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Narrative combat - can anyone share practical experience?
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<blockquote data-quote="BoldItalic" data-source="post: 7117297" data-attributes="member: 6777052"><p>In the later parts of the "So long and thanks for all the fish" thread, which transmogrified after you last posted in it, [MENTION=6801558]robus[/MENTION], there are now lots of examples of narrative combat with no dice-rolling at all and initiative is, well, not taken seriously, to say the least. But they definitely shouldn't be taken as examples of "how to play D&D" unless you want the joke kind of game where <em>anything</em> can happen (and probably will). On the contrary, it's an awful warning of the chaos that can result if you <em>don't</em> regulate combat and just narrate the results <em>ad lib</em>. It's crazy fun, though; it's now the #2 funniest thread <em>ever</em>.</p><p></p><p>But to answer your question, I think the best advice I could give, is, yes, use narrative to short-circuit the game mechanics if that helps with the pacing, or if the outcome is practically a foregone conclusion, but be careful to narrate outcomes that <em>could</em> legitimately have occurred if they had been laboriously played out between DM and PCs. Don't deny the PCs the opportunity to do creative stuff that makes the session memorable, but equally don't let them pronounce outcomes that bend the plot too much in their favour. Perhaps use it sparingly, until you and your players are comfortable with it.</p><p></p><p>Come back and tell us what happens <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="BoldItalic, post: 7117297, member: 6777052"] In the later parts of the "So long and thanks for all the fish" thread, which transmogrified after you last posted in it, [MENTION=6801558]robus[/MENTION], there are now lots of examples of narrative combat with no dice-rolling at all and initiative is, well, not taken seriously, to say the least. But they definitely shouldn't be taken as examples of "how to play D&D" unless you want the joke kind of game where [i]anything[/i] can happen (and probably will). On the contrary, it's an awful warning of the chaos that can result if you [i]don't[/i] regulate combat and just narrate the results [i]ad lib[/i]. It's crazy fun, though; it's now the #2 funniest thread [i]ever[/i]. But to answer your question, I think the best advice I could give, is, yes, use narrative to short-circuit the game mechanics if that helps with the pacing, or if the outcome is practically a foregone conclusion, but be careful to narrate outcomes that [i]could[/i] legitimately have occurred if they had been laboriously played out between DM and PCs. Don't deny the PCs the opportunity to do creative stuff that makes the session memorable, but equally don't let them pronounce outcomes that bend the plot too much in their favour. Perhaps use it sparingly, until you and your players are comfortable with it. Come back and tell us what happens :) [/QUOTE]
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Narrative combat - can anyone share practical experience?
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