Bullet Point Boxed Text

inspiration
#1

I came up with this idea of how to do boxed text descriptions.

Let me know what ya think.

#2

Watched that video already, thanks again! Great trick! :smiley:

#3

I like the structure!

But maybe you should do a follow-up on what to include in the bullet points? In general, I’d say that the reason to have boxed text is to ensure that some crucial information is conveyed to the players. It might be mood, like in your example, but it might also be features that are significant for gameplay. And ideally, I think, it would include both.

To this end broken windows are good, because they provide something to interact with (look through/climb through/investigate), come with other implications (like glass on the ground), and a minor obstacle (make sure not to cut yourself). But if the scene is about entering the house, tangled cobweb seems less directly important than for example cobweb on the porch. So perhaps an addendum would be to consider making the bullet points relevant for whatever goal the scene has, by

  • placing them “between” the characters and their goal (such as a rotten door)
  • hinting at a threat; and/or
  • giving a clue

As an aside: an alternative formula for descriptions that I find very useful is “X, but Y”. In this formula, we present a thing and then just describe how it differs from what one’d normally assume. So, our bullet points might instead focus on how this haunted mansion is unlike other haunted mansions.

#4

Nice job! Love that you started your video off right . . . with coffee!

I dig that you applied the gist of ICRPG to “boxed text.” I’ll def now consider bullet pointing setting descriptions as I do other aspects of the game.

#5

This is a nice way to provide the cues a DM needs during the game without filling up a journal with walls of text.