D12 Secret Generator

As I have discussed at some length in Designing Secrets for TTRPGs, secrets are an integral part of most TTRPGs. They provide the players - not just their characters - with something to do, they have built-in conflict (the one who keeps the secret will oppose investigations into it), and once (if!) uncovered, they can turn into a great twist in the narrative ("The Queen has done what?!").

But coming up with secrets for use at the game table isn't always easy. That's why I've created this generator - I use it to give me ideas for secrets, which I can then flesh out in accordance with the principles laid out in Designing Secrets for TTRPGs.

1d12 Type of secret Relates to Complication
1 Murder or violence Themself or family member Innocent victim
2 Theft or embezzlement Friend or ally It was unintentional
3 Sordid or criminal past Leader or neighbor Blackmail
4 Forbidden love or relation Stranger or other person Feelings of guilt
5 Dark pact or supernatural bargain Faction or cult Requires continuous misdeeds
6 Forgery or illicit trade Artifact or magical item Secret is costly to maintain
7 Betrayal or broken oath Enemy or opponent Violates core belief or oath
8 Treason or secret identity Recent or historical event Unstable accomplice
9 Hidden or unholy alliance Monstrous or supernatural entity Evidence has gone missing
10 Curse or magical affliction Location or business Secret-keeper wants to reveal truth
11 Heresy or forbidden belief Settlement or region Someone suspects secret-keeper
12 Forbidden knowledge or dangerous discovery Religion or deity Someone accuses secret-keeper

Try it

Click the button to generate a secret.

How to use the generator

  1. Roll 1d12 for each column.
  2. Given the context of what is already known about the world, try to interpret what the results could mean.

Let's have a look at an example. We have just created a new NPC, Dennet the human male rogue in a rival (to the PCs) adventuring party. We roll 1d12 three times, and get 7, 4, and 5. That gives us the following:

So, how do we interpret this? Well, we start by thinking of the context we already know - this is the secret of a rogue. The interpretation that immediately comes to mind for me is that he has a criminal past as a member of a gang, to which he had given an oath of loyalty. However, he eventually decides to leave the life of crime behind, break his oath and leave the gang. He left the city he lived in at the time to get away from them, but someone in his new city has recognized him. This person now blackmails Dennet into performing various petty crimes for them, in exchange for silence about his criminal past.

Some readers might say, "But wait a minute, why is he being blackmailed? Blackmail is complication number 3, and we got complication number 5!" Well, here's an important lesson about generators such as this: they generate suggestions. You don't have to follow them to the letter. The complication "requires continuous misdeeds" in the context of him being a rogue immediately made me think "he's being blackmailed into doing things he doesn't want to, to avoid having his criminal past revealed" so that's what I went with.

Further reading about secrets

If you want to read more about how to design secrets, I suggest you proceed to my other article Designing Secrets for TTRPGs.

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