D&D 5E How do you roleplay your PC actions in combat?

[kerbarian]

I don't narrate in a lot of detail, but I'll often describe what my character is about to do in the most optimistic manner -- what the character is intending to do. If it works out, great. If not, it's usually amusing to imagine and/or describe the disappointment at failing.

e.g. "I stab the goblin cleanly through the neck!" (roll)(miss) "Or... I stab the wall behind the goblin. How did that happen? Those guys are faster than they look!"

One thing I appreciate about 5E is that the combats are short enough that it's easier to sustain this kind of narration. It works when each combat is effectively resolved within a few rounds. If combat gets grindy, narration also starts to feel forced and repetitive.

 

[iserith]

How do you roleplay your PC actions in combat?

1. Narrate the attempted action (before seeing the "to hit" roll or saving throw etc).
2. Narrate the result of the action (after seeing the "to hit" roll, saving throw, damage etc).
3. Narrate both the attempted action (before any rolls) and the result of the action (after the rolls).
4. I mostly stick to using mechanical game terms to describe my PC actions. The DM does the narrating (if any).
5. Something else?

I follow the basic conversation of the game (Basic Rules, page 3) by describing what I want to do. I make my goal, approach, and intent clear to the DM and this is usually framed as "trying" or "attempting" to do a thing. I then wait for the DM to decide whether my action is successful, fails, or has an uncertain outcome in which case I roll whatever he or she tells me to roll. Then the DM narrates the outcome.

 

[Li Shenron]

IMXP resolution is always described by the DM.

Attempt is described by the player, but there are players who are interested in doing that, and players who simply want to say "I attack" and see the result.

For most actions in combat, I find narration to be pointless and tiring. Most of the time "I hit it" suffices, and trying to get more narration than that feels forced.

I think this is both a typical results of doing a lot of combat, and a problem of HP-attrition. If you spend most of your gaming time in combat, then you run out of possible descriptions more quickly. Also, no matter what the book says about HP being an abstraction for anything, the vast majority of DMs IMXP always describe damage as wounds: in the first couple of rounds of combat in a new campaign, the DM will always narrate a high damage roll with lots of blood and sound of broken bones, and a low damage roll as a "scratch"; then inevitably, and quite soon (often already in the first fight), repeats herself. Games that focus on things other than combat most of the time don't get easily tired of combat descriptions.

Before switching from HP to a wound-based system, it might be worth trying embracing the HP-attrition fully, and avoid references to physical wounds until the final blow. For instance, instead of having to narrate e.g. a 5hp damage, followed by a 2hp damage, followed by an 8hp damage, followed by 1hp damage, followed by a 3hp damage*... just don't narrate anything about those detailed blows until the last, so instead of having to use 5-6 damage description per monster per fight, you only need to use 1 description per monster per fight!

*The worst offender IMO is the "poke death" syndrome, when you kill a monster with a last blow that deals 1hp, and the DM has already filled the description of gory details about how that critical hit of yours smashed through the ogre's chest for 20 damage, and the Wizard's fireball set it to fire for 15 damage, etc. then someone kills it off with a 1 damage strike...

 

[Rhenny]

My experience is similar to yours Li Shenron. As DM I usually narrate results (more descriptive and dramatic when it is a killing blow, or an more dramatic success). As a player, I narrate my attempt.

I've been watching a lot of Critical Role lately, and I like how Matt Mercer (DM) prompts his players to describe killing blows, and then he embellishes more at times. For improv and players who like to improv, DM and players can play off each other. I may try more of that with my group (but it is really hard to change old habits).

 

[Psikerlord#]

IMXP resolution is always described by the DM.

Attempt is described by the player, but there are players who are interested in doing that, and players who simply want to say "I attack" and see the result.

It's interesting. I started out only using game terms to describe actions. Then moved onto roleplaying the attempt. But I found that wasn't very ... satisfying. I couldn't describe much because I didnt know what the outcome would be! There is a big disconnect for me between the attempt, the dice being rolled, and then what actually happens...

So I have found over time that my preference is to use game terms to explain what is attempted, but then to narrate the outcome. I have found most DMs are happy to relinquish this part of narration, especially when you finish an opponent. The DM has plenty to do already, including narrating what the monsters do/hits on players.

It kinda shares around the narration spotlight/burden(!) more.

In any case - any amount of narration is more fun than none, ime.

 

[cas206]

I try to describe what I'm doing and the result at all times. However, not all descriptions need to be unique or memorable. A simple "I take another shot with my bow...", "My shot misses", usually suffices. To counter the tedious argument, I don't see how this is more or less tedious than, "I roll to hit...", "I miss". The bonus is that staying in character/narrative becomes habit through repetition rather than "Oh this event is important, I should totally play it up" (or, crap, that was an epic roll, I should have role played that).

 

[Dragoslav]

Currently playing a paladin, I have a tendency to just say "I attack," but I try to fancy it up by saying things like "I strike at him with my longsword." If an enemy misses me, I'll try to narrate that, too, sometimes, like if two enemies attack and miss me, I'll say something like, "I deflect the first goblin's axe with my shield and parry the second goblin!"

However, I sometimes also roleplay the resolution of a roll, when appropriate. For example, a large orc with a giant maul attacks me and then an ally, missing me and hitting the ally for a low damage roll. The DM says, "Yeah, he hits you, but his attack is a little off-center and doesn't get a good hit," to which I'll add, "When I deflected his weapon with my shield, it threw him off balance for his second attack."

 

[Agamon]

I usually DM. The player narrates the attempt if they want, and then I narrate the result, putting forth more effort the more dramatic the result is.

 

[Queer Venger]

I do it Matt Mercer style (Critical Role) he's pretty much the best DM I've seen do Rpg narration in combat.

 

[ehenning]

I do it Matt Mercer style (Critical Role) he's pretty much the best DM I've seen do Rpg narration in combat.

Agreed. Very impressed with the whole Critical Role crew.