tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post5685907179874324222..comments2023-10-14T03:58:59.333-06:00Comments on The Tao of D&D: WaitAlexis Smolenskhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-76462739393488761902015-11-13T11:16:41.575-07:002015-11-13T11:16:41.575-07:00It's this sort of post that makes me think: &q...It's this sort of post that makes me think: "Damn! I really need to run in one of Alexis' campaigns! Where can I sign up? Is there a wait list?"<br /><br />Eric<br /><br />P.S. - Yes, I'm quite serious about the sign-up. But then, you probably get asked this a lot... and I live in Calgary, so I could only participate in an online campaign.Zrog (ESR)https://www.blogger.com/profile/09610162200721944106noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-31431563804908008482015-11-08T11:01:15.469-07:002015-11-08T11:01:15.469-07:00Simply presenting it from the player's point o...Simply presenting it from the player's point of view in this case. I don't normally describe scenes in this way.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-34023776338438889902015-11-08T10:10:52.401-07:002015-11-08T10:10:52.401-07:00If you do choose to talk about your narrative styl...If you do choose to talk about your narrative style, I would be curious to know why you use the first person in your description.Beorichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05179135838206052198noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-71065510273113831132015-11-08T03:32:45.633-07:002015-11-08T03:32:45.633-07:00I've tried to explain my narrative style in a ...I've tried to explain my narrative style in a post, Tim. I'm afraid it is loaded with details about the campaigns I'm running - examples were necessary. I hope it isn't confusing.Alexis Smolenskhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10539170107563075967noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3871409676946408069.post-18098103801613424362015-11-07T20:08:39.198-07:002015-11-07T20:08:39.198-07:00Thanks for this post! The timing couldn't have...Thanks for this post! The timing couldn't have been better as I just finished a running with my players today and was thinking afterwards about how rarely the players ever come forward with thoughts; how often I prod them with questions like "What do you do?" or "Any ideas?" And that of course puts all this weight on the players, like they need to make all these decisions and plans.<br />When you see theatre or a TV show or a movie, usually it's pretty disengaging when those big, heavy exposition moments occur (as you mentioned a few days ago), and it can be even worse when, instead of a big exposition, you're hit with several subtle hints before someone obnoxiously collects all the hints for you and says, "Bonus points if you were clever enough to actually catch these!"<br />And yet when players miss a clever detail I slip in or resist the urge to intervene in the lives of NPCs, it totally turns into this almost masturbatory performance of DM exposition where the whole thing just gets spelled out again since the players won't bite. A lot of D&D seems to be about knowing when to withhold information and when to give it: withhold too much and the players get frustrated wanting to roll to know every tiny detail they can tear away from the DM; withhold too little and the players get frustrated listening to NPCs deliver their memoirs.<br />It makes me curious to know how you approach "storytelling" as a DM: once players seize a hook, where does the adventure go from there in terms of how the players get more information and decide how to proceed? How much remains still to be "discovered" about the adventure once the players decide to follow an adventure hook?Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03496502173819113887noreply@blogger.com