Show, Don't Tell

calendar Jul 8, 2022 · 2 min read · RPG Theory

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?!"
I search for clues "Take the west wall, I'll check this one. You never know what you'll find if you look hard enough"
I follow the bandit tracks immediately "Looks like fresh tracks. Let's go!"
I loot the bodies "Gimme a hand rolling this guy over, 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.