44
Which character concepts are less cool to play than they seems ?
(sh.itjust.works)
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 05 Jan 2024
44 points (100.0% liked)
rpg
3219 readers
3 users here now
This community is for meaningful discussions of tabletop/pen & paper RPGs
Rules (wip):
- Do not distribute pirate content
- Do not incite arguments/flamewars/gatekeeping.
- Do not submit video game content unless the game is based on a tabletop RPG property and is newsworthy.
- Image and video links MUST be TTRPG related and should be shared as self posts/text with context or discussion unless they fall under our specific case rules.
- Do not submit posts looking for players, groups or games.
- Do not advertise for livestreams
- Limit Self-promotions. Active members may promote their own content once per week. Crowdfunding posts are limited to one announcement and one reminder across all users.
- Comment respectfully. Refrain from personal attacks and discriminatory (racist, homophobic, transphobic, etc.) comments. Comments deemed abusive may be removed by moderators.
- No Zak S content.
- Off-Topic: Book trade, Boardgames, wargames, video games are generally off-topic.
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
Any sort of character concept that depends on witholding information from the other players is extremely difficult to do in a satisfying way.
The other players can easily not care about your mystery at all, making your secret just you and the dm making eyebrows at each other. Or they’ll care more than you want, and any sort of long-term intrigue goes out the window as the party drills into your character. Or hell, maybe they’ll be annoyed that you’re being so coy about your character, maybe they’ll find it shifty or frustrating or any of a dozen other things. And even if there’s the perfect level of investment and buy-in from everyone else, it still runs the risk of being a spotlight hog of a character.
So generally it’ll either have absolutely no impact, or it’ll derail the party.
Oh, and all of this goes for double if your secret is that you’re working against the party.
I've found this trope works best when all players know the secret, but the characters don't. If it's a cool, interesting secret, everyone can play into it and enjoy the dramatic irony.
I had it work masterfully in a limited game (one shot turned into two sessions) where everyone had a secret agenda. I took inspiration from one of the unknown armies one shots, I think.
I think because everyone has their own secret, and didn't know the other people had secrets, it worked out great. It easily could've failed though.