The Art of Obvious Clues

Wed, 04 Dec 2024 20:56:37 +0000

I’ve been thinking about game mastering lately, particularly about how we present clues and plot hooks to our players. A friend recently mentioned they were working on adding clues to guide their players toward a specific storyline, and it got me reflecting on the whole concept of “leading” players through our games.

Here’s the thing: I’m incredibly fortunate to have players who actively listen for and follow my plot hooks, even when they’re not particularly well-crafted. But should we really need to “bait” players into having fun? The whole process of deliberately planting multiple clues, creating diversionary scenery to hide them in, and hoping players pick up on the right threads seems unnecessarily complicated.

Take police procedurals, for example. When Matlock shows up at a crime scene, he doesn’t get distracted by interesting wallpaper patterns and go off on a tangential investigation about textile manufacturing. He arrives, makes a show of examining the scene, and zeros in on what actually matters. There’s no extraneous detail to muddy the waters – everything present serves the story.

This brings me to interactive fiction, which offers some fascinating insights into this challenge. In these text adventures, players can examine numerous objects in each location, but there’s a clear distinction in how the game responds. Most items get basic descriptive responses with no follow-up. However, when players examine something crucial to the story, that item becomes separately listed in future room descriptions. The game subtly but clearly communicates: “This matters.”

It’s worth noting that this approach differs significantly from open-world or low-prep games, where GMs might describe scenes in rich detail without specific story beats in mind, letting the plot bloom from whatever captures the players’ attention. That’s absolutely valid, but it’s a different mechanism entirely. When you’re running a prepared story, you want players to find the beats that move them toward your crafted narrative – but providing too much interesting detail can be distracting.

There’s undeniable power in discovery for players. Finding a clue is inherently more satisfying than being handed one, even if the path is somewhat guided. While a plot might be “on rails,” the game feels more engaging when players feel they’re actively uncovering the story rather than being dragged along.

Drawing from interactive fiction’s example, there are several effective approaches we can use in our tabletop games. In addition to the common GM advice to provide three different clues pointing to the same conclusion, consider providing three types of detail in a scene: one plot-relevant, one atmospheric, and one interesting but non-crucial. Like in interactive fiction, some descriptions become “interactive objects” when inspected while others remain background color.

The way NPCs react can also serve as natural spotlights for important elements. Interactive fiction often uses timed or recurring messages to draw attention to important elements. Similarly, GMs can have NPCs respond distinctively to important details. For instance, describing how “The bartender’s eyes keep darting toward a bare section of wall” could help players learn that there is a secret door there. Repeating the description of that action, or having the bartender do other noteworthy things like intentionally place himself between the players and that wall section, would reinforce that perception.

Just as interactive fiction doesn’t waste words on unimportant details, GMs can devote more descriptive attention to significant elements. Rather than just mentioning a crucial letter, describe its peculiar perfume, the quality of its paper, and the distinctive seal – while the ordinary tavern chairs merely remain “wooden chairs.”

Looking back at my own GM experiences, the most memorable moments weren’t about players struggling to find the next plot point – they were about how players creatively engaged with clearly presented situations. Maybe that’s where we should be focusing our energy: not on hiding the path, but on making the journey along it interesting.