💾 Archived View for ttrpgs.com › gen › show_and_tell.gmi captured on 2023-03-20 at 17:54:47. Gemini links have been rewritten to link to archived content

-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Show, Don't Tell

Radio dramas often have their characters speak so as to indicate their actions.

Does anyone have an extra blanket? If I get cold I'll wake up with a bad back.

Hearing this, we know

1. The group is sleeping outside,

2. the speaker is old, and

3. the speaker wants to sleep.

I wonder if the group adopting this habit might enhance games.

┌───────────────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────┐
│                Action                 │              Statement               │
╞═══════════════════════════════════════╪══════════════════════════════════════╡
│ My character goes to go to a tavern   │ "Is anyone else thirsty?"            │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ I hit it with my axe                  │ "How do goblins like the taste of    │
│                                       │ axe?!"                               │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                       │ "Take the west wall, I'll check this │
│ I search for clues                    │ one. You never know what you'll find │
│                                       │ if you look hard enough"             │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ I follow the bandit tracks            │ "Looks like fresh tracks. Let's go!" │
│ immediately                           │                                      │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                       │ "Gimme a hand rolling this guy over, │
│ I loot the bodies                     │ he's heavy but there's got to be     │
│                                       │ something in one of their pockets if │
│                                       │ we look hard enough"                 │
└───────────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────┘

I tried this for one game, and it didn't take. Perhaps it would work better with other players. Perhaps I should have put in some XP reward for a couple of games, just to get into the swing of it.

I also found it really doesn't work so well in combat.

I retain hope that I'll one day get a group to try out this style, at least enough to notice when they have a good opportunity for a line.