Sending Players out of the Room

This is a topic that came up in the Curse of Strahd game that I'm running. One of my players decided to split from the rest of the party and go investigate a temple to the Raven Queen by himself. He worships her, and it was a private moment of reflection for him. He was surprised by the fact that I didn't pull him into a different room and do the scene in private.

I've run scenes in private before, but this scene didn't really feel right for that, which led me to think about the different tone and attitudes you create around the table by deciding what to keep private, and what to keep transparent. This is the theory that I came up with:

When you take a player aside to do a private scene, you add a sense of mystery and intrigue to the game. No one else at the table knows what that person is doing (obviously), and that can lead to people wondering, "just what is the rogue across the table up to?"

When you run a private scene with everyone at the table, it creates a sense of transparency. But I think it also creates a sense of teamwork, a consensus that the players are "all in this together." Nothing is hidden from them, so they don't have to worry that the chaotic neutral sorcerer is about to betray them to the big bad.

So why did I decide to run this scene at the table? After all, Curse of Strahd is a adventure of gothic horror, it would make sense to keep things secret, hidden, in the dark. It would add tension to the table, and create a greater feeling that anything could happen.

And I might get there later in the adventure. But right now the characters are still new to Ravenloft. They've faced some truly horrific events, events that have left a few of them questioning their ability to accomplish anything in the dark land. And that's the feeling I'm trying to push right now. Ravenloft isn't just dangerous. It's horrific. Even when you set out to do bad, things turn against you. I want them to feel like any way they turn could be a step in the wrong direction, but also build the tension so high that they have no choice but to take a step.

And through it all, I'm trying to make the characters feel like they can only rely on each other. They are the outsiders in Ravenloft, the only ones untouched by the shadow of Strahd, and the only trustworthy people in the entire realm.

And so I decided to run this scene at the table. I don't want players to be looking at each other side eyed right now, I want them pulling together against the darkness.

But this is early days, when the corruption that seeps through Strahd's realm hasn't truly affected them yet. Later in the game I will want the players to start questioning each other. Has someone made an agreement with the vampire so that they can return to their normal lives? Is someone giving away party plans to the spymaster of Vallaki for a handful of coin, and a promise of sanctuary in the city? Later I'll want that tension at the table.

But not yet. And when I look up from my notes and meet my players eyes, then say, "Everyone but Vaclav, I need you to leave the room," for the first time the change will leave them wondering what's going on even more.

So, I suggest that you think carefully about sending players out of the room. Normal dungeon masters have a set policy, but great dungeon masters deliberate over questions like these, and use these moments to craft the mood they want.