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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ruin Explorer" data-source="post: 9629596" data-attributes="member: 18">I'd generally agree with this (and also think of it as "boxed text"). I don't think it's completely useless, but it's often done quite badly in a variety of different ways as you describe. I'd add that purple prose or just bad, clumsy prose are also not uncommon flaws with it.When I write up my own descriptions I use ALL CAPS to do this, which is roughly how Hollywood tends to approach it, and, in my experience, is the most effective way of calling stuff out for my brain (better than bold, underline, etc.).We did come across a situation a few years ago where the DM didn't read out the boxed text and it turned out that text had a massive bit of info that wasn't actually in the description of the room for the DM (something about a statue), and because this wasn't called out, we got kind of stuck. And the reason he didn't read the text out was that it was wildly overlong, but the info was buried in the middle of it - had that been called out he would have realized he needed to communicate it sooner.Definitely have come across this, but I feel like "droning"-style reading of boxed text is mostly on the DM. Like, just thinking back, most of the times I've seen this, it's either that DM just isn't good at/doesn't like reading things out (usually easy to see when they read out rules etc.), or they're reading out text that they are themselves embarrassed or bored by, yet feel duty-bound to read out anyway, which like, probably don't do that!</blockquote>

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