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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nagol" data-source="post: 6085881" data-attributes="member: 23935">I could tell you... but well you know.Are we talking about a campaign with potentially many secrets being kept from each other or a campaign where one or two PCs have a secret they're keeping to themselves?  The first is a bit harder so I'll discuss it.The most important thing is the group has to be on-board that the game will have secrets.  Be upfront.  You want to avoid any feeling of 'special snowflake' favourtism.  Make sure all the players are fine with secrets and no PC will immediately run to the authorities as soon as they discover one.Next determine where the secret will be stored.  Are the PCs keeping secrets but the players are in on them all or do the secrets exist between the players?If the former, there can be a constant battle between player/PC knowledge.  If the latter, there is a time sink aspect that grows non-linearly with the number of secrets.  Secret-heavy groups tend to form sub-groups with some shared secrets of mutual accomodation, but that means sub-group of PCs will want to talk, negotiate, and/or act without the whole group present.Secret-heavy campaign I've run tended to work best when alternative communication lines are open between the players and GM.  Blue-booking, email, small secondary sessions for private roleplaying and small side missions.Finally, find a rationale for the PCs to be stuck with each other.  A reason for the group to not splinter is pretty necessary.  Secrets strike at the trust implicit in most group situations.  Perhaps they're family?  Trapped in an unfriendly city?  Have all their weatlh tied into the group?  Secrets tend to run to four different weights: weightless secrets are those a character protects but there is no effect should the secret become known -- a character secretly blames himself for his father's death and reacts to specific encounters oddly.light secrets are those where a character's utility is weakened if the secret becomes widely known -- a character is really working for the Imperial spy agency.  A reveal will damage the character's value to the agency and place previous contacts at risk.moderate secrets are those where the character's can become imperilled if the secret is discovered -- a character is really a worshipper of the 'wrong' religion and wil be shunned bu society (at best) if it is discoveredheavy secrets are those that will destroy the value of the character should the secret be revealed -- a character is really an spy for an enemy of the groupTry to build at least one light secret into each PC.  Try to avoid many weightless secrets.  They make good hooks for roleplaying, but take time and energy to administer.A good set of secrets act as lenses on an adventure's encounters.  Each player sees the same situation differently  either by altering the goal of the encounter, or by shading the encounter with inference and possibility.</blockquote>

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