I had a big idea for my hack, which is having PCs hold assigned secrets from their pre-apocalypse life which have various game effects both while secret and if revealed. I have some cool ideas about how this might play out in game. Problem is, while I have a few secrets I really like, it's not enough to make the mechanic work. Wonder if anyone might be able to think of others.
-Prisoner: Character was in prison when the disaster happened, and got out when all the guards died (this is the obvious one, as it feels like practically all fiction in this oeuvre uses it)
-Pursued: Character is avoiding a particular NPC who is actively looking for her/him
-Quest: Character is secretly looking for a particular person or thing, and will lead the party into danger to further this search
-Addict: Character is jonesing for something, and can't function without it
-Deserter: Character abandoned some duty or obligation (professional, family, etc) the moment things started looking bad, and is wracked with guilt.
Would love help brainstorming others—what else might one not want his band of survivors to know about? Good if it's the kind of thing that either might guide the character's decisionmaking (possibly to the group's detriment) or be something an ally who knows might hold over her/him. Better yet if both.