fitz_firebrand
First Post
Does anyone have a cool GM note moment (where a secret GM note passed to a player blows their mind) that they can recall? Asking for a friend.
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Secret GM Notes
- Thread starter fitz_firebrand
- Start date
Once, in a four-player game, I passed a separate note to each of the players. One player got a list of telepathic images his PC was receiving from the artifact-level magic item he had found, describing its powers and history. The others each got a note stating that for this whole adventure (about four hours in), they'd secretly been playing doppelgangers who had read the PC's mind and assumed the forms of his adventuring companions. Now, before the artifact had time to attune to the PC, it was time for them to strike! I promised them their "real" PCs would gain the XP that the doppelgangers had accumulated over the course of the adventure (the PCs would be having an "off screen" adventure of their own) and that there was an XP bonus in it for them if they could kill the sole PC. I also assured them that if they succeeded, the PC's church had the means to resurrect him.
They had a blast attacking the PC, and the look on the player's face was priceless, as I'd led him to believe their handouts were the same type as his. Ultimately, the doppelgangers weren't successful but everyone had a good time.
Johnathan
They had a blast attacking the PC, and the look on the player's face was priceless, as I'd led him to believe their handouts were the same type as his. Ultimately, the doppelgangers weren't successful but everyone had a good time.
Johnathan
Legatus Legionis
< BWAH HA Ha ha >
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Last edited:
Joshua Randall
Legend
Due credit to [MENTION=2]Piratecat[/MENTION] for this one:
In his 3e adventure Of Sound Mind, there's a section where the characters each have scary dreams caused by the big bad. The advice is to hand each player a paper with their character's dream on it, give them 30-60 seconds to read it, and then take the paper away -- to simulate how hard it is to remember dreams when you wake up.
I did this and the players' minds were BLOWN. Some of them attempted to recount their characters' dreams (with hilarious, to me, mistakes) while one player utterly refused to discuss his dream because he / his character was so disturbed.
Great technique and one I highly recommend as a one-off. (You really can't use it more than once.)
= = = = =
Different group.
High level (17th level) 3e party traveling the Astral Plane en route to plot location. They come across a mind flayer and his (strong) group of thralls and (wisely) don't immediately attack.
I (the DM) have the mind flayer begin bantering with the PCs, inquiring where they're from, how they got here, where they're going, etc. The characters are understandably cautious.
Meanwhile I pass a note to the player of the Psion character that says something like the following:
"The mind flayer is communicating telepathically with you. It has read your mind including the part closed to you [part of the PC's backstory from 1st level]. It will reveal your own secrets to you if you sell out the rest of the party, right now."
I didn't really expect the player to go for this, but he was *astonished* that I remembered that detail from his character's background. So his mind was blown.
The Psion's response was: "Your kind disgusts me, mind flayer. Depart immediately or we will destroy you."
The rest of the players were like "WTF?" when the mind flayer abruptly departed. To this day I don't think they know why.
In his 3e adventure Of Sound Mind, there's a section where the characters each have scary dreams caused by the big bad. The advice is to hand each player a paper with their character's dream on it, give them 30-60 seconds to read it, and then take the paper away -- to simulate how hard it is to remember dreams when you wake up.
I did this and the players' minds were BLOWN. Some of them attempted to recount their characters' dreams (with hilarious, to me, mistakes) while one player utterly refused to discuss his dream because he / his character was so disturbed.
Great technique and one I highly recommend as a one-off. (You really can't use it more than once.)
= = = = =
Different group.
High level (17th level) 3e party traveling the Astral Plane en route to plot location. They come across a mind flayer and his (strong) group of thralls and (wisely) don't immediately attack.
I (the DM) have the mind flayer begin bantering with the PCs, inquiring where they're from, how they got here, where they're going, etc. The characters are understandably cautious.
Meanwhile I pass a note to the player of the Psion character that says something like the following:
"The mind flayer is communicating telepathically with you. It has read your mind including the part closed to you [part of the PC's backstory from 1st level]. It will reveal your own secrets to you if you sell out the rest of the party, right now."
I didn't really expect the player to go for this, but he was *astonished* that I remembered that detail from his character's background. So his mind was blown.
The Psion's response was: "Your kind disgusts me, mind flayer. Depart immediately or we will destroy you."
The rest of the players were like "WTF?" when the mind flayer abruptly departed. To this day I don't think they know why.
Imaculata
Hero
At the start of my Call of Cthulhu campaign, I placed several ominous black envelopes on the table. The players had already made their characters, and now I gave each of them one of the envelopes, and asked them to keep the contents to them selves. The envelopes contained three different secrets that their character could have, and they could only pick one (or submit one of their own). If their fellow players ever found out the secret, they would take sanity damage.
And thus much paranoia followed, where often a player would respond to something in a peculiar way, and not inform his party members. I even had some of the players beg me if they could please choose more than one secret.
And thus much paranoia followed, where often a player would respond to something in a peculiar way, and not inform his party members. I even had some of the players beg me if they could please choose more than one secret.
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