Boxed Text

[LordEntrails]

[MENTION=42582]pemerton[/MENTION],
Whatever. Not an important enough topic for me to worry about or spend anymore time on. Enjoy.

 

[aramis erak]

Hmmm. I also am looking back at exactly 32 years of GMing. Clearly this thread appeals to a very specific age demographic ...

Summer of 81... 35.5 years

Oh, and to be clear, I don't mind, and do write for my own use, "boxed text", and I do put it in boxes...

 

[aco175]

I always liked boxed text, even if I do not need it to run the adventure. As a DM, I want to know what to express to the players whom are not privy to the module. I tend to use miniatures when we play and the players can see the size and shape of the room, but by reading the description I can point out on the board anything in the description I'm reading that may look funny or not be clear.

 

[ScaleyBob]

I find when reading boxed text, it's vitally important to:

-Read it in a slightly rushed monotone, quite different from your normal GMs voice.

-Accidentally skip words, or even whole lines

-Go back over what you've just said, and then read it all out again

-Skip forward from the box and read out parts of the room description, including things the players shouldn't know.

-Not let the Players interrupt you while you're reading it out, and starting back from the beginning if they do.

-If there's a scripted part between two NPCs get their names (or voices) mixed up so no-one has any idea who has said what.

Sadly I've been in games, and run games where all of these have happened. I don't mind Boxed Text, but as GM of a certain age it does often come with a certain amount of baggage applied.