Recently, I read newbiedm’s post about building an adventure which has advice on what to do and not do with regards to writing your own scenarios. I won’t recap over all of these suggestions here, as you should really read the original post. However, this got me thinking, writing smooth, streamlined adventures is important, but many people neglect the second step.
Make sure that your descriptions are captivating. I have played in sessions where the Dungeon Master would have interesting stories, difficult puzzles, unexpected encounters, and everything felt cohesive. However, I was not drawn into any of this because the descriptions were bland, and it felt like there had been no preparation on the dialog.
Saying, “you enter a large, empty room” gives the players the information they need to understand where they are: a room, as opposed to a cave or pit. But this does not immerse the player as much as if the DM had said, “you emerge into a massive chamber made of highly polished granite. Water drips from the ceiling, and chittering bugs scurry into the corners as you approach.”
Be careful not to go overboard though, as too much description may make the players lose the important bits of information. Or worse, fall asleep. Also, make sure that you are consistent with your descriptions. I have been in a campaign where a room was described as being small upon first entering it, but when a player later asked to have the description repeated, he was told that the room was enormous. Simply drawing rough maps ahead of time could have prevented this faux pas.
I would suggest before a session, having the following parts of a description prepared for each major location. First the size of the area; this does not have to be exact, but should give the players a good idea of what they can do without bumping into each other’s characters. Second, a description of the walls or other enclosure: hewn stone, towering oaks, etc. Third, any interesting or unusual aspects of the location. This could be cobwebs, a glow coming from the ceiling, a hissing sound, or anything else that the characters could sense.
Remember, being descriptive will help to keep the players entertained, and show that you planned. In fact, if you are quick on your feet and can improvise impressive descriptions – a feat that I do not possess – you may be able to convince your players that you have been working on a scenario all week, even if you haven’t touched the campaign for a month.
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