Setting The Scene - Tips for creating a mood when playing D&D 5th Edition

One of the things I find amazing about the Dungeons and Dragons of my childhood was the clear picture in my head of every encounter. My Dungeon Master Ken fancied himself as a writer even in 10th grade and was all about setting the stage for adventure.

In the early 80's we had no internet, let alone a computer. No way to print out full color illustrations, text the thief secret notes, or an iPad to keep track of initiative order and campaign notes.

Back in the day having a player who mapped was a must.

We all drew our own character profile pictures directly on the character sheet. We had to re-draw these each time we transferred the character to a new sheet. There were no online groups to chat with, no virtual table tops, and no apps with music and sound effects to play. We would put on a tape or vinyl record with a soundtrack (Usually Conan, Legend, or Excalibur) and let it repeat for the entire gaming session.

Even without all these modern-day gaming enhancements, I still remember most of our adventures in extreme detail. I can picture my character, the look of the interior of Barrier Peaks, and the fear I felt when struggling to survive the rest of the Tomb of Horrors.

It still scares me a bit to think about that module.

I attribute my vivid memory to the fact that I was much younger and the game was exciting and new to us, but our Dungeon Master Ken did a great job of describing the scene with a creative voice that drew us all into the story. He went beyond the player text box and gave us details that enabled our minds to fill in all the blanks.

Today there are so many tools out there to use as visual and audio aids to set the scene. I wondered if this was a good thing or not. As adults, it gets easy to just narrate your way through an adventure, never speaking in character, just telling the DM what your character does, not offering much flavor to the character. Same goes for the DM. I've seen Dungeon Masters offer lackluster descriptions of rooms or encounters, resulting in less than memorable gaming sessions.

Want to make a game session as memorable as the ones you had at your parent's house back in the day? Or maybe your new to gaming and want to offer an immersive experience for your fellow players.

Here are a few tips that have helped create an engaging story for my players over the years.

Adventurous environment

Whether you play in a basement on a card table or at a local comic book or game store, your environment is key to setting the mood. Find a place that isn't cluttered or disorganized. Make sure the game table fits (as best as possible) the battle mat, character sheets, drinks, dice, etc. Spruce up the room with movie posters, display shelves, mood lighting, or replicas.

Beyond the PC text box
This might be more for older modules, but one way to add to the mood is to spice up the player text boxes with little details. What does the room smell like? Is there a heavy vibe in the air? Are there any details that certain characters will notice? Expand on the text to help set the stage and build tension, anticipation, drama, or fear in the players.

Sounds and tunes

Mood music is a must at our gaming sessions. Now you can use any number of music services such as Spotify. You can build playlists of music to create various moods for different environments. An app called DMDJ offers Dungeon Masters with tons of options for music and sound effects. High quality effects, virtual dice roller, and environmental sounds make this a cool app to enhance any setting. See our review in an upcoming episode.

Getting into character

Remember, this is a ROLE PLAYING GAME. You should be playing the role of your character as he/she/it takes on the adventures created by your Dungeon Master. As a DM, you can create mood by offering a personality behind the description. Vocal inflections, accents, and emotion can make a better impression on players. Sure, it can be a bit intimidating if you aren't comfortable acting out in front of your players, but it's worth it. As a player, make sure to add spice to your game by adding a personality to your character. Don't always narrate to the DM, speak in character, make your character come alive with voice, quirks, accents, and more.

Set design

Use figures, dungeon tiles, and miniature terrain to add a tactile visual component to your games. If you're a DM that can't make terrain pieces, purchase them or ask if one of your players would like to contribute if they like to make miniatures. Any tactile reference goes a long way to keeping the adventure exciting and burned into the memories of your players.

These are just a few ideas. What do YOU do when setting the mood for high adventure? Let us know on our show page or facebook fan page.

Roll high and don't die,

Wayne