Fantasy Friday Edition
Deception is everywhere in fantasy.
Illusions, glamours, false faces. Changeling children. Cursed bargains. Secret kings. The villain who was never in the dungeon, the hero who was never truly on your side.
It’s one of the oldest elements of the genre, right up there with swords and spells. And in fantasy RPGs, deception is more than a skill check; it’s a tool of worldbuilding, character development, and tension.
A good deception makes players second-guess everything.
- The map they followed.
- The patron they trusted.
- The sword they pulled from the stone.
And that’s where the fun begins.
Deception in a fantasy game can be as simple as a bandit pretending to be a merchant, or as complex as an entire kingdom under a curse where no one remembers the truth. One of my favorite tools? Having a monster pose as an innocent. A cursed noble. A helpful spirit. A fellow adventurer.
Because when the truth finally comes out? That’s the moment everyone remembers.
Now, not every game needs trickery. Sometimes you want a good old-fashioned dungeon crawl, no lies, just orcs. But even then, somewhere in the back of your mind, you know:
- The statue’s watching.
- The innkeeper’s too friendly.
- The mayor is hiding something.
And then there's magic.
Magic and deception go hand in hand in fantasy. Illusionists specialize in lies made visible. Witches glamour themselves or trick the eye with shadow. Fey creatures make promises that twist into traps.
Cursed items whisper to the wielder until they think the voice is their own.
But deception isn’t just for NPCs and villains. Sometimes the players lie. To NPCs, to each other, to themselves. Maybe the warlock claims their power comes from “an ancient ancestor,” not a hungry patron. Maybe the cleric keeps a secret god. Maybe the rogue isn’t just good at lying, they need to lie.
Because the truth is too dangerous to speak aloud.
In a good fantasy RPG, deception isn't just trickery, it’s drama. It’s tension. It’s story.
And sometimes the best twists aren’t the ones you plan, they’re the ones the players create through the lies their characters tell.
So here’s to deceit.
The double agent. The doppelgänger. The mask that slips. The lie that changes the world when it’s finally revealed.
After all, what’s fantasy without a bit of misdirection?
What. Envious. Adventure.
What adventure am I envious of? I would have to say the original Greyhawk Campaign of TAGDQ adventures. I would love to play through them again using AD&D 1st Edition, or maybe Castles & Crusades. That would be a lot of fun.
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