Dungeon Masters, Stop Talking!

[@BanditsKeep]

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[@randkelvrek6392]

So true. I can watch my players' eyes gloss over if I talk for more than about 2 minutes. lol

[@BanditsKeep]

😂

[@DMRaptorJesus]

Man I have to thank you for this, apparently my awkward pauses where I'm silently panicking in my head (i actually have no idea what I'm doing) are instead me being a master DM haha! This is some good advice, because often when I'm in my panic I notice the players start talking among themselves and making their own leaps in logic and I'm like "oh yeah thats a good idea." I think another bit of good advice is that when the party enters the room you give each player one facet of information from one of the five senses, so like they might as a party hear one thing but smell another.

[@BanditsKeep]

That’s a good idea - “Presto, you smell some incense burning “

[@Xplora213]

You know this is a very good idea. I might ask my players for the new campaign “which of your five senses are you good with, and which one are you bad with” and let that inform the descriptions.

[@DMRaptorJesus]

@@Xplora213Its a good way to get a good chunk of the party involved with the descriptions. Like they are all adding a little bit to uncovering the mystery of the dungeon.

[@sgtbigballs666]

The players should always be running the story, the DM is only there to fill in when the players are "stuck" In my opinion thats what makes for a fun game, but then again not everyone wants a fun game, a brutal game where the DM is punishing can be interesting 🤔 that's a rare group, gotta read the room or know your players

[@jeremymullens7167]

Descriptions of things should only come in on a change. This is how our senses really work and would help draw them to something important. If you smell a new smell and now want to know if you’re closer or farther from it you have to focus. That means the player will have to ask the dm. With smells and sounds to set the mood and increase mystery and tension. Over describing can distract. Even visually you describe the stone work when they encounter it and then only describe again when it changes. I do think letting some players smell things early might be fine. Maybe have the dwarf better at noticing better stone work. I say take a page from George RR Martin and taylor the descriptions to the characters. Give the exists and hiding spots to the thief. Maybe point out a chest or gold. The fighter sees threats and possible places for enemies to come. The mage is on the look out for books and magic. Then maybe what ever individual flair the characters have.

[@hopefulhyena3400]

When I’m typing out details for a room, I’ll change the color of the text after a sentence or two so that when I’m reading it back, I stop at the color changes and only keep going after a bit of player interaction. It also forces me to get the most necessary stuff into the black and have it be the first thing out of my mouth.

[@FlintFireforge]

Just ran a game for new players and had several moments where, after I gave a brief description, took action. One character wanted to check the saddle bags on the horse of a Lord and, I had no idea what was going to be in that bag until she ask. I told her, "unsent love letters" which, thankfully, went along with why they were looking for this lost Lord. I think we, DM's, feel liek we have to talk because we're the DM's, we have to carry things. A good pause does all the work for you. Keep up the good work.

[@BanditsKeep]

That’s an awesome story!

[@williamobraidislee3433]

Man, the part about me talking and then finishing, and my players being silent, is nail on the head accurate. I just want to keep talking so there's noise. It's like in pulp fiction when Uma Thurman said "just shut the fuck up and be comfortable with silence."

[@solomani5959]

This is good advice. As a DM I minimize how much I talk and I always try and hand it back to the PCs as fast as possible. One “trick” I use sometimes is I print out the box text of a module and get the players to read it out. That way I am not talking as much and keeps players more involved. And I find when a player reads out a text box they are more likely to pickup on things without DM influence.

[@BanditsKeep]

That’s a cool idea, I’ll have to give that a try

[@RayOtus]

I learned this lesson from teaching literature - when to be silent and wait for students to process and gather the courage to express themselves.

[@BanditsKeep]

That’s a great way to frame it “gather the courage to express themselves”

[@yourseatatthetable]

Kudos for talking about this issue. I start gaming in the late 70s, and I believe about 95% of it as a GM , (or whatever the reader prefers to call it). It took me decades to understand that I have to watch how much I interject - being the conductor of the railroad of my own creating, if you will. It's normal to want our players to engage in the setting or scenario that we've spent so much time and effort on, but, and there's always a but, eh? But, I believe now that all I am doing at that point is breaking immersion and distracting the players from actually playing. We want them to play, to interact with the setting. I still have to check my, ah, enthusiasm when arranging the room, so to speak. To let them explore and discover.

[@BanditsKeep]

For sure

[@spaceranger7683]

One of the things I like about most Shadowdark adventures is that they don't have boxed text, so much as they have elements of the room/scene. When you briefly describe these elements, rather than reading a small paragraph, you are less likely to lead them to believe there is a "right" way to interpret what you said, or find hidden meaning in what you read to them, or overlook stuff early in the paragraph.

[@BanditsKeep]

That does seem to be common in some of the newer indie games - OSE is the same

[@of_in_the_cold_food1712]

Preach. I don't have the heart to tell my DM that I completely lose interest when he's spending 5 minutes describing the vista as we enter a town for the first time

[@danacoleman4007]

so you'd rather sit there and not enjoy yourself? I'm sure that's not what your DM wants. you should tell him or her

[@BanditsKeep]

I hear you, me neither.

[@LokisLair]

Absolute banger! 🎉

[@BanditsKeep]

Thanks!

[@direden]

I gave this a thumbs up before I even finished watching... because I 💯% Agree with the premise

[@BanditsKeep]

Ha, ha thanks! Great drinking video BTW! I would not have made it nearly as far.

[@TheLoveTruffle]

Yes! I always try new stuff or different approaches when running games, and I feel my current game I have the amount of talking dialed in to where I want it. The players have been able to find most of the hidden objects or items of interest in the various scenes without me needing to draw their attention directly to them. It also always feels good when they either talk amongst themselves about the situation or ask to further investigate their surroundings.

[@dustincoopermusic]

OMG, I am sooooo guilty of this! And it's even worse since we are playing online too. This is great advice! Thank you! Now I'm going to put a sticky note on the corner of my screen that says "K.I.S.S: Keep it short, stupid!" lol

[@BanditsKeep]

Ha ha, nice!

[@timothylamont845]

Great video, Daniel. I wish I could remember where I read it, I would credit them if I could, but someone suggested a "3-2-1 Rule" when describing a location --> 3 sights, 2 smells, 1 sound. The 2 and 1 can be swapped as needed. Obviously it is not a hard and fast rule, but having it as a guide has helped me more times than I can count. There is a natural feeling of awkwardness or unease when a lull develops in a conversation. When I, as DM, feel that urge to speak, I pick up percentile dice and roll them instead. Nothing gets players' attention quicker than the sound of dice rolling LOL I use that as a prompt to use your technique of asking a specific player what they want to do. Your channel is a treasure trove! Thank you yet again!

[@BanditsKeep]

Great idea, I sometimes just ask a player to roll a die - and say something that PC notices

[@TaintedBalance]

I found playing Powered by the Apocalypse and inspired games were good for building a toolset to overcome this, especially the points about starting the game in an action scene, and constantly asking "What do you do next?". Being upfront in session 0 that it is a storytelling experience at the table and that the players have a critical role in it as well goes a long way of priming everyone to be engaged. As an additional tool, I give everyone a personal loot clock that gets filled when do a relevant action to drive the scene forward or roll to find out in a meaningful way to the scene. Using your library example, if the wizard character starts describing how they start quickly scanning the shelves and materials to figure out if there are magic scrolls or tomes, even if I didn't plan for there to be some there, if they happen to fill their personal loot clock during that scene, they just might find one. However, if the thief is scanning through for dirt/blackmail/treasure maps, they could end up finding something more relevant to them. This takes a bit more prep work with the players and keeping a loose list for each of them for things that can be fished up easily and make sense, but it also helps the players figure out their characters when you ask in session 0 "what things would your character care about?" and then check in with them every few sessions to see if the list is still relevant. "I want a scroll of wish" is generally bad, and should be redirected towards "my character is on the path of conjuration and wishes to eventually reach the status of arch mage, here are some milestones I'd like for them" and then working out things that fit there. The DM ultimately controls what's on that list, and you can use it as a way to control the tone of your game as well.

[@BanditsKeep]

Interesting ideal, I don’t generally place treasure based on player desires - but I can see that working well for some tables

[@TaintedBalance]

@@BanditsKeep right, it depends on the table and the scale. I'm also using a very broad definition of treasure here, such as information and clues that can lead them to those things they want while leaving lots of hooks out there to try to make the world seem deeper than I've bothered making it. If the dwarf fighter wants an adamantine battle axe, they aren't going to get it just from that roll, but they might find hints about a fallen dwarven hold, or an orc warband that once sacked many dwarven holds before it was finally driven back. They also might just find some high quality whetstones or some minor tchotchkes that they uniquely recognize as having value to dwarves and so can claim it as their own without the other players putting up much argument. It is primarily about building out the world and the characters, not about being an extra loot piñata. As a note specific to your preferred playstyle from what I've seen in the videos, I'd have to think extra hard about it if I used loot as part of the XP formula gain, which I generally do not. I'd probably just be upfront with the players that this "personal loot" does not count towards the XP gain, or set that they only get the XP gain when they can actually act upon the loot in a meaningful way.

[@HateSonneillon]

I agree. Thankfully I think this is one of the few things I'm actually pretty good at as a DM, balancing info giving with time for player agency. Though sometimes I give too little info or forget to say some important small details and have to backtrack and fill them in so the players have a better understanding of the situation. I think I typically describe scenes with the broad info and a flair detail, like its a tavern with a phoenix sign, a forest with crystals at the tree roots, or a stone hall with narrow slits in the walls. This seems to be enough to set the scene with enough info that the players can figure out the rest. Like if you say "its a kitchen" you don't need to describe the stove and all the tools in it unless there is something special about them, and players can assume that it has all those things without telling them. I typically limit myself to 1 flair since its all you need to add personality to a place and enough for the players to interact with it without it being too overbearing that the players feel like they have to interact with it, and I don't want to strain my brain thinking of too many details just to make a single place feel special.

[@BanditsKeep]

That’s a great way to look at it … a (type of space) with a (flair)

[@heroeshomebrew]

It's often tough to find that balance between talking too much and not enough. I used to talk way too much and try to describe everything but now that I'm more experienced and comfortable when I run games I try to tell the players what a few of their senses might be experiencing and leave the rest to them.

[@BanditsKeep]

For sure, it’s easy to get excited and describe every detail!

[@MarkMcMillen2112]

As always, Daniel, you have a great feel for targeting topics that matter. Honestly, I struggle with this issue all the time. I don't want to over describe but want to give them plenty of information. And, being a player as well as DM, I struggle with this on the other side. As a player I often feel as if I don't have enough information to make good decisions. I prefer it when the players make action statements that I can then use to amend their understanding. If I describe a room with a chasm and they say I run around the chasm and attack the monster, I can quickly retort, no the chasm is like 50 yards wide and 100 yards long. You'll be running for a while. Oh, in that case, I'll fire some arrows across while the thief carefully works his way around the chasm.... That sort of thing.

[@BanditsKeep]

That makes sense - you definitely don’t want to have the players make “bad moves” because they don’t understand or lack information

[@Calebgoblin]

Dang that's a punchy title for Bandit's keep! Love the video though Also I swear that my video got stuck buffering directly after you said "a long....." and I thought you were pulling the most millennial troll video edit ever haha

[@BanditsKeep]

😂

[@fammnak852]

Just found you Daniel and I appreciate your content so much. Love your style. Keep it up 🙌🏻

[@BanditsKeep]

Thank You!

[@jacobmarkley6943]

That is something I have definitely had a problem with. I end up trying too hard to describe a room, and then the players end up just focused on all the wrong things

[@BanditsKeep]

For sure

[@Andre99328]

I agree mostly with that if a DM is talking all the time. If you are in a dungeon, castle etc. descriptions of rooms should not become a speach. Let the players ask questions is always a good idea. On the other hand, if there is a change of sceen, the PC visiting a different city, or if they arrive in another kingdom, I usually give, as a DM, a longer discription so that the PCs get the understanding of the atmosphere, important locations, and cultural differences of the new location; and as a player I expect a DM to do the same. Again, totally agree on short describtions during an adventure, but a bit sad that people are not able to concentrate and listen for a few minutes or don't enjoy it.

[@BanditsKeep]

I think you can still break it up with new kingdoms - pausing the ask players what their characters would have researched about the place etc. vs a general history.

[@Username-2153]

Not sure if this has already been said but, I find a good method is to set a prompt term. I use "What do you do?" So players know, I'm done talking, it's your turn to Roleplay out how you respond to what's happened. "You enter a dimly lit room, it smells of incense and dried vomit, there is a body on the floor which doesn't appear to be moving... What do you do?" -- Then I shut up and wait to adjudicate their actions.

[@BanditsKeep]

For sure, that helps

[@99zxk]

Speaking of talking and recordings, I have Night of the Vampire for the short-lived 2e Mystara. It has a CD for the DM to play short tracks with music, talking, etc.

[@BanditsKeep]

Interesting! I enjoy seeing how technology was (is) used in TTRPGs

[@99zxk]

@BanditsKeep Do you watch the Old Warlock? It's a father and son team that does mostly AD&D content. It's right up there with Seth Skorkowsky and you for RPG videos.

[@BanditsKeep]

@@99zxk I am a subscriber. Fun channel

[@SusCalvin]

You can start the dungeon itself with basic info. This section is dark unless I say otherwise. The walls are brickwork unless I say otherwise rtc. The water goes up to your knees in this floor. Then you don't need to constantly repeat basics.

[@BanditsKeep]

For sure

[@ketchupguns]

In a screemwriting , dramatizing the exposition is key. Involve confkixt There isn't a key on a table...there are two goblins fighting over a key on the table; they notice you come in and draw their swords.

[@BanditsKeep]

Indeed

[@jayteepodcast]

For me how I deal with this is just literally write in big bold letters "stop talking"when I get the urge to do it I just start writing in my notebook my what the players are asking for

[@BanditsKeep]

That’s a great idea, so simple but it makes you conscious of what you are doing/saying

[@Akinohotarubi]

Deficient Master has a great video about that last part. Basically, he recommends having as much points of interest as you have players, plus or minus one (unless you're purposefully trying to owhewhem them).

[@BanditsKeep]

Interesting

[@Marcus-ki1en]

I have been successful in describing what can be seen at first glance. Then the players must ask for more specific details. Stand in the doorway of a dark room and turn on the light for 1 second then turn the light off. Now describe what you saw: A chair, a couch, a table. Now turn on the light and add detail. Example - Players: open the door. DM: you see a tapestry on the wall. Players: What does it look like? GM: Describe the Bayeux Tapestry

[@BanditsKeep]

Indeed

[@bigbiggoblin2873]

Guilty! I am always trying to fill the silence when I don’t need to. Good advice.

[@BanditsKeep]

It’s not uncommon

[@DiceTomb]

This video touches on some very important things to think about. Also….Hank, Bobby, Presto… man I tried to watch that cartoon again the other day. It’s one of those ones better left to remembering how “awesome” it was when I was ten 🤣

[@BanditsKeep]

You’ve got to embrace your inner 10 year old when you try and watch 😊

[@turtlecheese8]

In my experience, not only does not talking help in the ways you mentioned, but if they say "does this table have X on it I can use to solve puzzle Y" and it seems reasonable, I go with it and let them have a little autonomy in crafting an otherwise ambiguous setting.

[@BanditsKeep]

For sure, I do the same

[@vikingskuld]

Thank you for your videos. I recently started playing D&D again. Since i havent played in almost 30 years its all new and exciting again lol.

[@BanditsKeep]

That’s awesome, I also took a very long break and now it brings so much fun to my life.

[@vikingskuld]

@@BanditsKeep thanks part of the issue is age. Me being older and having played from it's earlier times to it's most popular. All the people I played D&D with are gone, moved away and have families. I got lucky and ran across a guy at work who have played for years. We got to talking and he invited me along. I really have a hard time expressing how lucky I am to have found a group. Thanks again for what your doing.

[@Frolmaster]

I'm so bad at this. Gotta remember to shut up once or twice. I'll try to remember your tips for my next game. Unfortunately, I can't make any promises ... I'm so bad at this...

[@BanditsKeep]

You are not alone 😊

[@nathanaelthomas9243]

Thanks for the video! I think this points out a common DM pitfall and one that I’m guilty of and I appreciate the reminder. I have to make a conscious effort not to over describe.

[@BanditsKeep]

Thank You!

[@EnDungeoned]

I like to end descriptions with "what do you do?" or as Johnny Chiodini says "What do?", then if no one responds strait away I might ask each player in either Table Order, Reverse Table Order or Marching Order - or of course Initiative Order if Combat is going on.

[@SusCalvin]

The players discuss amongst themselves. They can appoint a caller who is their spokesperson. I'm not really interested in what they do as individuals all the time.

[@BanditsKeep]

For sure

[@EnDungeoned]

@@SusCalvin I find having a caller limits interaction between players and GM and stifles Role Play. Too much like giving orders in a Wargame.

[@SusCalvin]

@@EnDungeoned At best, it's more like a spokesperson for the group. If there's more than eight of them it helps if they move as a group. They still discuss and roleplay as much as they like but I need to know what routine you lot follows as you move. Like a marching order, if I know the standard docrine is to have Elfvis hold the torch while Siegwurst checks the ceiling with a shotgun ready we don't have to repeat this for every corridor. The players make decisions by consensus, they have a flat hierarchy.

[@michaelwest4325]

The part I still work on is how to describe a room that is an encounter, letting them know the space but also the danger without it slowing to lose that visceral reaction.

[@BanditsKeep]

That can be tricky, I tend do it differently depending on what the encounter is and if surprise is an issue

[@Matt_Volk]

TL;DR Sometimes players need to learn to shut up too... I had a weird thing happen which led to me leaving a game. It wasn't the GM who talked too much, but one of the players would persist to interrogate the GM about every detail: "How many legs does the table have? Is it wooden? What kind of wood?" This would go on for several minutes and it seemed to me like the player was angling for some kind of advantage. "If I ask the right question, I'll get advantage on my roll or a super low DC." Even worse, they would narrate every thought of their character as if they were making a crisis level decision at every turn. Like someone who is playing chess and has to rehash why each of their pieces is in its current location, then talk through every possible move they could make. It slowed down the action so much that it took us over 15 hours of gameplay to get from entering the town, to a little shopping, to meeting with our contact. Eventually, we were about to set out on the adventure, when the player stopped us again and said he wanted to go an RP some interactions about preparing for the trip. These would mostly be 1-on-1 interactions. The session ended there, but I stayed after to talk to the GM. I pointed out that this player was occupying about 70% of the game with their analysis narration. They said it was his "playstyle" and expressed no inclination toward shifting the balance of interaction to be more even between the players... So, I thanked them for the game. But said that I was incompatible with this person's "playstyle" and would not be joining further games. So, it's not just GMs who need to learn to "stop talking."

[@BanditsKeep]

It’s good you found out early that group wasn’t a good fit.

[@bravealicegames]

Thanks Daniel for being one of the best KZbin channels because of your cool topics and advice! Keep up the great work, we love your videos :)

[@BanditsKeep]

Thanks!

[@RuiSaltao]

Great advice!! It's harder to do than it sounds, though.

[@BanditsKeep]

That is the truth

[@ivancarabano]

I love all bandits keep videos!

[@BanditsKeep]

Thanks!

[@michaelwebb3827]

Pausing and letting the players help guide the world-building is one thing that I consider myself reasonably competent at. I think the reason why some struggle with this is that the modules and adventure books have trained beginning DMs for decades that massive, long, read-aloud text for most of the rooms is what they should be doing. My step 1 suggestion to anyone is if you are running modules and doing that; stop. Parse the thing ahead of time, make a few bullet points in place of the paragraph (or 2, or 5), and keep it short. The players can ask if they want more things fleshed out.

[@BanditsKeep]

Great advice

[@dantherpghero2885]

After an info dump I give a summary of the key points. So there's the bookcase, the desk, a sword in the corner, and some scratches on the flooring that disappear under the rug. Where do you want to start?

[@BanditsKeep]

Do you feel both are needed?

[@dantherpghero2885]

@@BanditsKeepSince I am prone to info dumps, the summaries help bring the players back into focus.

[@BanditsKeep]

@@dantherpghero2885 makes sense

[@jeremydurdil556]

With 7 players I run a pretty big table. I rarely narrate for more than about 20 seconds at a time. If they need/want more they will ask. The game is centered around imagination. You’ve got to give them a moment to think. If they are taking too long to think or decide something, the game will move along anyway. “While you are thinking about it, this (light fire under asses) is happening. Works like a charm.

[@BanditsKeep]

For sure, giving a little bit more when they are stuck is important.

[@NegativeHeadspace]

Daniel ur great. Ur channel has some of the best game mastering content anywhere. I can't add anything to this video because ur right and concise. Absolutely GM 101, shut up.. let the players do the work.

[@BanditsKeep]

Thank You!

[@Reefufui]

Thanks for the video! Great points

[@BanditsKeep]

Thanks for watching!

[@Jergal1]

Great topic!

[@BanditsKeep]

Thank You!

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

I keep it short to allow the players to speak and comment on what is happening.

[@BanditsKeep]

Nice!

[@Doodle1776]

This is where I always get "critters" mad at me. Because I state that I would hate Matt Mercer as my GM because he talks too much. Dronning on and on until I mentally check out because it's just one info dump after another. As a GM I am very big on painting the picture and moving the camera. Explain the rough outline of the room, village, or city, then if players want to know more I answer their questions from there. Not long, drawn out info dumps that just bog things and drag the game down because they will not be interacting with most of what I just told them anyway.

[@BanditsKeep]

It’s fine to discuss overall play style but please refrain from insulting people.

[@hopeandpiece]

imo, the DM shouldn't speak at all, the players should show up, scream out "lets heckin go!", be able to narrate what badassery they get up to, and the DM's only job should be to nod along approvingly. /s

[@BanditsKeep]

😂 I guess that would be one way to play

[@quinnlawless6263]

Good advice as always!

[@BanditsKeep]

Thank You!

[@DjDreamcastle]

I'm so good at this that it becomes a fault. Ive been told that Im too patient. Once Im sure that everyone has their curiosity satisfied, Ill sit back and let them figure out what to do as a group. Unfortunately they often dont come to a consensus, and Im happy to sip coffee for a few hours until they do. Its actually kind of a drag.

[@BanditsKeep]

Sitting back is not what I’m suggesting - asking questions and being asked questions is.

[@DjDreamcastle]

That happens of course, thus the curiosity of the players being satisfied. Players receive their prompts, "you have all determined a goal. What do you want to do?" My experience pushes this to the next possible issue, which is the indecisive group. Player A, B, C, and D weigh in, then stare at each other for possibly hours. Nothing gets done. It's an anecdotal situation, but it's been plaguing my current campaign for the last two years.

[@vercingetorix721]

Great video as always

[@BanditsKeep]

Thank You!

[@yellotang]

Another Great Video!!!

[@BanditsKeep]

Thank You!

[@dungeondumbo]

Good advice 👍

[@BanditsKeep]

Thank You!

[@LuizPaiva2077]

Lately I've been trying to watch an actual play on twitch but, besides loving the system and the idea for the campaign, I wasn't able to follow along for more than 10min! I wasn't aware of the reason why but now I understand...

[@BanditsKeep]

That’s really interesting and I can totally see that.

[@jeffallen559]

Somewhat related. I always hated when GM's would use a module and read the descriptive text straight from the module. It always sounded stilted and was uninteresting and people would tune out. When ever I ran pre-published modules I would just make bullet points for each room and then and just wing it from there.

[@BanditsKeep]

I definitely think it’s best to read that to yourself as a DM and then describe the space to the players in your own (brief) style

[@raff3486]

great video

[@BanditsKeep]

Thank You!

[@Joshuazx]

Players are meant to be seen and not heard!

[@BanditsKeep]

I see

[@tunkatodd4539]

I'm a firm believer in the Rule of 3 when GM'ing. So I am team Brief

[@BanditsKeep]

Nice

[@johnandrewbellner]

What can we do to get this channel more widespread awareness?

[@BanditsKeep]

I would imagine sharing the video helps. Thanks so much

[@johnandrewbellner]

@@BanditsKeep I do and I will continue to do so.

[@BanditsKeep]

@@johnandrewbellner thanks!

[@SHONNER]

Make a video.

[@tomkerruish2982]

I'm trying to give this a thumbs up, but I keep getting some weird 'resource has been exhausted' error. Addendum: The exhausted resource has apparently been replenished. Maybe I liked too many videos too quickly?

[@BanditsKeep]

Weird, I’ve never seen that one

[@SHONNER]

KZbin servers are updating.

[@scottwarren3948]

💯

[@BanditsKeep]

😊

[@jacobo_fungus_farmer]

Yes, preach! I very much prefer a GM that talks less. I don't mind the occasional funny NPC voice, but way too often the GM spends too much time play-acting instead of posing interesting problems and decisions to the players.

[@SusCalvin]

The weirder stuff they meet and see, the weirder my attempts to explain tends to get. I can say "You see a car" and everyone can understand. At most they want a detail like "Is it the cop car we saw earlier?" or "I take the number". But when they see a chameleon wyrm snoozing among a trove of recyclable bottles, in a dungeon of compressed garbage looking like it can cave in...

[@BanditsKeep]

1 on 1 role play can be useful when the players are interested in the interaction, but I tend to start in 3rd person for setting the scene

[@scottmarsh2991]

I’m gradually taking in a series of actual play videos for a game that takes place in a grim world of perilous adventure. The Games Master is a phenomenal voice actor, and his impersonations of his NPCs really bring the game setting to life-but it’s painful to watch the difficulties his players have getting a word in edgewise! Especially the young women will patiently wait for an opening in which to start a sentence-only to be rudely cut off by a loud, sudden, and superfluous addendum to the NPC’s performance. Bad form.

[@BanditsKeep]

That sounds less than ideal

[@Lowe505]

i agree and disagree. Playing online along time now i find that my players are so indecisive that awkward silences can last more than 20 or even 30 seconds. Its my job as DM to move the game along and being uncomfortable is not part of it. I must emphasize "Game". Its still a game not a quiz or a doctors visit. When this happens i immediately improvise something happening they have to react to asap. It moves the game and gets people involved. When they react i shut up and if it leads to dialog even better and i feel iv done my job.

[@BanditsKeep]

There is certainly a minimum amount of information needed for the players to react.

[@GeneralTantzu]

I just realized I tend to talk way too much sometimes when GMing, this was good reminder to not do that.

[@BanditsKeep]

It’s easy to do when we are excited about the adventure

[@SusCalvin]

At worst, an adventure could instruct you to read a small story. I'm not sure who opens an RPG to read a short story. GW was good at keeping it short and adding microfiction in the margin. Later Shadowrun and some others have short stories of several pages.

[@BanditsKeep]

If the story is meant for the players another option would be to make copies of it and give them out for the players to reference

[@SusCalvin]

@@BanditsKeep Chaosium loves handouts in Call of Cthulhu. Instead of listening to me read out a diary you could photocopy one and give it to them. With modern digital tools I can post a text in a digital discussion group if someone wants to reference it between games. You get a lot of odd handouts in them, I think you get Simplon-Orient Express pamphlets and travel papers for Orient Express. Small things like business cards and forms for medical discharges.

[@yourseatatthetable]

Oh, and my apologies for the barrage of comments. I work long hours and listen to YT during most of it and the algorithm has cursed your channel for me highly opinionated babble.

[@macoppy6571]

🤐

[@BanditsKeep]

😊

[@Dyundu]

🤔

[@itzybitzyspyder]

Don't worry about how much I'm speaking. I run great games and my players love the effort I put into describing what they see.

[@BanditsKeep]

Cool

[@devildog2023]

Commenting for algorithm

[@BanditsKeep]

🙌🏻🙌🏻