I've recently started DMing Curse of Strahd. The players took the bait and ended up in the Death House. Our currently first and only session of this module ended with the party just reaching the third floor and one unconscious PC.
Given the fact that there isn't simply 'read aloud' text that contains all the details for every room, one major problem I had was remembering exactly what kind of things were in each room.
This lead to a very poor deliverance of "creep factor" and because I was then trying to give a descriptive account of what was in the rooms after quickly rereading the text in the book, I would often miss a few, sometimes important, details.
After the session, one of the players even said in a not-overly-impressed tone "we just spent the last out-of-game hour or so exploring rooms". It should be noted, and I do acknowledge, that this person hasn't played D&D before so they may have been expecting something a little more exciting from the get go, but I do feel that statement was at least partially due to my failed deliverance.
What can I do to help me remember details about the areas the PCs are exploring and thus give an accurate description of what the PCs see and what happens within?
Best Answer
There are many tricks that will help you remember, but most of them boil down to two things: Focus on the important stuff and write things down. That being said, here are a few more detailed pieces of advice that might help you.
1: Get rid of clutter
I don't know anything about the Death House, but it seems to be a large mansion with a lot of rooms. The first thing you should do when tackling something like this is to get rid of the unimportant and uninteresting bits. Instead of saying something like "What door do you open? Second to the right, OK. It's a bedroom with these items in it. What door do you open next?" you should try to streamline your narrative. The players want to have fun and do exciting stuff, but while clicking on every little thing can be fun in an adventure video game, that kind of behaviour doesn't translate well into the realm of roleplaying. The not-overly-impressed player even said it plainly.
Instead, try using this approach: "You search the rooms as you make your way down the dark hallway. Some doors are creaky and hard to open, a few are locked. The rooms are what you'd expect in a house like this, a few bedrooms and closets, a small smoking room and a couple of completely empty rooms. You end up in front of what seems to be just another door to just another room. Who opens the door?" Instant drama and excitement, without having to search through a bunch of red herrings. This makes it a lot easier for you to manage your session since you only need to keep track of the important stuff.
2: Review the important stuff
If you run a published adventure, make sure to read it before you run it and make sure to pay extra attention to the important stuff. If you find there are a lot of small things scattered about that have to fall in place for the adventure to work, try grouping some of them together in the same room so that you have less to focus on and worry about.
As for any and all flavour text, just wing it. If a certain room has an eerie breeze that is just there to discomfort the players, don't sweat it if you add that detail to another room or omit it completely. Add your own flavour.
3: Make a list
I often write something like this:
I would not write out an empty cupboard or any other room that has nothing interesting in it.
4: Make a map
A simple map or floorplan can make it a lot easier to be consistent in your narrative.
Give each room a number and keep the details on a separate paper, but add the important things directly to the map. At a glance you can see where the players might find the staff or the herbs.
5: Constantly write stuff down
If you improvise the contents of a room, jot down a few words about the room on your list or your map. This adds consistency and makes it easy to remember things you've just winged into existance. This method can be used to improvise an entire building if needed.
6: Don't bother
A simple advice that works well with locations that are mystical in nature. If you accidently change the details of a room or location between visits, make it a part of the setting. "Hey, where's the doll you said was here earlier?" "Hmm, you can't see it in here. Maybe you just imagined it being here?"