Thought Punks

Tag: Illusion

Secrets in the Static: The Ghost Town of Wavelength
This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series Free Games
Crowdfunding completed! Preview version now available.

A TTRPG idea inspired by Lynchian horror, embodying surreal suburban dread and the unsettling blend of media and reality. Pulled from my playtesting slush pile in memory of David Lynch. Shared under a Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0 license. Credit “Rev from Thought Punks”. This was a beta playtest module. The formatting and presentation style reflects that. This also stands out as an example of minimalist worldbuilding.

Core Concept

The town of Wavelength exists in a strange limbo, an idyllic Upstate New York town that vanished from official records and maps in the early 1990s. Its existence has become a half-remembered myth, whispered about on long road trips and crackling through static on AM radio. Some claim to pick up ghostly broadcasts near where Wavelength supposedly stood, hearing fragments of soap operas, weather reports, or personal messages from those who lived there.

For those inside Wavelength, the town remains suspended in eerie perfection, a postcard-perfect snapshot of 90s small-town life. Quaint diners, artisanal crafts, and warm neighbors project an air of nostalgia… but the town has secrets.

Recently, televisions and radios have been infected with an omnipresent, enigmatic signal. Cryptic ads interrupt every broadcast, whispering impossible truths and surreal commands. Music swells out of nowhere, quelling any thoughts of leaving the town. Cryptic commercials, haunting soap operas, and surreal PSAs suggest the Static’s growing control. Some residents are even rumored to have vanished, replaced by eerie replicas speaking only in disjointed TV dialogue.

Players, each tied to the signal in a deeply personal way, must navigate Wavelength’s shifting reality, uncovering its secrets while holding onto their crumbling identities.

Player Hook

Each character has a personal connection to the signal, making their investigation deeply intimate. These connections could include:
- Hearing a lost loved one’s voice in a garbled ad, pleading for help.
- Seeing impossible depictions of their own future in soap opera snippets.
- Receiving unsettling, tailored messages through radio jingles.
The signal lures players in, offering tantalizing truths and supernatural powers. But the closer they get, the more it rewrites their memories, relationships, and even their physical forms.

Key Themes
- Identity Erosion: The signal corrupts characters’ self-perception and memories, forcing them to question who they are.
- Surreal Suburban Dread: Wavelength’s small-town charm contrasts with growing paranoia and uncanny horrors.
- Media and Reality Bleed: Broadcasts shape reality, and characters must interact with these phenomena to uncover the truth.
- Ambiguous Agency: Is the signal sentient? Malicious? Or just a reflection of their deepest flaws?
Gameplay Framework

Core Mechanic: The 3d6 Roll

Every action involves rolling 3d6, with each die serving a specific purpose (called “flavors” or dice labels):
- Degree Die: Measures success (1 = partial success, 6 = overwhelming success).
- Cost Die: Determines complications or costs (1 = severe, 6 = none).
- Static Die: Reflects distortion by the signal (1 = surreal, 6 = mundane).
Modifiers are added based on traits like Nature, Profession, Hobbies, and Quirks. After rolling, apply modifiers and interpret the results based on the fiction.

Character Creation
- Hook: What draws you to the Static? What do you see or hear in it?
- Nature: The core of who you are. Examples: “Survivor,” “Protector,” or “Dreamer.”
  - When in alignment: Add +2 to die of choice after rolling.
  - When in conflict: Add +3 to the Cost Die.
- Profession: Your role in Wavelength (e.g., librarian, mechanic, bartender).
  - When relevant: After rolling, rearrange the dice in any order.
- Hobbies (pick 3): Passions or skills unrelated to your profession.
  - When relevant: Add +1 to any one die after rolling.
- Quirks (pick 2): Unusual traits, some mundane, some supernatural.
  - At the start of a scene, roll 2d6, assigning one die to each Quirk. On a 6, that Quirk activates (examples: eerie theme music plays, your body distorts to walk on all fours, or you compulsively spout jingles).
- Background Details (write 3): Relationships, memories, or personal details grounding your character.
Mechanics of the Static

Static Exposure

When exposed to the signal, the GM determines the intensity of the interaction:
- Minor Exposure: Roll 1d6.
- Moderate Exposure: Roll 2d6.
- Major Exposure: Roll 3d6.
Gain 1 Static Point for every die that rolls 4 or higher.
- Minor: Listening to a cryptic ad on the radio or stopping briefly to watch a flickering TV broadcasting surreal images.
- Moderate: Watching a full broadcast that seems to address your concerns personally or deeply analyzing a broadcast for meaning or clues.
- Major: Being the focus of the signal’s direct attention, such as being spoken to directly by an anchor on a TV or being caught in a scene that is completed distorted into TV reality by the Static.
Powers from the Static

Characters with Static Points gain access to the hidden signs in the signal. These powers come in minor and major categories, reflecting their risk and scope.

Minor Powers (2 Dice)

Minor powers unlock at 3 Static Points. These are small, reality-bending effects that grant brief advantages. Roll 2d6 when using a minor power. Gain 1 Static Point for every die that rolls 4 or higher.

Examples of Minor Powers:
- Alter a Small Detail: Change a single object or memory in the immediate area (e.g., a flickering light turns solid red, a door briefly becomes a wall, or someone remembers an argument as a cordial conversation).
- Daring Insight: By bravely facing the signal with full attention for a second, you can glimpse unnoticed clues, hidden areas, torrid affairs, and other secrets in a location.
- Eerie Influence: Convince someone to act out of character using subtle, surreal persuasion.
Major Powers (4 Dice)

Major powers unlock at 6 Static points. These allow significant manipulations of reality at a cost. Roll 4d6 when using a major power. Gain 1 Static Point for every die that rolls 4 or higher.

Examples of Major Powers:
- Rewrite Reality: Change a large element in the environment, like turning a road into a river, erasing or introducing an NPC into a scene, or completely change the dynamic of a family feud.
- Erase or Implant Memories: Target one person, radically altering their memory of an event or relationship.
- Surreal Projection: Create a temporary illusion or construct that others perceive as real.
At 9 Static Points, only roll 1d6 for minor powers and 2d6 for major powers. Also ignore minor exposures and roll one less die for moderate and major exposures. The Static has begun to embrace you and it flows easily, too easily, through you. It constantly whispers in your mind, even far away from any screens or speakers, a portion of the signal finding its way directly to increasingly distorted soul.

Spending Static Points

Players can spend Static Points only during interludes between scenes to deliberately rewrite aspects of their character. This process represents an attempt to resist, or embrace, the signal’s influence, but it comes with risks.
- Determine Spending Limit: Roll 1d6. The result is the maximum number of Static Points you can spend during this interlude.
- Choose Rewrites: Spend points based on the following costs:
  - 1 Point: Change one Hobby or Quirk.
  - 2 Points: Change your Profession or a Background Detail.
  - Nature: Cannot be changed unless the character hits the Static Limit and is fully rewritten.
Roll a d6 for each thing chosen to be changed. On 1-3, change it to reflect growing closer to the Static. On 4-6, change it to reflect your personal will or what you think more truly reflects who you were before the Static trapped and rewrote the town. For signal-influenced changes, they are also accompanied by physical changes, initially simple things like hairstyles and clothing choices but eventually escalating into radical differences, almost becoming a different person.

Static Limit

If you reach 13 Static Points, you must rewrite your entire character, even your Nature and complete appearance. Everything but one background detail, a tenuous tie to the previous you, is altered. When rewriting your character, change things to what you think the Static wants or what is further away from your true self.

Assorted Advice

Spending Static Points

Treat spending as a chance for characters to direct their transformation. Frame it as a double-edged sword: while they can resist, they can never truly escape the signal’s grip. There is a random chance whether the transformations follow their will or lean into the mysterious goals of the Static. Use rewrites to develop surreal or thematic elements that deepen the story.

Using Powers

Encourage players to experiment with powers early, reinforcing the temptation to draw on the signal. As powers escalate, introduce moral and narrative consequences. For example, a small illusion might merely confuse a bystander, but a major reality shift could incidentally rewrite someone else’s identity entirely.

Exposure Rolls

Use exposure rolls to emphasize the dangers of interacting with the signal. Minor exposure should feel subtle and unnerving, while major exposure should be dramatic and unrelenting.

Dynamic Worldbuilding

The town of Wavelength evolves alongside the characters’ investigations. GMs should introduce surreal events tied to the signal’s influence, such as:
- The Laugh Track Incident: Characters hear sitcom laugh tracks during conversations, even in empty spaces.
- The Soap Opera Shift: Players reenact scenes from the signal’s broadcasts, with scripted lines and actions.
- The Product That Doesn’t Exist: A commercial compels a resident to build or sell a nonsensical item.
- The Uncanny Broadcast: A news anchor appears on every screen, reading out the characters’ secrets.
- The Repetition Effect: Players relive the same scene repeatedly, each iteration growing more distorted.
Collaboration and Mystery

Encourage players to work together to piece together clues, but introduce conflicting memories and perspectives to create tension. The truth should remain ambiguous, with players shaping its interpretation through their actions.

Gameplay Toolkit

This is a toolkit to help you craft a surreal, Lynchian experience in Wavelength. It includes templates for the town’s evolution, pacing advice, key events, escalating exposure scenes, and sample NPCs. Use this to guide the play through the town’s eerie descent into the unknown.

Templates for Wavelength’s Evolution

Wavelength begins as a nostalgic, picturesque town, but as the Static’s influence grows, it fractures into a surreal nightmare. Use the following phases to structure its progression.

Phase 1: Postcard Perfection
- Tone: Idyllic and welcoming with subtle undercurrents of unease.
- Environment: Pristine sidewalks, smiling neighbors, cheerful radio hosts.
- Signal Presence: Minor and eerie, like brief ads with strange phrasing, static interruptions.
- NPC Behavior: Friendly but slightly off, as if reading from a script.
Event Examples:
- A TV plays an old soap opera where one character eerily resembles a player.
- A commercial for a product the players owned as children plays on every screen in a diner.
- An NPC starts speaking only in television and radio quotes.
Phase 2: Fractured Reality
- Tone: The charm cracks; paranoia grows.
- Environment: Familiar locations subtly shift, streets curve impossibly, clocks show contradictory times.
- Signal Presence: More pervasive, NPCs speak in advertising jingles or reenact full scenes from TV.
- NPC Behavior: Neighbors act erratically, forgetting recent events or treating strangers as family.
Event Examples:
- A pedestrian repeatedly crosses the same intersection in different outfits.
- A weather report describes exact player actions happening as it airs.
- Reality’s color become over-saturated and everyone is dressed like a 50s sitcom.
Phase 3: Full Static Takeover
- Tone: The town becomes a surreal, shifting maze.
- Environment: Familiar landmarks melt into distorted landscapes, streets loop infinitely, diners stretch into hallways.
- Signal Presence: Ubiquitous, broadcasts directly interact with players and reshape reality.
- NPC Behavior: Most NPCs behave like TV archetypes, repeating lines or freezing when not “on screen.”
Event Examples:
- A sitcom laugh track loudly plays during a tense argument.
- An anchorperson on every screen reveals players’ private thoughts.
- The “channel changes” and the scene abrupt shifts completely in location, action, and tone.
Pacing Advice
- Establish Normalcy: Spend time grounding players in Wavelength’s initial perfection. Let them connect with NPCs and locations to make later distortions more impactful.
- Introduce the Signal Gradually: Begin with brief, eerie phenomena before escalating into more overt reality distortions.
- Create Interludes: Allow quiet moments between scenes for players to process changes, strategize, and rewrite their characters if desired.
- Escalate Tension Slowly: Build unease steadily, reserving major distortions for climactic scenes or critical narrative beats.
Key Events

Intersperse events like these throughout the campaign to maintain momentum:
- The First Broadcast: A character hears their name in a commercial or sees an unsettling reflection on TV.
- The Looping Scene: A day or interaction repeats with small, chilling changes each time.
- The Uncanny Anchor: A news anchor delivers a message addressed directly to the players, predicting their actions.
- NPC Vanishing: A well-known NPC disappears, replaced by a scripted replica or a memory gap no one else notices.
- The Static Ritual: TVs across Wavelength broadcast a synchronized, incomprehensible ceremony.
Escalating Exposure Scenes

Use these examples to reflect the growing influence of the Static and its effects on characters.

Minor Exposure
- Hearing one’s own voice on the radio, finishing sentences the player hasn’t said yet.
- A flickering TV shows a childhood memory in grainy black-and-white.
- Static floods a nearby screen when a player approaches.
Moderate Exposure
- A commercial plays, tailored to a player’s fear or desire, offering cryptic advice.
- A player’s reflection on a blank TV begins mimicking their inner thoughts.
- An NPC freezes mid-sentence, then resumes, as if nothing happened.
Major Exposure
- The signal addresses a player directly, calling them by name or revealing secrets.
- Time loops, forcing players to repeat actions while the environment changes around them.
- The characters find themselves in a TV show set, complete with laugh tracks and canned applause.
Sample NPCs

Populate Wavelength with eerie, Lynchian characters who evolve alongside the town. Examples:

Donna Whitfield, the Diner Waitress

Donna is cheerful, chatty, and knows everyone’s name and favorite dish, even visitors who’ve just arrived in Wavelength. She seems to embody small-town hospitality, always smiling and ready with a pot of coffee. As the signal spreads, her behavior grows increasingly unsettling: she begins repeating phrases verbatim from old sitcoms, her expressions freezing into unnatural, static smiles. When players interact with her late at night, she might serve invisible (but real) food or speak in voices that clearly aren’t hers, like a television switching channels mid-sentence.

Mr. Stanton, the Radio Host

With his warm, folksy voice, Mr. Stanton is a constant presence in Wavelength. His AM radio show is equal parts town gossip, classic hits, and quirky commentary, making him beloved by locals. However, as the signal intensifies, his broadcasts take a darker turn. He begins sharing cryptic messages that seem meant specifically for the players, warning them of dangers, revealing their secrets, or hinting at the signal’s origin. Occasionally, his voice is overlaid with static, or the broadcast cuts to chilling advertisements for products that don’t exist. By the time the players uncover more about him, they may realize that no one has ever actually seen Mr. Stanton in person.

Hank and Betty Rosewood, the Retirees

The Rosewoods are Wavelength’s quintessential elderly couple: inseparable, amiable, and endlessly curious about others’ lives. They love hosting impromptu garden parties and sharing stories of their travels (despite never leaving town). As the signal grows, the couple becomes increasingly surreal, sometimes speaking in perfect unison or finishing each other’s sentences with eerie precision. Eventually, the players may discover them standing in their living room, completely motionless, as if frozen mid-conversation. Later still, they might encounter them as life-sized mannequins, their features disturbingly lifelike. If “activated” by the signal, they resume speaking, but their dialogue loops unnervingly, repeating old conversations.

Mrs. Lindley, the School Librarian

Strict but kind-hearted, Mrs. Lindley always seems to be shelving books when the players enter. As the Static grows, the books in her library start whispering secrets, and she begins to speak in riddles, referencing events that haven’t yet occurred, or that never will. Eventually, she seems to vanish, leaving the library eerily empty, yet somehow always open. However, anyone making too much noise or disrespecting the space will be hushed by a disembodied voice, or worse.

Caleb Fischer, the Town Drifter

A quiet man with a perpetual cigarette and a knack for appearing wherever he’s least expected. Caleb knows things he shouldn’t and shares cryptic warnings that feel more like prophecies. As the signal intensifies, Caleb begins to glitch, flickering like an old TV image or speaking in overlapping voices. Eventually he begins to randomly appear and disappear in places, a full staticky flickering image of a man who increasingly ceases to resemble the original Caleb.

Kelly-Ann Fletcher, the Realtor

Bright and relentlessly optimistic, Kelly-Ann insists Wavelength is the perfect place to live. She tirelessly promotes homes, even those now clearly abandoned or inexplicably distorted. Over time, her “For Sale” signs start appearing in impossible places (inside locked rooms, floating in midair), and her smile grows unsettlingly wide, as if stretched beyond human capability. She begins to promise “brand new homes” available in “The Hidden Vistas”, with home viewers vanishing with Ms. Fletcher promising with 100 voices of a choir they’re “forever happy in their forever home”.

Clarifying Endgame Options

The endgame of Wavelength is deliberately ambiguous, allowing the GM and players to shape the resolution collaboratively. Here are four possible outcomes, each with variations, to inspire meaningful choices while maintaining the surreal tone.

Escaping Wavelength

The players discover a way to leave the town, severing their connection to the signal. However, escape comes with heavy consequences:
- Memory Price: To leave, the players must give up key aspects of their identities, such as memories of loved ones, their professions, or even their Natures. They will need to abandon all their loved ones and any chance of recovering their true self.
- Reality Divergence: Upon escaping, players realize the world outside Wavelength is subtly wrong: unrecognizable landmarks, altered history, or loved ones who claim the players never existed.
- Lingering Static: The signal has permanently marked them, manifesting in small, surreal glitches in their lives. They might see brief flashes of Wavelength on their TVs or hear its broadcasts late at night.
Confronting the Signal

The players pursue the source of the signal, uncovering its true nature. This ending offers closure, or deeper mystery. Possible natures of the broadcast to discover and confront:
- Government Experiment: A covert project designed to manipulate reality via media went out of control.
- Sentient Broadcast: The signal is alive, seeking to reshape the world in its image.
- Forbidden Family Ritual: The signal stems from an ancient, familial pact to preserve Wavelength at the cost of its residents’ humanity.
- The Incomprehensible: The signal is a manifestation of reality’s underlying fragility or some unknowable Thing From Beyond, offering no clear answers.
The Choice:
- Shut It Down: Attempt to destroy the signal, but at the cost of their own existence or trapping others in the process.
- Fuse With It: Embrace the signal, merging with it to become its new stewards, spreading its influence further.
- Compromise: Negotiate with the signal to stabilize Wavelength, but allow its continued existence at the edges of reality.
Embracing Transformation

The players give in to the signal, allowing it to fully rewrite them and their environment.
- Sublime Union: The characters become one with the signal, losing their original identities but gaining a surreal, godlike understanding of reality.
- Wavelength Rewritten: The town stabilizes under the signal’s control, transformed into a surreal utopia or dystopia.
- Sacrifice for Others: The players stay behind, fully consumed by the signal, but in doing so, they protect the rest of the world from its spread.
Bodhisattva Vow

The players discover their true original identities and a way to escape Wavelength, but instead, they choose to remain in the town to awaken and free others from the Static’s grip. This choice comes with significant consequences:
- Self-Sacrifice: The players give up their chance to escape, staying behind to help those trapped by the signal. Their own identities and memories begin to erode further as they fight to free others, risking becoming part of the Static forever.
- Transformative Struggle: As they try to awaken others, they face increasing distortions to their reality and personal selves, potentially losing their original essence in the process.
- Lingering Hope: Despite the risks, their actions might lead to moments of clarity or breakthroughs, where some residents momentarily escape the signal’s control, but at the cost of their own stability.
Additional Guidance for GMs

Establish early on what motivates each character to engage with the signal (finding a loved one, escaping Wavelength, or uncovering the truth). Use these motivations to shape the endgame conflicts.

Introduce dilemmas that force players to weigh personal goals against collective outcomes. For example, escaping may require sacrificing an NPC who is too deeply tied to the signal.

Keep the truth about the signal flexible until late in the campaign. Allow players’ theories and actions to shape the final reveal.

Offer answers that resolve immediate questions but introduce new mysteries. For example, players might destroy a device broadcasting the signal but find evidence of a second, more sinister source.

Encourage players to discuss their goals and weigh the consequences of their choices as a group. Use interludes to highlight individual transformations and their impact on the team.

Present multiple paths in the final session, but make it clear that every choice carries irreversible consequences.

The endgame should feel surreal and emotionally charged. Use shifting environments, cryptic NPCs, and nonlinear events to heighten the tension. Allow scenes to loop, merge, or collapse into chaos as the signal reaches its peak, creating a dreamlike sense of inevitability.

The endgame of Wavelength is less about providing closure and more about forcing players to grapple with transformation, sacrifice, and ambiguity. Regardless of the chosen ending, leave enough unanswered questions for players to linger on the experience long after the final scene fades to static.

Crowdfunding completed! Preview version now available.

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January 18, 2025
Mastering Intrigue: Crafting Suspense and Tension in TTRPGs
This entry is part 4 of 7 in the series TTRPG Advice
Handling Intrigue in Tabletop RPGs with Trackers, Tags, and Motif Rolls

Political intrigue in tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) is often one of the most challenging genres to run. Balancing complex relationships, shifting loyalties, and a web of lies and secrets can quickly overwhelm a Game Master (GM), especially if they’re working with intricate mechanics. But by using tools like trackers, reputation tags, and flavored Motif (dice label) rolls, the GM can keep things manageable while maintaining depth. These tools streamline the process, leaving space for creativity, and they can be enhanced by psychological tricks commonly used in carnival performances, sales, and psychic illusions.

Reputation Tags: Simple but Powerful Tools

Reputation tags are one of the easiest and most effective ways to track political relationships and intrigue. These tags act as simple labels tied to key NPCs, factions, or even locations, and they help both players and the GM keep track of how different relationships evolve without the need for complicated stat blocks or excessive notes. They are shorthand reminders of where key figures stand in relation to the players or each other.

Reputation tags can represent a wide range of social dynamics: loyalty, suspicion, enmity, or favor, among others. A few examples of reputation tags might include:
- “Rival (Political Power)” – Signifying a competitor within a power struggle.
- “Debt Owed” – Referring to an NPC or faction that owes a favor or service.
- “Allied (For Now)” – A temporary alliance or fragile partnership.
These dynamic labels can be easily updated based on the evolving narrative, making them extremely valuable in a game of political intrigue where relationships and allegiances are constantly shifting. The simplicity of these tags means that instead of spending valuable time and energy on complex relationship mechanics, you have an intuitive system that quickly tells you the status of key interactions in the campaign.
- Why it works: The appeal of reputation tags lies in their simplicity. You reduce potentially complex webs of relationship mechanics into easy-to-read shorthand that allows everyone at the table to understand the current dynamics at a glance. This allows for quick decisions and seamless interactions between players and NPCs without bogging down the story with unnecessary details.
Trackers: Visualizing Tension and Progress

Trackers are a fantastic tool for visualizing and managing the evolving tension in a game of intrigue. Much like reputation tags, trackers simplify complex, ongoing developments. These can take many forms, whether they are conspiracy clocks showing the progress of a secret plot or trust meters that gauge how much faith an NPC or faction has in the players. Trackers provide a visual cue that lets everyone, especially the GM, easily see how things are progressing, and they keep the tension alive without needing to micromanage every detail.

One of the main benefits of trackers is that they provide an instant visual reference, helping everyone at the table stay focused on key plot points. For example, in a political intrigue campaign, you could have a tracker to show how much time remains before a secret rebellion is discovered, or a trust meter tracking how far players have moved in an NPC’s favor (or how quickly they are losing it).
- Why it works: Trackers take advantage of visual salience, where the physical progression of a tracker visually communicates how much time, tension, or momentum has passed. This makes it easy for players to see how close they are to a major reveal or event, building anticipation. It’s like the psychological tricks used by performers and magicians: by using a simple tool that gradually shifts, you build suspense, and it encourages the players to engage with the plot actively. With this tool, GMs can focus on storytelling and improvisation, without needing to stress about keeping track of every minor detail in the background.
Flavored Motif Rolls: Adding Depth to Simplicity

Flavored Motif rolls (using dice labels to add depth and meaning to rolls) allow GMs to keep the gameplay simple yet rich. In essence, a dice roll is flavored by the narrative context, resulting in more dynamic and meaningful outcomes without needing complex rule systems.

For example, a roll to determine the context for how a character’s persuasion attempt plays out might use dice labels like Reputation (how much the player’s reputation plays a part), Mood (how good, or bad, of a mood the NPC is in), and Politics (how much the political context and considerations play into their response). Or for another intrigue context where the PCs are attempting to covertly spy on a rival group, you might use the flavored roll of Attention (how alert the security staff is), Evidence (how much evidence there is to clean up or left behind), and Luck (how lucky the timing is with how busy or distracted the group is at the time).

In political intrigue, where emotions like suspicion, trust, and fear run high, this system allows you to adapt to the narrative flow and also introduce additional surprise and suspense, while still providing clear outcomes and useful information. When you get into the swing of using flavored rolls, they’re a powerful storytelling and gameplay tool that adds a lot of interesting complexity.
- Why it works: This approach reduces the need for heavy mechanical bookkeeping. It empowers the GM to quickly adapt to the flow of the story without interrupting the narrative for an abundance of rules interpretations. It also keeps the gameplay engaging for players because the outcome is always tied back to the story they’re unfolding. It also keeps things interesting and exciting for everyone at the table as the dice provide interesting twists and add an additional element of surprise.
Psychological Loopholes and the Art of Engagement

Mastering intrigue in TTRPGs isn’t just about keeping track of numbers or relationships! It’s about manipulating attention, controlling decision-making, and keeping your players invested. GMs can draw on psychological tactics commonly used in sales, carnival tricks, and even the subtle art of psychic performers to guide players through complex political webs without overwhelming them. These techniques help players feel both in control and uncertain, driving engagement and immersion in the story. Here’s how:

Misdirection: Directing Attention to Where You Want It

In political intrigue, not everything is as it seems. Misdirection is a powerful tool for controlling player focus and pacing. By subtly introducing minor details that seem innocuous, you can later reveal their importance without forcing it. This technique mirrors the psychological sleight of hand used by magicians and con artists, where the attention is carefully guided to ensure that the big reveal lands with maximum impact.

For example, an NPC might casually mention an upcoming banquet, which is framed like a harmless minor social event. Players, focused on their current objectives, might ignore it only to later discover that the “banquet” was a secret meeting, designed to sway key allies or arrange a political assassination. The players’ minds are tricked into thinking they were “in the know,” but the shift in power is revealed when they least expect it. This builds suspense and surprise, keeping players engaged without overwhelming them with unnecessary details upfront.
- Why it works: Misdirection takes advantage of cognitive bias, specifically confirmation bias, where players expect certain outcomes based on initial information. By hiding key elements in plain sight, the GM ensures that players are both engaged and surprised, while creating a deeper connection with the plot.
Social Proof and Influence: Using NPC Behavior to Guide Player Choices

Humans are highly influenced by the actions and opinions of others, and this principle of social proof can be leveraged in intrigue-heavy games. By using NPCs as subtle influencers, you can guide player decisions without heavy-handed persuasion. In sales psychology, people are more likely to buy a product if others endorse it; in intrigue, players are more likely to support a faction or ally if they see important or friendly NPCs backing them.

For instance, if an influential faction leader speaks highly of a particular political rival, players might feel inclined to either support or investigate that rival, influenced by the implied credibility of the endorsement mixed with the rival angle. Alternatively, a befriended NPC might offer veiled warnings about a faction’s plans, nudging players to proceed cautiously or even actively disrupt the rival’s activities. This approach streamlines a lot of things for players by giving them clear cues about where the political power lies, reducing the cognitive load and letting the plot unfold more naturally.
- Why it works: This taps into the social influence principles of conformity and consensus. Players naturally seek validation from social cues, so using NPCs to “validate” certain actions or allegiances guides the flow of intrigue without requiring long monologues or exposition dumps. It’s the subtle psychological pressure that pushes players into a specific direction, while still allowing them to feel like they made their own choice.
Reciprocity: Leveraging Favors and Debt to Build Tension

Reciprocity is an ancient psychological principle that says people feel an innate obligation to return favors. This can be a key tool in political intrigue, where favors, alliances, and debts form the backbone of player motivations. When players make deals with factions or NPCs, they create expectations of repayment and these obligations can weigh heavily on their decisions later in the game.

If a player helps an influential noble with a personal problem, that noble might offer valuable information or protection in return. But as the story progresses, they continue to be helpful and the trap is revealed. The noble whose helpful “kindness” in retrospect (hindsight is 20/20) proved overly generous for a reason comes to claim their “favor” asking the player to act in a way that conflicts with their current goals or alliances. This introduces a powerful narrative element where the weight of past decisions shapes the player’s future actions, adding a layer of psychological complexity without requiring complicated mechanics or bookkeeping.
- Why it works: The principle of reciprocity plays into social and moral psychology, where people are hardwired to feel indebted after receiving something, whether it’s help, information, or a material gain. This flow is rarely one-sided and the balance can change over time as repayment crosses over into extra favors or a steady trickle of help keeps someone mildly indebted at all times. This creates emotional investment in the narrative, and players are more likely to engage in moral dilemmas, negotiate, or make tough decisions when they feel the weight of past actions pressing on them.
Keeping it Simple, Making it Rich

At the heart of these psychological tricks is simplicity. The most effective intrigue games are often the ones that don’t overload players with too much information at once. By using tools like misdirection, social proof, and reciprocity, you can shape a deeply engaging political narrative without bogging down the game with mechanical complexity. The beauty of these tools lies in their ability to guide players naturally through the story, ensuring they’re emotionally invested and actively engaged with every twist and turn.

When you apply these techniques along with trackers, reputation tags, and flavored Motif rolls using dice labels, you create a dynamic, evolving world where player actions and decisions genuinely matter. They’ll feel like they’re driving the intrigue forward, while you as the GM maintain control over the direction and outcome of the story. And most importantly, these tools make intrigue more accessible for both players and GMs alike, because ultimately it’s all about keeping everyone engaged, focused, and ready for the next big revelation.

The GM’s Role in Intrigue: Balancing Freedom with Structure

Reputation tags and flavored Motif rolls give GMs the flexibility to focus on the narrative, not mechanics. These tools streamline the complexities of political intrigue, letting the GM adapt to player actions and keep the story moving without constantly referencing rulebooks.

By simplifying relationships with reputation tags and maintaining clarity through trackers, GMs can focus on the psychological aspects of intrigue. All-flavor Motif rolls using dice labels provide a way to introduce flexibility, complexity, and additional surprise in a simple way. Techniques like misdirection guide players’ attention, while reciprocity and social proof help drive decisions and alliances. This balance of freedom and structure creates space for unexpected plot twists (alliances, betrayals, and power struggles) without losing track of the bigger picture. The key is to embrace simplicity, which lets players’ decisions and the drama unfold naturally.

As a GM, the key to running political intrigue lies in trusting this approach’s simplicity. By offering players the freedom to make decisions without overwhelming them with excessive detail, you create space for unexpected alliances, betrayals, and power struggles to unfold naturally.

Keeping It Engaging for Players: The Art of Guidance

With these tools and psychological techniques, you can navigate your players through the labyrinth of political intrigue without forcing them down a rigid path. Just as carnival performers weave a mesmerizing spectacle, you can expertly misdirect and intrigue your players, creating a web of mystery and power plays they’ll eagerly unravel.

Political intrigue may seem daunting, but when you combine the simplicity of reputation tags, trackers, and psychological cues, you can craft a compelling narrative that feels natural and engaging. Adding in the Motif dice labels approach provides an easy to use tool that complements that simplicity with suspenseful uncertainty and complex information. These systems take the complexity out of running the game, leaving room for twists, surprises, and, most importantly, player agency. The players aren’t just along for the ride; they’re co-authors of the unfolding drama, shaping the narrative alongside you.

So, how do you keep intrigue engaging without overwhelming your players? What are some of the trickier pitfalls to avoid in this kind of storytelling? And, crucially, how can you make sure everyone at the table feels involved in the intrigue, not just the GM? What psychological tricks have you found most useful in your own games? Are there any common traps you’ve fallen into when running intrigue-heavy campaigns?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on these ideas. Let’s dive into the conversation and share how we can make intrigue not just manageable, but unforgettable. Comment below or come shout at Rev about it on Bluesky.

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December 24, 2024
Mastering the Art of Illusion: GM & Play Tips for Prophecies
This entry is part 5 of 7 in the series TTRPG Advice
Creating the Illusion of Omniscience and Prophecy

In the world of tabletop role-playing games, creating the illusion of omniscience or crafting seemingly accurate predictions can elevate the storytelling experience. But it’s also something a lot of players and GMs struggle with! Effectively conveying that aura of knowledge or creating a convincing prophecy can seem impossible! But there’s a lot of established methods out there that can help make it easier.

Whether you’re a GM weaving cryptic prophecies into your world or a player projecting the aura of a well-informed sage, psychological techniques like cold reading, symbolic ambiguity, and selective patterning can be powerful tools. This guide explores how these methods drawn from the practices of fortune-tellers, Nostradamus, and puzzle-makers can be adapted to enrich TTRPGs.

Crafting Seemingly Accurate Prophecies

Prophecies are a storytelling staple, especially in fantasy and science fiction. They add intrigue, guide narrative choices, and immerse players in the mystery of an unfolding world. Crafting effective prophecies, however, demands a nuanced approach, one that balances ambiguity with specificity. Drawing from the techniques of Nostradamus, psychic entertainment, and carnival routines, you can create prophecies that feel both enigmatic and eerily accurate. Here’s how:

Use Symbolic Ambiguity

Symbols are the lifeblood of prophecies. Vague yet evocative phrases like “a crimson tide” or “the lion’s fall” paint vivid mental images without locking you into a single interpretation. This deliberate vagueness mirrors the methods used by psychic performers, who rely on open-ended language to let the audience fill in the blanks with their own context.
- GM Tip: Anchor your symbols to the themes of your campaign. For example, in a political intrigue setting, “the broken crown” might allude to a dethroned monarch, the collapse of royal influence, or even a disgraced prince. Leave the interpretation flexible for players to explore.
Incorporate Open-Ended Timelines

Avoid constraining your prophecies with specific dates or conditions. Instead, follow the lead of Nostradamus and carnival soothsayers, who use broad, poetic markers like “when the moons align” or “in the age of withered trees”. This ensures the prophecy remains adaptable, regardless of how the players alter the storyline.
- Player Tip: As a character delivering a prophecy, use mystical or symbolic time markers that enhance the sense of mystery. Phrases like “when the flame meets the ocean’s edge” can be interpreted in myriad ways, from the tide washing over a bonfire to the Sun setting at dusk, keeping the story flexible while maintaining immersion.
Anchor with Universal Themes

Prophecies resonate most when they speak to universal human experiences: love, betrayal, triumph, despair. Nostradamus often crafted predictions around these timeless themes, making them relatable across generations. Similarly, carnival fortune-tellers focus on broad, shared fears or desires to make their readings compelling.
- GM Tip: Tie prophecies to the core emotional stakes of your story. If your campaign centers on a brewing war, a prophecy about “kin turned foe beneath the burning sky” can both elevate the tension and spark speculation.
- Player Tip: When portraying a prophetic character, blend universal themes with personal flair. For instance, “When steel sings its song, the betrayed will rise” hints at combat, revenge, or redemption, while leaving room for interpretation.
Layer Predictions with Dual Meanings

The most compelling prophecies allow for multiple interpretations, creating layers of meaning that reveal themselves over time. This technique, used by Nostradamus and modern psychics alike, ensures the prophecy feels dynamic and adaptable to unfolding events.
- GM Tip: Write predictions that can be read in several ways. For example, “the rising sun extinguished by shadow” could refer to an empire’s collapse, an eclipse, or even a main character’s internal struggles. Let players’ actions and interpretations shape how the prophecy manifests in the story.
- Player Tip: Embrace the duality of prophecy when delivering one. Infuse your words with dramatic weight and a hint of ambiguity. This lets other players speculate, debate, and ultimately influence how the prophecy integrates into the narrative.
Encouraging Player Engagement

A great prophecy isn’t just a riddle for players to solve, it’s a narrative tool that drives decision-making and sparks creativity. Encourage players to interpret, discuss, and act on the prophecy’s meaning. They more they look to fit the prophecy to events and interpret, the more they will see. We’re naturally pattern-finding creatures, even when they don’t actually intentionally exist! (Hello, Man in the Moon!) Whether they treat it as a divine roadmap, a cryptic warning, or a manipulative ploy, their engagement brings the prophecy to life.

Projecting the Appearance of Knowledge

Both GMs and players can employ techniques from cold reading, psychic routines, and even the methods of charlatans to project the illusion of insight. These methods are especially useful for characters claiming supernatural foresight, divine knowledge, or advanced intellect. By mastering these techniques, you can create memorable interactions that leave players wondering whether their characters truly encountered someone with extraordinary knowledge or just someone skilled in persuasion and presentation.

Start with Barnum Statements

Barnum statements are vague, universally applicable phrases designed to feel personally significant. Scammers and performers alike often rely on these to build an initial sense of credibility, tapping into the natural tendency of people to interpret general statements in ways that feel specific to their own experiences. Examples include:
- “You’ve faced hardship recently, but your resilience has carried you through.”
- “Someone close to you has been withholding the truth, but their intentions may not be malicious.”
Using qualifiers like “sometimes” or “in part” to allow partial matches, mixing positive and negative statements, and intentional gaps (like jumping to a conclusion, but on purpose to leave an opening for interpretation) are also all part these Barnum techniques. The overall idea is to prime the audience to find similarities or meanings between the lines and in partial fits, while still conveying confidence and surety.
- Player Tip: As a “seer” or “oracle” character, use these statements to captivate others and draw them into your narrative. Pay attention to how other players react—if someone leans into the idea, subtly shift your focus to them, building on their responses to create an even stronger illusion of knowledge.
- GM Tip: Use Barnum statements when introducing enigmatic NPCs. For instance, a village mystic might say, “I see loss in your past and a great decision in your future,” sparking intrigue while leaving the specifics open-ended.
Apply the Shotgunning Technique

Shotgunning involves presenting multiple possibilities in rapid succession, ensuring that at least one will resonate with the audience. This technique mimics how fraudsters appear to “hit the mark” while allowing flexibility to adapt their narrative. Example:
- “I sense danger to the north… no, wait, it could be to the east… bandits perhaps? Or perhaps something darker, like a brewing war.”
This can be easily overdone and render an attempted show of insight or prophecy into meaningless mush. Stick to just a couple of possibilities for each point and make them closely related in fact or theme. Also mix in other techniques to space out the shotgunning to prevent it from sounding repetitive or obvious.
- Player Tip: Use this technique to portray characters who seem to have access to vast but imprecise information. A character claiming divine visions might rattle off possibilities, appearing overwhelmed by their influx of knowledge.
- GM Tip: When NPCs employ this approach, they can appear omniscient or deeply attuned to the world’s mysteries, even if they’re simply making educated guesses based on campaign details.
Use Pacing and Leading

Pacing and leading involve making general observations (pacing) and gradually steering the conversation toward more specific predictions or insights (leading). Entertainment psychics use this to build trust and manipulate interactions, responding dynamically to their audience’s reactions.
- Example: Start with a broad statement like, “Your path has been fraught with challenges,” and gauge the player’s response. If they mention a recent in-game event, build on that thread: “Yes, I see the shadow of betrayal… it grows darker still.”
- GM Tip: When portraying NPCs with “insight,” carefully observe player reactions to adjust your narrative. This creates a feedback loop where the players unknowingly shape the illusion of the NPC’s knowledge.
Leverage Archetypes and Familiar Motifs

Archetypes and motifs (storms, wolves, flames, crossroads) are culturally and narratively rich symbols that feel significant and profound. Performers and would-be prophets use these universal touchstones to give their statements weight and relatability.
- Player Tip: As a prophetic character, invoke archetypes to cloak your statements in mystery. Instead of saying, “Danger is ahead,” try, “Beware the howling wind that carries whispers of ruin.”
- GM Tip: Integrate archetypes into NPCs’ warnings or visions. For example, an oracle might speak of “the serpent devouring its own tail,” suggesting cyclical destruction, betrayal, or renewal. These symbols leave room for interpretation and encourage players to speculate.
Create an Aura of Authority

Charlatans and scammers excel at projecting confidence and authority, making people more likely to believe their claims. This is accomplished through a combination of body language, tone, and contextual cues:
- Confidence: Speak with unwavering conviction, even when improvising. Players will be more inclined to take vague or ambiguous statements seriously if they’re delivered confidently.
- Contextual Setup: Frame the prophecy or insight with a ritual, such as reading bones, gazing into a crystal ball, or communing with unseen forces. These theatrics distract from the vagueness of the information and add an air of authenticity.
- Authority by Association: Link your statements to established in-game lore, divine entities, or historical events. For instance, an NPC might say, “The stars whisper the same warning they gave before the Great Calamity.”
Think about authority cues in popular fiction and your everyday life. There are various symbols, routines, and appearances to authority. Those in a position of expertise or authority also tend to speak in certain ways and certain patterns. Observing these can help inform how to convey that aura.
- GM Tip: Use subtle environmental details to enhance the illusion of authority. An NPC seer living in a crumbling tower surrounded by strange relics will seem more credible than one in a simple cottage.
- Player Tip: As a prophetic character, adopt a commanding presence. Small details like deliberate gestures, a calm demeanor, or enigmatic smiles can make even improvised predictions feel planned and credible.
Integrate Into Gameplay

Encouraging the illusion of knowledge isn’t just about performance. It’s a tool for enhancing gameplay! Players might act on prophecies, even if they’re vague or deliberately misleading, creating story opportunities and unexpected consequences. Similarly, NPCs who appear insightful can guide, deceive, or challenge players in ways that deepen the narrative.

By applying these techniques, both GMs and players can craft richer, more immersive interactions, building a sense of wonder, mystery, and intrigue that keeps everyone engaged.

Brief Aside: Psychology of Astrology and Horoscopes

Astrology and horoscopes are prime examples of how these psychological principles can create the illusion of personal insight. While horoscopes are often vague, they rely on certain techniques to convince readers that they are accurate and relevant to their lives. This section explores how these methods work without any mention of spiritual or metaphysical beliefs.

The Barnum Effect: One of the most powerful psychological tricks used in astrology is the Barnum effect, a phenomenon where people believe vague, general statements about themselves are highly accurate. Statements like “You have a great deal of unused potential” or “You sometimes doubt yourself” are applicable to nearly everyone, yet they create a sense of personal relevance. By including universally true statements that feel tailored, astrologers make readers believe they’re gaining deep insight into their lives.

Vagueness and Ambiguity: Horoscopes are often worded in ways that make them applicable to a wide range of situations. Phrases like “A big change is coming your way” or “Someone close to you may need your help” can be interpreted in countless ways, making them feel true regardless of what actually happens. This ambiguity allows people to project their own experiences and expectations onto the reading, reinforcing the illusion that the horoscope was accurate and specific.

Confirmation Bias: People tend to remember the hits and forget the misses, which plays into the way horoscopes seem to predict the future. If a horoscope includes a vague statement like “You will face a challenging decision this week,” and the reader happens to face a decision, they’ll likely credit the horoscope for being accurate. On the other hand, if the prediction doesn’t apply, it’s quickly forgotten or dismissed as irrelevant. This tendency to seek and remember confirming evidence is called confirmation bias.

Personalization Through Language: Many horoscopes use language that feels intimate or personal, such as addressing the reader directly with “you” or making reference to specific personality traits. This creates a feeling of a one-on-one interaction, making it easier for the reader to believe the message is specifically meant for them. The more personalized the language, the more the reader will feel that the horoscope was meant to guide them.

These psychological tricks help make astrology and horoscopes seem accurate and applicable to the individual, even when the information is general and could apply to anyone. Understanding these techniques can also enhance a GM’s ability to craft prophecies, riddles, and other narrative elements that engage and convince players of their relevance, all while maintaining an air of mystery and intrigue.

Practical Example: Crafting a Prophecy with Depth

Prophecy: “When the silver tower crumbles beneath the weight of the unseen hand, the sun shall bleed black, and the beast will be crowned in iron.”

Techniques in Use

Symbolic Ambiguity
- Silver tower: This could represent an actual building, a powerful entity, or a place of authority. Its destruction is vague enough to have many interpretations.
- Unseen hand: Could refer to hidden political forces, magical influence, or an internal betrayal, leaving room for various explanations.
- Sun shall bleed black: This suggests an ominous event, but doesn’t specify whether it’s a literal eclipse, a metaphor for corruption, or a future plague.
Effect: The prophecy gives just enough detail for players to start theorizing. It makes the prophecy feel ominous, but flexible, without locking them into one fixed outcome.

Shotgunning

The oracle might add more possibilities, as they reflect on their own prophecy:
- “The silver tower could fall because of a magical war, a betrayal, or even an internal collapse.”
- “The unseen hand… could be a sorcerer, or perhaps a secret faction pulling the strings.”
- “The black sun may herald death, or a great transformation… what if it’s not an eclipse at all, but something far worse?”
Effect: By offering multiple interpretations in rapid succession, the GM can not only leverage the technique but also make the experience feel like the oracle is drawing on real-time reflection and insights. The ambiguity heightens intrigue and fuels player curiosity.

Pacing and Leading

If players start to fixate on a “dark sorcerer” interpretation of the prophecy, the GM can adapt and have the clairvoyant respond:
- “The unseen hand is not what you think… it seems to come from a place you cannot see.” This deepens the mystery and encourages the players to think about the prophecy more deeply.
- “You’re closer than you realize, the silver tower might already be crumbling under its own weight.” This encourages that line of thinking, while leaving some room for further interpretation and adding dramatic pressure.
Effect: The GM reads the players’ interest and adjusts to reinforce or redirect their thoughts, subtly guiding them while keeping the feeling of mystery intact.

Overview

This prophecy uses ambiguity and layered meanings to keep players engaged and guessing. The symbols are flexible, so players are drawn into interpreting them based on their own actions and knowledge, which makes the prophecy feel alive and integrated into the story. By using shotgunning and pacing techniques, the GM has room to adapt and build a growing mystery without ever fully explaining it upfront. This is how you craft a prophecy that feels like it has weight, complexity, and relevance to your campaign.

Bringing Prophecies to Life

By adapting techniques from cold reading, symbolic ambiguity, and human psychology, GMs and players can elevate their storytelling and puzzle-solving to new heights. These methods don’t just create the illusion of insight, they deepen the narrative, making every interaction, prophecy, and riddle feel weightier and more meaningful. The blending of these techniques adds layers of mystery and intrigue, creating a dynamic and immersive experience that lingers long after the game ends.

Whether you’re crafting a cryptic prophecy, dazzling your party with riddles, or portraying a character who seems to possess uncanny foresight, these approaches offer a powerful toolkit to enhance your game. Through symbolic language, careful pacing, and a touch of psychological insight, you can shape the story in ways that feel personal, tailored, and unpredictable, while still maintaining a sense of structure.

What techniques have you found most effective in crafting prophecies, riddles, or puzzles in your games? Do you prefer creating mysteries that leave room for player interpretation, or do you enjoy revealing answers in surprising ways? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below! Or come scream at Rev on Bluesky about it. Let’s explore these methods together and keep the conversation going!

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December 22, 2024