One of the fun things when creating a character is holding a little something back from table for a bit. Especially if you’ve hinted at something, then with the cooperation of the GM, bring it into play as an element of a storyline. This works especially well in noir or espionage tales, but even in a Victorian setting (Victoriana, Space: 1889, etc…) your American of indeterminate but expansive means that is living London or on Mars, or what have you turns out to have made their fortune in a spectacular heist that they double crossed their compadres on — enter the aggrieved gunslinger, looking for payback.

In our Blade Runner campaign, the old man of the group — Jerzy Novak — has to hunt down a former cop that has been shielding replicants, and along the way “finds out” (allows himself to remember) that he is a Nexus 8. During the Blackout, he had been on route to the spaceport in a Spinner van when the EMP hits. The van crashes, and in the process smacks into a police car. He and a few that survive the crash. While the others flee, he checks on the dying cop and notes a strong resemblance between the two of them. In a panic, he swaps places with the cop — being Novak. With the chaos of the Blackout and records destroyed, he starts his new life first as a beat cop, then a member of Robbery-Homicide, before become a blade runner. He’s, so far, avoided suspicion, but a recent case has introduced him to one of the other survivors, the very attractive owner of a casino/brothel that might have ties to the underground.

In our Star Trek campaign, a constant sub-plot in the background has been the captain’s very slow career progression (until the war.) The first “season” saw her take command of Fearless, an aging Walker-class, from the famed Garth of Izar; but the brass won’t promote her to captain, despite similarly experienced people going through the ranks from attrition. She gets the center seat, but remains a commander for the first two seasons before the political clout of her ship’s doctor and operations officer (featured in Day 8) sees her start to gain more respect from Starfleet Command. The main antagonist to this seems to be Admiral Stenn — a Vulcan that is just being “Vulcan”. Hints of something else have surfaced from time to time, and finally one of the character’s investigation into the newly revealed Romulan connection to Vulcans led them to uncover the truth about Stenn…not that he is a Romulan, but worse, that his bigotry toward other, “lesser” races has led him to sexually harass and intimidate alien females (humans, especially). Their captain, as a cadet, had rebuffed the admiral and he had quietly been pulling strings to sideline her until Garth took her on as his tactical officer. Because of the Vulcan tendency to avoid uncomfortable data about themselves, Stenn was protected by some higher ups in the brass at her expense. His quick and quiet retirement and exile back to Vulcan wasn’t as satisfying an ending as they wished…but it did sort the situation. 

In the same campaign, the helmsman — built on the classic love ‘em and leave ‘em Kirk trope — managed to get himself addicted to, then married, an Orion woman working for Starfleet Intelligence. He’s been a bit more careful about his extracurricular activities, but his value Addicted to Love has frequently causes him heart-burn, including getting into an affair with his best friend’s sister. He’s hoping to navigate the complexities of the situation with a hopeful “what happens in space, stays in space” kind of attitude. That is coming to bite him on the ass, pretty soon.

Secrets don’t always have to move a storyline, and they don’t always have to lead to some grandiose betrayal. Sometimes, they can be as simple as finding our your friend had suffered abuse, and has been quietly living with it for over a decade.