Description Overload

There is a fine line between telling players enough information and description to make the world real and engaging and boring the players out of their minds and stopping the excitement.

A Game Master needs to know how much to describe and to describe in the way that makes sense to the players. Three of the most common problems that a Game Master can fall into are the following:

Tolkien syndrome
The Game Master tells you the color of the sky, the color of the grass, the color of the mountains, the weather, and explains that this all reminds you of an ancient song your ancestors used to sing on the solstice. It is overlong, and boring.

''“You enter the next chamber of the catacomb. It is hewn from old granite and marble, and is square, fifty feet wide and feet long. The room is lit by torches in each corner and the ceiling is high above you invisible in the darkness. Cobwebs and moss are everywhere and the smell of decay assaults your nostrils. You remember the way your teacher described this catacomb: ‘A heaving rotting breathing monstrosity that never sleeps and always hungers. Beware the Catacombs of Salt Marsh Hollow.’ You are snapped out of your reverie by the sound of metal on stone and look up to see two figure step from the shadows. They have large ears, and tan skin with sloping heads and red eyes- goblins! They each are wearing leather armor and carrying rusty short swords with wicked notches cut into the blades. One grins at the other and the start to sing a Goblin war song as thy advance with evil intent.”''

Hack and Slash Minimalism
The Game Master describes things with unadorned nouns. If it can’t be killed, opened or taken as treasure, it probably isn’t described.

''“You enter the room. Two Goblins are in the middle of the room. They attack.”''

Obvious Clue Description
This can be added onto any other form of description and simply means that the Game Master over emphasizes the clues in a manner that is too easy to spot.

''“You enter the room. It is lit by torches in each corner. The torch in the back left corner seems to lean a little to the side, as though somebody has been pulling on it for some reason. There seems to be no exit, but there is a spot on the wall near the back left torch where there is no moss. Two Goblins are in the middle of the room. They attack.”''

The Perfect Balance
Finding the balance is a matter of talking as though you were telling a story. Talk naturally and find a mix of your own preferences and the preferences of the players. It is better to err on the side of natural language. A Game Master can give a lot of description when necessary and as long as it doesn’t sound as though they are reading from a thesaurus the players are generally fine with it.

"You step into the catacomb. It smells like something very nasty crawled in her to die. You don't see an exit at first glance. There are torches in the corner, something must have lit those. As you realize this you notice two tan goblins in leather armor approaching you with a look in their eyes that really isn't friendly."