your descriptions

[alsih2o]

no matter how fantastice the enw module or your idea, no matter how many minis you have painted, no matter how well you know the rules, your game will suffer without the right descriptions.

i see this topic tackled at odd angles all the itme, but i wanna go at it head on.

what have you done to maximize everyones enjoy ment at the table (keyboard?) with your descriptions?

for architecture? monsters? distances? gods?

do you try to cover lots of details or get a verbal sketch done and let them imagine the rest?

maps help, as do minis. i personally use quite a ofew paitings and illustrations in my game, but i wonder what more i can do.

most of my best experiences as a player involved people who could encapsulate someone or somehting quickly while still giving it depth.

p-kitty was darned good at it. i cannot think of but a few descriptive words he used for every npc and scene, but everyone who was in that spycraft game can tell you all about each scene. i would like a little more of this myself.

 

[iwatt]

I'm basically just using maps. I always mean to go ito greater indepth descriptions, but I get swamped behind the DM screen. Also, the switch to using minis has actually downplayed my descriptions because now I just sketch the room's borders.

So I'd like to add my plea to yours:

Can anybody give us some good tips ans tricks to help describe NPCs and rooms, and worlds, and....?

 

[Starman]

When I am imagining a place, I try and think of a few key words for each of the senses, especially those other than sight. What we see is only a part of the experience and is often overemphasized. How do things smell? What sorts of background noises are there? What kind of texture does something have?

Starman

 

[diaglo]

all in the words.

if you read the story hour link in my sig, this is how i and my character imagine the way things are as described by the DM/ NPCs. (Olgar Shiverstone). and the other players.

some of the dialogue is word for word quotes. some of it is...my closest rememberance.

edit: i do, however, suck at putting it back into words myself. thus the journal/story hour to trigger things.

 

[nimisgod]

Whenever I describe something in a post (of a PBEM), I try to use the character's experiences to color their preceptions.

For example, if the character was a craftsman, the first thing I'd write about would be how he notices the architecture of a city.

With a druid, I use similies (or other expressions) that are colored with his knowledge of a wild. The light in a room might remind him of dusk in a forest. The serenity of a temple might be likened to the halcyon tranquility of a watering hole.

With minstrels, music. Whenever I can, I try to personalize experiences, even if it is a post that addresses more than one character. Of course, mood will intervene in this and it will not always look great (sometimes looking forced or contrived) but I think that it partially captures how most people perceive the world.

Of course, it helps that I require a basic description of the character and his personality before he enters.

 

[Wombat]

A few maps, a few pictures...

... a whole helluvalotta words!

I am an editor professionaly, which means I am a would-be author and poet

Sometimes games just come to a stop for descriptions!

Also I have a strong background in medieval history, general art history, and the like, so I am pretty good when it comes to that kind of vocabulary