Boxed Text or No Boxed Text?

[DragonLancer]

I think having boxed text in a published module is a great way of conveying the designer's intention of mood and ambience to the players. Now, if I think I can come up with something better, whether it matches what is in the module or not, I'll certainly use that instead. But, by and large, the boxed text is great if you're feeling uninspired at the moment or if it encourages you to add that little something that really puts a session over the top.

Exactly the same for me. Its a great resource to have and I do use it as written, though depending on situation or player action I'll make changes.

If I have any complaint about boxed text is that usually it tends to miss out the monstrous occupants of the room IMX. Not in all cases, but when theres monsters in there lets have them included in the descriptions.

 

[IronWolf]

I'm with many of the others. I like having the boxed text there, but I don't necessarily think it is there to be read verbatim.

 

[Aust Diamondew]

I rarely run adventures someone else wrote but when I do I find boxed text very useful and will use it, if it is particuarly long I will summerize it however.

 

[Hussar]

Exactly the same for me. Its a great resource to have and I do use it as written, though depending on situation or player action I'll make changes.

If I have any complaint about boxed text is that usually it tends to miss out the monstrous occupants of the room IMX. Not in all cases, but when theres monsters in there lets have them included in the descriptions.

QFT.

In far too many modules, the box text is for an empty room. Yet, it fails to mention the three hulking minotaurs standing in the room. From the player's perspective, I would think that the three hulking minotaurs is perhaps of more immediete importance than the slightly warm statue of a man holding a duck.

 

[DragonLancer]

QFT.

In far too many modules, the box text is for an empty room. Yet, it fails to mention the three hulking minotaurs standing in the room. From the player's perspective, I would think that the three hulking minotaurs is perhaps of more immediete importance than the slightly warm statue of a man holding a duck.

Exactly.

 

[jonesy]

I kept reading this thread further and further thinking "what does the box have to do with any of it". And then "oh, this is about the area descriptions".

They would be nice if they actually described what you see, but more often than not I've noticed they either miss a crucial detail or assume that the players would automatically do something illogical (as per the aforementioned examples).

 

[Asmo]

I like having boxed text, but I don't read it verbatim.

Asmo

 

[jmucchiello]

Oh yeah, my other problem with boxed text is it usually assumes your party is flowing through the dungeon in a particular direction. My gang is always finding ways to arrive at a room they've never seen before from the other entrance. The box text can be disturbingly wrong when you are standing in the "wrong" doorway.

 

[James Jacobs]

Boxed text is tricky stuff. When I'm running adventures, I use it as a handy way to figure out what the PCs see in the room and then paraphrase it, usually. Reading it out loud tends to be a little dull.

In Dungeon, I try to keep the boxed text short. If it's realy long (as in, more than one paragraph), I'll try to make sure it's dialogue (and thus sounds better when read aloud) or I try to set it up as a player handout instead.

As for not describing the monsters in a room... there's a specific reason that the boxed text in Dungeon doesn't do that. We don't assume player actions in the boxed text, which also means if we put monsters in the text we're assuming that the monsters haven't already responded to the PCs, that they're doing one precise thing (no matter when the PCs reach the room), or that they haven't heard the PCs coming and are hiding in ambush.

 

[Altalazar]

My vote pretty much says it all - I like to have it, but I don't read it verbatim. It sounds often stilted and artificial, like I'm reading to the players rather than describing to them what they see.

I like it because, when done well, it is a nice, succinct description of what the PLAYERS see when they enter a room or area, separated out from all of the other description and stats that are part of a room description.