How do you describe your combat?

[Kuld]

I try to be as descriptive as possible, but in the end it always reverts back to "Ok,you hit."

One of my players really enjoys describing how his monk kicks butt. So, I just let him have fun and try to keep up (without taking away from the other players of course). I find it very exciting and amusing.

 

[shilsen]

Like DarkMaster above, I vary the description based on the target's nature, its hp and how much damage the attack did. So the player whose PC did 15 pts and hears either a "Your mace bounces off his shield, causing him to wince at the impact" and "Your mace crunches into his side and he screams in pain as you hear a rib crack" knows that the first enemy is much healthier than the latter.

I use a fair amount of description since I track PC hp myself, so my players rely on my descriptions to know how they're doing. But I try to keep it quick and precise, rather than bogging down combat with literary verbiage.

 

[tetsujin28]

My combats are all described with attention to bone-crunching. Due to the funky nature of D&D HPs, of course, actually nasty wounds occur less and less the higher level the PCs are. Unless you think of them as taking Blade of the Immortal-level wounds all the time, as was discussed on an rpgnet thread. Then you can let your inner trauma descriptions go crazy.

 

[tetsujin28]

the 10 level fighter with 100+hp : While exchanging blow with your enemy, he had an opening to your neck, but you came out with a in extremis parade and the blade didn't even touched you.

Do you mean, "parry"? 'Cause breaking out 76 trombones in combat seems a bit funny

 

[ThirdWizard]

It depends on the importance of the attack.

Fighting Goblin_026: He hits, 4 hp damage. You hit, how much damage? He hits, 2 hp damage.
Fighting 8 Goblins who are grappling: The goblins rush you, grasping at your arms and legs. *ask for AoO* You slice one of the goblins in the gut killing him, but there are just too many of them; you find your movement restricted as they hang onto you. You're grappled.

When they're fighting some ogres and a much stronger ogre blackguard, the normal ogres will probably get mundane descriptions while their leader will get detailed blow by blow accounts (partly because he'd do so much more damage). And, when things are looking rough and that 4 hp might make a difference, even the little goblins pinging them with tiny arrows will get a nice description. (though that's subjective since I don't let my players say their hp totals outloud)

 

[ThoughtBubble]

It really depends. There's a lot of mood, character and situation going on that influences. Generally there is a lot of "alright, so..." and waving my arms around trying to re-create the action though.

A lot of it is based off of what my players do, if they "Swing," then they "hit". If they "Come in with an overhand chop", they're "parried at the last moment."

"Alright, so you hack into that goblin, then swing at the next, but don't connect." or "You slap him around." is usually what I do for mooks. A few verbs or adjectives are all it needs.

The rest, well it just sort of flows. When an assassin drops a smoke bomb and jumps off of a balcony, holding the edge to cling to the underside only to be followed by the ninja-in-a-dress, who dives into a kick, the descriptions tend to write themselves.

If you can get a little give and take going, even simple "he does..." followed by "I do...." really builds into a good beat. And I've found that hitting the beats and bringing some play into the game is much more beneficial than flowery descriptions.

 

[Schmoe]

I try to be cinematic, but I also try to keep in mind the pacing of the combat. If things are moving pretty smoothly, I might describe a fighter's two swings against a giant (hit and miss) like this:

"You dart under the giant's axe and slash him along the leg, drawing a fine line of blood. Reversing your swing, you go for the jugular, but he throws the haft of his axe in the way, sending your sword smashing into the ice wall and where it lands in a spray of ice."

If the combat is dragging due to players agonizing over decisions, reading spell descriptions, etc, I might revert to "you strike a minor blow. Next."

I find that providing brief, cinematic descriptions helps my players engage in the action, which is always good.

 

[francisca]

Like Howard Cosell covering the blow-by-blow of Ali vs. Fraser.

 

[tetsujin28]

Like Howard Cosell covering the blow-by-blow of Ali vs. Fraser.

"Down goes Blackguard! Down goes Blackguard!"

 

[Emperor Valerian]

My descriptions are usually rather bland, unless there's a critical hit, or there is a death.


Most of the time: "Your sword slashes into his shoulder."
Critical Hit/Death: Insert rather gory description here that for the rogue involves backflips and throat slashing, for the sorcerer involves burning, flames, or lightning.