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Do Your Players Read Your Handouts?

Started by jeff37923, December 18, 2020, 03:51:37 AM

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Chainsaw

#30
December 21, 2020, 11:12:57 AM
Quote from: Semaj Khan on December 21, 2020, 10:58:53 AM
The key to writing a good handout that will be read by the players is to pepper it with disturbing statements which have zero to do with the narrative. People are morbidly attracted to that sort of stuff and don't want to miss a damned thing.  8)
Wait, no one cares about reading my long boring shitty Silmarillion rip off?!?

HappyDaze

#31
December 21, 2020, 11:58:10 AM
Quote from: Chainsaw on December 21, 2020, 11:12:57 AM
Quote from: Semaj Khan on December 21, 2020, 10:58:53 AM
The key to writing a good handout that will be read by the players is to pepper it with disturbing statements which have zero to do with the narrative. People are morbidly attracted to that sort of stuff and don't want to miss a damned thing.  8)
Wait, no one cares about reading my long boring shitty Silmarillion rip off?!?
I didn't care about reading the long, boring, shitty Silmarillion itself.

Chainsaw

#32
December 21, 2020, 12:10:25 PM
Quote from: HappyDaze on December 21, 2020, 11:58:10 AM
Quote from: Chainsaw on December 21, 2020, 11:12:57 AM
Quote from: Semaj Khan on December 21, 2020, 10:58:53 AM
The key to writing a good handout that will be read by the players is to pepper it with disturbing statements which have zero to do with the narrative. People are morbidly attracted to that sort of stuff and don't want to miss a damned thing.  8)
Wait, no one cares about reading my long boring shitty Silmarillion rip off?!?
I didn't care about reading the long, boring, shitty Silmarillion itself.
LoL!

Zalman

#33
December 22, 2020, 10:45:39 AM
Hm, I don't provide written handouts. If I have something narrative to relate, I do it orally during the game session, and preferably via an NPC mouthpiece. TTRPGs aren't novels, and I've never had fun trying to make a game experience more like reading a story -- neither as DM or player. The fact that it's difficult to get players to read handouts tells me that players in general feel the same.

Of course, a similar situation can exist with players not reading the core rules themselves. But that's rules, not story: I've played in plenty of games where the DM was the only person at the table with rules knowledge, and the game was still awesome.

I am a firm believer in relating story strictly through gameplay.
Old School? Back in my day we just called it "School."
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