Player traitors...

I've seen them talked about on other threads--characters that want to betray the party etc. What if you're a GM (like me) that wants to pick a player character to betray the party.

Right now, our party consists of (all pathfinder classes)

Lawful Good Githzerai Monk
Lawful Neutral Half Orc Inquisitor
Lawful Neutral Elf Druid
Chaotic Neutral Half Elf Rogue/Wiz
Chaotic Good Gnome Sorcerer
Neutral Good Human Warlord (3rd party class)

I know, on Paper, the most likely candidates are the Rogue/Wiz and the Gnome Sorcerer--BUT is it even viable to ask a player to betray the rest of the party members?

If I do this, when the other players find out they've been betrayed, they'll want to kill the character (understandably), but how will this effect table dynamics and party dynamics after the fact. I'll only ever be able to do this once, but it seems like it will be undeniably fun if it goes over well. Also, what if I ask a player and they refuse? Then what? They know that *someone* *might* try to betray the party...NPCs doing it has been done so often that it's old had, but they won't suspect it from their own ranks.

If this has been covered elsewhere, let me know, and I'll put all relevant information in the appropriate forum.

That completely depends on the group. If it's something your group is good with, then go for it. Just remember to give them reasons why they're betraying the group (especially the good characters).

I've been the person betraying the group before, and it was fun. But I'd never do it with my current group because I really don't think it would go over well.

Mostly, you have to really, really know your group to consider this. Because if they're not cool with the idea and you do it anyway, you're going to have a crap ton of hurt feelings.

I'd also add that it depends on how long the game has been going on and how the treason aspect is handled. If it's session 2 and the Monk becomes the traitor, it's easier to explain than if it's session 30 and the monk becomes the traitor.

The big thing to consider is how big a deal the treason is going to be, too. If your traitor is sneaky enough, it's very possible for them to trigger a TPK.

Send an email to each person individually explaining that you need someone to betray the party. Send it late at night when they aren't up or on the internet. Then after a few hours, send another email that says "Nevermind, I found someone. Please don't tell anyone." Then, DON'T have any betrayal. Let the thought that there is a betrayal fester and they'll end up screwing themselves.

I actually thought about doing this more than getting someone to actually betray the group...

I don't mind giving the group a Battlestar Galactica board game or a Shadows Over Camelot feel...We're into the 8th session, and this is the same game I mentioned earlier about doing an end of the world/Gith takeover of the campaign, and I plan on doing this slowly over time, but having an internal agent for the Gith would be cool...but maybe to get the political intrigue feel, I could go with what Cit. Joe said to get the same feel.

That is one of the most evil sick and twisted things iv'e heard of in years!!!!


I LOVE IT!!!!

Hats off to the chap!

Nice one, Joe!

Issue.

If the game thus far has had the structure (and likely implicit social contract) of, "We are a team. We work together," then this flat won't work, and is likely to be taken as a player betrayal rather than a character betrayal. The fact that you entitled the thread, "traitorous players," implies this heavily, making it a Bad Idea.

If the game is about characters with their own varied and nuanced personal agendas, from which "betrayal" of varying degrees can crop up? Now you're talking something more reasonable. However... you really haven't given us any information to work with, there.

The game running is a variation of the Pathfinder Kingmaker game. The players are the rulers of the Kingdom. Them, along with the NPC rulers make up the entire infrastructure of the kingdom in question.


Lawful Good Githzerai Monk (Chancellor)
Lawful Neutral Half Orc Inquisitor (Royal Assassin)
Lawful Neutral Elf Druid (Marshal of the Wilds)
Chaotic Neutral Half Elf Rogue/Wiz (Spymaster)
Chaotic Good Gnome Sorcerer (Magister)
Neutral Good Human Warlord (3rd party class) (Ruler of the Kingdom)

The last session we played, they went to adventure off into the wilderness, when they came back, there was a bard in the city center rousing crowds into mobs against the rulers of the kingdom. They are now considering the fact that there may be someone in their midst working against the kingdom in general. I thought it would be cool if they didn't see the betrayal coming from an NPC, but from a PC.

That said, if the consensus is this betrayal will cause the game to fall apart, that's not something I want to do...

Some games are conducive to serious intra-party strife. Others are not. (Hint: If you think the natural result of such strife is death, you're probably quite strongly in the "not.")

The social dynamics of Kingmaker (and D&D in general) don't handle this sort of thing well.