Dear James .. You are aware that I don't use published materials at the table; however, my personal notes for a session are not too dissimilar to these (so I am inclined to like them on personal grounds). Of course, there might be further discussion/ refinement as to what categories / subsections of information are included in such a room description (as you and others say in the Substack comments, it is different writing descriptions for unknown others versus an idiosyncratic aide-mémoire for oneself), but the format is very clear and usable. .. It could tempt me to the 'dark side' .. and heretofore I never figured you for a malign influence ;) .. Cheers! Matthew.
The format is great. Within that format, I have some recos for clarity:
This is Room 1, not the Entrance, which might be the unnumbered hall south of room one?
Since you've admirably Jaquayed the dungeon, we don't know from which direction the PCs are entering Room 1. So a First Impression should include the stairway up. So should the Exits.
I'd also say First Impression is: *Six* statues, all in archaic dress: Five bearded men and one stern woman.
How is she separate? (You need to say which star on the map is her)
The exit section doesn't provide any information not already on the map. At the moment it is superfluous and could be removed. However, it could add information about those exits. Is the door ornate? Are there sounds or smells down the corridor? Are there tracks, spoor, etc? What is in this room that tells the players what is in those directions?
I had the same thought: is it necessary to take-up space in a published product by including the exits and where they lead? Since the information is clear by looking at the map.
Dear James .. You are aware that I don't use published materials at the table; however, my personal notes for a session are not too dissimilar to these (so I am inclined to like them on personal grounds). Of course, there might be further discussion/ refinement as to what categories / subsections of information are included in such a room description (as you and others say in the Substack comments, it is different writing descriptions for unknown others versus an idiosyncratic aide-mémoire for oneself), but the format is very clear and usable. .. It could tempt me to the 'dark side' .. and heretofore I never figured you for a malign influence ;) .. Cheers! Matthew.
ReplyDeleteThe format is great. Within that format, I have some recos for clarity:
ReplyDeleteThis is Room 1, not the Entrance, which might be the unnumbered hall south of room one?
Since you've admirably Jaquayed the dungeon, we don't know from which direction the PCs are entering Room 1. So a First Impression should include the stairway up. So should the Exits.
I'd also say First Impression is: *Six* statues, all in archaic dress: Five bearded men and one stern woman.
How is she separate? (You need to say which star on the map is her)
That's it. Again, great format.
The exit section doesn't provide any information not already on the map. At the moment it is superfluous and could be removed. However, it could add information about those exits. Is the door ornate? Are there sounds or smells down the corridor? Are there tracks, spoor, etc? What is in this room that tells the players what is in those directions?
ReplyDeleteI had the same thought: is it necessary to take-up space in a published product by including the exits and where they lead? Since the information is clear by looking at the map.
ReplyDelete