Is your combat boring?
Do you find combat the most boring part of d&d? Do you feel you hand slowly reaching for your phone when it’s not your turn in combat? Are you constantly having your mind wander? Well, this post is for you!
How to spice up your combat!
- Describe what you’re doing! This applies to players and to DMs. Instead of saying ‘I hit him, I do x damage.’ Spice that shit up baby!! Be descriptive! “I draw my sword off my back, and with one hand I slash him across the chest to set an example out of him and scare his friends!’ Or if you’re a DM: ‘The hobgoblin has nowhere to escape, he attempts to climb up over the wall but it’s too high, he knows you will catch him. So he jumps off the wall and flies in your face, clawing wildly.” Damn, see? That’s way cooler than ‘The hobgoblin is trapped, he’s going to claw you.“
- Use your environment! This will make for more interesting fights and perhaps get you extra damage. “I punch him” vs “I grab him by the hair and smash his face into the table, holding him down. I lift up a tankard and break it overtop of his head.” How cool!! Wow, are you an action star? ★
- For DMs: its more fun to kill 10 small enemies than it is to kill 2 regular enemies. (Unless it is a boss)
- DMs: player rolled a 1 or a 20? Let them describe what happens. It keeps the players engaged and let’s them be creative.
- Describe deaths. “Your magic missiles have killed him” vs “you outreach your hand, the hot missiles of your spell form around you, collecting energy until they speed past you, straight towards the Evil Man. He knocks the first missile away but the others hit him with an intense force, sending him flying into the wall behind him. His body makes an awful ‘crunch’ as the stone wall cracks from the impact. He slumps down, and does not get up.”
Hope this helps! Have fun playing.
This keeps getting notes so I’m adding some stuff. I haven’t DMed in like a year so here’s from a players perspective:
If you are a Magic User:
1. Use spell components when you’re casting spells! Ex from my Paladin using ‘bless’: “I take my flask of holy water and go up to (PC). I put a drop on my finger and swipe it down her nose and say 'Chauntea will protect us’”
This adds great RP dynamic and character depth + relationships, just by casting a spell!
2. Add personal spins on things when casting spells. Here’s an example from my bard: “I take out my violin bow and begin to play a soft, haunting Lullaby. Images of broken hearts begin to dance in front of their faces and the enemies start to fall into a trance. They have to make a wisdom save.”
That’s how I cast hypnotic pattern. Some aspect of the spells I cast always involve my character, and you can change up little details. When I casted Hypnotic pattern there was a dancing droplet of blood that distracted a group of vampire bats!
If you are a physical character:
This is a bit more difficult Imo, I feel like they have less options for flavor. I usually think about how my character is feeling, and what weapon I’m using.
My Paladin is always angry/cocky when fighting undead. So when she faces undead: “I take Snapdragon (her greatsword) off my back and smile at the skeleton before I hold my sword like a plunger and stab him through the head, again and again.”
This added a surprising violent side to my character, and gave other PC’s an invitation to ask about it.
If you think you’re not good at describing stuff, or are embarrassed about RPing, start small. Read this post before a game and try to think of something beforehand. Happy d&ding!
