this post was submitted on 17 Jul 2023
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The idea that the GM needs to be this epic narrator as if they were an author is something I wish would die. The medium of play is different.
Here's some things I do for long travel scenes that have no backing mechanics:
What I'm trying to get at is that the conversation, not narration makes travel memorable. Converse with your players. Encourage them to converse with you.
This is great advice. I like how this shares the narrative burden with the other people at the table. Mini-encounters like these give you some insight into a characters values, it's less railroad-y, and there's always the threat that it could turn into a big encounter if handled poorly. Plus, the players discussing what they want to do takes up some real world time, and that makes the travel seem less instantaneous.
I completely agree! I think my shorthand of using "narrate" was possibly misleading. It was more about how to transition between points of interest leading to and from these conversations. You bring up some great pointers though that are super useful!