Running the Game

Describing the Unknown

When describing what player characters experience during an adventure, the referee should be careful to keep an air of mystery. The best way to achieve this is to describe what characters see, hear, smell, and so on without providing additional information to the players.

Monsters: Should be described rather than referred to by name. Players will recognize different types of monsters by their descriptions and behaviors.

Surprise attacks: When characters are attacked by surprise, the referee should describe the attack itself rather than giving players the complete description of the attacking monster. For example, a character may see a clawed hand reaching out of the shadows. Only in subsequent combat rounds should a more detailed description of the monster be provided.

Monster and NPC game stats: The game statistics (e.g., hit points, level) of monsters and NPCs should never be revealed to players. In combat, the referee should describe the effects of damage on a monster rather than telling the players how many hit points it has remaining.

Magic items: Should be described rather than referred to by name. Only by experimentation can players discover what powers a magic item has and whether an item is magical!

Describing Explored Areas

The usual procedure is for the players to draw maps of explored areas based on the referee’s descriptions.

Squares: One way to speed up mapping is to specify dimensions (e.g., the width and length of rooms in a dungeon) in terms of map squares rather than feet. Of course, the referee and the players must agree on the size of one map square.

Known areas: Sometimes, characters may already know the shape of an explored area. In this case, the referee may draw the parts of the map which are already known.

Complex areas: In the case of highly complicated areas, the referee may draw directly on the players’ map. This is not generally to be encouraged, however, as it does not help the players improve their mapping skills.

Using Miniatures

Some groups like using miniatures and a gridded tabletop surface to track exploration and combat.

Play surface: The most convenient surface type is something maps can be drawn with erasable pens. The surface should be gridded for ease of tracking the movements of characters.

Scale: The typical scale used is 1” on the playing surface = 5’ in the game world (or 5 yards for outdoor encounters).

Miniatures: Miniature figures are available to purchase from many different companies. Alternatively, simple tokens like dice or beads can be used.