Every tabletop role-playing game, no matter how complex its rules or rich its setting, ultimately unfolds as a conversation. This core idea underpins the entire experience: RPGs are built on a loop of dialogue between the game master and the players. Whatever the rulebooks imply, it always starts the same way – the GM describes a situation. Then, the GM invites the players to respond with actions. The GM adjudicates those actions, determining their outcomes based on logic, fairness, and the rule set. Finally, the GM describes the result, and the loop begins again.

1. Describe.
2. Invite to act.
3. Judge.
4. Repeat.

That’s it. This conversational loop is the hidden structure behind every encounter, exploration, and dramatic moment. Understanding this loop – and how to use narration and adjudication to guide it – means understanding the actual mechanics of play.

Building the Loop: From Narration to Consequence

Narration as a Gateway to Action

The game master acts as the players’ sensory apparatus. The world of the game only exists inside the GM’s mind – until it’s spoken aloud. Narration is the process of transferring that imagined world into the minds of the players so that they can act within it. Everything the players know – what they see, hear, or feel – comes from the GM’s words.

This information isn’t just flavor; it’s fuel for decision-making. Good narration enables good choices. When the GM describes a dangerous bridge, a flickering torch, or a cryptic rune, they’re giving the players the data they need to act meaningfully. If the players are misled, under-informed, or overwhelmed, their decisions will either be random or disengaged. And when choices feel arbitrary, the game no longer feels fair – or fun.

A crucial aspect of this is inviting the players to act. Narration should not drift into monologue. Scene-setting should always end with a prompt that invites action: “What do you do?” This is where the game begins. Without that invitation, nothing happens. It’s not a game – it’s a lecture.

This simple mechanism – clear description followed by an actionable prompt – keeps the loop moving and ensures that the players always feel in control of their characters. That, in turn, maintains the tension, energy, and pace of the session.

The Four Modes of Narration

Although narration seems like a single act, it actually falls into four distinct forms. Each serves a different function within the conversational loop:

1. Exposition delivers direct information the characters already know – briefings, rumors, backstories. This is what usually kicks off a scenario. It answers “what are we doing, and why?”
2. Scene setting paints the moment. It describes what the player characters see, hear, and sense right now. It conveys environmental context and cues. Effective scene-setting is concise and precise – aim for three to five sentences, focusing first on the general impression, then on key details. And it should always end with an invitation to act.
3. Describing the outcome occurs after a player takes an action. It explains what happened as a result, changing the fictional world and giving players new information for the next decision.
4. Transitions bridge scenes. When a location is left, or time skips forward, the GM narrates the passage and reorients the players before setting the new scene.

These four modes rotate as part of the broader loop. A GM moves from exposition to scene setting, invites an action, adjudicates it, describes the outcome, and then offers a transition – only to set a new scene again. This structured approach creates a fluid, understandable, and satisfying gameplay rhythm.

Adjudication – Choosing the Right Outcome

When a player announces what their character does, they’re handing narrative control back to the GM. In that moment, the GM must adjudicate – determine what happens as a result. This is where the GM uses the game’s rules as tools. But tools are only useful if they serve a purpose: Fairness and consistency.

Rules help maintaining fairness and consistency. But adjudication isn’t about being bound by rules. It’s about using them whenever they are useful. The GM decides when rules apply, when they’re bent, and when they’re irrelevant. What matters most is that outcomes make sense within the fiction and that similar situations are handled similarly. And rules help to resolve actions in a fair and consistent way. That fairness and consistency build player trust.

Back to the Beginning: Starting the Next Cycle

After the outcome is described, the loop resets – but not to a blank state. The new situation must reflect what just happened. The GM now resets the scene – not the entire world, just the immediate moment. A dead enemy on the ground, a collapsed bridge, a sudden silence – these are not just details; they are new invitations.

What the Conversation Really Means

The basic RPG conversation is not just a teaching device – it’s the actual engine of the game. When narration is clear and purposeful, when adjudication is fair and responsive, when choices have impact and scenes evolve – then the game comes alive. Nothing else – no rulebook, no dice mechanics, no prewritten module – can substitute for this loop.

Mastering it means mastering the table. You create tension, guide pacing, offer challenges, and reward clever thinking. You turn spoken words into an interactive world.

This post was inspired by “Game Angry: How to RPG the Angry Way” (2018) by Scott “The Angry GM” Rehm, whose breakdown of narration and adjudication captures exactly how tabletop RPGs actually work. Because in the end, no matter the genre, setting, or system – it’s just four steps: describe, invite, adjudicate, and reset.

And if you can do that, you can run the game.