Hidden Gaming
So what is my hidden gaming method all about. Well if you have played in any of my games you know I am good at withholding a lot of info about characters and surroundings. I will have you make blind rolls, roll for your character so you have no idea why I am even rolling (or asking you to roll), or refrain from telling you about bonuses or penalties that your character would have no idea that may be present.
The reason I do this is simple, “real life.” In our own world none of us have a strength score tattooed on our forehead. When we get sick we don’t have a readout on our body telling us how much constitution we are down due to the illness. All we have is words that we can convey as to how we are feeling to someone else, and to ourselves all we have is how we feel. When we are healing from wounds eventually as we get close to full recovery we may actually feel great, but still be less than one hundred percent. You hear people say things like, well I think I am good enough to finish the game coach. Do they always know how terrible they have been injured? No in fact often times we are worse off or better than we thought after being examined by a doctor or nurse. This is the key to how I think while running my games.
If you wish to discuss these attributes without referring to numbers on a character sheet, so Long as its role-played that is ok. Saying stuff like I’m stronger than the Ave person would be acceptable, but stating that you have a Strength of 14 would not.
In a game it is impossible for me to hide everything away from players. Players should also be hiding these same things from other players. You will know the reason for most rolls you make, and other things you may know through keeping up to date on things as they occur. I just don’t want anyone to get upset when I withhold information from a player or request that a player withhold information. If I am keeping something from you about your character it is because I want to keep you guessing. Please don’t take it personally.
