From Dennis (OkayestDM)
The cave air sticks to your skin like a thin, slimy film. It is difficult to breathe in this warm, humid place. You feel a worrying give in the springy rock beneath your feet, and from deeper in the cavern you hear a deep rush of wind. In, out, in, out. This is no cave.
As a mostly improvisational GM, there is very little I actually prepare before a session. Perhaps the most important piece of prep I do is writing descriptions of things and places to be read aloud at the table. They remove the stress that comes with improvising good descriptions, and they usually turn out much better than any of my improvisations could be.
Learning how to write good read-outs is something that can take more than a lifetime, but there are certain writing rules you can follow to ensure your players are enthralled and immersed in your world.
- Use 3 senses. I forget this very often when improvising the description of the place. I tend to use only visual descriptions of the surroundings. This gives the players what they need to know, but it doesn’t immerse them in the space. Describe what they feel on their skin, the smell of the air, the sounds in the background. Doing this before any visual description will mean the difference between your players imagining a movie, and actually being there within their minds.
- Don’t re-use words too often. This is easily done with an online thesaurus tool. Whenever you notice you’re using the same word in consecutive sentences, find a synonym to replace it.
- Use the setting to reflect the characters’ emotions. This can take some practice, and doesn’t always work with Read-Outs unless you’re planning a significant event. If an NPC friend dies, it’s raining out to reflect sadness. If the party feels welcomed, the fire crackles happily in the corner. Or if there is tension in the air, maybe that fire crackles angrily. It’s the same fire, but the way it is described reflects how the characters are feeling.
These tools have helped immensely in my descriptions. In fact, I have a reminder note that reads 3 SENSES right above my desk where I write and run games. I’m amazed at how much my games have been improved by just that one rule. With practice using these rules, your game’s atmosphere will take on a new, vibrant color, and evoke strong emotions in your players as they carve their way through the story you tell together.
From Saint Paul, Minnesota, Dennis Fleming started running TTRPGs in 2014. An avid player and GM, he has been in several streamed Actual Plays and has his own TTRPG YouTube channel, Okayest DM and his other projects
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