Stephan Hornick
Community Goblin & Master of the Archive
Platinum WoA
Wizard of Story
Wizard of Combat
Borderland Explorer
The Dangling Description Mystery Method Formula - The Secret Sauce To Riveting Descriptions
From JohnnFour | Published June 7, 2019, Updated June 9, 2019
Roleplaying Tips Newsletter #1,037
I was working on a new Faster Combat lesson about the Action Economy last weekend and a lightbulb went off.
I know exactly what I want to deliver each time you and I describe something to our players.
This applies to descriptions for encounters, NPCs, items, monsters, and locations.
This applies to boxed text, bullet style, or 100% improvised descriptions.
Get this right and you hook your players every time.
Use this method and you'll get your players' immediate attention and get them engaged in the moment.
What Natural Storytellers Do
Some people are natural storytellers. I am not one of those lucky folks.
I prefer concision.
Make a point, with a purpose, and move on.
But natural storytellers know how to tease things out.
They turn even mundane daily events into compelling recounts of something interesting that happened.
We need to take their talent and deconstruct that into a skill with which we can learn to craft great descriptions.
And here's how we can do that.
Use Dangling Description Mysteries
Put your player hat on for a sec. What description would you find more engaging?
This one:
"You track Morkus to the market. He's charming people with his magic helm."
Or this one:
"You enter the busy market and spot Morkus right away. But his behaviour is very strange...."
The first description is one I'm likely to give. Straight and to the point.
But it lacks mystery.
With the second description, you capture your players' attention.
You've dangled a mystery in front on them. Their brains are now chewing on this puzzle. You've created an open loop of curiosity, and players must have closure, so they pay attention.
But wait. There's more.
"Yeah, he's snaking between people. He's getting close to each person and dabbing their backs, shoulders, or elbows. But that's not the weirdest thing...."
You do it again. You dangle another mystery.
Now you've really got them hooked! They want to hear what you have to say next. They're puzzling over the details you are reeling out. And tension builds as they wait to discover what it all means to them and their characters.
"The weirdest thing is, as he touches each person their eyes roll back. It's so creepy. Only the whites of their eyes show. And their faces also go blank.
"It happens instantly. One moment they're laughing, or annoyed, or curious. And then the next moment....empty. Just a blank expression. Like a switch turned off.
"And as Morkus passes on to the next person, something else happens that sends chills down your spine. Something that makes you realize you are in great danger!"
Ok. What player isn't waiting with bated breath now, hanging on your words?
You've dangled another, and final mystery in front of them.
And you've made it about the characters.
You've drilled down in your description and setup until it's become personal, imminent, and exciting.
And that's the Dangling Description Mystery Method.
How to Create Dangling Description Mysteries
The formula is simple.
But first, a caveat.
We talked before about how session pacing is managing table energy.
One tactic is to raise energy levels when they're low and lower energy levels when they're high. The amplitude, or amount of swing between peak and valley of the change, is the degree of pacing change.
Want a big change of pace? Create a big swing in table energy.
Dangling Description Mysteries have energy swings built-in.
You pivot major details into cliffhangers.
But swing too much too often and players get numb.
"Oh great, here's another one of those crazy descriptions. Dude, I just want to buy some iron rations."
You can use Dangling Description Mysteries any time. But make them fast and minor mysteries for minor things. Then give players the full treatment, like with Morkus, for significant moments.
Ok, here's the recipe...