How do you introduce a monster?

[robus]

I'm finding I'm doing a bad job of introducing my PCs to new monsters. I don't feel like they get a good picture of what they're facing. Any tips for introducing an encounter in a interesting and descriptive manner?

 

[Gnarl45]

Most of my players snore whenever I start describing something. I can't even read a 3 line boxed text without them checking their smartphone.

I'm not sure you're bad at introducing monsters. Your players just want to see the cool illustration in your Monster Manual and roll for initiative .

 

[Lehrbuch]

I'm finding I'm doing a bad job of introducing my PCs to new monsters.

Hold a soiree.

 

[Quickleaf]

[MENTION=6801558]robus[/MENTION]

Let's say this is what the PCs are facing:

[SBLOCK]

[/SBLOCK]

I'd try something brief that evokes multiple senses, describes something about the monster's ecology, and works toward whatever theme we as a group have embraced.

For example:

As you make your way through the thick pine forest, the wind whistles above you. Ahead you notice some trees swaying more than the wind should be causing them. Then you feel it. The ground shudders. Several ferns nearby tremor, shaking dew droplets cascading over the gnomes and halflings in your party. Then again. Some thing big and heavy is out there. Peering into the dim light of the forest, you suddenly see a tree trunk hurtling toward you. You're able to scatter to the side before it hits anyone, but you have no time to rest before the monstrosity that threw it is upon you.

Roll initiative!

The monster is massive, standing above the tallest of you by about four feet, with almost no hair on its pale scarred skin. Its lower jaw is filled with sharp snaggleteeth protruding out at odd angles, and its cruel eyes glimmer with only the barest intelligence. Primitive bone, leather, and leaf fetishes cover its lower torso and forearms. With an inarticulate growl, it uproots a young pine before your very eyes and attacks with unusual fury.

Any veteran gamer will know have a good idea what this monster is. However, particularly the first time you introduce it you want to draw the players into the scene. Right away they realize that this monster has a destructive impact on the ecology but also knows the forest well enough to use the thickness to its advantage. It also suggests they might be able to use the thickness of the forest to their advantage since the monster is Large. And it begs the question "why's it so angry?" which could open up a diplomatic solution once the monster's initial assault is dealt with.

Lastly, a trick I've used before: Break up descriptions with the words "Roll initiative." I've found most players have SDMADD (Selective DM Attention Deficit Disorder) where anything the DM says that takes longer than 6-seconds goes in one ear and out the other. However, say the magic words "Roll initiative!" and suddenly you have another 6-seconds of their attention. It's like psychological wizardry!

 

[Oofta]

I try to use all of the senses at different times. You smell zombies before you see them, feel the heat radiating off a salamander like the heat radiating off a hot stove, hear the muted but constant roar of rushing wind with a wind elemental.

Ogres for example are massive eight foot tall behemoths that smell of rotted milk with massive muscles, a sloping forehead and dull eyes that register little in the way of intelligence but flare to life in anger and rage as they heft a crude over their heads and charge.

I also try to find pictures to show that I can show people separately.

 

[iserith]

I'm finding I'm doing a bad job of introducing my PCs to new monsters. I don't feel like they get a good picture of what they're facing. Any tips for introducing an encounter in a interesting and descriptive manner?

I aim to describe most notable and memorable features and telegraph its special traits or attacks in some way. I try to keep this to three to five sentences, tops. While the scene carries on, I try to work in further descriptions of traits from their Monster Manual entry and stat block. Here's an example from something I'm working on.

From the darkness of the upper level glides a toothy shark hewing down on a freshly severed humanoid arm, a cloud of blood blooming in its wake. Above, the sleek white bodies of two more sharks circle floating corpses. Some kind of devil of the deep with crested fins and dark scales swims effortlessly into view. It clutches a barnacle-encrusted spear in its webbed hand and regards you coldly with eyes like black pearls. What do you do?

After the players describe what they want to do, I might then describe it looking to the sharks moments before they break off from the corpses to swim straight at the PCs - telegraphing shark telepathy. Or after a shark bites a PC, I mention how the sea devil seems to thrash and making keening noises at the sight of blood in the water in order to telegraph blood frenzy.

 

[thalmin]

Proper etiquette would be to first introduce the party to the higher-level monster, otherwise introduce the lower-level monster to the party.

 

[Guest 6801328]

Say "Hi everyone, this is Randy, he's a beholder but try not to hold that against him."

in unison: "Hi, Randy..."

 

[robus]

Thanks for the laughs

But I really do appreciate some of the concrete examples. I think I'm rushing into rolling initiative and beginning the battle too quickly such that all the combats begin to feel the same. A bit more scene and monster setting should help to give better context to the PCs and differentiate this encounter from others. I do need to get some "describing" words into my stat blocks so that I'm not just staring at a name and numbers/actions in the heat of the moment. I like the suggestion of appealing to the senses beyond just sight: smell, sound, etc.

 

[Rod Staffwand]

I try to boil everything down into the essentials of what the players need to know to start making decisions and then sprinkle in a few flavor elements if I can do it without taking too long.

For monsters, the essentials are:
1. General size, form and description. Man-sized humanoid, giant bear, hulking brute, dragon, floating cyclopean orb with eye stalks, etc. If it's armored I'll add that in so the PCs can guess high AC.
2. Current demeanor. Enraged, cautious, slinking about, resolute, gleeful, etc. This is an insight into the monster's personality, tactics and goals and should never be ignored in a description.
3. What it will use to kill the PCs. I usually end with the business end of the monster for the purpose of drama. Massive claws, slobbering maw, barbed spear, writhing tentacles, smoking nostrils, enormous bulk, etc. This is also where you emphasize that this thing is awful and terrifying and that, if the PCs kill it, they'll be awesome for doing so.

Other than that, choose specific and fun adjectives over generic ones.

If you're using a lot of the same type of monster in the same encounter (or series of encounters) give the important ones an identifying trait (big noise, one eye, scarred belly, rattling armor, unusually short, etc.). I'll make up a quick list of 10-20 such traits for use with orc bands and such that I can refer to as needed. I won't describe all 20 orcs or skeletons in an encounter, but calling out leaders and other notable members is helpful.

It's okay if you can't adequately describe something that's bizarre, such as extraplanar creatures that have no real world equivalent. "A horrid, pusalting thing festooned with seemingly random array of insectile appendages and eye clusters lurches out of the dark and, with a chittering laugh, attempts to grab you with its fishhook claws..." is fine. Players hear "ugly monster attacking us" and think "kill it with fire and steel".

Whatever the case, the thing will be dead in a few minutes anyway so its not really necessary to over-describe.