How do you keep in-game secrets?

[mhensley]

One of the problems that I always have when DM'ing is how to keep the group from realizing that one of the pc's has been charmed, dopplegangered, possessed, etc. As soon as I pass a note or take a player aside, the rest of the group knows something is wrong. Soon afterwards, they will start casting detect evil or dispel magic on the pc.

What is the best way to handle these kinds of things?

 

[BenBrown]

1) if it's a long-term thing talk to the player between sessions.

2) pass lots of extra notes, mostly just asking silly questions that you already know the answer to, or telling the players the result of their spot checks.

 

[Gothmog]

Start taking characters aside for routine stuff too. Like if the ranger spots an enemy on his watch, or if the cleric makes a sense motive check when talking to a stranger and realizes he is lying. Pretty soon, the players won't know what is significant when you take them aside and what isn't, and they won't be as suspicious all the time. The the REAL fun can be had.

 

[Tortoise]

I've been thinking about some of the ways this might be solved and the one about passing multiple notes, frequently seems as good as any suggestion. Get the players used to receiving notes on all sorts of things.

Instead of slowing game play down by writing all of them during play, try to have a bunch of pre-written notes paperclipped together and keyed to various areas in an adventure. Spot, listen, and search check results are always good for this and will allow you to slip those doppleganger notes into play a lot easier since everyone will be used to getting the other notes.

Also, penalize the players some xp for using out of character knowledge in play except when they use it to feed themselves into your plotlines.

 

[Gregor]

Pass everyone a note that looks identical. On all but one note, have it say "you are perfectly fine" and on one note write "you have been charmed" or whatever. Also write on each note "do not show this to anyone." If everyone gets a note, then everyone looks like something may be wrong with them. However, only the person with the real note knows the truth.

A little psychological torment never hurt anyone's party.......I think.

Cheers,

 

[Arnwyn]

The constant notes suggestion(s) are good, but sometimes something will come up before you have gotten into any new habits.

There are some mutual "trust" and metagaming issues here, as well. When other characters start casting detect evil and dispel magic on the PC of the player who was taken aside, you as DM have every right to ask "why?".

If the players have set no precedent for this before, and can offer no reasonable reason why they suddenly start casting these spells (on their own party members, no less!), then I (personally) would just tell them to "quit metagaming, you bozos!", or something like that, anyways.

Thankfully, my players haven't tried to do such silly things in many many years.

 

[Clueless]

One solution I've seen a GM do - when he wasn't sure about the ability of the player to keep a secret and it was going to be a long term deal anyway...

In the case of a doppleganger taking over a person, he simply flat out didn't tell the guy. The presumption was simple: The doppleganger has a reason for what he's doing. He won't blow his cover or act any differently than the usual PC until he *has* to. Therefore - there's no reason to tell the guy because it'll change his behavior.

When the time came around to blow cover he explained the situation, and had the guy do it - after telling him "Well, *you* have been locked in a cell since that night at the inn...."

Otherwise - the best way to have a plot going that the other players don't realize is going on - usually is to contact the player between sessions. That effectively prevent OOC knowledge from even becoming an issue, and is my favorite way to be sneaky as a player myself.

 

[Fenes 2]

We usually don't. My players are good enough not to act on ooc knowledge, so it is not a problem if they know that x has been charmed - on the contrary, it often is more fun to know about it and play it out.

 

[SpuneDagr]

Totally! My players love role-playing challenges, so they don't act on things they know OOC.

 

[Herremann the Wise]

Hi mhensley,

I suppose if you have players like SpuneDagr, you won't have a problem. Such players will enjoy ignoring the charmed, doppelganger situation and keep playing because it's fun - often hamming it up the other way: "Oh, you need some gold and to borrow my super magical item? Of course you can have it if you need it for something" to the Doppelganger.

However, it seems that you have players orientated in the "Us vs. the DM" direction. For such people, D&D is more a competition of wits and less of an opportunity for interesting development. I've played with and DMed both types of players. Trying to enforce things upon the competitive types generally does not work. Unfortunately, the only way to get around it is to outwit them. Have a bigger form of distraction happening while you pass the note for something quite menial: You hand them a piece of paper and ask them to write down their "Handle Animal" check on it for you - the note says "You have been charmed, don't say anything but write down the Handle Animal check anyway."

To make this work, handing out XP bonuses for good role-playing - they will see the charming as an XP gaining exercise - is much better than XP penalties. In my experience, XP penalties never work. You just end up with disgruntled and unmotivated players.

Hope this helps and Best Regards
Herremann the Wise