Combat
D&D is a game where players balance roleplaying with combat. Some players love Roleplaying more while others prefer a game filled with hunting down monsters and defeating them in the name of coin or glory. Today our focus is on how to get more out of combat.
Don’t Rush Fight Scenes
As fun as it is to slay dragons, combat can quickly, if not managed properly bog down your sessions. After all D&D is the game where traveling a week can take seconds but 1 minute of combat can take hours. But this doesn’t mean that combat has to feel sluggish or like a roadblock to your story. DMs will often rush fights by doing stuff like this:
EXAMPLE: “Okay John… uh you hit the monster, roll your damage… okay that’s 8 points of damage. James your next…”
Don’t “rush” your fights even the ones that are random encounters. By rushing a scene you make it seem insignificant, and if it seems not important to you, then your players will feel the same way. Use descriptions of what is happening and don’t be afraid to include your players in letting them describe what they do. It allows the combat to become more visual and the players will feel its importance.
EXAMPLE: “Ok you guys see John come over with his sword bringing it across the chest of the orc it cuts in deep. The orc yells out loud, he looks angry as he looks at john ready to cleave him in half… James it’s now your turn…”
Avoiding Turn Delay
Turn delay is where players for one reason or another are not prepared to act on their turn. This can be extremely taxing on you as a DM and on your players. Some people need time to think about what they want to do. Combine that with watching and cheering on their companions in a fight they can forget to plan their next move. And then once it comes to their turn, they are not sure what they should do. This pause and confusion can literally halt great rhyme in a fight and quickly cause the others at the table to lose interest.
I have found that by telling my players, who is up next, helps them realize they need to start thinking about their own actions. Then by the time it is their turn they have a better idea of what they want to do. It may not work with everyone but even if you are able to get a few of your players doing this, it can make a huge difference.
Conclusion
So to quickly recap. Don’t rush your fights, give short narratives for what happens each turn, include your players in this when it feels right, and Avoid turn delays. This pretty much covers my combat tips. I hope this was helpful and provides you with some insight on what you can do in your own games.
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