Improved Storytelling for D&D: Descriptions 

This channel is CRIMINALLY underrated

The other side of the coin is useful too: When your players get attached to an unimportant item or NPC, you can give it significance, whether utility or historical. It rewards them for getting invested in the story or can be a hook, connecting their next quest to something they already care about.

In case this helps anyone, here's my 3 rules of thumb: - Only describe what the characters would notice, not everything that's there. - When moving, no more than 2-3 sentences at a time before moving again, either to a different location or a sub-location. - As the video suggests, only 1-2 sentences at a time in the middle of a scene.

This why I keep a folder of dnd ideas written on Microsoft Word with descriptions in case I need something fast and at hand .

Tip: If you find an inspirational picture on the Web, you can just show it to your players. Then you're not unduly drawing attention to the three things you thought of describing. Also, just make it clear that asking for a detailed description of an object is not the same as casting Detect Plot Importance.

I laughed at the "Was that a detail" bit. Definitely happens.

I suppose the lever of detail you can go into comes down to "know your table". In my case i have 4 players that are decades long veterans of dnd and have very developed preferences for what they find engaging. One of them _loves_ detail, can't get enough, one pays attention, and the other two trade nfts on their phones whenever i take more than two sentences to describe or explain sonething. I'm running out of the abyss so there are just oodles of npcs to write plot for, and i usually include a page or two short story once per session describing the interactions between them. One way that i have found i can keep my players interest is to warn them that a fairly long scene is about to play out and that if they want to act, even on something that happened a paragraph or two ago just interrupt me and I'll rewind the scene. I find it keeps my easily bored players engaged if they think they have an opportunity to act. One more point i would like to make is that trying to read details quickly to keep them within your players attention span is a mistake. You need to read slowly, look up from the paper once and a while and give your players imaginations a chance to construct what you are describing or they may miss critical details. The act of making eye contact is also a good psychological trick to keep them engaged. Anyway great video! I definitely learn a thing or two every time i watch one!

The line drawing images on this channel are refreshing, and the topics are just the right length. Don’t change. 😁

Also; unused descriptions never go bad! The more you drip feed descriptions to your players, the less of your work goes to waste. That surly bartender’s shoulder scars can be used for that bouncer the players actually ask about, and their glorious moustache can show up on another character altogether!

I’m heavily biased, but I think walking this line is exactly what Critical Fayle DM excels at. He describes things beautifully and moves out of the way to let the story move on when it’s time.

This is also true for regular story writing when it comes to exposition. Describe what’s necessary and sprinkle details over time, not all at once.

YO! More Great dnd creaters! praise be the algorithm! keep up the work!

really helpful video, unfortunetly sometimes it's so hard to not over detail stuff :v

THIS CHANNEL IS IN THE TOP 3 DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS CHANNELS ON RU-vid!! AMAZING!!!!

Ah yes my man Chekhov's Gun. This can also be a solid way to set up plot twists for the game as well.

"Was that a DETAIL?!" Oh god this is so true xD Gonna have my first time DMming soon, so thanks for the tips!

I like doing 5 sentences (one for each sense of touch, taste, smell, sight, and hearing) at the start of each session and toss in one or two sentences when the scenes change - never going over 30 seconds and practicing the description before session. To brag a bit, I had a player ask how the mead looked when I described a salesman on the docks selling the product. He told me later he bought that mead because I "made it sound absolutely divine"

with checkovs gun you can do a half-shot of it where you make everyone roll when they walk into a room, how it happens is up to you, tell players to roll, roll in secret (you can be intentionally obvious) but the idea is to tell them that "somethings up" without leaving opportunity to metagame the plot away.

Well I'm lucky to catch this on the upload :p

One thing is that if you assume players will notice whatever gets the most description, you can use this as a twisted sort of randomizer to determine which objects to assign importance to.

Fun fact, if you mention that a house with no one in has a rug in it, players will always search under it for a hidden door

This is great advice for writing in general as well. Love the content!

ALTHough, I do remember one time Aabriya Iyengar during Misfits and Magic did something amazing when she told her player, Brennan, "Here is what you DON'T see-" when something spooky that foreshadowed something happened Sometimes, adding something the characters don't see/hear, but the Players DO, can be used for good foreshadowing that adds a twist that doesn't feel like it comes out of nowhere

Would be curious to hear any advice in the other direction: I sometimes struggle to give good descriptions if I haven't written it up ahead of time, because if I improvise a description I'm afraid I won't remember those details later. Any suggestions you can give?

Great video! You are the best d&d emergent youtuber I've seen in a while (excluding pack tactics you just cannot resist his kobold vibe)

I recently found your channel! You've been making really great content! Thankyou!!

Just subscribed. I've seen a few of your videos now, solid content. 👌

For the algorithm. Happy to have found this channel

Wait this is brilliant and simple why have i never thought of this...

2:57 The Chair.

Super helpful, concise video, many thanks :-)

I just discovered Your channel. Thank You 🤗

Chekov's gun "...And for some reason you cannot discern, there is a small plaque above the mantle with the stuffed head of a gerbil and a common inscription - 'Uncle Phil'" ...gerbil-head never comes into play the rest of the campaign.

Nice

Essentially, just gotta accept the harsh truth that most of your prep work on descriptions is gonna go to waste but you still need to do it...

I really like your art its simplistic and nice and makes it look like other people can do it...not me im dumb.

I've been using a virtual TTRPG with maps taken from online and the occasional custom-made map. It relieves the burden of description from me when they can see the room for themselves. Instead, I reserve my vivid description for highlights or for what they the players are doing. They seem to be enthralled when I do it right

I don't know about this. Sometimes the best parts of my campaigns happen when the player seize upon an irrelevant detail and I run with it, tying it into an ongoing plot, or using it to start a new side-plot if there's room for one.

My biggest problem is knowing what elements of upcoming cities would be important to my players, but if I ask them if they want the architecture or technology described in these towns, I can ask them!

I really like Jerry holkins' style though and he's very detail oriented. I am not an experienced player but as an audience member his descriptions made things very real. Also he has a tendency to add cutscenes where player input is zero yet kicked up intrigue.

Love the channel had a question how could I run gods / goddess like the good ones and the evil ones

When I practice my storytelling skills, I try to stay on theme with my gothic style.

I think I should tone it down with descriptions. My players are just there to have a good time and they seem to find joy in the smallest of things. The Fighter loves a medieval game I've also played and he is obsessed with combat strategy and playing dice for money or gaining capital in general. The Bard and the Sorceress (my sister and a female friend respectively. They are best buds in and out of game) I gave them a Kobold Tower to clear out once and they found some wooden toys inside. A chicken and a horse not bigger then a hand. They freaking keep them at all times. The powerful magical artifact I gave the Sorceress to make the game easier for the group, since they're all first timers? Nah, the wooden chicken comes first.

I did Out 9f the Abyss as my first 5e module, took over two years and still not finished!

my players are being followed by an invisible enemy that one of them has caught multiple times but hasn't realized there's actualy something there despite one of the pc's using that spell also and the Sidekick drawing specific attention to the fact that the spell was used and that their enemies also know and use it. to my players credit the wizard set up three separate spells at the front entrance to the next dunegoen they entered to prevent them being followed. He got disappeared though (deck of many things) and so those spells have all been lost.

I like your voice

I’m cuddling with my dog and he hit the dislike button, why has he betrayed me.

I'm all for keeping it brief but give us *something*. Twice now my dm had asked us what we want to do when the room or environment feels blank or lacks luster. When we were only given two set pieces, I interacted with both with the mage and our fighter just...left

Me asking my players what I need to improve on: “give better descriptions so we know what the world is like!” Also my players: *yawn* “ok let’s get to the combat and looting stuff already!” 😜

English subs. YES!

Exactly the same in video games... just started swanswong that vampire game. Was 30 mins in and haven't played a minute of that. Just cutscenes... refunded that movie immediatly

I'd disagree. Underlying history, previous events etc can add more colour and depth to your storytelling, though it should be consistent in your playstyle. It's the same IRL, there's all sorts of things happening all over the planet, and mayor events (i.e. the recent death of Queen Elizabeth) will be known to you, even though they might not affect 'your story/life' in any way. I agree that giving long monologues about irrelevant things, or highlighting only ever so often and inconsistently, can and will usually be seen as hints, but you can also try to use them as red herrings, or forshadowing for possible plothooks. If every item/location/lore is inherently relevant to the story, you're making your players think that way (we searched all the rooms, so now we have to solve [whatever] with only the tools provided), instead of actively trying to come up with a solution, and go and figure out what they need. Basically railroad vs sandbox. Only giving alternative thought here btw, your channel is a great source of inspiration, and this video will very likely help DMs that have trouble with it, but with this (to me, and my playstyle) I just had to give a diferent perspective.

The summary of my OC is tiny man born; town gets screwed; nomad tricky toddler man lol

I just let them take the useless garbage, rolled a good perception in an empty stone hallway? Enjoy your mystery tooth.

I disagree. It's important to throw in irrelevant details from time to time, otherwise the players will know that everything you describe is important. For example, if there are some dangerous fish in a rock-pool near the end of a cave system and you haven't mentioned any of the harmless fish prior to that, the PCs will be unnaturally wary.