Flowery descriptions at the game table

[Quasqueton]

How much detail should a DM give in a description? [This all assumes that the description does not hold some kind of clue or information.]

For instance, should a DM say, “an ornate jewelry box”, or “a teakwood jewelry box carved with elaborate designs of butterfly-winged fairies on roses, tulips, and daffodils”?

Should a DM describe a magic sword as, “a glowing sword with a gem,” or “a heavy, bright-steel sword of exquisite workmanship, etched with extensive interweaving designs; a marquee-cut emerald at the base of the blade is the source of a soft green glow”?

Should a DM describe the castle on the hill as, “a castle on the hill,” or “a gray fortress, with tall towers topped by bright pennants, and surrounded by crenellated walls of made of large granite stones”?

How much detail should a DM give to guide the Players’ imaginings of the world they experience? Is using “ten-dollar words” a sign of a good DM, or should the DM keep description to more natural, conversational terms?

Whenever I see people around here give an in-game description of just about anything, it comes across as something I would never say normally, and something I would never to expect to hear at a game table. I’d actually feel a bit taken out of the game if the DM (or a Player) started giving me flowery speech and descriptions. Such is good for novels, but not gaming.

Quasqueton

 

[Crothian]

I like descriptions but I find they can be tough to do at the gaming table. So, when I find myself in need of a good place description I turn to the good people at Tabletop Games. These people have great PDFs called Bits of and they have great descriptions of things.

Now that the advertisement is over I prefer the more describe terms but only if they fit and are unforced.

 

[frankthedm]

A good desciption is nice and all, but don't forget a character sheet only has so much writing space for any given item.

“a heavy, bright-steel sword of exquisite workmanship, etched with extensive interweaving designs; a marquee-cut emerald at the base of the blade is the source of a soft green glow”?

becomes a Fancy L. sword w/glowing gem

 

[Hypersmurf]

Whenever I see people around here give an in-game description of just about anything, it comes across as something I would never say normally, and something I would never to expect to hear at a game table. I’d actually feel a bit taken out of the game if the DM (or a Player) started giving me flowery speech and descriptions. Such is good for novels, but not gaming.

Would your opinion change in a PbP/PbEM?

-Hyp.

 

[Quasqueton]

Would your opinion change in a PbP/PbEM?

I don't know. To me, PbP/PbEM is like calling a 900-number for "love". Things are mentioned, verbalized, spoken in such situations that would never come up in a real "encounter".

Quasqueton

 

[Mycanid]

I always enjoyed as much detail as possible ... but only for certain things, and as a DM I liked to go into very careful descriptions of things. But it is definitely not to everyone's taste or patience/tolerance level.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

My Midwood story hour is a slightly cleaned-up version of a pbp campaign that's been going on for well over a year. The description is easily more possible and a lot of players really rise to the occasion as a result.

In a tabletop game, I'd prewrite descriptions ahead of time as part of my prep work and put them on 3" x 5" cards.

 

[CanadienneBacon]

For a tabletop game, when I am describing the first time someone sees something, I go for somewhere in between "fancy longsword with a gem" and "a heavy, bright-steel longsword of exquisite workmanship, etched with extensive interweaving designs; a marquee-cut emerald at the base of the blade is the source of a soft green glow." I don't like for things to sound unnaturally forced, but I do like description. It's probably come out as, "a longsword of obviously fine craftmanship, etched along the blade and with a green gem inset into the base of the hilt." Hopefully the players ask more about the sword, either on the spot, or later when they have time to look at it more thoroughly. It also matters which player picks up the sword. If it's a low-int fighter, then I might just go with "it's a shiny longsword with a gem" as my first description. Someone whose PC is known to be into detail will probably get more description.

For a PbP, all bets are off. It's full-on description probably 90% of the time. That's the charm of PbP in my eyes.

 

[Arnwyn]

How much detail should a DM give in a description? [This all assumes that the description does not hold some kind of clue or information.]

A lot and a little.

In other words - it depends. I've always been a big believer in 'a time and place for everything', and I believe there's room for both - depending on the session, location, mood, time constraints, etc.

Always/never? Nah, that doesn't get very far with me.

 

[Prince of Happiness]

It depends. I definitely love having pertinent details up front, and I also appreciate flowery detail if it adds to the setting and helps differentiate setting cultures, power groups, secret organizations, and environment.