Do you pass notes / hold private conversations?

[Jaelithe]

Do you use this method to inform a certain player about knowledge his or her character would have that others would lack, and let him or her choose to conceal or reveal it? Do you pass notes saying, "This means nothing ... just looking to get everyone a little paranoid"? Do you prepare certain notes so as to be ready when and if such events as you wish to inform but a single player occur in the game? Do you draw a player out of the room for a thirty-second conference on matters his character would know and to which the others would be oblivious?

If so, do your players enjoy this? Are they indifferent? Do they resent it, or even openly challenge its validity as a gaming tool?

What say you?

[Steve Geddes]

We used to do it when we were able to play lots. Nowadays we get maybe three hours a week - we dont really want to spend half an hour of that sitting in another room while something happens we're ignorant of.

In my view, there's a little extra surprise value when some revelation comes from a player, but you get a pretty big hint something is coming anyway from all the note passing and/or one-on-one gaming in the next room so I dont think it's worth the lost time.

If a PC is separated from the others, they get to be spectators and most people make an effort not to use any information they've gleaned through doing so. If someone wants to use such information, we just let it slide.

[RDM42]

When playing our online game connected by Skype, it's easy to do it without telling anyone else by Im.

[Trekkie90909]

If my online players could read without sounding the words out to themselves it would work...

I've done it occasionally; mostly my players are indifferent and/or just blurt out the information anyways.

[Jaelithe]

Steve Geddes wrote:

If a PC is separated from the others, they get to be spectators and most people make an effort not to use any information they've gleaned through doing so. If someone wants to use such information, we just let it slide.

You're more forgiving men and women than I am. I tend to warn once, maybe twice, then mercilessly crush someone who does that.

But I hate most meta-gaming with the fury of a thousand suns.

[Steve Geddes]

We used to care about that kind of stuff. Now we're just grateful to sneak a few hours of gaming in - devoting time to anything other than plot propelling doesn't seem worth the effort.

[captain yesterday]

I slip my wife notes under the table, they're not usually about the game tho;-D

[Scythia]

I use notes for secret character only info. I'm tempted to begin texting secret info though, since cellphones are so ubiquitous. Save some paper.

I've never done the fake out note though. I have plenty of other ways to engender paranoia. My preferred method is to roll a die without saying anything, pick up a book, look at the page and nod sagely.

[Tinkergoth]

Yeah, I do this, though not that often in face to face games. If it's a quick aside I might take it as an opportunity for people to go grab a coffee etc (the East Texas University game I'm currently running is hosted in my FLGS, so there's good coffee and snacks available just outside the room we're in) while I have a chat with the person in question.

In the Interface Zero game I'm playing in, we're using Roll20, so my passing notes to the GM doesn't impede game time aside from him maybe taking a few seconds to read my IM. It also makes it helpful for him, as I know Savage Worlds as a system better than he does, so he can ask me for rules advice while keeping the game rolling.

[Liranys]

I've used both notes and private conversations at my con games. They usually work pretty well. I intend to use the heck out of them during the next game because of a single very complex very tricky trap room.

[Wrath]

Not any more. Our group are really good at separating player knowledge from character knowledge.

If it's something major over the course of a game, I will email a player beforehand occasionally. Did this with a doppelgänger swap once. It worked well.

[Bjørn Røyrvik]

Some very few times but for the most part we are good enough roleplayers that there is no need to keep things secret from the rest of the group.
And one of our V:tM games got to the point where there was more roleplaying going on in the hall than around the table so we feel a bit burned on the subject.

I don't pass paranoia notes because that's not the kind of game we play. Maybe if I did more CoC or Ravenloft.