politics, I definitely include those but this works on-top of that in way. It makes a situation where the players think everything is politically correct but still throws a wrench in plans. However once they find out its weird, a true Irvin Yalom moment as they realize and become invigorated to "bring me down" and gtfo the island. Made me tear haha.

[MENTION=27897]Ryujin[/MENTION]; well whats Batman without a belt full of secret compartments? And as DM's aren't we all a little like batman: fighting evil, improvising, thinking on our feet, etc

And as for the cards, again they give off the wrong vibe and lead to suspicions. I wanted them to be caught unawares that they even had reason to admit to each other suspicion.

[MENTION=67954]moxcamel[/MENTION]; merci monsieur

[MENTION=27897]Ryujin[/MENTION]; and that's why I say -no deity- and neutral

 

[bbjore]

I did this to my players just last weekend. The PCs have been corrupted by Far Realm related effects, and have all become somewhat mad. I pulled each PC aside and wove a careful web of lies, ensuring each one believed that they are the only one who succeeded on their Insight check to figure out what is really going on. I told some that I had instructed another PC to kill them before the end of the adventure, and they just need to survive. I told others that so and so must be killed to stop them from killing someone else. I've told others that they must stop the party from falling apart. The thing is, each of them is doesn't have the whole story. I then made periodic rolls, and slipped notes or pulled PCs aside to describe "clues" that their PC has noticed.

This is all meant to model the way each PC has developed a randomly chosen set of delusions which prevents him or her from knowing what is really going on. I've made a periodic set of Will attacks and if the attack hit, the PC becomes more delusional, and I provide them with even more false information. Most of my group loved it, especially the ones into roleplaying, the ones who liked combat not so much. The greatest difficulty was keeping the party on track with the adventure itself. But I think I've figured this out for the second part of the session. I would say that if you have players who are into combat, make sure the group still manages to leave the inn and get into some fights, and try to avoid mechanical penalties for those who aren't too in to the roleplaying thing. Second be subtle. Give a few PCs a reason to act strange or suspicious, a few more good reasons to be very suspicious or fearful, and then let things run with subtle adjustments and misinformation along the way. It's especially nice if you tie it to actual mechanics, where stronger willed PCs are less susceptible, so players feel like their PC design worked.

I think my favorite moment was when one PC presented a blank piece of paper to the rest of the group as proof that another PC was a murderer. He thought it had writing on it, but that was part of his paranoid delusion. Everyone else starting to think he was the crazy one who had to be stopped.