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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pawsplay" data-source="post: 4970629" data-attributes="member: 15538">In my view, boxed text, or spoken narration, should signal:- Information gained from the senses- The passage of time- EventsEverything beyond that... mood, attitude, scene-setting... should come from my choice of words and how I field questions from the players when I am done narrating. I definitely believe less is more. At the same time, eloquence is an underestimated quality. I like to think of boxed text as a sort of haiku, a significant and moving image but not something that demands a particular interpretation. I don't have to tell my players they feel dread if the situation calls for it, and if I try to and they don't, it won't work anyway. I might describe supernatural dread because that would be palpable to most characters, but even then I would not specify a particular reaction. As a GM, I feel like I should not be telling players what their characters do unless: - The character fails a saving throw/morality check/some other measure of in-game events that the player does not experience, or- I absolutely have to.If I dictate actions because of my preference, or my artistic instinct, I am taking away a player's authorial privilege.</blockquote>