Flowery descriptions at the game table

[Joshua Randall]

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.

This is the best (and hardest to implement) approach, I think.

 

[SpiderMonkey]

Make it flowery. Strong description puts you there.

 

[Desdichado]

I like a good description, but I don't typically describe any flowers the PCs see, unless they're a specific hazard of some kind.

 

[pawsplay]

One sentence for minor items and details, two to three sentences for the rest. I encourage players to ask lots of questions. Simple sketches, of the "read, write, or draw" variety, help a lot, too (I'm no artist).

 

[LostSoul]

I think that you should use as few words as possible while still getting the valuable information across.

I recall one Star Wars game where the PCs went to a refugee planet. In my notes I have written down: "Impress the SIZE and REFUGEES on them." So I probably said something like:

"When you land, everywhere around you, you see the teeming masses of refugees and the crappy little shacks that they live in. They're tired, they're hungry, they're cold, dirty."

Then I probably reinforced the description by having street urchins try to sell tchotchkes to the PCs.

I don't need to describe what they are wearing, or what the shacks look like, or where everything is in relation to everything else. That description is enough to get across everything I want to say for the entire planet, and it sets up the stakes for when the Empire comes to invade.

There are times when you want to go a little overboard on descriptions, though. Maybe when the PCs are going over their loot after a really tough fight and have just nabbed something awesome, or a PC makes an awesome attack or casts fireball for the first time.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

My rule of thumb is to think about what a person would first notice. I give detailed descriptions if someone is looking carefully. If not, it's the salient details. Looking out the window, I see a light snow falling in front of a yellow brick building, with smoke drifting from the top. If I look closely, I see that there are few windows in the building, there's a grey smear that covers 10 - 20 feet, and that the building below it is covered in snow that is slowly sliding off.

Of course, if I want to emphasize something (like the BBEG's fortress), I'll definitely go into details immediately, and certainly will wax a bit poetic.

 

[Celebrim]

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”,...

Yes. This is how much information the DM should provide during a first summary of the environment.

“a teakwood jewelry box carved with elaborate designs of butterfly-winged fairies on roses, tulips, and daffodils”?

Yes. This is how much information the DM should provide if a PC specifically investigates the jewelry box, although, I have a small quibble in that the fact that the jewelry box is teak probably should not come out without an appraisal check.

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”?

Same thing. The first is appropriate when describing the room. The second is appropriate when describing the sword itself, although AGAIN, the fact that the workmanship is 'exquisite', that the material is 'steel' (and not mithril), and the gem is an emerald (and not glass) should not come out without an appraisal check. If you give that information away, you are effectively saying to the PC's, "Don't spend points on appraisal."

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”?

That very much depends. I think that the second description is pretty much implied, unless all the other castles in the area are abandoned ruins, in which case the second description is preferrable.

 

[Aaron L]

I try to give a good, basic description like your first options, and then if asked for more detail use the second type of more detailed and flowery description.


Unless I really want to emphasize something, like how disgusting or beautiful a person/place/event is, then I'll go all out and wax poetic about it.

 

[Elrond Half Elven]

I thinl the trick is to be consistant. Either describe everything in detail or don't. If your not consistant then players will think the masterwork longsword, which you just described in detailed, is far superior to the longsword+1 (or +1 longsword ) that they received last session.

This might seem obvious...

Hanx
Elrond

Edit: i before e, except after c...

 

[arscott]

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.

I'd go so far to say that it's bad for novels too. Florid prose makes for poor narration, be it for game or book.

Unless it's a major introduction or closing, the limit is two to three sentences. Extra description is only to elaborate when the player specifically asks a question.