Better Descriptions: d7 Ways To Steal Great Words
A CampaignCraft member recently asked me how to master the lexicon when running a new genre for the first time.
The game mechanics and general narrative were no problem, but technical and insider details stumped her in certain cases. Describing vehicle manoeuvres, piloting controls, gear, and how NPCs interacted with their environment were a big friction.
In my experience, it’s the everyday stuff we take for granted that prove most difficult. What things are called, how they work, and the gritty reality of a different era or tech level.
So, how do you find the right words to use in descriptions if you’re new to a genre or setting?
Here are d7 ways to loot for better vocabulary:
1. Technical Manuals
Search for “helicopter technical manual” or “training manual” online. Swap out the machine type for what you need. These guides overflow with fantastic jargon.
Find a technical term, change one syllable, and you’ve invented new tech:
“You throttle the torquemeter to feed more manifold pressure past the intake seals, keeping both eyes glued to the dual chronometer until the sub-light drive and plasma rotors finally marry at 100%.”
2. Property Inspection Reports
Search online for “examples of property inspection reports” or real estate listings to uncover fantastic structure details.
Next time there’s a rooftop chase, you can describe how a character loses their footing on stucco weakened by water damage. Then, after making an agility check, they grab onto the kickout flashing just in time to save themselves from a nasty fall.
3. Auction Catalogues
Search online for “auction catalogues [YEAR] [COUNTRY]” to mine all kinds of ideas and words for your treasure hoards. For example, looking at a 1933 auction held in New York might inspire your next treasure room to offer Venusian china doll heads, a porcelain pedestal from Alpha Centauri, and a Martian antique tapestry with a green velvet pillow.
4. Nature Documentaries
These not only give you great creature names but also excellent context for habitats, behaviours, and enemies.
Put on your best David Attenborough voice and describe how “the veiled chameleon navigates the emerald canopy of the Yemeni foothills, its turreted eyes swivelling independently like high-tech radar dishes as it stalks an unsuspecting blowfly.”
5. Historical Trade Sites
Check Wikipedia or the World History site for medieval trades, NPC occupations, and unusual terms. The next time the party wanders into a marketplace, you can describe a cooper steaming timber staves to craft a dragon trough.
6. Combat Writing Guide
Check out Fight Write: How to Write Believable Fight Scenes by Carla Hoch.
It promises to teach you how to describe realistic combats without getting bogged down, giving you a fresh arsenal of action verbs.
7. Research Home Repairs
Learn how to install, maintain, or repair things around the home.
Take a photo of your furnace and feed it to AI, for example. You might stave off a future expensive repair bill while harvesting some great description material.
“The draft inducer fan whines at redline and the flame rollout switch just tripped the main breaker. You’re gonna need a multimeter and bridge the ignition control board before the heat exchanger cracks and vents ionised exhaust straight into the habitat block.”
Organising Your Jargon in Campaign Logger
As you loot great words, you need a way to track them for easy reference mid-session.
In Campaign Logger, pick a tag for your jargon. I recommend tilde ~ for words with mechanical effects and ampersand & for non-mechanical flavour lingo.
Create a new Log called Jargon.
Add a word with its definition or note per Log Entry.
Tag the word, plus any others you want to make easy to reference:
When you need to flesh out a bit of jargon or make it canon, use the copy feature to promote the Log Entry into a full Page.
This carries over all the Log Entry’s text for you, and instantly links all references to the jargon back to your new Page whenever you tag it:
Your Pages screen dynamically lists every word you’ve tagged for an instant description cheat sheet:
Hover over any term you’ve created a Page for to see its contents, giving you a kind of dynamic GM screen for smoother descriptions:
Next Step: Bring Your Words To Life
Once you’ve got a vault of great words, the trick becomes weaving them into descriptions that keep the game flowing and get players driving the action.
That’s where Lore Drops come in.
Today is the last day for CampaignCrafters to register for Tuesday’s Lore Drops workshop.
I’ll guide you through each step to create perfect descriptions that get your players excited and wanting taking action before you’ve finished your last sentence.
If you’re not a CampaignCraft member yet, click here for details. Enroll by tonight and I’ll send you the workshop link, a printable workbook, and the recording when it’s done.
Cheers,
Johnn
roleplayingtips.com
https://discord.gg/6MxTRAqQ76
Have more fun at every game!
P.S. When you’re ready, here are +3 vorpal ways I can help with your campaign:
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Take session notes at the speed of thought and keep your campaign organized, whatever system you run. Free.
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Join CampaignCraft for a new table-ready method every week, my full library (including the book above), Campaign Logger fully unlocked, and my help. 10 gp a month.
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