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 resources are available to help describe spell effects? [closed]
Are there any resources out there (tables, examples) to help describe spell effects to increase cinematic narrative?
Most spells in D&D 5e do not have much description as to specific somatic or ...
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Is D&D a suitable tool for fleshing out my own fictional world?
So I've gone around on the web, trying to figure out exactly how D&D works, and still I'm befuddled. Let me first start by stating what exactly it is I'm trying to achieve.
So, I'm an aspiring ...
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NPC-only interactions by player request
So, my players want the NPCs to communicate with one another more, and I don't know how to handle that without taking spotlight away from the PCs... Anything I can do to compromise?
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From a narrative standpoint, how can I justify that a character learns trained-only skills while adventuring? [closed]
Mechanically, if the level-up happens while the party is out adventuring, nothing prevents any character from advancing any of the existing skills by a number of ranks.
That means that the low-...
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How to describe a vampire without immediately reveal its true nature
The last time we played, I left my players in the current situation:
The players have just defeated some zombies. Suddenly a big dark cloud is materializing above them, hiding the sun. Right after, ...
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How do I make my hacking narration more interesting?
I'm GMing Eclipse Phase. I can describe most scenes and put my player in the mood, but when it come to hacking I'm at a loss for words.
I try to concentrate on the impact of the outcome, but my ...
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How can you describe a character with low Constitution but high Dexterity and Strength?
I just rolled up stats for a new campaign, and ended up with the following:
15 Strength
13 Dexterity
6 Constitution
18 Intelligence
8 Wisdom
6 Charisma
I'm going to be playing a wizard, but I'm ...
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How do I reveal the Big Bad only by foreshadowing, without the reveal being too early or late?
What I plan for my campaign is to drop hints about some greater evil, and whenever my players reach the natural point of realization, have them go off on a search to stop it. I wanna do it naturally, ...
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What does a negative level feel like to the character?
When a character gains a negative level from any source, what is the narrative effect of that negative level? How does the character (re)act, how do they feel? Does that differ for various ways of ...
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How can I narrate Charm/Fear/Rage/etc effects in a liberating manner?
Or, How can I implement behavior-centric status effects without giving the players a sense of having lost their autonomy?
It's something I have found to be a personal agitant as a roleplayer, and ...
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How do I communicate to players that a room is unimportant? [duplicate]
Recently, I DM'd the "Death House" one-shot from Curse of Strahd where the players explore a haunted mansion. A lot of the rooms have great descriptions about their contents (e.g. a dining room with ...
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How do I narrate non-physical strain?
I'm sort of baffled about strain "injuries" in Edge of the Empire. As an example: EV-8D3 in the Debts to Pay book that is part of the GM screen has an abilitiy called Improved Scathing Tirade, letting ...
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How do I telegraph the difference between life-hating and faithful-guardian undead at a distance? [closed]
(In my world...)
Some undead are raised for evil purposes, and are motivated to extinguish any life they encounter. But some undead were so dedicated/faithful in life that they do not leave their ...
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How do I rein in a player who talks over my descriptions?
I am a new DM (although I have played D&D before), and I was very excited to play with my friends, but as we started playing I realized there would be a problem.
As I would describe either ...
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Should I immediately tell players when a monster dies?
I have noticed that my PCs can dispatch a hoard of high health things pretty quickly, and as soon as they have put enough arrows/swords at one thing, they move onto the next. That makes me think, ...