In the broader sense, I strongly agree with VS's argument that a certain amount of verbiage, delivery, and the ability to tell a story are very important skills for a GM; this is an area which is commonly neglected in general RPG discourse, to the detriment of the experience, I feel. Aside from minis and maps, the crucial means by which we communicate our imaginations to others are verbal.

Moist.

You can never go wrong when you use the word: Moist.

Quote from: Old Geezer;705597That does not prevent it from becoming tiresome.

Fair enough.

Mellifluous.

Unspeakable was one of my favorites.
I played on a CoC themed MUD and the top end exclamatory for hitting something you could achieve was UNSPEAKABLE damage!

Quote from: BarefootGaijin;705619Moist.

You can never go wrong when you use the word: Moist.

And tumescent! Wait, I think we might be confusing purple prose into this...

Sorry for the naked link.  I am unfamiliar with many internet traditions.

QuoteRoleplaying is essentially storytelling.  We imagine what's going on based upon verbal and non-verbal communication; the most important being verbal (feel free to argue that point, if you must).

Certain words have more impact than others.  A few are so impactful they can affect the potency of an encounter, if not the entire session.  These are the most stimulating and immersive.  They not only get the point across but add another layer or two of reality [no, not reality exactly, but some kind of hyper-stylized aesthetic which artfully replaces reality], expanding and deepening the story in a satisfactory way.  Those are the best descriptive words in a roleplaying context.

My point is that they should be used with greater frequency.  Of course, first they have to be identified.

Short words, long words, seldom-used words, compound words, and phrases.  They are the little bytes, puzzle pieces, moments which hold the entire story together, driving points home, building atmosphere, creating worlds!  Some have resonance because they are fresh or innovative or strange or classic with nostalgia or some combination of these.

Ideally, this blog post will be a list of 100 best RPG descriptive words and phrases.  However, I don't want to build it alone.  Suggest one and I'll put it down below.  Feel free to include your reasoning for why you think it's awesome... did you use it in one of your games, did you hear someone else use it, etc.? Or simply comment on words/phrases mentioned that you either love or hate.  Any feedback is cool.

I'll start...

1.  Sickly as in "sickly purple death ray".  Sickly alone is cool, and can be used in various ways.  Incidentally, "sickly purple death ray" is the name of an OSR blog, but it probably came from somewhere (anyone know the source?).  In fact, I like the whole phrase so much that I used it verbatim in tonight's LotDS game at the Game Hole convention.  I thought it had more pulp pizzazz than "lightning bolt".

2.  Eldritch

3.  Cyclopean

4.  Cosmic

5.  Gargantuan

6.  Colossus (colossal?)

7.  Batracian

8.  Resplendent

9.  Dweomer

10.  Ruinous

11.  Ravenous

12.  Ethereal

13.  Bestial

14.  Searing (as in searing light, pain or heat)

15.  Gibbous

16.  Rugose

17.  Abhorrent

18.  Sanguine

19.  Lurid

20.  Esoteric

21.  Membranous

22.  Blasphemous

23.  Iridescent (I would also include viridescent and nigrescent)

24.  Irascible

25.  Incandescent

26. Transcend and transcendent

27.  Stagnant (always good to have scent-based description)

28.  Dripping with slime (I think that's better than "slimy"... I'd also accept "dripping with ichor".)

29.  Holocaust

30.  Galant

31.  Gluttonous

32.  Baleful

33.  Dread (also dreadful or dread-filled and filled with dread... how about dread-infused?)

34.  Grimoire

35.  Preternatural

36.  Abattoir

37.  Swarthy

39.  Catacombs

40.  Grotto

41.  Labyrinth and labyrinthine

42.  Sepulcher

43.  Decrepitude

44.  Obstreperous (that's a favorite of mine; it means "unruly".)

45.  Venereal

46.  Don't worry about it. (From the GM)

47.  Vomitous

48.  Foul

49.  Vile

50.  Miasmal vapors of the tomb

51.  Noxious

52.  Permeating

53.  Gygaxian  (sure, why not?)

54.  Dank

55.  Bilious



I think we (as GMs) should consider tailoring our adventures to fit these transcendent words. What if those gaming sessions suddenly became more to our liking and individual aesthetic because we used blasphemous, lurid, and batracian?  Let those Lovecraftian words be our damnable guide!

VS

I will add appropriate and unused words right now.

Regarding overuse... yes, I agree.  When used continually, it ruins the effect.  However, occasional sprinkling could very well heighten the roleplaying experience.  Here's a good rule of thumb: don't use any word on this list more than once per session, twice if you're mentioning the same thing again or trying to jog a player's memory.

Quote from: VengerSatanis;705733Roleplaying is essentially storytelling.

This is where you went off the rails...

Multitudinous.

Vomitous

EDIT: whoops, that is in there.

If I started shoehorning purple prose into my games, my Players would laugh at me, and I would be deserving of that derision!

A GM should find their voice, and use it.

Splendiferous.

If you'd like to argue the roleplaying / storytelling point, then go ahead.  I've never played an RPG that didn't have some kind of story, but maybe you have.  If so, I'd be interested in reading your experiences.  I've roleplayed without dice, sheets, magic, weapons, and violence, but never without at least a hint of story - setting, characters, conflict, etc.

"Multitudinous" doesn't really evoke much of anything, in my opinion.  It's just kind of unnecessarily archaic.  

Similarly, I wasn't going for purple prose.  Instead, my goal was to list words and phrases that helped everyone at the table imagine the scene.  Not all those listed are worthy of being up there.  Feel free to pick out ones you feel are "too much" or whatever.  This is supposed to be an interactive exercise for readers of my old school gaming blog... and you guys.  

VS

Quote from: VengerSatanis;705775If you'd like to argue the roleplaying / storytelling point, then go ahead.  I've never played an RPG that didn't have some kind of story,

Yes, railroading does exist in some games.  But, RPG's are NOT story telling games.  That is an aberration that was introduced later on by some companies.   Despised by the vast majority of RPGers.

Orgulous! Cankerous! Slimeous!

Hey Venger, aren't you the guy behind Empire of Satanis?

Quote from: Warthur;705822Hey Venger, aren't you the guy behind Empire of Satanis?

In which case, i suggest discombobulate.