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Page 361 — The Pony Who Cried Wolf

In a tabletop game, differentiating between different types of suspicious behavior is important. And impossible.

More often than not, the telltale signs of trouble get completely overlooked by the players as standard operating procedure, and otherwise pointless new details get flagged as clear signs of a doppelganger and/or mind control.

It happened to me once. I and another player spent a good 45 minutes working to secretly tie up and interrogate our ship's captain, only to find out (after blowing a couple of our most powerful social Daily powers) that his self-consciousness and slightly off appearance was due to a minor illusion enchantment he'd picked up in town to hide a few gray hairs. It was highly embarrassing.

Transcript:

Twilight Sparkle: Rolling Arcana. <roll> 22.
Fluttershy: Wow, you’re really… consistently good with magic.
Applejack: It’s called “bein’ the party Wizard.”
Fluttershy: Oh, okay.
PM: Success! The rock on Spike’s head temporarily changes into a fancy top hat! Roll again to stabilize the spell.
Twilight Sparkle: Got it.
PM: But wait! In the distance, you and Spike notice something odd. It’s Pinkie Pie… wearing an umbrella cap? And she’s moving from cover to cover in a very suspicious way? And she’s muttering…
Pinkie Pie: Twitchy twitch-a twitch-a twitch!
PM: Good grief, what is up with Pinkie Pie??
Twilight Sparkle: She’s being Pinkie Pie?
Applejack: Ah was about to say…
Pinkie Pie: PFFFT. Youch. Walked right into that one.

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Posted previously at: 2019-08-28T19:14:16