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GameMastery Guide / Running a Game / How to Run a Game / The Art of GMing / Narrative Techniques

Spotlight

Source GameMastery Guide pg. 32
There are many in-game tricks that a GM can use to convey information or rework elements of his game, including those mentioned above. The most powerful technique, though, is simply describing a monster, person, or item in detail. Anything that a GM devotes playtime to rises in the awareness of the players.

In most cases, that just means mentioning an item more than once. Players pick up on GM references very quickly. If you want a particular character to draw the party’s attention, mention them as someone they see when they return to a particular location. Anyone they see more than once, or anyone they “notice” because the GM tells them they notice them, is bound to get extra scrutiny from experienced players. Of course, less experienced players might not pick up on it, and it’s certainly okay to go from mentioning something to the more direct, “This guard seems to want something from you,” or even “That painting seems bigger than the others, and the frame makes it look more important.”

The point of using the GM spotlight is to get the action moving again. Be brutally obvious only if you must, but don’t let the adventure derail just because someone failed a Perception roll.