1.3 Focus on Relevency

bryce0lynch

i fucking hate writing ...
Staff member
Focus on action, what is relevant to the party
The focus of a room or encounter description should be on the core intent of the area. In other words, if the intent of the bedroom is a tapestry then the focus of the description should be on the tapestry … and not on the bedroom. A “whimsical bedroom” may be enough to describe the rest of the bedroom while the rest of the text should focus on the main event: the tapestry. A long-winded description of the bedroom and its contents does nothing to assist the DM. In fact it harms the DM’s ability to run the room during play. A long description forces the DM to wade through the text and steals the focus and DM’s attention away from the main subject: the tapestry.

In no way am I saying that each area should only have one focus. Instead I’m encouraging a style of writing that keeps the focus on the ACTIONABLE details of a room. The irrelevant and the trivia can be added by the DM. The designer needs to focus on the new, different, and interesting that they are bringing to this otherwise “mundane” room.

The room description, proper, can be as fantastic as you want. The most bizarre wizards lab possible, or the most gory and grungy orc lair imaginable … as long as you can communicate that in a couple of sentences. The rest of the description, if there is any, needs to be focused on the main event. The big stew pot and line of Halflings about to go in it, or the giant brass clockwork spinning about.

This isn’t permission to add a 20 paragraph description to the set piece, or to eliminate the room description. Rather this is an exhortation to remember to keep the focus of the text on what’s important.
 
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