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<blockquote data-quote="Drammattex" data-source="post: 5108774" data-attributes="member: 55363">DMG2 is my favorite D&amp;D book of all time, finally replacing 2e's Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide for that slot. The group storytelling bit is one of my favorite things about it. I think the key to group storytelling is to have the players fill in the blanks when you need them to. I was rather unprepared for our game a few months ago, so when the players wanted details on the tomb they explored I asked them to tell me what things looked like. Brett asked about the columns supporting the ceiling and I threw the ball back in his court. He said, &quot;The columns start solid at the base, then spiral upwards in twisting shapes, straightening out again; this represents the transformation of the changeling aelfs through time.&quot; We were all impressed with this fantastic detail that fit easily into the story. Brett explained that that week he'd seen a narwhal horn in a museum, and that image inspired him in his visualization of the pillars.I think that's the kind of thing you want to do with group storytelling in general. A player asks about something you haven't detailed and don't have a good answer for. Oftentimes I think the players are visualizing the game world more acutely than the DM--you are, after all, managing a number of different things while running the game, whereas the players are seeing it through the eyes of their characters. So when a player is tasked with describing what her character sees, I find it's often something really grounded in the setting I've been trying to create AND it gives ME more, and better, ideas.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Drammattex, post: 5108774, member: 55363"] DMG2 is my favorite D&D book of all time, finally replacing 2e's Sourcebook and Catacomb Guide for that slot. The group storytelling bit is one of my favorite things about it. I think the key to group storytelling is to have the players fill in the blanks when you need them to. I was rather unprepared for our game a few months ago, so when the players wanted details on the tomb they explored I asked them to tell me what things looked like. Brett asked about the columns supporting the ceiling and I threw the ball back in his court. He said, "The columns start solid at the base, then spiral upwards in twisting shapes, straightening out again; this represents the transformation of the changeling aelfs through time." We were all impressed with this fantastic detail that fit easily into the story. Brett explained that that week he'd seen a narwhal horn in a museum, and that image inspired him in his visualization of the pillars. I think that's the kind of thing you want to do with group storytelling in general. A player asks about something you haven't detailed and don't have a good answer for. Oftentimes I think the players are visualizing the game world more acutely than the DM--you are, after all, managing a number of different things while running the game, whereas the players are seeing it through the eyes of their characters. So when a player is tasked with describing what her character sees, I find it's often something really grounded in the setting I've been trying to create AND it gives ME more, and better, ideas. [/QUOTE]

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