So my party in D&D is getting very close to the end, many of the campaigns main questions are getting closer to being answered. I am playing the Curse of Strahd Campaign by the way.

For most of the Campaign the lore has been shrouded in mystery, slowly building up with new questions about the characters and the world. So many of these questions will be answered in the Amber Temple section, where A certain NPC, once his memory is restored, will tell the party all about the history of Barovia. Also, very soon, The players will venture to Castle Ravenloft and speak with Strahd and find out about his story. However the lore given in the module was not sufficient for me. As I put in another thread of mine, the ending just isn't satisfying with the lore that's given, so I created my own lore about the history of Barovia and added some more character to Strahd. As I wrote this 'lore document', I realized that it was multiple pages of google docs, and I realized that I can't just have an NPC yap about all of this for like ten minutes.

So the question is, how do you guys give large amounts of information to the players, without monologuing and boring them?

Thanks in advance.

I've never run the campaign, "Curse of Strahd," but I think I know how you can give them the information without boring them. The NPC that is about to get his memory restored could not tell the characters the history, but tell them where other NPC's are that know bits and pieces of the history of Barovia. Then, the PC's would have to find each NPC and put the story together. This may or may not help, it depends whether or not the PC's have to get to Strahd at a certain time.

The short answer is "you don't". A couple options here:

1. Let them ask questions (which you answer) until they get bored.
2. Give them a brief summary, and tell them "there is more detail here; feel free to ask later if you remember any lore about particular things that might have been in it"
3. Give them the lore dump as a document that they can read (or not read) at leisure.

To be honest I think I know what I'll do. I just like to hear if anyone else had creative ideas for giving out information in general.

I usually dispense information through NPCs, found documents, tapestries, dreams (depending on the context). I think the rub is that the end of the day players are mostly still in a game-playing/mystery-solving mindset... so there needs to be relevant information embedded in the lore. Like, if the mission is to defeat the evil cleric in the mountains. Who cares why he's there or how he came to power? But if you make it known early on that he united the Orcs and the Goblins but did so through lying... then the players hopefully will want to know more. What was the lie? and can they expose him somehow and turn the goblins against him... stuff like that.

mix lore so it comes from npcs checks, books, stories, curses, and putting 2 and 2 together and spread it over after time, i recomend less lore dumping and more of a lore breadcrumb trail. either that or a stupid bbeg or his minion trying to scare everyone by telling stuff to the party

Documents between sessions work quite well.

NPSs dropping information during party downtime is also another way to convey information.

Dont drop boring lore. Only give the pcs important information. And I’d say make the pcs interested in the story. 

Quote from Cleseus_Of_Castigonia >>

So my party in D&D is getting very close to the end, many of the campaigns main questions are getting closer to being answered. I am playing the Curse of Strahd Campaign by the way.

For most of the Campaign the lore has been shrouded in mystery, slowly building up with new questions about the characters and the world. So many of these questions will be answered in the Amber Temple section, where A certain NPC, once his memory is restored, will tell the party all about the history of Barovia. Also, very soon, The players will venture to Castle Ravenloft and speak with Strahd and find out about his story. However the lore given in the module was not sufficient for me. As I put in another thread of mine, the ending just isn't satisfying with the lore that's given, so I created my own lore about the history of Barovia and added some more character to Strahd. As I wrote this 'lore document', I realized that it was multiple pages of google docs, and I realized that I can't just have an NPC yap about all of this for like ten minutes.

So the question is, how do you guys give large amounts of information to the players, without monologuing and boring them?

Thanks in advance.

 Most of the times it's nigh impossible to do in one long strand and depending on your players and their PC's they can just sometimes--much to many DM's frsutration--not be invested in lore if it doesn't help them in some way shape or form or if it isn't exciting enough. But that typically is just long flowing amounts of lore. Have them discover the mysteries in parts and then have some sort of puzzle that requires them to piece this info together to gain an advantage in the final Strahd confrontation like an old man guarding a cell with some sort of weapon or ward that could make the final confrontation with Strahd possible or at the very least slightly easier.

Its all about getting to the point, hitting the most important things with as few actual details as possible but most of all it's about delivery.

Watch The Hobbit opening scene (but only listen to it, don't watch it), in a word, that is how you deliver a lore dump.

Bigger more detailed lore dumps, write a document and give it to them.  The readers will love it, most players won't read it, and that is fine.

Your entire campaign is telling a story and I really think that late-stage lore gives you plenty of opportunities to keep things engaging for your players:

1. Break things up and remind your players of the parts of the story that they've interacted with and affected so far. Most DnD campaigns I've seen are built in stages with a fairly linear, straightforward introduction, a more "open world" middle with some optional side-quests and two or more main-quest threads that point the players toward the final confrontation in different ways. When you're giving your players information about what they've discovered, it's a great opportunity to relate it to the rest of the story they've been living through so far. Remind them of the actions they've taken and how those actions led them to this spot in the story. If an NPC is relating the information, remember that they live in the world and can comment on how the players actions affect the people and places they know. If it's lore from a book or letter your players have found, emphasize the discovery and use any people, places, or objects that are mentioned to help piece together things they've already heard about, e.g. "You recall that the shopkeeper from the village, Sandra, told you all about how the tower to the north was the home of an evil mage 50 years ago, but nobody in the village knew who originally built it. However, the letter that you've just found reveals..."

2. Give your players opportunities to interact. Don't withhold any information that they are supposed to have, but if there are any opportunities for them to piece together more information than your lore dump directly relates, give them the chance to roll for extra information. Anyone local to the area can roll history and knowledge checks any time information about nearby people and places might be relevant. Players can roll insight on NPC's and even documents to try to tell whether they're excited, scared, angry, or calm. Players' classes can come into play, as well - Rangers and druids might notice details about the local plants and animals, while any of your magical classes can do arcana checks for spells currently or previously in use. You don't need there to be some great revelation to allow your players to roll a skill check. It's a tiny detail, but a player can feel much more like an active participant in the story if you allow their character to discover that the author of a letter was written by someone becoming increasingly scared or agitated, rather than simply telling them. Even failed roles are good for player engagement, since it feels like they might have missed something, and encourages them to be even more attentive in the future.

3. In your specific case, the first thing I would do is edit. I know that when you create something, it can be difficult to let any part of it go, but giving your players multiple pages of lore all at once isn't interactive RPG storytelling, it's subjecting people to your fanfiction. Fanfiction can be great, and I don't want to discourage you from writing, but I have NEVER seen a DnD campaign where an NPC speaks unbroken for page after page, and for good reason. Roleplaying games are about building a story, not hearing one. Your lore should be in service of your players living out their own story, not in creating one for them. Maybe keep the story you've written, and even put it out for people to check out, but for a game session, cut away absolutely everything that doesn't tell your players something they can use. If it's just worldbuilding, let your players ask about it, discover it, and roll for it, and make sure anything your players learn comes in digestible chunks - about a single paragraph each. You can *hint* that your NPC might have more to say by having them emphasize words, or grimace when they talk about a particular subject, etc., but let your players ask the follow up question if they want. It's their story, not yours.

Quote from OSR4Ever >>

Its all about getting to the point, hitting the most important things with as few actual details as possible but most of all it's about delivery.

Watch The Hobbit opening scene (but only listen to it, don't watch it), in a word, that is how you deliver a lore dump.

Bigger more detailed lore dumps, write a document and give it to them.  The readers will love it, most players won't read it, and that is fine.

Which hobbit movie?  The cartoon got me into playing DnD back in the 70s.

Quote from Cleseus_Of_Castigonia >>

So the question is, how do you guys give large amounts of information to the players, without monologuing and boring them?

In decades past there was this solution.   Have adult beverages, when the party is inebriated, verbally dump the entire lore.  then when they are sober, they can start to remember bits and pieces and are now interested in how it all fits.  They will try to tell the story and you repeat your lore dump to correct errors.

Thanks for all of these cool ideas, I'm probably going to use a bit of all of them when I "Lore dump". I realized I don't have to monologue, I could have them find scattered documents, have small interaction with NPC's, and they'll piece it all together. The thread isn't over, I still like hearing all of the cool ideas you guys have about lore dumping.

I like the slow drip approach for a lot of reasons

• It provides "exploration" scenes to intermix with combat and social scenes.
• It's a great way to anchor the lore in emotional context - info from a desperate letter or a scratched on a prison wall hits harder than just reciting it. It can also provide mental/emotional connections to the info which makes it easier to recall.
• You can emphasize the important things through repetition - if the party has run into the same mysterious symbol 4-5 times, it will feel like a big payoff when you reveal who the symbol represents.
• You can see what the players engage with and what they don't and adjust things accordingly.
• It helps the world feel alive, and allows the characters to learn about the world by just being in it.