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<blockquote data-quote="Swarmkeeper" data-source="post: 8963321" data-attributes="member: 6921763">I think you are just placing the action description too late and conflating it with the outcome of the action.&nbsp; It comes first in 5e, whether in combat, exploration, or social interaction.&nbsp; And, by doing so, the DM doesn't need to take narrative control of the character at all - which I personally find problematic when my PC is described behaving in ways I myself would not imagine, especially on crit fails.&nbsp; It is, after all, the player's role to describe how their PC acts, speaks, and thinks. It is not the DM's role to roleplay the PC in 5e.&nbsp; When I DM, I have too much on my plate to play the PCs, too, even if that is just for a brief moment for the the sake of a quick narrative description - but those brief moments add up over the course of a session/adventure/campaign.So, using your example:Player: &quot;I attack the orc with my sword&quot; [which is fine as is -or- the player could describe with some flare as to what their PC is trying to do, in first or third person:&nbsp; &quot;Fin the Fighter draws his Sword, swinging at the Orc with a quick slash.&quot;]DM: &quot;roll an attack&quot;Player:&nbsp; &quot;That's a 19&quot;DM:&nbsp; &quot;That's a hit, roll damage&quot;Player:&nbsp; &quot;10 damage&quot;DM: &quot;The Orc tries to raise its shield, but it is too slow. The sword slashes wide open a big wound in the chest of the Orc, who growls in Pain. Player 2 [who is obviously well prepared for their turn and not in the middle of looking at their phone], what does your PC do?&quot; The key is that the DM is staying in their lane by describing the outcome.&nbsp; I find it particularly helpful when I am DMing to avoid the word &quot;you&quot; here so I'm not inadvertently telling any player how their PC is acting/speaking/thinking.Another solid example is when a DM cedes the description of the killing blow to the player:&nbsp; &quot;How do you want to do this?&quot; is great as it throws the roleplaying duty back onto the player where it belongs.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Swarmkeeper, post: 8963321, member: 6921763"] I think you are just placing the action description too late and conflating it with the [I]outcome[/I] of the action. It comes first in 5e, whether in combat, exploration, or social interaction. And, by doing so, the DM doesn't need to take narrative control of the character at all - which I personally find problematic when my PC is described behaving in ways I myself would not imagine, [I]especially[/I] on crit fails. It is, after all, the [I]player's [/I]role to describe how their PC acts, speaks, and thinks. It is not the DM's role to roleplay the PC in 5e. When I DM, I have too much on my plate to play the PCs, too, even if that is just for a brief moment for the the sake of a quick narrative description - but those brief moments add up over the course of a session/adventure/campaign. So, using your example: Player: "I attack the orc with my sword" [which is fine as is -[I]or- [/I]the player could describe with some flare as to what their PC is trying to do, in first or third person: "Fin the Fighter draws his Sword, swinging at the Orc with a quick slash."] DM: "roll an attack" Player: "That's a 19" DM: "That's a hit, roll damage" Player: "10 damage" DM: "The Orc tries to raise its shield, but it is too slow. The sword slashes wide open a big wound in the chest of the Orc, who growls in Pain. Player 2 [who is obviously well prepared for their turn and not in the middle of looking at their phone], what does your PC do?"[I] [/I] The key is that the DM is staying in their lane by describing the outcome. I find it particularly helpful when I am DMing to avoid the word "you" here so I'm not inadvertently telling any player how their PC is acting/speaking/thinking. Another solid example is when a DM cedes the description of the killing blow to the player: "How do you want to do this?" is great as it throws the roleplaying duty back onto the player where it belongs. [/QUOTE]

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