Game Masters everywhere often agree on one thing: players metagame, even if subconsciously. Because of this it can sometimes be hard to get players to try certain paths, enter portals or take new risks. More experienced players tend to be guilty of this whereas brand new players are not. Sometimes the trick to getting more adventurous characters is to use players’ own metagaming outlook to trick them into taking a new chance or trying a new thing. In essence you must out-meta the metagame.
This encounter is one of those pieces of trickery, and all through the use of a classic — the secret note. This encounter requires a little bit of preparation ahead of time. You need to prepare two stacks of notes, one blank and one prewritten, all on identical paper. They need to be kept hidden, perhaps behind your screen or in a box or other container so players have no foreknowledge. If you play online, you can create these notes digitally and send them as a text or direct message, or through your virtual tabletop of choice.
Each card in one stack has the same message. The other stack is blank. Both sets of notes should be individually folded up so no content can be seen. When you produce these notes for the players, it’s important no one sees they come from two different piles. A good poker face helps here.
Encounter Type: Puzzle
Map: Mirrors room
Lighting: None (single room encounter.)
System: 5E
Length: One shot
Installation Type: Addon
License: Roll20 End User License Agreement
(Personal Use Only, Do Not Distribute)