One of the GM’s most fundamental skills is description. The GM’s words are, after all, the players’ window into the game world. While some performance-enhancing work-arounds do exist (pictures, miniatures, maps, etc.), the bulk of the heavy-lifting boils down to what the GM says and how they say it.

I’ve given general tips for crafting effective descriptions in the past, but if you’re looking to boil things down to some basic procedures, here are some simple formulas. (Our goal here will be to create descriptions that are efficient, effective, evocative, and also easy.)

DUNGEON ROOMS

For a dungeon room:

1. List every notable thing in the room and its position. (“Notable” here can be broadly understood as “thing the PCs will interact with / check out / will inform their actions.” Check out The Art of the Key if you want to delve deeper here.)
2. Use the Three of Five rule by dropping descriptive tags on some or all of the notable things. (In short: “Think about your five senses. Try to include three of them in each description.”)
3. If appropriate, add a verb. (Add action to the scene; e.g., instead of “there is a waterfall,” there is “a waterfall tumbles down the far wall.”)

For example, a room has:

• wardrobe
• bookshelf with arcane tomes
• a goblin

Use the formula to generate:

A horrid stench [smell] emanates from a wardrobe off to your left. On the opposite side of the room, there’s a bookshelf stuffed full [sight] of thick tomes and tightly wrapped scrolls. There’s a goblin pawing through the books on the shelf, knocking them to the ground [verb]. Seeing you, the goblin gapes its maw and screeches [sound].

NONPLAYER CHARACTERS

Whether improvising an NPC on the fly or prepping a Universal NPC Roleplaying template, you can use this formula:

1. An action.
2. What are they wearing?
3. One physical trait.

For example:

Lady Silva is wearing a beautiful blue dress [clothing] that compliments her sapphire eyes [physical trait]. She taps her finger thoughtfully on her chin while looking you up and down [action].

When using the Universal NPC Roleplaying Template, the NPC’s action may be drawn from the Roleplaying section of the template (i.e., the action may be the NPC’s common mannerism). But it doesn’t have to be. The key thing is that you’re establishing the NPC as someone living in the game world; you’re not describing their headshot, you’re establishing them in the scene.

MONSTERS

When encountering a monster:

1. Look at their abilities and attacks; describe how one or more of those are physically manifest.
2. Describe one non-ability-based physical trait. (Use ability scores as inspiration if you’re coming up dry.)
3. Add a verb.

Let’s pick some monsters at random and see how this plays out.

Hill Giant. They have a greatclub and a rock attack. Include the club in the description. You might mention that they’re standing near a pile of rubble (from which you can later describe them snatching up rocks to throw at interlopers). They’re a giant, so… they’re quite tall. (You don’t have to make this complicated.) What are they doing? Gnawing a bone, scratching their head, chatting amongst themselves, swatting giant flies swarming around their head? (Again, you don’t have to be particularly clever. Establish the idea and move into the scene.)

Revenant. One of their abilities is Vengeful Glare, so describe them as having eyes that burn with an eerie blue light. It’s undead and has 18 Charisma, so we can add that it’s an incredibly handsome figure with chalky gray-white skin. Simply add an action appropriate to the current scene.

(As with our other formulas, don’t get hung up on the order here. The description of the revenant, for example, can be: “A dark figure perched atop a rocky promontory, gazing out across the valley. The man’s features are handsome, but its eyes burn with an eerie blue light and its skin is a chalky gray-white.”)

Xenomorph. Their acid blood won’t be immediately obvious, but perhaps we could riff on the idea of bodily fluids by having their jaws slavering with some alien fluid. Their serrated tail whips back and forth, while the flickering fluorescent lights gleam off their black, chitinous exoskeleton.

A WORD ABOUT FORMULAS

Formulas are… well, formulaic. They’ll only take you so far, they can easily become repetitive, and it’s trivial to find examples where the generic formula will be a poor fit for the material. The role of these formulas is not to be the be-all or end-all of RPG descriptions. But if you’re stuck, you can use them as simple recipes to get your brain churning. In fact, you’ll often find that starting with a formula will quickly inspire you to spin out of the mold and create something completely different.

If it does?

Mission accomplished.

PERSISTENT DESCRIPTION

As you’re looking to expand beyond the simple formula, one thing to keep in mind is that description should persist throughout a scene.

I’ve mentioned in the past that the legacy of boxed text can condition GMs to think of description as something you only do at the beginning of a scene or when the PCs enter a room. But that’s an artificial limitation of published modules that you should try to move beyond as you’re running the game.

Add sensory details. You mentioned that there was broken glass on the floor [sight], but as the PCs move into the room you can add the description of the grass crunching under their boots [sound and touch]. The waterfall was described as roaring [hearing], but you can build on that by mentioning the cool mist it throws up [touch] or the fractured reflections of light dancing across the walls of the cave [sight].

Investigate to find new details. When the rogue heads over to check out the wardrobe, take the opportunity to describe the intricate carvings on its doors. After seeing Lady Silva for the first time they grab their drinks and head over to talk to her, and you can take the opportunity to add the color of hair as she turns to look at them.

In the case of a keyed dungeon room, this can actually be structured and prepped. Remember how we listed each notable thing in the room? When the PCs go to investigate or interact with a notable thing, that action simply triggers additional details.

Discover new things. In addition to finding new details about things you already know, the PCs may also discover entirely new things in the environment as they explore it. (What’s inside the wardrobe and causing that terrible smell?) Matryoshka techniques can be a powerful way of running this.

Introduce new elements. A cold wind blows through the cracked window. An otyugh shambles through the door. A police siren wails past the apartment building. A flickering hologram manifests in the center of the chamber. You don’t have to wait for the PCs to investigate to add something new to the scene. The world is a dynamic and active place.

Combine. All of these methods can be used in conjunction. Someone throws a rock with a note wrapped around it through the window. As Bryan goes to pick up the rock, describe the crunch of broken glass under his feet. The rock itself is black obsidian. As he pulls off the note, describe the texture of the vellum.

An image I find particularly evocative is to think of the description of the game world as being layered. You don’t have to exhaustively describe every single detail of an environment in one big glob of exposition. Make sure that the players have the key information they need to orient themselves and understand what’s happening; but then either peel back or add on (whichever visual analogy works better for you) additional layers of description as the scene plays out, slowly building up the mental image of the place like a painter laying down paint on their canvas.

EVOLVING MONSTER DESCRIPTIONS

Speaking of layers, here’s an extra tip when it comes to describing monsters.

The first time the players encounter a monster, you need to establish the monster’s basic visual image. (And you can use the formula described above to do that.) Once the players are familiar with a monster and are able to put a name to it – goblin, gelatinous cube, blood terror, little fuzzies, etc. — you don’t need to re-establish the monster’s basic description each time.

However, this can lead you into the trap of replacing evocative description with bland labels: “You see six goblins.”

What you usually want to do instead, once the players know what a monster is (when you can say “it’s a worg” instead of describing the worg), is to dig one layer deeper by customizing the monster.

These aren’t just six goblins; they’re six goblins dressed in opera dresses. This isn’t just a worg; it’s a worg with a bright red scar over its left eye. This yeti’s fur is matted and filthy. This ogre’s hair is tied up in a topknot. This ghoul’s left arm is broken; it’s hand flopping back and forth on a loose flap of sinew. This wraith wears an iron crown of Angorak.

When the PCs run into a mob, you don’t need to customize every single one of them. (And it’s usually counterproductive to do so.) As a rule of thumb, you’ll want to either customize one of them (it’s a group of yetis, and one of them is wearing a sapphire amulet) or focus on what’s notable about all of them (all of these yetis are missing a finger on their left hand).

(If you’re making one member of a group stand out, it will often be the leader. But this isn’t necessarily true. For example, one worg out of the pack might be limping and ostracized by the others.)

For humanoids, you might use the full formula for an NPC described above. But for monsters you often just need one salient detail to distinguish them.

Blood terrors are a pure extension of the Blood of the Beast. Their glistening bodies – with skin-less musculature defined by clotted coagulations – boil with a raw, powerful rage.

Legacy of Giants. Blood Terrors appear to be immortal, and are often found as tomb guardians in the cyclopean barrows of the Tyrannis Gígās (the Tyrant Giants). Long mistaken for some sort of transformation of the Tyrannis’ skyldur (their human serfs or chattel), the true nature of the Blood Terrors was rediscovered when the long-forgotten Idol of the Beast was recovered among the island kingdoms of the south.

Idol of the Beast. The idol once sealed the Beast’s connection to this world, but it was corrupted by the dream cults who still honored the old ways. The Idol became a conduit through which the Beast’s will could be made manifest and around which new cults could arise in dim memory of a primitive and bestial past.

Blood terrors can now be found in the wake of the Idol, serving the cultists who have performed the strange rites of creation/summoning which signify their loyalty to the Beast.

Creatures of Blood. Blood terrors “contain” a seemingly impossible amount of blood. It is perhaps more accurate to think of them as extrusions of the Blood of the Beast, pumping their way through the planar skein of reality. When their manifest forms are violated, their strange blood – which is paradoxically antithetical to natural life – is eager to spew out into our world.

BLOOD TERROR

Medium aberration, chaotic evil

---

Armor Class 17

Hit Points 94 (11d8+44)

Speed 30 ft.

---

STR 16 (+3), DEX 12 (+1), CON 18 (+4), INT 10 (+0), WIS 14 (+2), CHA 10 (+0)

---

Skills Acrobatics +4, Athletics +6

Damage Resistances acid, cold, fire

Damage Immunities poison

Senses passive Perception 15

Languages Giant, Issyl, telepathy 100 ft.

Challenge 5 (1,800 XP)

Proficiency Bonus +3

---

Blood Blight. Once per day, the blood terror can exude a 20 ft.-radius mist of blood that lasts for 1d4 rounds. Non-evil creatures who enter the mist or who start their turn within the mist must make a DC 13 Constitution save or suffer 4d8 damage and gain the poisoned condition. (On a successful save, the damage is halved and the character does not suffer from the poisoned condition.)

Blood Spray. When the blood terror is injured, it releases a spray of blood that covers the ground in a 10-foot square centered on the blood terror. This operates as per a grease spell (DC 13) and lasts for 1 minute. Other creatures of the Beast are not affected by the blood spray.

ACTIONS

Multiattack. Blood terrors make two claw attacks.

Claw. Melee Weapon Attack: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (2d6+3) slashing damage.

Hundreds of parchment pages arranged in thick leather folders record an almost manic obsession with and study of dealing death to humanoids. Minute experimentation in dosage, placement of blows, and the like is exhaustively studied through what appear to be actual trials and experimentation.

Beyond that, the “subjects” of these trials appear to have been revivified through the arts of zombification on a vast scale. Hundreds of corpses were created, reanimated, and then exmorisected for an active study of undead tissue and simulated organ operation in the face of wounds and poisons.

Use of this research grants advantage to Medicine checks made to identify the cause of death for humanoids.

PRIME CORPSE

PRIME CORPSE
4^th level necromancy (Cleric, Wizard)

Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 10 feet
Target: Up to four corpses or piles of bones within range
Components: V, S, M (one 100 gp black onyx stone for each corpse)
Duration: Instantaneous

Prime corpse allows you prepare a number of corpses or skeletons for animation using the animate dead spell (or similar method), making them easier for their animator to control. If and when these corpses become undead, each only counts as half an undead for the purposes of their creator commanding or controlling them. (Other characters seeking to command or control them do so normally.) This does not affect the number of undead created by the animate dead spell; only the number controlled.

For example, a normal casting of animate dead can allow the caster to control up to four zombies or skeletons that were previously created. If these undead had been targeted by prime corpse before their creation, their original creator would be able to control up to eight of them for each casting of animate dead (instead of the normal four).

The caster of prime corpse need not be the same caster as the one who animates the undead. Undead who are already animate are not affected by this spell; it must be cast on corpses prior to animation.

At Higher Levels: If cast with a 6^th level spell slot or higher, this spell has a similar effect on the targets of a create undead spell, although it requires 400 gp black onyx stone for each corpse.

Design Note: If the Romans had faced a zombie plague, they might have invented the word exmortuus to describe the undead (“mortuus” being the dead and “ex-” being from or out of; thus those come from or out of death). Much later, the same bloke who invented the word “vivisection” might have also invented “exmorisection.”)

This material is covered by the Open Game License.

Go to Part 1

Slarkethrel’s modus operandi has historically been to compartmentalize his structures of power. The innermost circles of these organizations have some degree of overlap, with their leaders all becoming indoctrinated in the multifaceted, cultic “truth” of Slarkethrel in different ways, allowing them to cooperate and support each other when necessary. But most members of these groups are largely or entirely unaware that they have any relationship with each other. In the case of the Kraken Society, most of the street-level operatives aren’t even aware that there’s a literal kraken at the top of the pyramid.

PURPLE ROCKS: HERALDS OF THE DEEP

The reavers of Purple Rocks are a recurrent nuisance along the coasts of the Trackless Sea, with small fleets that vary from one or a few ships to as many as two dozen at various points over the past couple hundred years. The Purple Rocks themselves are a small archipelago with a population of a few hundred people dominated by two major islands noted for their purple-and-red sea cliffs.

If a mainlander has heard of Purple Rocks, it’s most likely due to either the reavers acting up again or vilksmaarg cheese – a pungent, salty variety produced from the milk of the strange Purple Rocks goats that is quite popular in the taverns of Luskan. Someone visiting Purple Rocks will find a variety of small fishing villages nestled long the coasts and clefted highlands, filled with Northmen eking out a hardscrabble existence while worshiping familiar northern gods like Tempus, Umberlee, and Auril.

If one were to take a close look at the idols and icons of Tempus and the other gods, however, they might notice the subtle tentacles which have been worked into their design. So, too, is the mundanity of the islands as a whole merely camouflage for the Heralds of the Deep, the Slarkethrelian cult which has quietly dominated the domestic and political life of the Purple Rocks for centuries.

Those who spend time amongst the people here might begin to notice oddities: The curious lack of children, for example. A glassy, too-worn look around the eyes. The strange, fluting trumpets that sound from across the sea and to which many pay an almost uncanny heed. The strange lights that can sometimes be seen from the seacoasts at night and the lights in the highlands above that seem to answer them in kind.

The truth is that the Heralds of the Deep practice rites of human sacrifice, their victims being hurled as offerings into the sea. In return, the people of Purple Rocks receive the Purple Blessing, a strange purple crystal which is boiled down from an alchemical mixture that includes Slarkethrel’s blood and is delivered from the deeps. The crystals are smoked and convey an unnaturally long life. (Those who suffer most from the mutagenic side-effects withdraw from public life and eventually “return to the sea” to join their lord and master.) Most of the population of Purple Rocks is more than a century old. Mainlanders assume that the King Selger who rules here must be the son or grandson of the Selger who reigned before the Spellplague, but not so: It is the same man.

The most recent attempt to free Purple Rocks from the influence of the Heralds came in the mid-14^th century, when a popular rebellion on Utheraal – one of the two large islands of Purple Rocks – successfully rose up and crowned King Bromm. In 1368 DR, however, King Selger of Trisk (the other major island) landed his fleet of longships on Utheraal and retook the island. This was done with the full support of the Sword Coast city-states, who had long blamed King Bromm for the reavers who plagued their shipping.

(Oddly, however, it was Selger who had a fleet of longships… not Bromm. An example of how effective the efforts of the krakenar can be in silently shaping mainland opinion and politics.)

THE ASCARLIAN EMPIRE

The sunken city of Ascarle is the capital of an undersea empire. Once quite vast (spreading across an area larger than the Savage Frontier), its borders have been somewhat curtailed in the 15^th century. Politically it is a patchwork affair, consisting of various undersea peoples and nations who have been conquered or suborned by Slarkethrel and then usually left as distinct entities rather than being integrated into some larger whole.

Those who are annexed by the Ascarlian Empire are organized into satrapies. The satraps rule their demesnes with tyrannical authority, answering ultimately only to Slarkethrel and the Regent of Ascarle. The satraps may or may not be appointed from the same race and culture as those they govern, but they are always fiercely loyal to the divinity of the Kraken of Purple Rocks.

Slarkethrel has also attempted to infiltrate the satrapies of Ascarle with religious cults dedicated to his worship, efforts which have met with varying degrees of success. These cults often employ imagery and dogma which would be familiar to the Heralds of the Deep and the inner circles of the Kraken Society, but Slarkethrel prefers to keep them separate and distinct from each other.

Note: Although the Heralds of the Deep are kept separate from the imperium, King Selger is treated as a satrap and also answers to the Regent of Ascarle.

(This systemic division of power has undoubtedly contributed to a certain lack of stability in Ascarle’s dominion. On the other hand, it also insulates Slarkethrel’s power base from completely collapsing. Even if the kraken loses vast swaths of what he claims, whatever parts are left will remain whole and complete unto themselves, providing a foundation from which he can inevitably rebuild.)

THE REGENT OF ASCARLE: The Regent of Ascarle is a mind flayer named Vestress.

In 1278 DR, krakenar agents discovered the location of legendary Gauntlgrym, the one-time capital of the dwarven empire of Delzoun. An expedition plundered dwarven treasure and even more valuable lore, but ultimately came into conflict with the illithids who controlled the depths of the ancient city. A final operation within the city sought to pillage knowledge directly from the elder brain (and met with some mitigated success).

The operatives returned to Slarkethrel with vast caches of lore that would take decades to fully catalogue and riches which would fund the kraken’s ambitions to previously unimaginable heights. But it also triggered decades of illithid counterattacks, fueling a rivalry between the mind flayers and the tentacles of the deep that has only ebbed in recent years as a result of Gauntlgrym falling to a dwarven alliance (although it could easily flare up again at any time if something were to fan the flames of what is now centuries-old enmity).

In addition to lore and treasure, the krakenar also brought back a prisoner: Vestress.

Vestress was tortured and questioned by Slarkethrel, who opened her mind, peered into its depths, and then rebuilt it. After her brainwashing, Vestress believed herself to be a rogue illithid who had rebelled against her creche and been cast out for her “crime” of seeking freedom. Vestress believes that Slarkethrel found her and welcomed her into the embrace of its ever-giving tentacles.

At this time, Ascarle was still something of a haunted city. Vestress took it upon herself to assemble a force of “heroes” drawn from across Slarkethrel’s empire – merrow, sea elves, weresharks, kapoacinths, and water weirds – and led them in cleaning out the fell creatures and strange spirits. In the process, she transformed Ascarle into a proper capital city, and Slarkethrel named her the Protectress of the city. From that position, her influence and power simply grew, until she was named Regent of Ascarle in the Year of the Striking Falcon (1333 DR).

Vestress apparently remained in charge of Ascarle during whatever catastrophe separated the city from Slarkethrel and the empire. She is now quite aged, nearing the end of her natural lifespan. There is much speculation about who will become the next Regent of Ascarle, along with an increasing amount of jockeying as rivals seek to position themselves for the seemingly inevitable transition of power.

Go to Part 3: The Society

These loosely bound pages describe Sagrathea’s efforts to unlock the secrets necessary for brewing potions more powerful than normally possible through magi-alchemical means. Sagrathea was able to get a few of the experimental concoctions reliably effective, but it seems the work was abandoned because he was unable to perfect them. The potency of the brew made it impossible to stabilize the potions, resulting in significant side effects.

Assassin’s Touch (Rare): This oil bestows upon the user the ability to poison all nonmagical creatures they touch with their bare skin. The specific poison inflicted by the assassin’s touch is dependent on the poison used when brewing it. The effect on the drinker normally lasts 1 hour, but each dose applied carries with it a 10% chance that the effect becomes permanent instead.

Draught of the Nightingale (Uncommon): This potion grants the imbiber the ability to sing the magically beguiling melody of the harpy as an action. Every humanoid and giant within 300 feet of the drinker must succeed on a DC 11 Wisdom saving throw or be charmed until the song ends. The singer must take a bonus action on subsequent turns to continue singing. The singer can stop singing at any time. The song ends if the singer is incapacitated.

While charmed by the singer, the target is incapacitated. If the charmed target is more than 5 feet away from the singer, the target must move on its turn towards the singer by the most direct route, trying to get within 5 feet. It doesn’t avoid opportunity attacks, but before moving into damaging terrain, such as lava or a pit, and whenever it takes damage from a source other than the singer, the target can repeat the saving throw. A charmed target can also repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns. If the saving throw is successful, the effect ends on the target ends and the target is immune to the singer’s song for the next 24 hours.

The potion lasts for 1 hour. With dose, the imbiber must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw (+2 DC per additional dose). Failure results in the drinker’s gradual but irreversible transformation into a depraved, harpy-like abomination over 1d6+3 days. (Only a wish spell or similarly powerful magic can reverse this curse.)

Eyes of the Medusa (Very Rare): Upon quaffing this poison, the imbiber’s eyes glow red for 1 hour and they gain a petrifying gaze as per a medusa.

Though a powerful elixir, the instability of the eyes of the medusa require the drinker to make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw (+2 DC per additional dose). On a failure, the imbiber is turned to stone (and will do so upon all subsequent attempts to take the potion).

Granite Hide (Uncommon): This grainy, chalk-tasting, orange liquid turns the imbiber’s skin into a pliable yet hard-as-granite substance. (Treat as a stoneskin spell.) The potion lasts 1 hour. After the potion wears off, the drinker suffers from a calcification of their joints, causing them to suffers disadvantage on all Dexterity checks and saving throws. This condition can be removed by a long rest or any effect which would remove a level of exhaustion.

Potion of Absolute Invisibility (Uncommon): The drinker of this potion benefits from a greater invisibility spell for 1 hour. However, they must also succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or suffer the effects of a confusion spell. A new saving throw may be attempted every 10 minutes while under the effects of the potion.

This material is covered by the Open Game License.