3 Ways Game Masters Show, Don’t Tell

If you catch yourself telling a non-interactive game, throw a parade in the PCs' way.
“Show, don’t tell is an admonition to fiction writers to write in a manner that allows the reader to experience the story through a character’s action, words, thoughts, senses, and feelings rather than through the narrator’s exposition, summarization, and description.”
– Wikipedia
Great advice for writers. And the third dimension – interactivity – makes this even trickier to follow for game masters. Avoid falling into the trap where nothing is happening because you are telling the players what’s going on instead of them taking action themselves.
Here are three ways to avoid telling instead of showing, in the game sense:
1. Let them explore
Provide descriptions so interesting they compel players to get involved and interact.
Put things in an active state. Instead of a dresser, it’s a dresser with one drawer open and something glinting from it. Instead of a small clearing, it’s a clearing of wet grass with fresh tracks cutting through it. Instead of a drunken NPC in the alley, it’s a semi-conscious gnome mumbling something about a treasure map.
A problem arises when so many hooks are unleashed with great description you scramble to design or improvise gameplay. The solution is to end all the possibilities with quick interaction except the one or two things you want to lead on to more gameplay.
For example, the dresser drawer contains a tin handled hairbrush lovingly cared for. It’s tin, so worthless. No clues, move along. The clearing with tracks? They’re animal tracks. And the mumbling gnome – he’s dreaming in his sleep: “I wish I had a treasure map, I wish I had a treasure map.”
Think of how exciting it is on Christmas morning with all those presents that have your name on them. You know most of the presents will be dental floss and socks. But it’s still an exciting day. It will be the same with your players who get offered many tantalizing possibilities when they enter any encounter. The inviting details will get them doing things and interacting. Even the false leads will be interesting. And over time, it’s amazing how all these minor details that don’t lead anywhere build and amazingly immersive setting.
Next time a character tries to initiate play, don’t say no. Don’t say yes. Say detail. :)
2. NPCs react with realism
NPCs should take action. Dialogue is great, keep up the good work. But also make your NPCs take actions during scenes in line with their mood and personality, the situation, and what the PCs do.
If the PCs deliver bad news, the non-player character gets agitated and paces. If the news is disastrous, the NPC takes one of his potions from his belt and chucks it against the wall.
If a character mistreats an NPC, have that NPC call out for a gang of friends carrying big sticks.
When a PC gets rude, have the NPC end the conversation and sulk or hold a grudge. Either way, the character will need to make a peace offering else they get nothing else from the NPC.
When a character does something strange or breaks a social custom, have non-player characters not only cease dealing with the PC, but spread the word so future social interactions are harder for awhile.
Conversely, if a character does something altruistic, have an NPC come out of the blue in the future with a service, helpful offering or boon. If an NPC gets respect from the party, have him make it easier to deal with his friends.
It’s difficult for some players to roleplay well or seriously. If you let NPCs react like real people, without judgement or belittling the player, you show consistency and provide constant reminders and support to play the game well.
3. Villains and factions act
Make the bad guys and major players in the setting do stuff. If PCs do nothing to interfere with the plans of others, then have the setting change anyway. Create casualties, burning buildings, changing leadership, incursions, fights on the bridges, kidnappings, equipment shortages, and anything else you can think of.
The Chinese curse goes, “May you live in interesting times.” The game master’s curse goes, “May your setting be dull even if the PCs do something.”
Hopefully the characters get caught up in the action. If not, keep putting parades, drive-by attacks, riots, new construction, and mage duels in their way.
Bonus tip: rolling dice drive action
Um, this is part of the game rules, isn’t it? Unless you play diceless, dice rolls decide outcomes. Good point, but here’s the rub: if nobody’s rolling dice, then nobody’s doing anything.
There are exceptions here, especially if your GMing style is to make a lot of judgement calls. Overall though, this is a great in-game diagnostic tool. No dice rolls = no one is doing anything requiring an outcome. Chances are, you’re telling, not showing.
How do you do it?
How do you show, not tell, in games?
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April 26th, 2010 at 9:30 pm
Great article. I love the suggestion to put things in an active state and your examples show a great way of doing that – however I know that this is something I will have a hard time recreating in my own scenarios.
Do you have a clear definition of what an “active state” might be? It could be easy to confuse a drunken NPC in an alley as including an active state. Do you have any mnemonic devices or key words which would help in achieving this goal?
April 26th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
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April 26th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
One kind of active state is In Media Res
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_medias_res
Another is entropy/growth. Something is changing as the PCs enter the scene or trigger the encounter.
Make it so something is happening when the PCs enter. Sometimes make the PCs feel like they’re interrupting. Other times make them feel like they have perfect timing. And often make them feel like they have bad timing.
Avoid the new car smell when starting encounters.
Make places feel like they’re lived in, used, abused.
More ideas:
* NPCs are arguing
* The Rube Goldberg machine is halfway done
* The magic ceremony is underway
* The fight between critters is half over
* Mid-chess game
April 26th, 2010 at 10:52 pm
Good points you got there. The best sessions I’ve managed to pull through have been built with details. Details brings the mood and mood brings the fun. Details are essential when building the atmosphere and the general feeling of the game.
Imagine almost any movie scene, there are always a fair amount details present which makes it more interesting.
April 27th, 2010 at 7:22 am
I’ll agree with all of your points made, but 2 and 3 especially. I find NPCs to be the driving force of plot from the GM-side of things, and if the PCs don’t care enough about the ones in your game then you may have some problems.
.-= Josh´s last blog ..And So It Begins… =-.
April 27th, 2010 at 7:35 am
Great post. I’d add another point like those that commented here (and something you eluded to in your post), details do wonders. A DM is the eyes, ears, nose, and hands of the world. They only see and interact as vivid as you describe things. If you attempt to make a living, dynamic world, usually they will follow suit and be more interactive with it.
.-= Geek Ken´s last blog ..Deck of many things for 4E =-.
April 27th, 2010 at 8:50 am
@Geek Ken: That’s what makes it so easy to overload your players with description, ie telling, not showing. If you try and relate everything that the players see and hear and taste and smell and, well, you get the point. Economy of description should fight a constant battle with ebullience in your descriptions; florid and poetic language for it’s own sake is a no-no, which is what Johnn’s article is all about.
One technique that I have used occasionally to good effect is to tailor what the characters see or hear according to more subconscious input from the other senses. Describing somebody’s words as “lavender-scented” can take a little getting used to, but it can compress description remarkably, letting you convey impressions without additional time spent away from the action – or, more frequently, the interaction.
I would disagree with Johnn’s final point, though – I’ve once had a whole session go by that was nothing but dialogue between the PCs themselves, the PCs and the enemy, the PCs and NPCs. Not a dice was rolled (except at the very end) because everything was ROLE-played, but the players rated it one of the best sessions of the game for months). Die-rolling or its absence is not a measure of the level of interaction between campaign and players.
April 27th, 2010 at 8:19 am
@Gerald – One of the easiest and simplest ways to encourage an active state is to add sounds to your descriptions. I don’t mean running a soundtrack from your iPod, but include half-heard conversation, sighing wind, tinkling chandeliers, etc. Sound almost always implies motion, and therefore change. Think about what is causing the sound, and you often have something the players can interact with. It might just be a scurrying rat, or it might be a clue to a hidden passage.
Also, keep your descriptions very short, but as evocative as you can manage. “A dark, grimy alley” is generally enough to paint the scene. Noting the width, the presence of piles of refuse, and the strings of laundry hanging above takes too long. Your players have already either tuned out, or latched onto one point (seemingly at random). Pick one feature that you are ready to expand on, and leave the rest for after your players start interacting.
I’m going to disagree with the bonus tip above. It is very possible to have a long scene that is very interactive with few to no dice hitting the table. This is especially true in both older editions of D&D and the newer indie games, where declarations and questions have a power of their own. Social interaction is the obvious case. But, searching a room can be played out descriptively (i.e., dicelessly) as well. So can just about anything but combat.
The dice should only be rolled when either failure is just as interesting as success, or the outcome is guaranteed but the degree of success (or failure) is important. Calling for rolls that don’t mean anything doesn’t actually make the scene more active.
It should actually be really easy to tell if the scene is active. Are the players engaged? If yes, it is active. If no, it is not active. It doesn’t matter what hooks you set and what descriptions you use if the players aren’t paying attention. Find your players’ buttons and push them. See what happens. Try again, with variations. Make notes of what produces very good and very bad reactions.
.-= Lugh´s last blog ..“American Soldier” – Queensryche =-.
April 27th, 2010 at 2:01 pm
Great post. I especially like the bonus tip. Sometimes nothing is as ominous as the DM saying “roll for initiative”.
.-= John Williams´s last blog ..Sometimes You’ve Just Got To Laugh =-.
April 27th, 2010 at 10:21 pm
If you want to make your players paranoid, occasionally ask them to roll for initiative during what seems to be obvious non-combat, such as walking down an alleyway or bargaining with a shopkeeper or street vendor. Then carry on with the non-combat encounter as though nothing had happened. The next time they enter combat, use the initiative numbers they rolled “in advance”…
April 27th, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Beautiful article. Thanks Johnn. As a n00b DM, I have been looking to these posts frequently, and I feel you guys have helped me make a memorable game for everyone. Keep up the good work!
April 28th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
“don’t say no, don’t say yes, say detail.”
I love this.
.-= Charisma´s last blog ..Rescuing Racel – Steal this Adventure =-.
April 28th, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Excellent advice!
I’ll add that I’ve used a free Nexo (now Shutterfly) website to post photos of the grimy alley, te cop with a grudge, etc. It’s easier since we mostly play modern games lately. We can also get a lot of the exposition out of the way on the website between sessions. Make actual sessions more active.
I do disagree on dice rolling though. Rolling dice can sometimes distract from the action. I’ve has entire sessions without a single die being rolled. Like the above commente, players often have the most fun in these sessions. I’ve run everything from tense investigation to cinematic chase scenes without dice.
May 2nd, 2010 at 12:30 pm
[…] 3 Ways Game Masters Show, Don’t Tell Show. Don’t Tell. I hate those three words. I hear them rarely from my critique group, but I get it often enough that it rankles my nerves. I have being told that I’ve missed the mark… even when I have. This is a great article on how GM’s can really spice up the environment the players are in. […]