Foreshadowing is an extremely common
element in the fantasy genre at large. At the same time, information
can be extremely valuable to the players. Some creatures in
particular are much harder to fight if the party is not prepared for
them. From ancient prophecies to captured enemies, there are many
different ways to give such knowledge to the players. I hope to
present multiple examples of how this can be achieved as well as
bring up some issues associated with them. I will do so by mentioning
large concepts that are present any time that information is given to
the player and how they are important. I'm just going to say right
here that as always, finding the right balance for the group is
important.
Timing
When players are
given information can play a very important role. If information is
provided too early, the players may forget that they were even told
something important and if it is too close to the task that requires
it, the players are more likely to connect the dots. Depending on the
task being attacked, the situation the players are in and the actions
of the players, any length of time could be valid. However, there are
also times where it will be impossible to obtain certain information.
If the players are actively looking for information about one kingdom
attack another and there are currently no plans to do so, it stands
to reason that there won't be any documents for such a thing in the
general's quarters (still technically possible if there is a backup
plan).
Reliability
Can the
information be trusted? Obviously, if every bit of information the
Dungeon Master gives the players from a town drunk is incorrect, they
won't trust a single thing the drunk says. At the same time, if every
word one of the gods says is true, they will believe every bit of
information that is told to them by that god. Most people in the
world are probably less reliable than a god but know at least
something that is true. If the players are being told a story by an
NPC, it stands to reason that some of the details or elements might
be wrong even if most of it is true. Finding a good balance for the
reliability of information that players receive will then play a
massive role in both the players' ability to tackle problems as well
as building the world in general.
Obviousness
Who here has ever
read a confusing prophecy? In such a case the meaning of the
information is usually known just prior to when the characters need
it or after they've already solved the problem. Seeing my players
infer information based on context is a good thing. However,
sometimes the information players receive will be far more obvious.
It's generally hard to misinterpret a villager telling you, “Yeah,
there's a cave over there. I pick mushrooms by it all the time.” At
some point, being too far into one extreme can be extremely annoying.
No one wants to get a cryptic prophecy when trying to ask a guard if
there are any weapon shops in a city (excluding some joke games, of
course). As always, finding the right balance for the group is the
key.
Specificity
How specific the
information the players receive will also play a role in how they
approach a problem and shape events. If the players are told that the
magic thingy lies in this 50km square, their actions will be
completely different than if I told them exactly the building, room
and nook it was hidden in. This is a difficult section to fully
explain since there are many different elements that make it up. If
the party is looking for a particular person, we could know exactly
where they are, exactly why they are there, why they are still there,
where they were before, what their favourite weapons are and much
more. Each one of those sections could be addressed differently
(maybe we have no idea where they came from or what they are doing,
but were able to track them down to a city via rumors).
Examples
- Prophecies (can be ancient prophecies about soon to occur events, ancient prophecies about events centuries away or fresh prophecies about either)
- Sounds in a dungeon (hearing the flapping of wings beyond a door gives the players certain information)
- Town gossip
- Recruited spy
- Captured enemy (the higher the rank, the juicier the information)
- Old book studying the same item you are now studying
- Corpse stuck in a trap giving you the hint that there is a trap
- Smell coming from an empty room
- Erie feeling (necrotic magic in particular may give sensations when close)
- Heat (especially when adjacent room is on fire)
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