Have you been in this situation before? You picture that the upcoming combat scenes in your Dungeons and Dragons game to be epic, full of tense swings of action and drama and immersion. Yet somehow you find yourself hearing a round of players around the table saying things like…
Bob (Player) : “I roll for attack… I get a 12”
Donny (DM) : “You Hit.”
Bob: I roll umm… 5 damage.
DM: “OK. Next player?”
Sue: “I roll….. And I get…. Uh… 4 damage”
DM: “He’s still alive. Next player?”
And this drones on and on… taking what initially was intended to be an in-the-moment improvisational, unexpected, immersive experience… and it lulling into a parking lot slog fest. Let’s ditch the boring and go over tips that can bring your combat to the next level. In this guide we’ll introduce 8 Tips for describing combat in Dungeons and Dragons.
Section 1: Three Combat Description Tips for Players and DM’s Alike
Get your fellow players committed to being descriptive before combat starts. [DMs] + [Players]
Set the tone with your friends that you think descriptive, immersive combat is cool, and they should too. Explain how you love interacting other players who are not just taking actions, but describing the interesting details of how they see the events of the battle unfolding so that you and the other players can build on that… creating an interesting
Start Out by Focusing on Really Describing Kills or KOs [DMs] + [Players]
Being an eloquent, immersive improvisational storyteller can feel intimidating. If it’s hard for players to come up with creative juices to add to each turn of combat, try making sure you have awesome descriptions for taking out enemies. It helps if the DM’s ask for the players to describe the event when a combat NPC goes down.
Play off of the previous players actions [DMs] + [Players]
Combat rounds last 6 seconds in game time… around the table it may take 10+ minutes of real world time. Remember that even though actions are resolved separately, it is all happening simultaneously. You can create fantastic battle scenes by adding one simple word to your descriptions. “While”.Try:
“While Kyle is slashing wildly with his rapier to fend off the frenzied owlbear, I attempt to use my might to tackle it to the ground…. Protecting Kyle. I rush at it low and fast…”
(then roll)
Or
“While the crashes from the chromatic orb explode off of the minotaur, I see an opening, its looking just a little staggered, I swing in with my dagger to jab him in his exposed side. This is my opening… I swing as hard as I can.”
(then roll)
Section 2: Two Combat Description Tips Just for the Players
Play up your misses as well as your successes. [Players]
The example in the sentence above is a good example of how to play up your misses. Say something interesting about them. Be willing to play up the drama of the missed attempts. This will add to the fun and excitement of the successful ones. Let’s give another example of this.
Instead of:
“I shoot an arrow at the giant spider … I rolled an 8… that’s below his armor class so I miss.”
Try:
“Leo feels his heart thumping in his chest. He’d always been deathly afraid of bugs, spiders most of all… he tries to calm himself… following his training he breaths deeply, exhales and loosens his shot. (He rolls an 8). Overcome with adrenaline he overcompensates and shoots wildly off to the side, rope burn stinging the side of his exposed forearm.”
For the Players – Be mindful of descriptive Momentum [Players]
A combat that is already descriptive will tend to stay that way. A combat with no descriptiveness will tend to stay that way.
When the four players who have gone in combat before you have given examples of what the magic explosions feel and smell like weaving through the air, past your characters face, the adrenaline pumping in their hearts as they narrowly dodge and escape harm, and how blows landed, and missed have looked and sounded in combat, you are much more likely to continue with a level of description in your combat than if it was a parking lot slog like mentioned in the intro. Therefore try to keep up the descriptive tempo even if you’re not doing anything too flashy.
“I slash wildly, rearing in pain from the arrow in my hip, landing hard “thud” on the orc’s thick wooden shield… staggering back as he shoves my blow away… I’m barely keeping my footing…” sounds so much better than: “I attack the orc and uh… dang, a 4… I miss.”
Section 3: Three Combat Tips for Just the DMs
Consider Awarding Players who give active descriptions with their combat actions [DM]
Consider taking an awards approach. You can let players know that you’d love to hear excellent combat descriptions… and when a player does so in a way that really excites, entertains, or immerses the whole group, give a reward. One method would be awarding a point of inspiration / advantage… the other, perhaps a +1, +2, or +3 (your choice) to the roll that they are making in connection with the description.
Provide Interactive Environments [DM]
We’ll be doing a whole article on this, but know, that a good environment is something that has things that can be interacted with… creating interesting props, hinderances or boons in combat. For example… Fighting in a jungle… instead of stating that they players are in a jungle, with sabretooth tigers prowling at them… give them a few things in the combat. State that they are in a jungle with strong vines all over, sometimes blocking their paths. Thick foliage covers the floors, making it hard to see the bottoms… there are also mushrooms that release thick clouds of brown spores into the air if disturbed. They are nauseating, hopefully you don’t step on any.
Can’t you start thinking of all of the possibilities you could interact with as a character in combat in this environment? Swinging on vines, kicking spore clouds open into enemies eyes, hiding in the vegetation (enemies can / should do all of these as well!)
Add 1 to 2 Sound, Smell, Taste, or Touch Descriptions of Your Encounter [DM]
Another topic that warrants an entire article – be descriptive in when setting the stage for the encounter. One of the best ways to do this is to add in 1-2 additional senses that are NOT experienced through the eyes. For example….
Instead of:
“You’re in a cave, its really dark, can’t see past the edge of your torches lighting… and the cavern you’re in is pretty big.”
Try:
“You’re in a cave. It’s very dark and hard to see in the distance. You hear the sounds of water dripping and echoing… almost seeming way louder than they should be. You feel your body shivering. The sweat from the hot outside air has met the chilly breeze from the cave.”