Instant Encounter Inspiration

Today’s tip is inspired by Wizard of Adventure ExileInParadise who used images in a clever way for his session two weeks ago.

He described each encounter in his 5 Room Dungeon to GPT. Then he asked for a representational image. Then he shared each image with players as they triggered the encounters.

From there, it was simply a matter of answering player questions and arbitrating character actions resulting from the picture. For example, players would see strange alien pods and have their characters investigate or check for them traps.

He was thrilled.

The tip for us that came out of the discussion is quick and simple:

Start with an image, don’t end with one.

This actually has two meanings.

First, I begin a lot of my session prep with images. Often in the form of maps, but I’ll also paw through my art books, Pinterest, elsewhere for encounter, monster, and NPC ideas.

Visuals offer fantastic details, depict inspiring situations, and give me a vivid starting place for prep.

Second, if you start with an image, you can study it, inventory its details, and prep to all that’s in the picture.

However, if you create the details first, you’ll either never find the perfect image, or you’ll be stuck explaining to players what’s actually there and what’s just unused parts of the image and not present in-game.

Let’s give this a whirl. Grab paper and pen. Check out the image below, which I licensed from the excellent artist, Dean Spencer. Study the details. Then turn it into an interesting encounter.

Cheers,
Johnn
roleplayingtips.com
https://discord.gg/6MxTRAqQ76
Have more fun at every game!

P.S. When you are ready, here are +4 vorpal ways I can help you with your campaign:

+1 Get My Campaign Logger App Free to Make Prep & GMing Easier
For GMs of any system looking to run deep, detailed, and immersive games, Campaign Logger lets you take session notes at the speed of thought in your unique GMing style while improving your preparation experience so you can focus on the parts of the game you enjoy the most.
Get your free Campaign Logger account here.

+2 Level-Up Your GMing With My Books

+3 Get the Demonplague (with 62 5-Star Ratings so far)
A complete level 1-20 campaign D&D 5E adventure path that offers intense roleplay, sandbox and hexcrawl play, cunning combats, and fiendish monsters.
Click here to see more details and to order.

+4 Get More GM Loot
Visit the Roleplaying Tips DriveThruRPG store, or browse books and courses to level up your GMing at the RoleplayingTips.com store.

Join a private community with Johnn