GM DESCRIPTION: NARRATION OR CONVERSATION?

HJFudge · Jun 21, 2019

Word choice matters, yes.

Anyone who doesn't think so should perhaps regard these two sentences:
"Forgive me Father, for I have sinned."
vs
"Sorry Daddy, but I've been naughty."

Synonyms all, but one of them sets a vastly different tone than the other

That being said, how we present those words can be even MORE important. As the old song says: It ain't whatcha say, its the way thatcha say it: Thats what gets results. What tone the DM uses, what words he chooses to stress, all of these are cues to the players of what is going on and how they should proceed. If I use a fearful tone when the NPCs talk about the "Temple of the Mountain God" it implies a much different thing than if the NPC talks about it in a reverential way. Even if the exact same words are used, you can give quite different information to the players due to how you present those words.

I would even go so far as to quantify it like this: The basic step, the one that is foundational, is choosing the Right Words. If you get this wrong, your presentation will fail. However, the advanced GM knows that how you present those words matters too, and thus will use the Right Words in the Right Way.

Beleriphon · Jun 21, 2019

I think it depends on the effect you want to create. If I provide this description to the players:

"You enter the opulent throne room of Emperor Theodius lead by his minister of state. The room is huge, nearly 100 feet east to west, and 150 feet north to south. The long walk to the gilded throne is over a plush purple carpet, the rest of the room's floor is composed of impeccably laid marble mosaics featuring the history of Theodius and his family. Grand banners and tapestries hang on the walls, stretching from the 50 foot high vaulted ceiling to the floors. The air is cold and smells vaguely of lavender. Theodius sits waiting resting chin on his hand, a with a look of utter frustration on his face."

That's a pretty narrative style. I like that as a scene setting statement. The order of facts are relevant, because the most important thing is that the Emperor is frustrated, and you're either about to make that better or a whole lot worse.

As HJFudge points out the right words, presented the right way have additional contextual meaning. What I like to do is make the thing that the players are going to focus on the last thing I present. That way they will pay attention to what I have to say about other stuff.

For example:

"You enter the cave mouth, its barely big enough for two dwarves to stand abreast. The whole thing is a rough circle 30 feet across and smells of damp earth and rotting meat. You can see the ceiling 5 feet above your heads illuminated by the camp fire in the middle. Your quarry, a werewolf, is inside. It hasn't noticed you yet."

So, I present the werewolf last, because as soon I tell the players there is a werewolf they stopping thinking about the scene, and are waiting for their chance to roll dice and attack, or waiting to see what the werewolf will do.

Bedrockgames · Jun 21, 2019

Imaro said:
No it doesnt
Now let's clarify something first... I dont like or enjoy narrative prose in my game is a different and much more reasonable argument than... How I present something doesnt matter. One is subjective and much more narrow. The other, IMO, is a much larger claim which IMO is ludicrous. You may not like it but it is what it is.

Edit: Also how are Barakka and Shredder not "nerd" or at least niche references? What if I dont have the same context you do for conversation? Doesnt that also impose limitations?

I am not saying it doesn’t matter, I am saying it shouldn’t matter. And what references people get also shouldn’t matter. Most of the hobby is centered around suburban nerd culture and communication style. I think prioritizing/favoring that way if communicating limits the hobby.

The Crimson Binome · Jun 21, 2019

Imaro said:
I disagree with this statement. How you say something, how its presented, how it's interpreted/received can, IMO, be just as important as what you are saying.

Edit: To clarify... if your group had no reference point for the two characters you used... you would have to find a different means of presenting in order to convey what your content is correctly.

As long as they understand what I'm getting at, that's the important thing. Whatever words are required to help them understand, as long as they get it, the exact words aren't important.

I mean, I'm not some author writing a novel. I choose my words to best reflect the reality of the game world, but regardless of which words I choose, it's the reality which is the important thing. I don't want my words to influence anyone beyond the facts at hand.

Imaro · Jun 21, 2019

Saelorn said:
As long as they understand what I'm getting at, that's the important thing. Whatever words are required to help them understand, as long as they get it, the exact words aren't important.

I mean, I'm not some author writing a novel. I choose my words to best reflect the reality of the game world, but regardless of which words I choose, it's the reality which is the important thing. I don't want my words to influence anyone beyond the facts at hand.

Emphasis mine... if you are the GM and are the sole source of information for the PC's this is impossible.

Imaro · Jun 21, 2019

Bedrockgames said:
I am not saying it doesn’t matter, I am saying it shouldn’t matter. And what references people get also shouldn’t matter. Most of the hobby is centered around suburban nerd culture and communication style. I think prioritizing/favoring that way if communicating limits the hobby.

I just don't think this is a realistic way of looking at communication period. how we say things, word choice, etc are an intrinsic part of communication for good or bad.

Bedrockgames · Jun 21, 2019

Saelorn said:
As long as they understand what I'm getting at, that's the important thing. Whatever words are required to help them understand, as long as they get it, the exact words aren't important.

I mean, I'm not some author writing a novel. I choose my words to best reflect the reality of the game world, but regardless of which words I choose, it's the reality which is the important thing. I don't want my words to influence anyone beyond the facts at hand.

This.

I would just add what I am trying to say in my previous posts is communication is a two-way street. The listener needs to try to understand the GM as well. Again, my point was about people coming in from different backgrounds for example, where the language use is totally understandable but not necessarily part of the accepted 'geek way' of communicating tone X. I just find that part of gaming culture off-putting.

Bedrockgames · Jun 21, 2019

Imaro said:
I just don't think this is a realistic way of looking at communication period.

Sure it is. You don't think we can bridge communication divides by being more empathetic and making more of an effort to understand one another and accept different communication styles? I don't know, for this is basically how I always conduct myself. I don't fault a GM for speaking in a blue-collar Boston accent using blue collar Boston vernacular for example (or any other style of talking I might encounter around me). My point is, a lot of what we are talking about is really gamesters speaking college level nerd speak. I don't think that is necessary. Especially in a hobby. It isn't the corporate world. The stakes are pretty low here. Might as well allow for the most communication styles possible. Also I've just learned from experience that type of college level communication, often just masks a lack of substantive ideas anyways.

The Crimson Binome · Jun 21, 2019

Imaro said:
Emphasis mine... if you are the GM and are the sole source of information for the PC's this is impossible.

I don't follow. The GM's job is to describe the environment. If I stick to the facts in describing the environment, then the players won't be un-duly influenced.

Besides, players aren't allowed to consider my word choice anyway, since that would be meta-gaming. My words aren't something that exist within the game world. The spike demon is.