From the article archive
Writing Practice, Jan. 6 2002
As I was getting ready to start today's column I caught a scene on TV. It was at the tale end of the Animal Planet documentary, Ultimate Killers. This particular sequence dealing with killer whales.
It was off the British Columbia coast and showed a pair of orcas pacing a couple of humans in kayaks. The people were going at a good, steady pace, and the killer whales were swimming rings about them, occasionally breeching for a better look.
I was going to write about the subjects anyway, but this reinforced my decision. Now, before you continue reading this, go see if you can find a good cowboy movie on TV. With any luck there will be a shot of the wide open spaces. When you're done with looking at the scenery, go click around the dial looking for scenic shots. Travel shows, nature documentaries, and outdoor sports shows are good for this.
Do I have a point for all this? Yea, Man is a visual animal. We first noticed what things look like. I covered this briefly in yesterday's column, but thought it would be a good idea to expand it to a game's surroundings.
On most any day I can look out my balcony and see the Coronado Bay Bridge. A sweep of blue over the bay, supported by great pillars that tower over the tallest aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy. How many scenes do you get like that do you get in your typical game session?
We seem to have forgotten how to describe the scenery. Indeed, we have quite forgotten the importance scenary holds in setting the story and keeping our attention. A city is a city is a city. When the GM tells us we've entered a city we're most apt to pass it off as just another (sigh) city. But what if he were to tell you, "You pass through the gates. The street is wide and paved with dressed stone, the buildings set back from the curbing. A half mile up is the city's main temple, a towering edifice of limestone faced with marble. All the buildings you can see are done in the Greek style, painted in bright colors. Streamers and banners fly everywhere and people of many races walk, ride, run, stroll, fly, and glide before you. Perched upon the coping, eaves, and roof edges gargoyles watch the crowds below with avid interest. A hunger for the taste of those of vile and evil sort can be seen burning in their eyes, even at your remove."
Not as quick as, "You're in the city." but it shows so much more.
In addition, it helps place the party in the world. The city above is not just any city, it is a particular city. Your players usually wouldn't remember a generic city, but it is a rare person who wouldn't remember the city of gargoyles.
What of encounters?
First GM: As you travel through the mountain pass you are attacked by a flock of harpies.
Second GM: A half day's ride in the pass narrows to a path barely wide enough for you to travel single file. The granite walls to either side rise steeply up, forming a sharp "V" with you at the bottom. High up you can see some very large birds with oddly misshapened heads, three or four in number. You cannot hear the sounds they make.
As the mountains' shadows deepen around you a noisome breeze catches your attention, an air that stinks of the slaughterhouse. With that stench comes cackling, as of demented old women. Cackles from high in the air.
Tell me, which of the above is more apt to make your players say, "I think we're in the wrong story."?
It does add to your work, but the rewards are great.
And speaking of rewards, do all encounters have to involve combat? Let me put it this way, if there were dragons in real life, would only high level stock brokers meet one?
Look at it this way, a bullete is far more likely to dine on a farmer's plowhorse than it is to snack on a paladin's destrier. For one thing, there are more plowhorses than destriers in the first place. Then consider the number of paladins running around.
Not all encounters are going to be "set up" for the party. Sometimes the party will face something it really can't handle, unless they are lucky, and/or good.
But, do all encounters have to involve a fight? A gloriously gory fight to the death for that matter?
Nope.
Consider real world animal behavior. On that same documentary I mentioned before the host refered to the great white shark as being, well, cowardly. I prefer to think of them as sensible.
Predators aren't out looking for a fight, they're out looking for lunch. A lion that gets severely injured everytime he's looking for a meal is a lion that's not going to live long. Same thing holds true with herbivores. A lame impala is a dead impala.
Animals by and large are looking for food, escape, or procreation at the lowest cost to themselves in time and resources. A wolf isn't looking for honor and glory, he's looking for chow and a place to bed down for the night.
Consider the bullete above. Faced with the sharp, pointy things most PCs carry he's more apt to try running away. He don't know they're only first level, he has his hide to worry about. If they press the matter he will fight viciously, but given a way to escape he will take it.
Even the grumpiest wolverine will avoid a fight if given a real choice.
Save the knock down, drag outs for dramatic moments. If a bison wanders into camp yelling, jumping up and down, and waving things at it will usually suffice to see it on its way. It may trample a tent on the way out, but tents take less effort to repair than a body.
"The catoblepas cow gives you a rheumy look, then turns back to her grazing. Another four or five of her herd mates crop the rain darkened grass about her while the bull watches for enemies more impressive than you. The veldt for as far as you can see is thick from the recent heavy rains. The catoblepas show no sign of moving on soon. Trapped in that spindly, prickly, ant infested tree you are not going to get much sleep tonight."
*****
Coming up: I came up with something for today, I'll come up with something tomorrow.
I stopped and thought for awhile after typing the sentence just above and something about the weather in RPGs came to me. Considering what I wrote about these last two days, I'm thinking something along the line of describing the weather, and encounters during inclement weather. So think of tomorrow's installment as part three of the, "Descriptions, Encounters, and Ill Winds" trilogy. Unless something else comes up. See you later.
Alan
It was off the British Columbia coast and showed a pair of orcas pacing a couple of humans in kayaks. The people were going at a good, steady pace, and the killer whales were swimming rings about them, occasionally breeching for a better look.
I was going to write about the subjects anyway, but this reinforced my decision. Now, before you continue reading this, go see if you can find a good cowboy movie on TV. With any luck there will be a shot of the wide open spaces. When you're done with looking at the scenery, go click around the dial looking for scenic shots. Travel shows, nature documentaries, and outdoor sports shows are good for this.
Do I have a point for all this? Yea, Man is a visual animal. We first noticed what things look like. I covered this briefly in yesterday's column, but thought it would be a good idea to expand it to a game's surroundings.
On most any day I can look out my balcony and see the Coronado Bay Bridge. A sweep of blue over the bay, supported by great pillars that tower over the tallest aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy. How many scenes do you get like that do you get in your typical game session?
We seem to have forgotten how to describe the scenery. Indeed, we have quite forgotten the importance scenary holds in setting the story and keeping our attention. A city is a city is a city. When the GM tells us we've entered a city we're most apt to pass it off as just another (sigh) city. But what if he were to tell you, "You pass through the gates. The street is wide and paved with dressed stone, the buildings set back from the curbing. A half mile up is the city's main temple, a towering edifice of limestone faced with marble. All the buildings you can see are done in the Greek style, painted in bright colors. Streamers and banners fly everywhere and people of many races walk, ride, run, stroll, fly, and glide before you. Perched upon the coping, eaves, and roof edges gargoyles watch the crowds below with avid interest. A hunger for the taste of those of vile and evil sort can be seen burning in their eyes, even at your remove."
Not as quick as, "You're in the city." but it shows so much more.
In addition, it helps place the party in the world. The city above is not just any city, it is a particular city. Your players usually wouldn't remember a generic city, but it is a rare person who wouldn't remember the city of gargoyles.
What of encounters?
First GM: As you travel through the mountain pass you are attacked by a flock of harpies.
Second GM: A half day's ride in the pass narrows to a path barely wide enough for you to travel single file. The granite walls to either side rise steeply up, forming a sharp "V" with you at the bottom. High up you can see some very large birds with oddly misshapened heads, three or four in number. You cannot hear the sounds they make.
As the mountains' shadows deepen around you a noisome breeze catches your attention, an air that stinks of the slaughterhouse. With that stench comes cackling, as of demented old women. Cackles from high in the air.
Tell me, which of the above is more apt to make your players say, "I think we're in the wrong story."?
It does add to your work, but the rewards are great.
And speaking of rewards, do all encounters have to involve combat? Let me put it this way, if there were dragons in real life, would only high level stock brokers meet one?
Look at it this way, a bullete is far more likely to dine on a farmer's plowhorse than it is to snack on a paladin's destrier. For one thing, there are more plowhorses than destriers in the first place. Then consider the number of paladins running around.
Not all encounters are going to be "set up" for the party. Sometimes the party will face something it really can't handle, unless they are lucky, and/or good.
But, do all encounters have to involve a fight? A gloriously gory fight to the death for that matter?
Nope.
Consider real world animal behavior. On that same documentary I mentioned before the host refered to the great white shark as being, well, cowardly. I prefer to think of them as sensible.
Predators aren't out looking for a fight, they're out looking for lunch. A lion that gets severely injured everytime he's looking for a meal is a lion that's not going to live long. Same thing holds true with herbivores. A lame impala is a dead impala.
Animals by and large are looking for food, escape, or procreation at the lowest cost to themselves in time and resources. A wolf isn't looking for honor and glory, he's looking for chow and a place to bed down for the night.
Consider the bullete above. Faced with the sharp, pointy things most PCs carry he's more apt to try running away. He don't know they're only first level, he has his hide to worry about. If they press the matter he will fight viciously, but given a way to escape he will take it.
Even the grumpiest wolverine will avoid a fight if given a real choice.
Save the knock down, drag outs for dramatic moments. If a bison wanders into camp yelling, jumping up and down, and waving things at it will usually suffice to see it on its way. It may trample a tent on the way out, but tents take less effort to repair than a body.
"The catoblepas cow gives you a rheumy look, then turns back to her grazing. Another four or five of her herd mates crop the rain darkened grass about her while the bull watches for enemies more impressive than you. The veldt for as far as you can see is thick from the recent heavy rains. The catoblepas show no sign of moving on soon. Trapped in that spindly, prickly, ant infested tree you are not going to get much sleep tonight."
*****
Coming up: I came up with something for today, I'll come up with something tomorrow.
I stopped and thought for awhile after typing the sentence just above and something about the weather in RPGs came to me. Considering what I wrote about these last two days, I'm thinking something along the line of describing the weather, and encounters during inclement weather. So think of tomorrow's installment as part three of the, "Descriptions, Encounters, and Ill Winds" trilogy. Unless something else comes up. See you later.
Alan
Recovered from the Gaming Outpost database backup. Original wording is preserved; damaged punctuation and presentation markup have been repaired. Historical links without a local match point to the Internet Archive.