This is inspired by Pundit's I Am Your Father Thread (http://www.therpgsite.com/showthread.php?t=33758). I'm interested in the times dramatic twists and reveals went wrong (or even just developments you thought were awesome fell flat on their face). My biggie was in a vampire hunting campaign where the party had been taken under the wing of a legendary Vampire Hunter (basically a Peter Cushing rip-off) who betrayed them at the last minute for no apparent or believable reason because I thought it was a good twist. This was in high school and my players almost immediately rebelled, sensing BS. And they were right to do so. I never really thought through the background of it. I just decided he wants to give the PCs up to the evil vampire for some reason. There were no hints to indicate the deception earlier in the campaign (because I made the decision at the last minute before that session, probably after watching a movie or reading a book with a moment of betrayal in it). I went in thinking my players were going to be wowed by the betrayal and got one of the most sour responses I've ever seen as a GM.

I think this indicates the danger of retconning. If you had planned it from the start I suspect there would have been enough hints that the players would have been psychologically prepared, even though surprised. Also you did violence to the characterisation of a presumably well-liked character; people hate it when TV/film/comic writers do this, and it's even more personal with RPGs.

While I've been traumatised in-character by dramatic reveals a few times, which can feel very personal in the more immersive games, I don't think I've ever seen a GM really screw up like this, other than in failing to predict & plan for our in-character reaction to stuff ("Screw the world, I want to get off!"). I've done two 'I am your father!' and 'He is your father!' reveals in recent years, which I think were received ok. Oh, there was the Gencon All Flesh Must Be Eaten game where it was revealed we were already all dead & in hell at the start, doomed to repeat the same cycle of events (getting eaten by zombies) for all eternity. It made the game seem a bit pointless.

I left a Star Wars game once, for RL reasons, only to return a few months later. The GM had my character fake his death, setting him up for a dramatic return (as a quasi-villain) further down the line. When he did return, people went berserk.

Quote from: S'mon;872961I think this indicates the danger of retconning. If you had planned it from the start I suspect there would have been enough hints that the players would have been psychologically prepared, even though surprised. Also you did violence to the characterisation of a presumably well-liked character; people hate it when TV/film/comic writers do this, and it's even more personal with RPGs.

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Definitely retconning was a major issue. Also just having no real actual reason for it as well. There just wasn't a sound justification.

Quote from: The Butcher;872964I left a Star Wars game once, for RL reasons, only to return a few months later. The GM had my character fake his death, setting him up for a dramatic return (as a quasi-villain) further down the line. When he did return, people went berserk.

In a good or bad way?

Quote from: mAcular Chaotic;873011In a good or bad way?

There's a "good" way to go berserk? You English speakers and your fucking English.

Quote from: The Butcher;873028There's a "good" way to go berserk? You English speakers and your fucking English.

You know, like Beatlemania.

Quote from: The Butcher;872964I left a Star Wars game once, for RL reasons, only to return a few months later. The GM had my character fake his death, setting him up for a dramatic return (as a quasi-villain) further down the line. When he did return, people went berserk.

It's more cool when PCs stay dead.

I think the main reason a dramatic reveal would go bad is if it makes (or appears to make) the things that the PCs have done be meaningless.

If your dramatic reveal runs over everything the PCs have been doing AND has no good reason other than "DRAMA!" then it's almost doomed to have a negative reaction.