D&D 5E To boxed text or not to boxed text

[Maxperson]

The point is that if play doesn't go to those locations then the boxed text serves no point. So if you don't know in advance where the action will take place, then boxed text for a small number of possible locations is of little use.

It does serve a point. If/when the party ever decides to go there, I have a description and other stuff ready. They may never go there, but not showing up doesn't negate the purpose.

And if you have prep time then you can prepare your own descriptions hence don't need boxed text.

Me prepping or them prepping is the same, except for what we think is important to note. Besides, just because I have some time to prep, doesn't mean that I couldn't use some help in the form of pre-made descriptions and ideas.

Hence the suggestion that it is a niche tool for running a railroad with little prep.

Except not. If they aren't being forced there, it's not a railroad. Boxed text is just an aid to save time. If someone is improperly using it as a railroad, that doesn't change the purpose of the tool. It's like accusing a screwdriver of being a tool for murder, just because some people use it that way.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

The point is that if play doesn't go to those locations then the boxed text serves no point. So if you don't know in advance where the action will take place, then boxed text for a small number of possible locations is of little use.

And if you have prep time then you can prepare your own descriptions hence don't need boxed text.

Hence the suggestion that it is a niche tool for running a railroad with little prep.

?? What if I just want someone to have written description for rooms, whether they are visited or not.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

I mean, I don't know what's bad with getting some nice evocative descriptions of buildings, rooms, characters as a timesaver allowing me to concentrate my prep work on other areas.

 

[pemerton]

@Maxperson, @QuentinGeorge - here is the post that I am elaborating upon (as I understand it - it's not my post):

I regard boxed text as a niche tool for when the plan is to run a railroad without much prep.

The two of you have made it clear that you do not regard boxed text as the niche tool this post describes it as. You are happy to have descriptions prepared in advance but don't regard that as part of getting ready to run a railroad.

That's your prerogative, of course. But on the flip side, you can probably infer what I think and what I take @chaochou to think: namely, if I'm not planning to run a game with pre-determined content and scenes (ie a railroad), then boxed text is not a useful tool.

I mean, I don't know what's bad with getting some nice evocative descriptions of buildings, rooms, characters as a timesaver allowing me to concentrate my prep work on other areas.

Again, the thought - at least, my thought but I believe also @chaochou's thought - is that if the game is not a railroad then that stuff will be worked out in the course of play via player-GM interaction.

 

[Imaculata]

D&D is a primarily English-language game, although it has been translated into different languages around the world.

This I do not have a problem with.

And if you are really talking about boxed text existing at all, stop throwing in the strawman argument of it being about the language differences. Those are two completely separate topics.

It is not a straw man argument, but you just made one.

By design, boxed text is meant to be read aloud, correct? And most of the time, that text is going to be in English. But quite often, your campaign is not being run in English. So you are interrupting your session with reading text aloud in a different language. That is jarring, and one of several reasons I listed for disliking boxed text.

It is a completely fair argument.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

This I do not have a problem with.



It is not a straw man argument, but you just made one.

By design, boxed text is meant to be read aloud, correct? And most of the time, that text is going to be in English. But quite often, your campaign is not being run in English. So you are interrupting your session with reading text aloud in a different language. That is jarring, and one of several reasons I listed for disliking boxed text.

It is a completely fair argument.

I think the argument is that I would expect a D&D module translated into Spanish to have Spanish boxed text. The fact it doesn't is utterly bizarre to me.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

@Maxperson, @QuentinGeorge - here is the post that I am elaborating upon (as I understand it - it's not my post):

The two of you have made it clear that you do not regard boxed text as the niche tool this post describes it as. You are happy to have descriptions prepared in advance but don't regard that as part of getting ready to run a railroad.

That's your prerogative, of course. But on the flip side, you can probably infer what I think and what I take @chaochou to think: namely, if I'm not planning to run a game with pre-determined content and scenes (ie a railroad), then boxed text is not a useful tool.

Again, the thought - at least, my thought but I believe also @chaochou's thought - is that if the game is not a railroad then that stuff will be worked out in the course of play via player-GM interaction.

Do you invent the contents of rooms and the descriptions of buildings totally on the fly? Is your entire campaign a Schrodinger's box? Is a block of text talking about a drab room with two chairs and a painting of a man with a beard somehow constitute railroading?

 

[TheSword]

Bullet points descriptions that the DM can expand upon as required are more natural and flow better in the story.

I definitely can see boxed text spoiling immersion. However the kind of descriptive writing is useful for training DMs to give more information.

Maybe the compromise is bullet point text, written descriptively with clear markers for what information is hidden and what becomes apparent during exploration.

 

[pemerton]

I think the argument is that I would expect a D&D module translated into Spanish to have Spanish boxed text. The fact it doesn't is utterly bizarre to me.

I'm about 99% certain that @Imaculata is talking about running a non-English language D&D session using English-language materials. And is complaining that in that context, English-language boxed text is unhelpful or an obstacle, because it pushes towards the "intrusion" of English-language narrative into a non-English language gaming session.

I've never had the experience, as I do English-language RPGing with an English-speaking group in a predominantly English-speaking country. But I can understand why it would be frustrating, and why a presentation of information in a different format that doesn't presuppose being read aloud might be helpful.

 

[pemerton]

Do you invent the contents of rooms and the descriptions of buildings totally on the fly?

Mostly. If I'm drawing on someone else's material I might draw on their descriptions of buildings. But I don't need boxed text to do that - though clear editing and layout can be helpful.

Is your entire campaign a Schrodinger's box?

I don't think I've ever GMed or played in a RPG where quantum uncertainty figured as an element of play.