DMs - Do you thrive on deception?

[barsoomcore]

My PCs are starting to realize that, when they ask a question, they get the answer that the NPC's agenda dictates, not a hint from the DM. (Not all NPCs are intentionally deceptive, but very few know "the straight dope", and everyone has prejudices.)

It's probably annoying to them at first, but it's really the only way I can get verisimilitude... well, that and environmental sounds.

-- N

That is SO crucial. I could not agree more.

I've had to tell my players as much because they were tearing their hair out trying to get various bits of info to fit and the dates weren't lining up and so on -- I said, "Everything everybody tells you is THEIR version of what happened. There are no objective sources of information, so you're just going to have to get used to it. There's just some stuff you'll never know -- even if you do find AN answer, you'll never know for sure if it's REALLY true."

They love that aspect of things now because they have to take into account the NPC, not just his information. "Well, Gan's only saying that because he knows we know Bloodlord Dark, so obviously he wants us to say this in front of HIM so that the Bloodlord will go off and do that... but at least we know Gan knows we know he knows we know the Bloodlord."

Such conversations keep me warm cold winter nights...

 

[dougmander]

Posted this on RPGnet, thought someone might have inputs here:

It occurs to me that perhaps I rely a little too much on deception to the state things really are in order to make things interesting. Is anyone else like this? Is this wrong? It seems like if this is the only tool in my toolbox, it would get old real quick, but as of yet, I don't overuse it to the point my players immediately start looking for the secret "trick". What are some other tools you use to keep your games interesting?

Edit: Or, perhaps the response might be, "is there any other way to DM?"

I savor those delicious moments of ephiphany that occur when the PCs finally figure out what's really going on in the story. I would call most of what I do "misdirection" rather than "deception."

Recently in my D&D game, the PCs had to find out who had altered the moon's course to produce a permanent eclipse over their home city. Their first clue was a shooting star from the moon that turned out to be a pod containing an illithid (they are lunar natives IMC) who, by the time the PCs had caught and slain him, had already taken over the mind of the local lord and was sending out human minions to the surrounding area.

"Aha" the PCs said,"This is a prelude to a mindflayer invasion!"

Wrong. It was actually the drow who were behind it all, and the poor illithid (who had already been killed by the PCs) was just coming to set things right, and was using his minions to find the nearest entrance to the Underdark. Fortunately, he had brought with him a wand that could detect the location of the drow artifact that was holding the moon in position, and the PCs eventually set things right.

So, I didn't deceive the PCs, I just took advantage of their assumptions. Your players only have a right to complain if you withhold info from them that their PCs should know, or make NPCs do or say things without a reasonable motivation just to keep the PCs from finding out the truth.

 

[nopantsyet]

Yeah, provided build up to it slowly rather than blindside them. Much of the time they won't figure it out for a while, but when they do all the pieces will fit together and it's big impact. If they had no chance to figure it out, they'll feel betrayed, and probably rightly so, which is fine in moderation. You think in real life how cynical and jaded someone can get with a single bad experience.

 

[Wraith Form]

I savor those delicious moments of ephiphany that occur when the PCs finally figure out what's really going on in the story. I would call most of what I do "misdirection" rather than "deception."

It's funny....if this conversation were about Call of Cthulhu (instead of D&D) the PCs would just about never figure out what's really going on in the end...

It's part of what makes wearing the DM mantle so stinking addictive...you are often the only one who really has any clue what the hell is happening, usually up to--and sometimes even after--the adventure is over!