Descriptions Archives - Roleplaying Tips

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Hear Ye, Hear Ye! A Simple Way To Improve Gameplay, Engagement & Character Outcomes

From JohnnFour Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú Johnn? Here’s a refreshed tip from Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #5, going way back to 1999 right before the world was going to end with Y2K. Too often we become trapped in our heads thinking three moves ahead, doing math, or coming up with names and details on the […]

5 Ways To Warn Players Of A Deadly Challenge

From Jonathan Hardin Many times the threat that presents itself to characters surpasses their abilities to defeat it. The encounter is not easy or even difficult, it’s deadly. Without a warning label, your players may be unfairly surprised that you designed a deadly encounter for them. To avoid that frustration, here are 5 ways to […]

3 Quick Horror Tips For Your Halloween Game

From Johnn Four Two quick links for you before digging into some scary tips. First is a free worldbuilding tips PDF being offered by Ed Larmore who developed the Scabard app. If you want some tips to get you started homebrewing a world, you can get his 7-page guide here. Second is a Kickstarter from […]

Troubles With Green Box Text

RPT Platinum Patron Lee asks: I still struggle with “green box text” vs. map building. Do I spend my time providing 3 sentences of description, or do I spend an hour drawing a great map? I find writing those 3 sentences very intimidating for some reason, like I am not giving enough information. Green text […]

Avoid This Nasty Description Trap GMs Often Trigger

I saw this writing tip from @ShawnMerwin and it applies to GMing, as well: Avoid “begin to” or “start to” unless those actions are interruptible. “You begin to hear a scream” is simpler as “You hear screaming.” Clearer and more concise is better. So it is for GM descriptions. And that can be a nasty […]

Run With The Impressions Technique

Here’s the thing with read-aloud scripts and boxed text you find in published modules…. It’s boring. And it kills the mood. Imagine an actor stopping mid-scene to grab the script and read it aloud to you. A terrible experience for both actor and audience. Likewise, stopping your natural way of describing the action, answering player […]

Quick GMing Lessons Learned Playing Three One-Shots In Two Days

I rarely play. I almost always GM because I like that role best. But at IntrigueCon I got to log 14 hours on the art-side of the GM screen and I made notes based on my observations and learnings. In a past Musing I discussed how GM details can derail the game. Right details, in […]

Better Storytelling With Two-Sided Characterization – Part II

Last Musing we chatted about the importance of characterizing details you bring into gameplay. As you provide encounter descriptions, introduce NPCs, offer treasures, tell secrets, and convey the world to your friends, you can think about both variables of the equation. The first variable is about how you inject physical and emotional energy into your […]

Better Storytelling With Two-Sided Characterization – Part I

Better Storytelling With Two-Sided Characterization Characterization is how you roleplay the people, places, and things in your adventures. Here’s how to add panache, style, and zing via characterization to engage your players more and become a better storyteller. To me, it’s all roleplaying. But in the literary world, they call it characterization. When the PCs […]

More City Flavours

Ciao %FIRSTNAME% Last week, I shared a list of flavourful things the PCs might see happen each day in your city. I received some great comments from readers I’d like to share with you today. Here’s a great campaign kick-off “birds eye view” approach from Tom Ganz: I started my Curse if the Crimson Throne […]

What’s Night Life Like In A Fantasy City Like?

New Roleplaying Tips reader Nathan M. sent me a nice list of city details. In his words, “Here are a few of the things adventurers might come to expect as they return or leave the bustling cities. After all, you do not want to be caught out after dark scuffling with some drunk bandits.” Sunrise […]

It’s A Bomb

Here’s a great tip I read the other day: For character actions to be significant and purposeful, players need information about the possible consequences of their actions. I don’t know if there’s already an RPG design term for this, but in past Musings I’ve mentioned this as being part of Stakes. You want encounters to […]

What, When, From Above

Let’s say there’s four goblins in the forest waiting to ambush the PCs. Wait, that’s boring. Let’s say it’s six goblins lead by an NPC with a grudge against the party. That’s a bit better. What if the NPC is a guard who was exiled from The Keep because they failed to stop the PCs […]

New Trick Makes Combat A Nail Biter

Last summer I watched a video with a great tip on how to add more story and drama to my melees. I’ve been using this tip for several sessions now, and it’s made a big difference. However, this narrative tactic was tricky for me at first, especially because it’s all improv. I’m finally getting up […]

The Dangling Description Mystery Method Formula — The Secret Sauce To Riveting Descriptions

I was working on a new Faster Combat lesson about the Action Economy last weekend and a lightbulb went off. I know exactly what I want to deliver each time you and I describe something to our players. This applies to descriptions for encounters, NPCs, items, monsters, and locations. This applies to boxed text, bullet […]

Being A Devil With The Details – Intriguing GMing Tips Gleaned From A Con, Part 2

A big learning I had at IntrigueCon was to watch the timing of your details.The second game I played was Night’s Black Agents.

Kill Boxed Text – Dynamic Descriptions Made Easy

This framework does two things for you.First, it guides what you should include in your descriptions.

How Can You Improve Your GM Interaction Time Rating? Improving GM GIT Part II

In a recent Musing I talked about GM Interaction Time (GIT). From the GM’s point of view, that’s a measure of how much of the game is focused on you, the GM, doing GM things.

How Do You Fare At This GMing Performance Rating?

I created a new GMing KPI at a local game convention last weekend. A KPI, or Key Performance Indicator, is a way to measure some important aspect of how well you are running a game.

A Quick Improv Trick

RPT GM Haukur asked how to improv better.It’s said that up to 60% of our brain processes vision. I am definitely a visual person. I understand and remember better what I see and read.

Beat the Uncanny Valley With A Deft Detail

Got a couple concepts to run by you this warm Monday for world-building.

Beef Up Boring Descriptions: “Hey, What’s Happening Over There?”

Try this: The PCs enter a neighbourhood at dawn. Describe it.Pause reading and describe it in your head, out loud, or on paper. Try to capture exactly how you’d describe it at the game table.

Systems Of Attraction: The Interpretation And Roleplay Of Charisma – Part II

From Mike Bourke Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #271 Last week, Mike shared with us part one of his analysis of charisma. Below are the final two interpretations for charisma followed by a summary and re-calculation system for D&D. [If you missed the first part of the article you can read it on the website. ] Personal Impact […]

Systems Of Attraction: The Interpretation And Roleplay Of Charisma – Part 1

From Mike Bourke Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #270 Charisma. What is it? What does a charisma of “17” really mean? What personality traits does it imply? Recently, Roleplaying Tips was contacted to request an article on this very subject. It didn’t take much discussion of the question to realize that the answer is much more involved […]

Looking Good, Feeling Great – Visual Aids

From Loz Newman Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #260 The DM uses descriptions to help players visualize his game- world. He uses maps, words, gestures, music, and so forth, to help them do this. This visualization is one of the “fundamentals” of tabletop role-playing. As a DM and long- time worshipper at the altar of “Good Game […]

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