Soap Opera Storytelling, Part 1: Secrets
Revised 4/2026
"Joseph Mascolo" by Mother Goose Parade (resized) is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0
Secrets Make the World Turn
The villainous Stefano DiMera, as portrayed by Joseph Mascolo (pictured above), wielded secrets like weapons on Days of our Lives for over 34 years. As an elegant mob boss, he played other characters like puppets, orchestrated murders, and survived over a dozen fake deaths. Ask any long-term fan about him, and you'll probably get an earful even though the character hasn't been on the series since 2020. And his constant, vicious scheming is one of the major reasons why.
Much of the time in RPGs, players focus on what their characters show to the world, namely their actions, gear, and physiques. And since these elements are usually visible and rewarded, this makes sense. Why waste your time on things that probably won't be used or helpful during play? But secrets can lurk beneath the surface of any character at any time, and most stories can be enhanced by revealing what people hide. Luckily for us, soap operas offer a primer on how to develop and employ schemes whenever we need to spice things up.
They Are Universal & Humanizing
Soaps insist that every character has secrets. No matter how honest they usually are, everyone is keeping something from someone. And while some conceal love and sweetness, anyone could be harboring a horrible truth. Why? Because all of us have desires, flaws, and fears we'd rather not share, and they could be used against us by the wrong people. So we distract, hide, and make things up to avoid the consequences. Anyone who feels threatened can fall back on a lie, whether the threat is real or not.
What people hide - and how they hide it - reveals things about them, from their ugliest flaws to their true values. And the more lies they tell, the more they show how far they'll go to get what they want and need. Secrets fester beneath nearly every struggle, which means they should be part of most plots, whether they take place in the past, present, or future, here or in galaxies far, far away.
They Move the Audience
Many of us are taught that it's bad to lie, regardless of the reason. We often believe good people avoid hiding things and feel bad when they do. On the flip side, we believe bad people have no problem hoarding secrets like gold. So when kind characters uphold the truth and cruel characters don't, we usually feel satisfied. And why shouldn't we? Our sense of how the world should work is proven correct and we know what to expect moving forward.
But soap operas show us anyone can spread falsehoods and eventually, everyone will. After all, lies can smooth things out for a while and the truth can be disruptive and hurtful. And any character can justify their actions or suffer pangs of fear and regret. When characters defy the audience's expectations, we may not be thrilled at first but we're forced to consider them in a new light. And however we feel, we'll probably be interested in how bad things will get.
In tabletop games, it won't take much to interest players in characters' secrets. Uncovering what's beneath the surface is part of why they show up. Even if we're horrified by what we discover, in games we want to know what's really going on and see who characters really are. This isn't confined to social scenarios, either; secrets make most situations more engaging. Once a GM learns to drop hints that appeal to their group, players will often handle the rest.
The Usual Suspects
By nature, a secret involves more than one party, and soap operas showcase the many roles people play in a deception.
The most impactful are usually these:
Someone who knowingly agrees and acts to keep the secret safe becomes a conspirator.
Whoever the secret aims at - or is about - is a subject.
Anyone who unwittingly helps to cover up the plot is a patsy.
Those who aren't involved and need to be kept in the dark are bystanders.
Until their true role is confirmed, a character believed to be part of a conspiracy is a suspect.
The Life Cycle of a Secret
Secret, plot, scheme, conspiracy - in the end, they're all the same thing. A secret never exists in isolation: one hidden truth necessitates another, if the first is to remain hidden and the trail of lies is to be guarded. But a scheme isn't just a web of deception, it's a path to revelation. And after you've watched thousands of secrets on different soaps, you'll notice the same basic five-stage structure. It's surprisingly flexible: it works for secrets great and small, malignant and benign, brief and over time, and it can serve tabletop gamers as much as writers.
The Inciting Incident
For our purposes, the inciting incident is something one or more conspirators feel they need to hide. If deception is planned beforehand, the inciting incident really begins there. If a lie happens on the spur of the moment, it becomes the center of the web built to protect it.
The Maneuver Phase
Various strategies are used to fend off suspicions and discoveries in the maneuver phase. These range from distractions to violence and can employ any kind of power available in the setting. As lies spread, others will probably join in, whether they mean to or not, whether they're welcome or not. And the more people know about what's going on, the sooner the next phase will begin.
The Exposure Phase
An exposure phase occurs when one or more characters attempt to expose the scheme and put an end to it, but results aren't guaranteed. Anyone who knows enough can try to reveal the truth, but it may not be convincing. Just about anyone can be approached for aid, but that doesn't mean they'll act or have the power to influence much. But when belief and resolve move enough characters against the scheme, the reckoning phase begins.
Here are some basic complications we see on soaps often:
Anyone who learns of the scheme could decide not to believe it or respond. Hope and denial are powerful things, while confusion and fear often keep people from acting.
If someone seeks help from a conspirator or a patsy without realizing the part they play, the truth may not get far. Sabotage or blackmail will probably follow.
Bad luck can get in the way, as well. Evidence could be lost before it can be shared, or the right person could be unavailable to hear what's going on.
If conspirators get lucky, they could discover the plan to expose their secret in time to intervene. They may even be able to calm suspicions and smooth everything over - for a while. This sets everything back to the maneuvers phase. Most schemes take lasting damage from having been in the spotlight, however: not everyone remains appeased and not all evidence is lost. Generally speaking, the next time a breach happens, the conspiracy will have to work much harder to make it go away.
The Reckoning Phase
By the reckoning phase, so much information is available that new lies ring hollow to all but the most deluded, and some characters are determined to do something about it.
A number of events occur in this phase:
If further investigation occurs, more parts of the plot could be uncovered, but investigators may pull back before everything is discovered.
Confrontations occur between conspirators, patsies, and targets. If the secret and cover-up have been mostly benign, they may be forgiven without prejudice.
Punishment could be delivered quickly (as through violence) or take considerable time to arrive (as via legal proceedings), but it may not reach everyone or may be applied unfairly.
The Fallout Phase
In the fallout phase, consequences settle in. Relationships begin, pause, or end; fortunes are made or lost; emotions dramatically shift. Vengeful characters may hatch new schemes to get the outcomes they desire. Meanwhile, conspirators who remain unknown will probably keep trying to hide their involvement. Anyone who's punished may feel slighted, regardless of what they did or didn't do. And new plots may begin if they decide to strike back.
The Fine Controls
Soaps show that each secret is defined by four key aspects, and each of those aspects runs from high to low:
Effort: This represents how much conspirators have to do to keep the plot safe (from frequent crimes to occasional little white lies).
Gain: This reflects how much characters benefit from the scheme personally (from great benefits to negative outcomes).
Severity: This encompasses how damaging the secret is while it's kept (from most to least harmful).
Spread: This covers the number of characters involved and affected by it (from many to few).
By adjusting these ratings, GMs and writers can turn up or dial back the heat. They can also give hints about what will happen next and how the plot might be revealed. For instance, if a secret doesn't require a lot of effort but has spread to many people, someone is probably going to let the cat out of the bag soon.
Motives Matter
Concealing things doesn't automatically make someone a bad person in soap operas; no, the situation can be far more complicated than that. For tabletop gamers, figuring out why a character keeps a secret - especially over time, with a lot of effort - can make everything else easier, from portraying their reactions to figuring out what they'll do next.
Consequences
First and foremost, people lie to avoid what they fear will happen if the truth is revealed. This doesn't necessarily mean they're being reasonable: it might not be a big deal at all. On the other hand, the fallout could be a lot worse than they anticipate. And the people they think they need to hide from may not be the ones they need to worry about the most.
For major secrets, it can help to ask these questions about conspirators:
Which negative consequences do they worry about most?
Are the consequences liable to be as bad as they believe?
Who do they most fear finding out about the secret?
Who actually has the most power to intervene?
Underlying Desires
Most times, people have more reasons for hiding things than what they fear will happen if they don't. These other reasons reveal underlying desires, from alleviating boredom to protecting a loved one. This is the flip side of fearing consequences: instead of figuring out what they're trying to avoid, ask yourself what they hope to gain. These aspirations needn't be realistic, but a conspirator should have some reason they expect such rewards from the plot at hand.
Not all of these desires will necessarily be selfish. Some secrets are held in the hopes of benefitting someone else. Of course, some conspirators convince themselves they're being selfless while beneath it all, they're anything but. Others become increasingly selfish later on, particularly when they grow frustrated and feel entitled to get more out of the situation. Knowing how selfish they actually are vs. how selfish they aim to be can aid anyone who's portraying them, whether they're an actor, a writer, or a tabletop GM.
But how do we dig down to these buried desires? We start simple. Jot down things they want to obtain or experience like emotions, objects, and roles: love, an inheritance, taking over a business. Whenever you want to know what a conspirator will do next, return to their list and ask: Why do they want that so much? This will lead to deeper wants and needs that influence their behavior. They may go much further to keep a secret than anyone expects because of what they really aim to achieve.
And don't forget: how a character keeps a secret can clash with what they hope to gain. As their desperation increases, their lies and threats will intensify. What starts as a small-time secret could become something far more concerning because they won't let it go until they get what they want most. And as soaps have shown us, this is one way characters can hurt the very people they're trying to protect.
Emotional Reactions
Secrets inspire all kinds of emotions, hidden and otherwise. Nearly any feeling can come up at any time, but some of them have a greater impact on characters' decisions to participate or investigate a scheme, so they're worth considering.
Excitement & Fear
Discovering and keeping secrets rouses people, for better or worse. For some, mysteries and secrets are thrilling. Perhaps they've been bored or want a challenge or enjoy having special knowledge. Whatever the reason, excitement makes it easier for a character to get or stay involved. But as their fear increases, anxious characters will struggle to participate, even if they're under threat. They would rather avoid trouble or get it over with quickly. The more they have to lose, however, the less they'll be able to resist.
These feelings often occur together but rarely in equal measure. As excitement and fear ebb and flow, they push and pull a character whenever the secret arises. And in large enough doses, either of them can urge a character into making mistakes.
Trust & Distrust
At any point, characters can trust each other more or less because of a secret. Increased feelings of trust tend to make people feel happiness and relief. On the other hand, losing trust is rarely pleasant. Soap operas complicate things by showing how trust influences everyone involved. Conspirators with greater trust in each other may feel less afraid about what they're doing. If the target of a secret trusts the wrong person, like a patsy, they could both feel more guilt once the conspiracy is revealed.
Finally, trust may influence how willing a character is to investigate a lead or act on what they know. In general, we're less inclined to believe those we trust would do anything seriously wrong. High levels of trust aren't always going to keep people from looking into suspicious behavior, however. Firm moral standards or concerns may lead characters to investigate what's going on with people they care about, even when it's uncomfortable.
Pleasure & Pain
Pleasure is a powerful motivator, and participating in a scheme can be gratifying. Lying can make characters feel smart and confident; indulging in hidden activities can be exhilarating. This is especially true when the pleasures are forbidden. Fear of being caught and punished can become an aphrodisiac, abandoning responsibilities can feel liberating, and violating social demands may bring the fierce joy of rebellion.
But conspiracies tend to cause pain somewhere along the line. Lying to loved ones about things that matter and hiding important truths should be unpleasant, if you have a conscience. As soap operas show us, many conspirators suffer pangs of conscience but that may not be enough to stop them. And some characters really won't feel bad about who they deceive, no matter how much they should. Soap villains are infamous for feeling so entitled or justified that they can manipulate anyone without shame, including their own children.
The more a character enjoys a secret, the harder it will be to stop participating, but the more pain they experience, the more they'll probably want to get away from it. Soaps show us that plotting can lead to real harm, from surprise attacks to terrible accidents. But when the cost isn't just in feelings but in blood, pleasure may not be enough to balance the books.
Pride & Shame
How a character feels about a conspiracy - and their part in it - depends on its contents and effects and perhaps more importantly, how they convince themselves to feel about it. Their actions and emotions are filtered through beliefs, delusions, and justifications until pride or shame wins out, at least for a while. This is how conspirators can be confident about the worst things they do or feel excited when they should be horrified. It also explains why patsies can be easily fooled when their egos are stoked and bystanders start investigating when rumors activate their sense of right and wrong.
Like excitement and fear, pride and shame often occur together but rarely in equal measure. As soaps show us, they usually rise and fall as damage spreads. They also color all of the other emotions characters feel but not always in ways you'd expect. A conspirator may be deeply ashamed of their affair but still enjoy their trysts. Meanwhile, their spouse (a target) could be so proud of their marriage that they refuse to let rumors of infidelity affect them, so they continue to trust their spouse and refuse to investigate.
Some Quick Advice
Pick Your Poison
It's impossible to know all the secrets of all the characters in a game, and soaps show us it's unnecessary to try. If the previous advice is too internal or detailed, gamers can benefit from these basic moves.
GMs
Important NPCs should have at least one secret when they're introduced.
If a key NPC is brought back after being "written off" for a while, give them a new secret when they return.
Whenever an NPC begins to feel stale but you want them on the front burner, give them a new secret.
Use a variety of secrets, from silly or sweet to not a big deal to deep and damaging, and assign them to different kinds of NPCs.
Every now and then, choose a secret that deliberately conflicts with the type of person an NPC is known to be.
Finally, spread out clues and confessions so everyone has time to catch their breath.
Players
During character creation, add one or two secrets that really matter to the character.
Work with the GM to create openings to engage those falsehoods at different points in the game.
Once resolved, replace old secrets with new ones based on events in the game.
Look for opportunities the character can take to engage in the scheme or investigate it.
Following these steps should keep revelations engaging and encouraging for everyone at the table!
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