Questions tagged [narration]
For questions primarily about narration, the act of describing the events that unfold in the game world, either as player or gamemaster.
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What was the first adventure to use boxed text?
James Introcaso recently wrote a blog post titled, "We Can Do Better Than Boxed Text", where he outlines the benefits and drawbacks of boxed text.
This has raised the question, who started it and how ...
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Is it ok to tell players how their character feels in this situation?
I know it's generally considered poor form to tell a player how their character feels. I should show, not tell. Show them the orphans and widows, not tell them they feel bad for murdering those guys,...
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How do I subtly convey that the PCs’ reality is fake?
I am currently planning a campaign for two players (more would very likely not work in this scenario) in the Dark Eye. The idea is that a demon got hold of their minds and they are now being shown 5 ...
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How can I communicate feelings to players without impacting their agency?
As a Game Master I'd occasionally like to communicate premonitions or sensation to my characters, as a benefit of their backstory, or as a means to give them opportunity to be deeper tied into the ...
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How to flavor my narration of a fight in a creatively plausible way without affecting mechanics?
I'm DMing a recently-started campaign with 5 new players. They are completely new to RPGs and roleplay.
In a combat, they often phrased their attacks in ways such as "I aim at the eyes in order to ...
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How can I describe hit point damage without talking about wounds?
The PHB's description of hit points (p. 196) says:
Hit points represent a combination of physical and mental durability, the will to live, and luck. Creatures with more hit points are more ...
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How can I limit my second-person POV narration?
I have come to the conclusion that in materials I am preparing myself, I want to add more variety to narration by introducing information to the players without using second person point-of-view ...
user52772
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Are there specific descriptions of what each of the racial languages sound like?
Running adventures with varied races of NPC, I run into a lot of times where I simply say "It sounds like they're speaking Elvish/Orcish/etc etc". I'd like to know if perhaps there are descriptions of ...
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How do I narratively explain how in-game circumstances do not mechanically allow a PC to instantly kill an NPC?
Inspired by this question, in particular this aspect:
. . . how do I handle realism and one-shotting bosses out of combat?
My understanding is that any creature, even a "normal person", cannot be ...
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How can I avoid "railroading" my players by giving them a limited set of choices with only basic descriptions?
I play Dungeons and Dragons 5e.
I have a habit of highlighting certain choices, without realizing I'm doing it, because what I feel like I'm doing, is telling not showing. I have a problem with my ...
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How big is a gemstone in the DMG gemstone table?
Context
The DMG treasure tables (DMG p134) describe six categories of gemstone: 10gp, 50gp, 100gp, 500gp, 1000gp, and 5000gp. What does this mean? An agate can be worth anywhere between 10gp and ...
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How to add descriptive role-playing flair if I'm not good at improvising?
This question is inspired by an answer to another question here.
I originally tagged this with system-agnostic but was informed that some systems actually have ...
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How can a GM control their use of specific words?
Often times when I am running a game, I find that plot points, characters, and setting features require the use of specific wording to be properly explained, develop identifiable characteristics, or ...
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How can I best narrate the position of an unhidden invisible skeleton?
While fighting through a wizard's tower, the party breaks into an unexplored storeroom to take cover from enemies down the corridor outside the room. Unbeknownst to them, there is an invisible ...
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How do I get better at describing things? [closed]
Inspired by this question and the fact that I keep saying 'washing machine' when my brain goes blank (Seriously, I forgot the word stone the other day when describing cave walls) I figured I would ask ...
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