The difference between a good scene and a bad one is staggeringly large, and trust me your players know the difference. They may not be able to put their finger on why, but if a scene doesn't grab player interest right off the bat their attention will wander. This most often occurs because the scene we paint is too vague. Let's say your players need to stop at a certain inn, because the innkeeper is rumored to have information about an ancient tomb in the hills north of town. This inn isn't terribly important to your story, and only exists so the PCs have a way to find the tomb. As the GM you might give the following flavor text: You step inside and see a balding man with a large gut standing behind the bar. He looks up at you jovially as you enter the inn, "Welcome to the Angry Weasel."
That's not bad, but its not good either. It tells the party next to nothing about the inn. Does it have a large common room? Are the patrons well to do or is this a seedy dockside inn? Is there a fireplace? What sort of food is being served?
Asking the Right Questions
Before setting a scene its important to ask a series of questions that help better define it. The answers are the building blocks that will create memorable scenes for your party. If I was setting the scene in the example above here are some of the questions I'd ask:
- What is the inn's name and who is the innkeeper?
- How large is the room? Is it made of wood? Brick?
- How is it lit? Where does the light come from?
- How many people are there? Are they rich, poor or somewhere in between?
- What are three noteworthy features in the room?
- Are there any people who might interest the characters?
Let's take our earlier scene and add answers to some of these questions. We decide our inn is large, and packed to the gills with patrons. The illumination comes from a large fireplace, which leaves shadows in the corner of the room. Three notable features are plumes of smoke rising from the pipes of many patrons, a trio of attractive barmaids weaving through the tightly packed tables, and a bard performing on a small stage. The patrons are wealthy merchants, though some lesser nobles come here to slum among the peasants.
Let's try describing the new scene:
"The strumming of a harp and the tang of beef stew wash over you as you step into the common room of The Angry Weasel. A brick fireplace fills the room with inviting warmth casting strange shadows along the walls. Barmaids weave between tightly packed tables, dodging the overeager hands of young nobles and wealthy merchants. Little plumes of smoke drift skyward to pool near the vaulted roof as patrons puff away on bone pipes.
A bald man with too many chins and a fast smile calls out to you from behind the bar, "Welcome to the Angry Weasel, travelers. Find a seat and we'll be right with you."
Which description sounds better? The first is fast and easy, but tells the players very little about the room they're in. The second immerses them in your setting, letting them see the room as it appears in your head. Having covered the basics, your players will automatically fill in the gaps just like they'd do if they were reading a novel.
Whether the players are entering a dank dungeon infested by wights, or are climbing the steep cliffs of a mountain, painting the scene as vividly as possible will increase their immersion and make them more invested in your game. But what if you aren't sure what scene you want to set? What if you ask yourself all the questions above, but just don't have any answers? Where can you look for inspiration?
Finding Inspiration
The sources are all around you. Maybe you saw an epic movie that struck a cord. Maybe you just finished reading a great novel and really liked a particular scene. In either case I hope you brought your thieves tools, because we are going to steal that scene.
Let's assume that your party is on their way to battle against a superior army. You want to build tension on the march there so that your PCs worry what they'll face when they arrive. You could try coming up with a good way to do this on your own, or you could borrow it from another source.
We'll look at the movie 300 for inspiration (if you haven't seen it stop wasting your life and go watch it). For two hours Leonidas and three hundred Spartans turn back endless Persian hordes. There are dozens of scenes that evoke the sort of imagery you're looking for, but how do you take it off the screen and inject it into your game?
Before you press PLAY get out a notebook and pencil. Whenever you see a scene or visual effect you like jot down a few important details to remind you. Let's say you really like the scene in 300 with the Hot Gates looking out over the ocean, and you want to use something similar in your game. I'd write down the following:
- Long drop from cliff to the ocean below
- Ledge is only fifteen feet wide at its narrowest. Only five men can walk abreast
- Cliffs rise up hundreds of feet on either side of the hot gates
- The hot gates are well named. Its a hundred degrees plus outside
The goal is to use these details to answer the same questions we asked in our first example. How large is the place? What is the illumination like and where does it come from? Go down the list and answer every question as you watch the scene. Don't be shy about rewinding it and watching it a few times until you have it firmly fixed in your mind. Once you have answers to your questions see if you can create a scene from your notes.
Given the scene in 300 we might come up with the following:
"For three days your party has followed the winding path through the mountains. High cliffs rise on either side masking you from the enemy. You round a corner and the pathway spills out onto a narrow ledge. Hungry waves dash themselves against the base of the cliff, a thousand feet below.
Shielding your eyes from the glare you gaze down the pathway to the beach in the distance. Enemy ships line the shore as far as the eye can see, and troops are massing for their first assault. You and your small band are all that prevent them from slaughtering your nation. Hold them at the mouth of the pass, or watch your land burn."
Honing your new Skills
I've given two examples of different scenes, and the questions we've asked to create them. You should be able to replicate this process with all sorts of different scenes, and I recommend you practice as often as you can. The beauty is that this process gets easier through use. As you describe more scenes you'll answer your list of questions without even thinking about it.
This process is great, you might be saying, but what if I don't have time to ask these questions? What if your players are unpredictable and you don't know they're stepping into an inn until they actually get there? No problem! I bought myself a spiral notebook, and its saved me from this situation countless times.
Every time you create a new scene jot down the questions, the answers and the finished scene in your notebook. You'll create a library of good scenes you can use whenever you need them. I sort mine by location and when my players head into a random inn I flip to the inn section and pick one out that I can use. This ensures that no matter what surprises my characters throw at me I'm always one step ahead of them.
How you organize your own scenes is up to you, but its important that you create as many as possible. Not only will you find yourself making better scenes the more you practice, but you'll also have that library of cool scenes to draw from. Just remember to practice, practice practice until you feel like you've gotten this skill down pat.
So there you have it! Using what you've learned see if you can use your scenes to create atmosphere in your next session. Either way, let me know how it goes! I'd love to hear from those who find this column helpful. Also, keep an eye out for next month's topic: Creating Memorable Characters.
