I am Attila from Switzerland and play RPG games for quite a while. I always loved the high fantasy setting but always felt like combat can be a little monotone for experienced players so I played around with different ways to make sure the players are engaged and it feels like an intense moment rather than a round-based strategy game. Most of these ideas aren't my own, I just want to spread the word.
Before the encounter
Please read the encounters before running them! It seems obvious but make sure you have a general idea of how the encounter is introduced and when it ends. I usually look through the stats and ask myself "Is this encounter too hard or too easy?" If thats the case maybe I have missed something in the description. If not I usually make a note like "Probably too much HP" and keep that information in mind as I run the encounter. Then I take a picture of the stats and put them to my notes to have quick access to the stats, that prevents me to have to flip through the pages during the encounter. Next I roll their initiative and write it down so I can focus on the players when they roll theirs. If any of the enemies has spells or resistances/weaknesses I like to make a note or highlight it.
At the start of each session I write down the players AC and passive perception to have that information available at all times. This will make it easier to determine if the enemy is hidden or is able to damage the PC. If you want to have the option to go easy on them ask them for their max HP so you wont one-shot a PC.
Alternative option for encounters with a lot of enemies: Whenever I feel like the encounter could be overwhelming for me to track each solider or goblin I apply something called "minion-verion". I set their HP at 1 and either raise the AC or give them damage reduction as a flat number. That means the players have to overcome the AC or deal a minimum amount of damage to kill them. I suggest this deviation for DMs experienced with their group or in general since it can go overboard quite fast if not applied correctly.
Roll initiative!
At the start of the combat I let them roll initiative and I start asking "Anyone above 25?" After that I go down 5 numbers with each step and every player can raise their hand if they are in the current range. With that information I usually put up folded papers on top of my DM screen so everyone knows who is next. I tell the players to prepare their own turn (I usually dislike meta-gaming so I don't let them talk too much in this step).
Mordenkainen is up, what are you doing?
If you have expectations of the players, please let them know at the start of the game or session so every one on the table is on the same page. I am not scared to put pressure on the players, its a fight for survival after all. But at the same time its important to let the players relax when they need their time, especially more inexperienced players.
The player on its turn is moving and since every one knows who is up next they can prepare their turn in advance. I highly suggest letting the player after the current know that he is up so they are prepared and stay engaged. The other players can look through their stats, at the table and at their inventory and usually are ready when I call them.
Communication mid-combat is hard to pull off so I make sure the players only say strategies in short sentences on their turn or single words as a reaction. When a player is trying to discuss with another player while being head-to-head against an enemy I even consider giving them disadvantage on an attack due to them being focused on talking. It sounds ruthless or even unforgiving but I know by experience that a sword-fight is nothing you can do on the in the middle of a conversation. In rare occasions I even skipped the turn of a player to let them know that they should have talked about the different strategies before combat or... well they have to improvise as they avoid being split by the orc in front of them.
When it comes to exchanging blows I usually roll the damage-dice with the D20 so if I hit I already know how much damage I am doing. This can speed up the attack a lot and I suggest my players to do the same but I don't mind them doing it different.
Whenever I find a player trying to roleplay in combat I appreciate it and make sure to make space for their description of an attack. If the attack is creative and the enemy might be surprised I give them advantage.If the player is trying to hit a specific part of the body I usually give them disadvantage but give the enemies conditions according the place they hit. And of course, the legendary How do you wanna do this? when theyland a killing blow. Let them describe how they imagine their character kill the enemy, maybe a catchline if they feel frisky.
And the boss is slain...
Congratulate the players, make sure to reward them with XP and loot and describe what happens. After the session you can recap and think about things you liked and disliked and changes for the next session.
tl;dnr: Prepare the encounters, make notes and try to keep the players focused in combat, don't take too long but try not to stress them out IRL.
I hope that was helpful and if you wonderful people want me to write about something specific, let me know!
I find the "anyone between 25 and 20 ... " to be painfully slow.
A couple of alternatives I've used:
Ask the players in order at the table, write them down on a blank pad of paper, leave large gaps between numbers, so you can write other numbers between them. That way if my players rolled - in order - 15,22,17,19,18, I still have room to write the 17, 18, 18 character names between the 15 and 22 character names. This goes very fast - literally the time it takes 5 players to speak a single number as I point to them in turn. I've seen alternative versions of this using a rectangle to represent the table, and writing down the numbers in the physical locations of the player. Works waaaay faster than what you see on Critical Roles.
The Players pre-rolling 5 initiative rolls before game-play - write them in a grid. This way, you can skip over the initiative roll at the beginning of combat entirely - you just use the first column for the first combat, 2nd for the second, etc. I've seen some DMs advocate for sorting the numbers highest to lowest, to represent rising battle fatigue, but I found this really punishes Players heavily at the session progresses. This technique has an effect of blending combat and non-combat parts of the game, as you don't have that "roll initiative!" signal to the Players saying "OK, we're playing a different mini-game now!".
Don't roll at all. Players go in Dexterity/Reaction order, as do the opponents, unless they choose to hold their action. Yes this means that Character actions always go in the same order - I don't think that Players complain or even notice.
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I have a set of initiative tiles. One with each character name on it, and a bunch with numbers for their opponents. On the first round of combat I put all the tiles in initiative order. Then I can just go down and call out whose turn it is to act. I don't even have to worry about the numbers, just the order.
I have a set of initiative tiles. One with each character name on it, and a bunch with numbers for their opponents. On the first round of combat I put all the tiles in initiative order. Then I can just go down and call out whose turn it is to act. I don't even have to worry about the numbers, just the order.
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I have a set of initiative tiles. One with each character name on it, and a bunch with numbers for their opponents. On the first round of combat I put all the tiles in initiative order. Then I can just go down and call out whose turn it is to act. I don't even have to worry about the numbers, just the order.
That's what I do, but with initiative tents that I line up along the top of my DM screen. It works pretty well.
Echoing what TexasDevin (hey I am also in Tx!) and Dave said,
at the top of my DM screen I have some little paper tents. On one side the players have their name (and I use colored paper for them) on the other side I have their name/ac/hp/passive per. I ask for the players to tell me their initiative and I arrange them on the top of the screen. Then I slot in whatever monsters they are facing. Once a player or monster has gone I simply slide their tent (a folded up piece of paper) to the right, so it's easy to track who has gone and who goes next.
I found it really speeds up combat and helps everyone visualize what's going on. It also gives players time to prepare so there is less waiting on everyone's turn.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
When I say who is up, I also announce who is on deck to follow them. That keeps things flowing. I think I am going to start rolling damage along with hit roll for enemies though. I like that idea.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"Not all those who wander are lost"
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About me
I am Attila from Switzerland and play RPG games for quite a while. I always loved the high fantasy setting but always felt like combat can be a little monotone for experienced players so I played around with different ways to make sure the players are engaged and it feels like an intense moment rather than a round-based strategy game. Most of these ideas aren't my own, I just want to spread the word.
Before the encounter
Please read the encounters before running them! It seems obvious but make sure you have a general idea of how the encounter is introduced and when it ends. I usually look through the stats and ask myself "Is this encounter too hard or too easy?" If thats the case maybe I have missed something in the description. If not I usually make a note like "Probably too much HP" and keep that information in mind as I run the encounter. Then I take a picture of the stats and put them to my notes to have quick access to the stats, that prevents me to have to flip through the pages during the encounter. Next I roll their initiative and write it down so I can focus on the players when they roll theirs. If any of the enemies has spells or resistances/weaknesses I like to make a note or highlight it.
At the start of each session I write down the players AC and passive perception to have that information available at all times. This will make it easier to determine if the enemy is hidden or is able to damage the PC. If you want to have the option to go easy on them ask them for their max HP so you wont one-shot a PC.
Alternative option for encounters with a lot of enemies: Whenever I feel like the encounter could be overwhelming for me to track each solider or goblin I apply something called "minion-verion". I set their HP at 1 and either raise the AC or give them damage reduction as a flat number. That means the players have to overcome the AC or deal a minimum amount of damage to kill them. I suggest this deviation for DMs experienced with their group or in general since it can go overboard quite fast if not applied correctly.
Roll initiative!
At the start of the combat I let them roll initiative and I start asking "Anyone above 25?" After that I go down 5 numbers with each step and every player can raise their hand if they are in the current range. With that information I usually put up folded papers on top of my DM screen so everyone knows who is next. I tell the players to prepare their own turn (I usually dislike meta-gaming so I don't let them talk too much in this step).
Mordenkainen is up, what are you doing?
If you have expectations of the players, please let them know at the start of the game or session so every one on the table is on the same page. I am not scared to put pressure on the players, its a fight for survival after all. But at the same time its important to let the players relax when they need their time, especially more inexperienced players.
The player on its turn is moving and since every one knows who is up next they can prepare their turn in advance. I highly suggest letting the player after the current know that he is up so they are prepared and stay engaged. The other players can look through their stats, at the table and at their inventory and usually are ready when I call them.
Communication mid-combat is hard to pull off so I make sure the players only say strategies in short sentences on their turn or single words as a reaction. When a player is trying to discuss with another player while being head-to-head against an enemy I even consider giving them disadvantage on an attack due to them being focused on talking. It sounds ruthless or even unforgiving but I know by experience that a sword-fight is nothing you can do on the in the middle of a conversation. In rare occasions I even skipped the turn of a player to let them know that they should have talked about the different strategies before combat or... well they have to improvise as they avoid being split by the orc in front of them.
When it comes to exchanging blows I usually roll the damage-dice with the D20 so if I hit I already know how much damage I am doing. This can speed up the attack a lot and I suggest my players to do the same but I don't mind them doing it different.
Whenever I find a player trying to roleplay in combat I appreciate it and make sure to make space for their description of an attack. If the attack is creative and the enemy might be surprised I give them advantage.If the player is trying to hit a specific part of the body I usually give them disadvantage but give the enemies conditions according the place they hit. And of course, the legendary How do you wanna do this? when they land a killing blow. Let them describe how they imagine their character kill the enemy, maybe a catchline if they feel frisky.
And the boss is slain...
Congratulate the players, make sure to reward them with XP and loot and describe what happens. After the session you can recap and think about things you liked and disliked and changes for the next session.
tl;dnr:
Prepare the encounters, make notes and try to keep the players focused in combat, don't take too long but try not to stress them out IRL.
I hope that was helpful and if you wonderful people want me to write about something specific, let me know!
DFTBA
Attila
I find the "anyone between 25 and 20 ... " to be painfully slow.
A couple of alternatives I've used:
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
I have a set of initiative tiles. One with each character name on it, and a bunch with numbers for their opponents. On the first round of combat I put all the tiles in initiative order. Then I can just go down and call out whose turn it is to act. I don't even have to worry about the numbers, just the order.
That's a really cool way of doing it :)
My DM Philosophy, as summed up by other people: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rN5w4-azTq3Kbn0Yvk9nfqQhwQ1R5by1/view
Disclaimer: This signature is a badge of membership in the Forum Loudmouth Club. We are all friends. We are not attacking each other. We are engaging in spirited, friendly debate with one another. We may get snarky, but these are not attacks. Thank you for not reporting us.
That's what I do, but with initiative tents that I line up along the top of my DM screen. It works pretty well.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
Echoing what TexasDevin (hey I am also in Tx!) and Dave said,
at the top of my DM screen I have some little paper tents. On one side the players have their name (and I use colored paper for them) on the other side I have their name/ac/hp/passive per. I ask for the players to tell me their initiative and I arrange them on the top of the screen. Then I slot in whatever monsters they are facing. Once a player or monster has gone I simply slide their tent (a folded up piece of paper) to the right, so it's easy to track who has gone and who goes next.
I found it really speeds up combat and helps everyone visualize what's going on. It also gives players time to prepare so there is less waiting on everyone's turn.
"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
When I say who is up, I also announce who is on deck to follow them. That keeps things flowing. I think I am going to start rolling damage along with hit roll for enemies though. I like that idea.
"Not all those who wander are lost"