Keeping the sense of wonder alive

[Haltherrion]

What do you do, as a GM or as a player, to keep the sense of wonder alive? What do you do to strike awe in the hearts and minds of your players when you confront them with things that are "ordinary" aspects of fantastic game worlds but which are clearly not of the world that we know?

As others have noted, it's hard to gussy up the commonplace. Making a magic missile sound cool is possible the first time you try to do it but after the fifth time the ref dresses up the description of a common spell, it gets ludicrous.

Reminds me of a game long long ago where the referee had us find an item in a secret compartment. We spent 30 minutes examining this fist size, brown object only to eventually discover it was a potato. It was an interesting exercise. Up until the moment we realized it was a potato, we were quite intrigued and interested. Afterwards, we were quite annoyed. I'd have to count it as a failure although perhaps the ref considers it a success.

Regarding creating a sense of awe in FRPs in general, this is not as difficult. It generally requires an unusual underlying idea coupled with a description that properly places it as quite amazing (generally in comparison to something more mundane). The concepts that seem to work best are either things that are awesome due to their scale (a tower a mile high with some unique reason for being there, a flying castle of prodigious proportions) or awesome due to the fear or disgust they evoke.

On the latter side, I recall two things that a friend created years ago that had high in-game awe factor. It's honestly hard to evauate my own awesome ideas because as the creator, I don't get that visceral response.

• A little one but still memorable and at the time, it had its own little 'awe' factor: a water breathing affect that requirede someone to eat the gills of a creature, the only gills being available were a rotting creature (and somehow this was also a play on words for Galbraithe, Gilbreathe but I can't recall how that was worked into it.) I still remember my PC refusing to do out of in and out of character disgust.
• A bigger one that a campaign was partly built around: demonic hounds that howled before attacking and pulled a deaths' skull from their knees that had literally had a drop-dead affect. (The skull was based on a particular figure that had skull knee caps).

The first one leveraged something that was just creepy to some players. The second one coupled descriptives (the howling, the actual painted figures) with a very dangerous effect which was demonstrated early on with irrevocable PC deaths.

 

[Neonchameleon]

S'mon, never in any game you've played has anyone dropped wise cracks, made "I attack the darkness" jokes, or Monty Python references? In 18 years? Not once?

I'm finding that rather diffucult to believe.

I'll admit, my online games tend to be mostly in character, but, sheesh, we still drop some pretty good one liners pretty much every session.

So do we. But In Character. Not out of character. You think that characters never drop one liners? (And ones that are massively amplified by the context). For that matter, one of my current groups has a bard that uses Vicious Mockery as an at will - if you can't get some one liners out of that you aren't trying.

It's not snark. It's not anyone sabotaging the game. We're having a good time. And, having a good time includes the occassional punning or online link to some really funny music.

You think that characters never pun? Or sing? And for the record I have magic missiled the darkness (or rather Hand of Radianced it to check those were alcoves rather than corridors when I only had two targets - it was only after the game that people asked me if that's what I was doing).

But behaving in the way you describe is like "blocking" in improv. You can easily get the laugh for it but it throws the scene out so should be avoided - especially as there's inherent comedy in almost any improv scene and continuing it deadpan will normally get more laughs if that's your goal. It's not deliberate sabotage. But it still causes things to jam.

 

[Hussar]

See, I don't game with actors Neonchameleon. So, we're not so worried about "blocking" or the proper forms of improv.

We're there to have a good time, eat some pizza and drink whatever beverage happens to be of choice. Or possibly Subway. Maybe Chinese take-out. Heh, whatever.

But, yeah, I gotta go with Hobo on this one.

Then again, my last campaign ended with the line of "We cover the planet with invisible whale scrotum to block the signals." so, perhaps we aren't quite so serious as all that.

 

[Neonchameleon]

See, I don't game with actors Neonchameleon. So, we're not so worried about "blocking" or the proper forms of improv.

And you miss the point. No blocking isn't a rule of Improv like "always use Arial 11 point" - largely arbitrary. Nor is it one like "Drive on the left hand side of the road" - largely arbitrary but necessary to have a system (and yes, I know you guys drive on the right). It's more like one saying "Don't use diesel in an ordinary petrol/gas tank".

We're there to have a good time, eat some pizza and drink whatever beverage happens to be of choice. Or possibly Subway. Maybe Chinese take-out. Heh, whatever.

So are we. But we find it more fun to do things well.

But, yeah, I gotta go with Hobo on this one.

And when such things happen I look round because they are a warning sign to me that something's going wrong.

Then again, my last campaign ended with the line of "We cover the planet with invisible whale scrotum to block the signals." so, perhaps we aren't quite so serious as all that.

Ewwww!

 

[ExploderWizard]

There seems to be a connection drawn between " sense of wonder" and "serious play" that I just don't get. To me, a sense of wonder doesn't mean that players never crack a joke or remain deeply immersed in the game the entire time. I sometimes wonder if the whole "sensawunda" thing is blown out of proportion by unrealistic expectations.

Experienced players generally will not be mezmorized by standard game elements like wide-eyed children. Keeping them engaged with the campaign and the setting is enough for me. The occasional joke or aptly timed one-liner is merely an indication that players are enjoying themselves. OTOH nothing but a stream of off topic jokes and side talk means the players are not at all engaged with what is happening in the game and it would probably be a good idea to do something else until the reason for such a lack of involvement is determined and dealt with.

Dressing up stock game elements with flowery descriptions doesn't generally work IME. I have found that genuine curiosity and interest are best drawn out with genuinely new elements. Creation of things that do not come from rule books is part of maintaining that interest as a DM.

All that is required is that whatever IT is that is meant to generate interest and stimulate player curiosity must be unknown to the players.

Back when I was running a 3.0 Scarred Lands campaign, I was the only one in the group(at first) to have a copy of the Relics & Rituals book. When the players discovered new spells and magic items from that book in the game that old sensawunda kicked in. Once that book became common around the table anything from it was suddenly treated just like a spell from the PHB or an item from the DMG. That fact that the items had never before been encountered in the game world didn't matter. Excitement and the thrill of discovery are meaningless to a character, even if roleplayed well, if those feelings are not genuine in the player.

 

[howandwhy99]

What do you do, as a GM or as a player, to keep the sense of wonder alive? What do you do to strike awe in the hearts and minds of your players when you confront them with things that are "ordinary" aspects of fantastic game worlds but which are clearly not of the world that we know?

I personally create wonder by making magic a mystery. That means it has an answer. A way that it does "work". Each time something supernatural is encountered all the players can study it for the time they have available (or make it available) and learn more about the underlying workings of the world. (since everything is magical in D&D, that's everything the players hear from me)

One of the pieces of advice I picked up when reading about science fiction writing is that what the author creates needs rules. Lucas has sound in space? Okay, but that has to carry through. Sound doesn't just come and go in space battles without explanation. Sci-Fi readers are looking for that mystery reveal by having those ingenious explanations finally uncovered. What does the spice do? If the readers/players don't care, they aren't wondering. Make it great and stick to it.