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So I had a completely awesome idea (if I do say so myself) that I'd like some help devloping, the "Character Secret." It would be kind of like a character trait, I suppose, in that each character would choose one to flesh out their character. It should be something that the PC would keep pretty close to the chest, but it would work its way out in roleplaying as the game goes on. Everyone has some secret, especially heroes, and this could go a long way in helping PCs to RP better, espeically players who are new to gaming.
So, my first choice would be to have every PC come up with a Character Secret that's relevant and appropriate to their character, but I'd also love to have a list of ideas to inspire them. Maybe it could even be made into a table to roll for random secrets for NPCs? So fire away. I want to hear what you all come up with. I'll start with one or two, but this is just coming to me so I haven't thought on it much myself.
1- You are closely related to a horribly notorious murderer, but you don't want others to associate you with that person.
2- You were once an apprentice to a servant of one of the vile deities (like Rovagug), but you realized how disgusting that life was and abandoned it. (Perhaps you're being pursued for desertion?)
3- You are personally haunted by some spirit that follows you everywhere, constantly speaking to you, slowly driving you mad.
This is a neat idea, but somethings one might consider something to keep a secret others might not give a flip about.
4) You dissect small creatures when you think no one is looking. You just love all the sparkly liquids and squishy things inside.
5) You have a horrifying birthmark that would cause anyone that might see it to think you cursed, possessed, or of some undesired lineage (IE: a mostly-human tiefling). It might manifest as a blackening, callous palm, or a streak of scales the runs down your spine, or any number of unsightly things.
6) Despite having a heterosexual orientation, you much prefer to wear the opposite gender's undergarments.
7) You have never actually taken a life, not even that of an animal, and you don't ever want to.
8) You have a spouse and at least one child.
9) You are incapable of reading.
10) You have a child, and even the child doesn't know it. You like to check up on the kid now and then without revealing yourself, and occasionally leave gifts behind. (Play on the guilt of not being a more permanent feature in the child's life, and the fear of getting attached if you interact directly.)
This is a neat idea, but somethings one might consider something to keep a secret others might not give a flip about.
You make a good point, Foghammer, some secrets wouldn't get much more than a shrug. I intend the Character Secret to be more of an additional character dimension to help players RP more easily, rather than a huge reveal with drumrolls and stuff. But it would be good for me to realize that someone's secret might end up being a bit anticlimactic so that my high expectations don't get crushed. Thanks for your input. These are great ideas!
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11. You have in your lineage, an odd member of your family tree. While it doesn't affect your race, people may revile you, knowing you're 1/8 demon, or even expect too much from you if you're 1/8 angel.
12. You somehow found out that you're related to a Noble family that is in ruin. Certainly assassins would care to know that someone of that lineage survived.
13. (my favorite for Psionic chars) You died at a young age, only to have your already noted psychic abilities force your body to reanimate. You have to wonder what would happen if you were ever fully mentally drained .
This is a neat idea, but somethings one might consider something to keep a secret others might not give a flip about.You make a good point, Foghammer, some secrets wouldn't get much more than a shrug. I intend the Character Secret to be more of an additional character dimension to help players RP more easily, rather than a huge reveal with drumrolls and stuff. But it would be good for me to realize that someone's secret might end up being a bit anticlimactic so that my high expectations don't get crushed. Thanks for your input. These are great ideas!
I still really like the idea; it feels like it adds character depth because you get a sense of what that character feels is acceptable. Keeping a secret usually means something is important to the one who keeps it, be it hiding something shameful, or to protect something, or some other reason I can't think of right now. So while you may get a shrug if someone discovers your secret, the revelation of the secret also reveals a bit more of who the character really is.
"Why was Andy so afraid to tell us that he has a family...?"
Anything that adds layers to a fictional personality is awesome in my book.
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Take those secrets and tie them in with other players. Other systems already do this, here is an example (in Ars Magica terms, but could easily fit in with Pathfinder):
One option [for creating intertwined character concepts] is for everyone to write up a brief background for their charachter at the table, a paragraph or less just to get the basic idiom for the character:
"James is a mage apprenticed relatively late in life. Magic does not come easily to him, but he desires power and goes to great lengths to prove himself to the other magi in the Tribunal. He is tall with a moderate build and short dark hair. He walks with a cane, but rarely uses it to support himself"
Then, you take that sheet and pass it to the player to your left. They then add another paragraph about your character that ties it to their character. Perhaps they are related, grew up in the same town, have the same patron, went on a side-adventure together, whatever.
"James and Eric met 12 years ago in the small town of Lakeville. They were out on errands for their respective masters in town when James was assaulted by some thugs in an alleyway. Eric saw this and scared off the thugs with a minor illusion of a group of town guards coming down the other end of the alley. Since then, Eric and James have kept in touch via regular correspondence. Once a year, they go back to Lakeville and share a beer at the local tavern."
The histories are then read aloud to the whole group and everyone can ask questions about the other characters. Once that is done, the player passes the paper to the person on their right and that person writes down a secret only known to those two characters.
"Two years ago, James and Sophia were working in the lab on a new Intelligo Mentem spell to cull information from the collective consciousness of the country. During their Experiments, instead of having to actively search for information in the ether, a voice answered them. Not angelic or demonic, but something entirely different. Fearing this unknown thing that they had discovered or created, they ended the spell, burned their notes and told no one about it."
What he said...
That is a really cool idea. Thanks for bringing it up. What's funny is I used to play that game with my little brothers when I was younger, only instead of writing stories, we were drawing monsters. It was great fun. I'm definitely trying this someday.
I did a very similar concept for a game I ran. All the players chose classes as usual...but the twist was that the Thieves' Guild had "dirt" on each of them and the guild was blackmailing the players to work for them. Thus, any class (even paladin, theoretically) was beholden to the Thieves' Guild and HAD to do Guild assignments or risk their dirty secret being exposed!
I wrote several vague one-line dirty secrets and had each player draw one randomly. I asked them to, as best they could, incorporate the dirty secret into their 'character concept'.
Ah, I found them:
- You murdered someone and hid the body.
- You were a prostitute / gigolo in your younger years.
- You're part of a terrorist conspiracy against the local government.
- You have a child. (the child is / isn't aware of your existence--your choice)
- You're a pyromaniac.
- You are carrying on an illicit affair with a well-known (and very married) public figure.
- You were brainwashed into an illegal death cult that practices kidnapping and ritual sacrifice. (you're currently a low-ranking member)
- You framed another person for a crime. They're now serving a life sentence instead of you.
- Your recent ancestors were notorious necromancers whose (horrible and well-known) crimes have never gone unpunished. (you're living under a false identity currently)
- You've been blackmailing someone. Unfortunately, you're terrible at covering your tracks.
- You're an alcoholic (bordering on severe).
- You've stolen/embezzled from the wrong people and you've been found out.
- You're an illegitimate child. (you can choose which parent raised you)
I had each player draw random secrets (they were on strips of paper and I had them fanned out upside down, so nobody knew what they were going to get). I also allowed that, if there was something that just did NOT mesh with their character concept, they could re-draw a dirty secret. (i.e. a water mage having the pyromaniac secret)
As you can see, they're very generic, so as to fit them into an ongoing story easily. Players who enjoyed creating more back story could chose details themselves and flesh out their dirty secrets, while players who didn't care to create their own back story were left at MY mercy (or lack thereof) regarding details....and I promised to make them squirm if left up to me...
(There were more dirty secrets but some of the players kept their strips of paper. I made sure there was at least three secrets per player, and each secret was fairly unique and diverse from the other secrets, to help guarantee randomness.)
Oh! The best part of it all? I never TOLD them they were going to be working for the Guild during char-gen. I saved that twist until AFTER they chose, rolled and statted-out their PCs. :D
12. You somehow found out that you're related to a Noble family that is in ruin. Certainly assassins would care to know that someone of that lineage survived.
To add insult to injury,.....you were the bastard child of a noble of that now defunct house, that was gotten rid of to avoid embarassment.....so the fact that the assassins are after you only adds more moaning and gnashing of teeth to your allready cynical outlook on life.
You are a planted spy for a foreign state that was never called upon. The original conflict is over and you were abandoned.
You once ate a member of your own species
You sometimes want to do it again.
You had your fortune divined, and you are destined to die a horrible painful death.
- You are wanted for murder in a neighboring kingdom.
- You know the true name of an outsider and he wants you dead.
- You once belonged to another adventuring group but fled from a battle causing their deaths
- You have an uncontrollable fear of (X) causing you to pass out
- Sold into slavery you just recently assumed the identity of your former master
- Your Half-Orc father breed you to rule your tribe the notorious (X) clan. However, rather than rule you ran.
- You were once institutionalized for a "nervous breakdown"
- You were born in a woman's prison and forced to leave when you came of age.
-You claim to be an orphan whose family was brutally murdered by Orc bandits but really you are just a "racist" and made the story up to justify your disdain for "lesser races"
-Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries
-Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries
Ouch. :(
(Dumb question--how do I subscribe to this thread?)
-Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberriesOuch. :(
(Dumb question--how do I subscribe to this thread?)
Do you mean "how do you put the little black dot next to the thread so that when you scroll down it stands out?" You just did. Anytime you post in a thread it marks it with a black dot. That's why you often times see people simply writing "Dot" in a thread they want to follow.
Additionally you can see all the threads you have posted on in you profile page. Simply click on you name at the top of the page where is says "Welcome <your name>".