Keeping Your Players Paranoid

The role of the gamemaster, at least in most tabletop RPGs, is inherently antagonistic. This isn’t to say that GMs are sadistic or evil, although many, including myself, are often (jokingly) referred to as such. Of course, the game would be boring without any opposition, and so the GM plays a very necessary role at the gaming table.

Being the antagonist, players tend to look at you differently. They read your actions and, though they may try to avoid it, infer hints as to what might be coming next. Since most campaigns are more fun when the players are kept guessing, GMs must employ the art of deception to preserve and enhance everyone’s enjoyment.

One method that I’ve found to be particularly effective is to make your players paranoid. When they’re convinced that your cues may or may not have profound significance from one moment to the next, they’ll stay on their toes. To do this, I recommend sending false cues as to what’s really happening.

Here is an example from a D&D game that I used to great effect. At the start of the game, I passed a note to a random player. The note indicated that it was fake and that the player should react with surprise and not reveal its contents to the other players. It worked like a charm. My players took the false hint that something sinister was in the works, giving me the appearance of a devious antagonist.

During this same game, I had the players roll unnecessary Listen and Spot checks. This tends to have a somewhat more immediate effect, causing the players to ask themselves, “What is it that we didn’t see or hear just now?” When everyone is primed for a surprise encounter at any moment, paranoia can’t be far behind.

I’m sure there are plenty of other ways to keep players guessing. It is the sense that there’s always something bad about to happen to their characters that I find most effective. If you do your job right, you may receive compliments in the sort of unexpected way I did. As one of my players put it, “I hate you! That was awesome!”