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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Bawylie" data-source="post: 7418778" data-attributes="member: 6776133">Surprises work best (IMO) when the players see them coming. I know that’s counterintuitive, but they feel better in play when they’re foreshadowed. Whenever I want to use a surprise, I think of Jaws. The theme song starts deeply humming, the fin crests out of the water, there’s a brief glimpse of the exact position of the people and the shark, and then WHAM shark attack. That early setup signals “some sh*t is going down now!” And that’s the anticipatory emotional terror that sells the surprise. The surprise itself isn’t quite as important as the buildup. So ultimately, it doesn’t matter who goes first, who can’t be surprised, or anything else. They’ll feel that tension the moment you say, “the sound of a twig snapping breaks the silence somewhere to your left. It’s dead quiet otherwise, you can’t even hear the normal sounds of nature.” (Pause for a very quick reaction from players). “Wham! A black feathered arrow smacks straight into the side of your cart. It’s an ambush! What do you do?”That kind of narrative keeps paying off for me. Small hint, big hint, shark attack, what do you do?</blockquote>