User Blog:
Location, Location, Location: The Barfight

As a game master, in whatever capacity that means to your game, the people your characters interact with (nonplayer characters) are only one part of the story. To ground your game in some kind of reality, you need to know the places adventures and scenes happen within. Good place descriptions can mean the difference between a memorable encounters and 'just another 500 xp.'

In Location, Location, Location I'll cover place description and how to use them to your advantage as a game master. I'll give you some examples of existing locations and how to use them in your game. I'll even try to come up with places to stage your scenes or fights that you might not have thought of. Good writing, like good game mastering, requires sensory detail, and so I'm going to try to touch on using sensory details at every turn to bring your locations to life. So let me get to it.

The Bar Fight: Ah, the classic bar fight, having brought together more character parties and started more campaign then just about any trope in roleplaying. I'm sure most of us have used it get things going, or in some cases, to get things rolling again after a slow game or a lull in the action. Characters often find themselves back at the bar, so let me ask you this: Do you really know what a bar fight looks like?

Before you start up your next bar fight, consider asking yourself a few questions. What does the bar actually look like? What is it made of? Who owns it and what would the staff really do in the case of an outbreak of violence? Would they jump in, try to break it up, or hide behind tables? Remember, if we're talking about a family run establishment, this place is their source of income. Are they really going to just let a fight happen and run the risk of losing staff, goods, and customers?

What about the clientele? Surely a rough and tumble bar on the bad side of town is likely to draw the sort of customer who would get into a barroom brawl with little personal motivation. But what about the hip night club? Or the gentleman's club? It might be fun to place that traditional bar fight in a nice place, but you might have to stretch a little further to get your average 'gentleman' into the middle of a fight if you want that giant and all inclusive bar room brawl. What about PCP in the Miller Lite? A bouncer at the door who rustled everyone’s feathers on their way in so that they're all on the edge of an adrenaline high? Everyone’s favorite bartender didn't show so now no one is getting their martini made the right way?