A Mysterious World (episode 84)

On the Shoulders of Dwarves

## On the nature of Mysteries The “Known Unknowns” (00:50) The nature of mystery explained by United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld concept of the “[known unknowns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_are_known_knowns)”. The known Unknowns are what creates a sense of Mystery. For example the monsters in the dungeons. We know there are monsters & traps but their nature is unknown to us. ## In world building: **Open spaces** (02:10) Creating a sense of mystery gives the GM room to add things later, keep something up her sleeve or to postpone important decisions. Because it gives players something to explore, a known unknown. **Slow reveal** - In order to create a sense of mystery - take something unknown and shine a light on it. For running mystery plots, see also [Episode 37 - mystery plots](https://dwarves.podiant.co/e/mystery-plots-episode-37-368b71569c7f92/) **What will be our obstacles?** (04:40) What lies behind the next door, how to open this portal, what will sprint this trap. **Separate [Ontology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ontology) from [Epistemology](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology)** (05:39) **Present sensory information** - not “facts”, so everything is filtered through perception (06:40) **Perception** - Show that no one has absolute knowledge, including NPCs. Everyone can be wrong (08:23) **The speed of slow** - Keep in-world information moving at the speed of slow (09:50) **Magical information** - Keep magical information and communication vague (11:30) (unlike what the [Sending](https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Sending#content) spell does) Eran forgetting how the “[Augury](https://roll20.net/compendium/dnd5e/Augury#content)” spell is called ;-) (13:50) **Allow different, mutually conflicting, possibilities** (14:10) - Allow for different interpretations, different causes, because if there’s more than one answer, it’s possible that none of the current explanations are true **Absolute truths** (17:03) - In fiction we can have absolute truths, so It is very tempting to have one single absolute truth. Because in the confines of a game we can have such a thing. And in reality most people will agree that you cannot have such a thing. Differentiate between what is true in the game world and what you’re presenting to the players. ## Some useful mechanic ideas **Variable modifiers** - Consider adding variables to obfuscate the actual mechanical modifiers (17:40) **Rolls don’t provide answers** - they provide clues (20:34) Again, you might want to check out [our episode on Mystery Plots (37)](https://dwarves.podiant.co/e/mystery-plots-episode-37-368b71569c7f92/) **Obfuscate the mechanics** - Use alternate descriptions, additional details, unique monsters or adding templates (22:00) ## Summary (24:40) Remember, the GM is the conduit through which the player understand how their characters perceive the world around them. You can tell them what they perceive not what is true. ## Taking the load off (25:20) **Eran** - Asked what sort of cool scenes you see in movies and TV shows but not in games. **Uri** - Ran a test play for a new adventure “a short standard classical adventure”. Looking for a new adventure? Try Uri’s [Escaping Thalamus’s Lab](https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/294848/Escaping-Thalamuss-Lab?affiliate_id=29668)! \----- Email us at [email protected] with questions, topic suggestions, and comments on this episode, and check out \[our Facebook group\](https://www.facebook.com/groups/dwarfpodcast) \[We have a Patreon page\](https://www.patreon.com/dwarfcast), in case you'd like to support us in a monetary fashion. Also, most links to \[DriveThruRPG are affiliate\](http://drivethrurpg.com/?affiliate\_id=29668), which means we get a bit of money if you buy through them, with no added cost to you. Intro and outro based on On the Shoulders of Dwarves by the Cliches Duo. On the