"You see a clawed hand reaching out of the shadows..." The role of the referee is to bring to life exciting adventures for the players. This is often facilitated by the use of colorful descriptions involving action.
"You enter a dimly lit room. While moving into the cold room, your nostrils constrict with a pungent smell of animal urine and damp straw. From the dark far corner you hear a rustling noise..." By describing the setting quickly and leaving much to the imagination, the referee is more likely to hold the players' attention and help them to identify with their characters.
"The light of your torch reflects from a pair of luminous round eyes, which rise slowly from the floor of the shadowy corner until they appear nearly man-sized tall..." Mystery is the goal. Let each player wonder what may be before them. Let them imagine what might be behind those eyes.
"Stepping into the light you see a sickly pale, skeletal figure with over-sized round eyes. As the mouth opens, long, dirty fangs and a lolling red tongue drip saliva..." Describing the monster rather than naming it keeps the mystery alive and makes the players work just a little harder at figuring out what they are facing. It helps to immerse the players into the scene.
"Among the gnawed bones, bits of rusted metal and dirty coins, your light suddenly reflects off a shiny ring..." Magic treasure should be described as unusual in mundane ways so that even without the use of a detection spell it is obvious there is more to this item than may be readily apparent. By not tipping their hand too soon, the referee heightens the anticipation and mystery and therefore the enjoyment of discovery.
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