Image by aissatan and taken from www.DeviantArt.com
By Scott
Bingham
“This is the place I told you to expect.
Here
you shall pass among the fallen people,
Souls
who have lost the good of intellect.”
So
saying, he put forth his hand to me,
And
with a gentle and encouraging smile
He
led me through the gate of mystery.
Welcome back to the Flying
Pincushion! This week’s theme of the poetic work of Dante, The Inferno, was altogether an enjoyable read and a conduit of
inspiration in my own work as a DM. The topic for this piece is a discussion on
the use of detail in our storytelling and the effect it can have on our
players’ overall gaming experience.Details can be both a powerful point of
interest in our storytelling and a mass of jumbled chaos that does little more
than distract from what is truly important. In the instance of interest we take
a close look at Dante’s The Inferno and
the way in which the setting is presented in each of the Circles of Hell.
As Dante and Virgil travel together lower and lower through the depths of
wailing and torment the most human response would be that of horror and fear.
If any of my characters were to make such a journey (one has in fact) the
overall play personality that I would bring to the table would be that of sheer
terror and paralyzing revulsion. However because of the nature of detail used
in describing the manner and method of each Circle’s tortured souls and their
various punishments Dante feels wonder.
He is impossibly pulled into the scenes of horrific and eternal damnation
because of how brilliantly and beautifully these depictions are painted for
him. Things that are so ugly, so grisly, so incredibly repulsive and yet Dante
is drawn deeper and deeper into Hell as his curiosity and very interest is
piqued.
This is a tool used graciously in the case of The Inferno to ensure that Dante involves himself in the story.
Detail, when used properly, can turn the heads of our players and cause them to
question and to investigate. Imagine for a moment what sort of difference that
can make. Let us go the Third Circle of Hell, the one meant to punish those
great Gluttons of the mortal life, for such an example. First, the version
purposefully lacking any sort of hook.
As
you awaken you find yourself on the floor of the Third Circle of Hell. Virgil
explains that this plane is meant to punish the Gluttons. Off in the distance
you see the three headed Cerberus torturing souls and Virgil calmly waves for
you to follow him.
Boring.
I
am in the Third Circle of the torments.
Here
to all time with neither pause nor change
The
frozen rain of Hell descends in torrents.
Huge
hailstones, dirty water, and black snow
Pour
from the dismal air to putrefy
The
putrid slush that waits for them below.
Here
monstrous Cerberus, the ravening beast,
Howls
through his triple throats like a mad dog
Over
the spirits sunk in that foul paste.
Absolutely chilling. Already there has been a sense of dread established
and an innate desire to avoid the creature Cerberus at all costs. A picture has
been painted for us as to the nature of these souls eternal torment and we wish
more than ever to tread carefully. When you as a Dungeon Master can help your
players to see what you are describing it becomes that more real for them.
Personally I find it easier to be involved, interested, and participating when
in my mind’s eye I can envision the scene laid out before me. I’d take extra
care on where I set my feet in such a scene and keep my eyes on the beast
Cerberus.
Now to the other side of things. Details are a profound and strengthening
factor in our storytelling particularly when used to describe something that
before would appear so small and insignificant. However such a thing must be
used in moderation. It’s easy when telling our tale to our players to get lost
in the details and forget that there are more important things to be
accomplished. Sometimes a thing can be simple because it holds no value in what
we’re trying to accomplish with our players. Sometimes a room is simply that; a
room. There is a table, a bookshelf, and a chair. No embellishment needed for
this room means nothing. It’s simply a room.
When detailing something of importance however we must take special care.
Our stories matter to us most of all above anyone else and so it’s easy for us
to get excited and at times a bit carried away in our telling. A scene of
greatness can be too much for in our episodic expression of an incredible scene
we run the risk of forgetting where the spotlight should shine; on our players.
They are the heroes and need to know that as their DM we are interested and
invested in them. For any and all who have taken the time and pains to fill out
a character sheet and to write a backstory it’s nice to know that our
storyteller appreciates our small contribution to building a living, breathing
character to explore their world.
Consider detail as you would a spice; don’t dump the entire shaker into
the mixture. Add just enough to flavor the meal and make it that much more
enjoyable. Use too much and one’s appetite quickly becomes lost in the
overwhelming, overpowering tang of far too many words.
Dante’s The Inferno does a
masterful job of using detail in such a way that Dante’s character (which is
himself oddly enough) is interested and involved, two traits that we long for
in our players. Such use of detail prompts Dante to ask questions and to make
skill checks all the while venturing further and further into the story and the
very bowels of Hell. He feels the necessary fear and disgust at the twisted and
tangled mess that is eternal damnation but the sense of curiosity that he feels
is the one that we love most. Why else would he stop to speak to the various
tormented souls that he meets or turn to Virgil with questions and curiosity in
his eyes?
Awesome article. I really like the idea of applying vivid pre rendered imagery into the story
ReplyDelete