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Beelzebub1111
2009-12-17, 06:22 PM
How do you turn your players against each other? Just tips for any game, really. D&D, Mutants and Masterminds, Vampire...Monopoly.

I'm just looking for all around tips.

Surgo
2009-12-17, 06:23 PM
How do you turn any human against another human? Give one guy something and don't give it to the other guy, or give the other guy something obviously inferior.

Twilight Jack
2009-12-17, 06:28 PM
They're called paranoia notes for a reason. :smallwink:

Honestly, the best way to get this going is to ensure early on that the characters have been created with motivations that go beyond killing things and taking their stuff. If the characters have motivations, then those motivations can be subtly brought into conflict.

I wasn't kidding about the paranoia notes. Once you've determined how those motivations conflict, start using notes to inform different players of things of which their characters should be aware. Inform the players that the notes are for their eyes only.

By the by, you shouldn't be angling to bring your PCs into conflict with one another unless you're dealing with a fairly mature group who can separate the game from real life. Egos get bruised and feelings get hurt in these sorts of games.

Temet Nosce
2009-12-17, 06:38 PM
How do you turn your players against each other? Just tips for any game, really. D&D, Mutants and Masterminds, Vampire...Monopoly.

I'm just looking for all around tips.

In Paranoia? ... Friend computer disapproves of your disloyal implication that his troubleshooters would refuse to turn in commie mutant traitors.

Otherwise, work to bring their goals into conflict and let them discover false or carefully edited information about their compatriots.

Gamerlord
2009-12-17, 06:44 PM
Pass a ton of notes to one dude, while largely not giving any to another dude, he gets suspicious, and pretty soon, chaos ensues once he starts detonating dynamite on horse drawn-carriages that PC 1 is on.

infinitypanda
2009-12-17, 06:55 PM
How do you turn your players against each other? Just tips for any game, really. D&D, Mutants and Masterminds, Vampire...Monopoly.

I'm just looking for all around tips.

Knowledge of old reckoning games is treason, citizen.

Ah, never underestimate the power of Paranoia to derail threads.

Kaun
2009-12-17, 07:23 PM
The players have been tasked with finding item "X" and returning it to the Bat Cave.

Secret player missions:

Player 1 - Destroy the item before it gets back to the Bat Cave.

Player 2 - Get item to a diffrent location.

Player 3 - Replace item with a copy.

Player 4 - Ensure the party dosen't touch the item with bare skin.

and so on and so on.

BRC
2009-12-17, 07:27 PM
Players will do what they feel benefits them the most. Usually, this is to work together and achieve a goal. In order to turn them against one another, you must convince them that they will benefit more from backstabbing their team than from working together. You also need to convince them that they can get away with it.
And, since most parties like each other, you'll need to overcome their natural reluctance to stab somebody they like in the back.

Kurald Galain
2009-12-17, 08:22 PM
Player A gets a password from his secret society that he has to speak to an unknown contact to receive an item.

Player B gets a password from his secret society that he has to speak before giving vital information to an unknown contact.

Player C gets a password from his secret society that indicates the person he has to terminate.

By some strange coincidence (this begin Paranoia, and all that) all passwords are the same. Hilarity ensues.

ericgrau
2009-12-17, 08:26 PM
In Paranoia? ... Friend computer disapproves of your disloyal implication that his troubleshooters would refuse to turn in commie mutant traitors.

Otherwise, work to bring their goals into conflict and let them discover false or carefully edited information about their compatriots.

Indeed, the thought that troubleshooters would ever turn against eachother in hopes of promotion is preposterous. Of course if a commie mutant traitor is among your ranks, your loyalty to friend computer must be greater and you shall turn him in for a just reward.

Yeah, just play a few sessions of the game of the same name. Then you'll get the hang of it.

Rainbownaga
2009-12-17, 09:06 PM
The cool part is, once you generate the mindset among your players, you can give them all the same top secret mission, and they will still sabotage each other trying to complete it.