So it’s no secret that Raal is a plant. He’s my little buddy that’s there to help out when the players need a hint or they want to be able to ask something in character instead of having to ask the DM. So he plays this roll in our podcast, but did you know that you can be the plant in your game?
I don’t mean that if you’re DM you can put in a plant either. You the player can be working for the DM outside the knowledge of the rest of the party. I’ve seen this done two ways and both seem to work well although one is easier than the other.
Just be helpful
The first way to act as the secret agent of the DM was introduced to me by everyone’s favorite Brothers the McElroys. At the time it was so revolutionary to me that it blew my mind and changed up the whole dynamic of how I play RPGs, and I’m a way better player for it.
Someone asked Taco in The The Adventure Zone Zone
“Aren’t you excited when you level up and get new spells to see what new ways you can screw up the DM?”
His response, “Why would I do that? We’re all here to have a good time and tell a fun story.”
Perfect answer. You are not players vs dungeon master in DND. Unless you want to be which is fine, but I feel like most of us out there get caught up in the confrontation with the DM rather than focusing on the story and what would be the most fun.
So if you want to be the secret agent of the DM, focus on doing things that will set up good story moments. Help them out by trying to resolve things that could cause problems. Guide the players onto the rails rather than trying to break off in a totally random direction to see what the DM does. If you change up your approach to the game and if you’re like me you’ll find everyone has a better time.
TLDR: Play your character in a way that supports the DM’s story.
Actually be a plant
So I’ve never done this in any of my games where I’m a player but I’ve done it in our family game with Raal and later Dargon/Brandon. I’ve also seen it done in our local game with friends and it’s lead to some of the most high pressure high stakes DND I’ve ever played in. We will be talking about the standoff in the church between the cleric, Dhurlik and fallen Paladin, Baxtrum for years if not forever.
No spoilers about what Dargon knows or doesn’t know in our family game so I’ll focus on Dhurlik and Baxtrum for this one.
Baxtrum’s player completely unknown to the rest of us went to the DM of our local game and asked to do some crazy stuff. Over the course of several games probably 20 hrs of play he started to twist a little more and more malevolent. He’d never been a pure and holy paladin, but things were weird. He couldn’t sleep, his behavior was getting somewhat erratic and towards the end he punished any minor law infraction with severe beatings or death by beheading.
The rest of the players were pretty ‘good’ characters so this was concerning. Resulting in lots of butting heads and getting in the way. Dhurlik, frequently interposed himself between Baxtrum and the victims of his extremely harsh punishments. Baxtrum’s player, I assume, then went to the DM again outside the game and started enlisting the town soldiers to his side. The town’s guards (the police force) stayed loyal to the rest of the party as they were not such big fans of the harshness and militaristic approach Baxtrum took.
So the game continued until suddenly the town is occupied by it’s own military and no one feels safe to leave their homes since J-walking could get you beheaded. Naturally the head butting continued as Baxtrum came to the church to retrieve his possessions as he’d be moving into the military barracks. Baxtrum brought with him a squad of 20 soldiers to the church. The church which was filled with towns folk and loyal guards seeking refuge and a safe place to plan what to do next. There hadn’t been any time to plan yet so when Baxtrum showed up tensions ran high. Two soldiers were sent to collect equipment from Baxtrum’s old room while glances were thrown like daggers.
These glances were not fictional either. The players in the game had no idea how far things could go. No one knew who could be trusted anymore and all it would take to have started a PVP battle to the death was any one of us blinking funny.
That night was so good. It was too late by the time I realized what was going on. I’d spent the whole night testing the limits of how far the plotting had gone and at every turn I’d already been outmaneuvered. The church was the last safe space and suddenly Baxtrum shows up brazenly standing on the holy ground he’d fallen from.
TLDR: Talk with your DM about using your character with a secret sub plot to do something extra. Perhaps even arrange 1 on 1 sessions to play out how things are going in the background. Don’t expect them to say yes to all your ideas though. It’s up to them if they want or can work your idea into the story.