"Go ahead and lie to them!" Topic

You were asked – TMP link

Suppose you are the GM and you set up a game scenario based on an actual battle where one side was under attack but expected reinforcements which never arrived. Is it okay to tell the defending side that they will receive reinforcements in the course of the game and then later tell them "Sorry, I was lying. No reinforcements are coming. Your mission is now to retreat off the table with as few losses as possible". Is that ethical?

67% said "yes, it is OK"
24% said "no, it is not OK"
6% said "other"

"Lie" is a strong & distasteful word.

I have dangled the *hope* of re-enforcements in several games but always made it clear it's not a certainty. And sometimes they come, sometimes they don't.

The important thing is that arrival/non-arrival doesn't hopelessly skew the game. In games I've run, the implicit promise is for a fair game & that's one that should be kept.

An unfair game can be fun. I've enjoyed the challenge of a skillful retreat a few times.

I have a WWII Greek army. The Italians delivered an ultimatum about 0300 on 28 October saying they would be invading Greece at 0600, and if the Greeks fought, it would mean war.

Metaxas, the Greek president, was an old military guy, with enough practical experience to know that there was no way to comply, notifying the border troops and getting them out of the way, and the story is that he replied, "Ohi," Greek for NO. Modern accounts report he actually said "Alors, c'est la guerre," French for "Then, it is war."

The Italian officers along the Greek border also understood that there was no point in waiting for the ultimatum to run out, so the first units entered Greece at 0530.

I've thought about possible scenarios involving the initial invasion and telling the Italian player the ultimatum expires at 0600 and starting the game at 0530. This puts me in a position of not quite lying but having to explain to the Italian player that they lost the game by waiting half an hour and generally showed less initiative than the Italian officers.

Grelber

"Hey! You trusted me! Your bad!"

Do it often enough, and nobody will believe you. That's when you spring the trap and don't deceive an at all.

Seriously. Have you never played Diplomacy? Junta?

Strong language.

Misdirected maybe ?

Think also of Mal, at the beginning of Firefly, gang ho shooting the enemy.
Seeing the drop ships coming down he's happy because they're the reinforcements that've been promised.

Ah, they're not.

They're enemy reinforcements, and the orders from his HQ come through the war is over.

You are not lying, because you play a role. That is why actors are not lying.

Dont say "You will get reenforced", as if god has said that. Tell the players "Your army commander has told you, that you will get reenforcement" or "Your scouts inform you, that blue clad soldiers are coming from the direction of Wavre". Nobody will give you the blame.