101 Colorful Combat Wound Descriptions

[Jacob the Impaler]

30) The acid arrow erases the monster's face with a horrible, popping sizzle.

31) Your summoned bear effortlessly tears the arms off of the surprised hobgoblin.

32) With two quick strokes, he falls, grasping his bleeding gut in astonishment.

33) The axe splits his femur like firewood.

34) He reels, howling and grabbing his face as your staff strikes his nose.

35) The arrow buries itself deep in his massive bicep, which only seems to enrage him further.

36) The blow stuns him, and you finish him off with a rib-crushing swing.

37) You feel a warm, putrid sensation and realize your skin is retreating rapidly from your chest.

38) The flail catches on his gauntlet, and you manage to kick him against the wall with your steel boot while he's off guard.

39) Your kick sends the foolish kobold into a backflip before he hits the ground.

40) He parries your blow and tries to push you over the ledge with a rush of force, but you shift your weight just in time and watch him fall into the darkness, screaming.

 

[Moon-Lancer]

I've found that it helps to abstract the combat system even further to allow for better descriptions. Just because your fighter is swinging a +2 sword doesn't mean that every blow that does damage has to come from it. Depending on how desperate the fight is fists, knees, elbows and foreheads can be used as weapons too.

For example, say the fighter rolls a one on his damage, that could mean that he was unable to get a good swing in with his sword so instead opted to kick at his opponent instead or drive the rim of his shield into his face.

Also the rules as written assume that unless you actually attempt to grapple your opponent you simply sit there politely trading blows until one of you falls down. Real combat would see a lot of grappling. The easiest way to control a sword is to control the sword arm so I tend to assume that a certain amount of grappling occurs during the course of normal combat. Only when you are literally rolling on the ground wrestling do I use the grappling rules.

I agree. triers too much potential not to get creative, and be limited to description on a rigid action to action basis.

41: You wrap your spiked chain around his neck and kick him from the ledge. *make a snapping noise*

 

[Felnar]

you guys are sick...


42) Your mace crashes through the skeleton, sending shrapnel and dust flying

 

[Gruns]

Don't do it!

43) You have the higher ground! As your quicker, stronger and more skilled opponent lunges at you, you amputate 75% of his limbs with one quick stroke of your blade...

Later!
Gruns

 

[DM_Jeff]

44 As the body collapses, a limb goes flying causing another foe to duck or be hit.
45 As the foe’s spine gives away, his body slumps around his bones, looking to escape mortal encasement.
46 Blood and teeth go spraying in a cone from behind the opponent.
47 Cursing at the gods for the treachery of death, your foe reaches inside the wound to hold in his innards.
48 In wide-eyed horror your foe grips your weapon, still protruding from his torso, and slides to the ground.
49 Lifeblood spills on the ground causing your fallen foe to trip on his own entrails in his death throes.
50 The arms of the foe fly wide as he realizes his mortal time is at an end, and falls backwards in a blood-pool.
51 The creature drops all items and collapses to the ground, shuddering and dieing from shock and blood loss.
52 The creature flails the stump of his limb about is if it would re-grow anew while his life fades.
53 The foe quivers in a macabre dance of agony as its body slowly ceases to function.
54 The foe releases an uncharacteristic high-pitched scream as he dies before hitting the ground.
55 The foe spins from the force of the attack, sending an arc of crimson regret across nearby combatants.
56 The force of your attack doubles your opponent over, his head cracking open on the ground.
57 The lower jaw of your opponent is shattered; a wide-eyed look of pain and despair rides his corpse down.
58 The multiple cracking of a ribcage matches the grimace on the face of your foe as he falls.
59 The wound is clean, but a moment later in horror the foe gasps up a gallon of blood, drowning in it.
60 You are sprayed with blood as your wide-eyed foe emptily grabs the wound to prevent his death.
61 Your blow sinks into flesh and bone alike, a muffled crunching sound echoes from the maw of the foe.
62 Your blow takes the leg out from under the victim as his body collapses downward into a mass.
63 Your weapon slides fully through your foe to the hilt, you kick him off your weapon into a quivering pile.

-DM Jeff