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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/46277
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/46277
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

If the scene allows for it you should portray feelings other characters or creatures might have when entering a scene. A bar man that is obviously not concerned in the least bit by a brewing fight between patrons, city guards shaking in fear at the sight of the old man slowly walking down the street, mice squirming away as fast as they can the moment the evil mage pulls out what looks like a pretty red necklace, ...

In the same way you can use the absence of lifeforms to make sure your players understand what is happening. No birds are chirping in the trees, there are no insects close by as would be normal deepn in an average forest, the only thing left that reminds you of life is the carcass of a deer, ...

Basically you need to turn your attention away from the player characters to give your players the room they need to interpret the scene and decide for themselves how their characters would feel in such a situation. The player characters are the only thing your players control, the rest of the world is controlled by you. So focus on all the other things that are under your control such as the weather, the lighting, the smell and other creatures. Especially with creatures this is powerful because _you_, as the Dungeon Master, can try to put yourself in their shoes and show your players how _you_ feel in that situation and from _your creatures_ point of view. And, as the examples above showed, "creature" is not simply an NPC, but every living thing that could possibly exist in your scene.

Original score: 1