Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Sand_Man 01-07-05, 10:05 AM	Combat is a wonderful thing! Some of the fun of being a DM is describing combat. This thread can be a place for DMs to post ways to describe combat! :D I'll Start you guys off, and then you take it from there.... 1. The barbarian swings his axe in a massive arc, decapitating the goblin. Blood sprays onto him, as he bellows in rage. 2. The rouge slips into the shadows and you hear a gurgle, then a thump as if a large body had just hit the floor. (sneak attack) TAKE IT FROM HERE! :D
Lorentz 01-07-05, 10:43 AM	3. Your greatclub smashes the skeleton into tiny bones spreading all across the room.
Sand_Man 01-07-05, 11:22 AM	good! ;) KEEP posting! 3. The Gelentainious cube lunges forward, and sucks the goblin in. It writhes inside it for a moment, and then begins to decompose, right infront of your eyes! :eek:
Sand_Man 01-07-05, 11:25 AM	the one above should be number 4!!!!!!! :( :D
Zycko 01-07-05, 12:01 PM	You could always use the edit button.. :)
clarkvalentine 01-07-05, 12:10 PM	I find that describing the "boring" parts of combat most challenging. (PC and enemy each attack and miss) You and the orc go back and forth, steel clanging against steel as you parry each other's attacks, the sparks showering you as you exchange blow after blow. (PC rolls a fumble) With a loud TWANG, the bowstring breaks, leaving the arrow in your hand and your cheek bloodied. (PC rolls a fumble) As you line up your opponent, your foot slips on an unseen patch of mud and wet leaves. Your sword swings wildly as you fight to keep your balance. (PC hits but rolls lousy damage) Your spear strikes home but the Dwarf's leather armor turns the spearhead, and comes back unbloodied.
Sinaz 01-07-05, 12:13 PM	Description of a critical hit in a campaign I ran... amidst a small brawl occuring in a tavern in the seedy part of town... "The burly human is laughing over you as you feel your jaw for any real damage- and suddenly, in total rage, you spring from your crouch into a full body upper cut. The pub's noise drops to a dead silence as a splintering crack sounds from the man's jaw. Everyone in the tavern including you watch in astonishment as this towering guy lifts off his feet, levels out in the air, and slams full body into the floor." Another one: occuring during a massive attack of an army of lower level conscripts against a wing of red dragons hiding in a burning forest. The player didn't have the skills to harm a dragon with an arrow... "You fire your arrow on the mark and watch it sail through the shimmering heat of the burning forest. The arrow strikes the nearest dragon square in the head splintering into pieces. The dragon barely flinches as it continues to circle the Dragoon and his Brass Dragon."
Mysticaloctopus 01-07-05, 12:46 PM	This is one for a barbarian taking out two skellies on a critical. "The punch sends th bony skull flying off it's shoulders... and straight into the face of another skeleton, shattering them both. the two skeletal bodies suddenly collapse into a pile of bones on the floor" After that i started using the undead more. it's more fun when a disarmed skeleton removes it's arm and turns it into an improvised light flail, leading to this encounter with a necromancer: "The Necromancer, seeing it's skeletal bodyguard disarmed, speaks in a strange tongue (nobody in that party had draconic) and the unarmed skeleton becomes... 'Armless... and raising the detatched arm like a weapon, charges straight at you"
tackleberry 01-07-05, 12:46 PM	a particulary gory one: your foe looks down at the huge gash to his midriff. his eyes widen in horror as he falls to his knees desperately attempting to scoop his own innards back into himself. bleurgh.
Sinaz 01-07-05, 01:03 PM	This is one for a barbarian taking out two skellies on a critical. "The punch sends th bony skull flying off it's shoulders... and straight into the face of another skeleton, shattering them both. the two skeletal bodies suddenly collapse into a pile of bones on the floor" After that i started using the undead more. it's more fun when a disarmed skeleton removes it's arm and turns it into an improvised light flail, leading to this encounter with a necromancer: "The Necromancer, seeing it's skeletal bodyguard disarmed, speaks in a strange tongue (nobody in that party had draconic) and the unarmed skeleton becomes... 'Armless... and raising the detatched arm like a weapon, charges straight at you" LOL- that is good. Reminds me of a day playing Castlevania when the worst pun ever made my friend and I laugh for ever... "Where do these skeletons get all these bones to throw at me?" "I dunno... they must be spare ribs." Terrible I know... but sleep deprivation does wonders for the humor.
Old_One 01-07-05, 01:07 PM	As your enemy tries to block your left-haned stab he leves his right side open beleiving in his armor, you prove him wrong when in the last moment you spin and reverse the grip on your wepon, slaming it in a gap beatwen his aromr's layers. {Feint and sneak atack} As you are sizing up a half-orc acros the bettel-filed trying to take aim with your bow his human comander steps up to him mutturing soemthing you can't quite hear. The air around them starts to shimmer and in a blink of an eye they are no longer there. Then you hear a roar behind you and just as you turn around to see whats making it a pain shoots through your left side and you see the bloodied face of the half-orc as he removes his bastard sword from your side. {human wizard uses dimension door to get closer to the archer} ok so maybe this is a bit to specific but it was a great moment to describe :D
Sand_Man 01-07-05, 03:56 PM	great job, keep posting guyz! :D
SuprMann78 01-07-05, 11:03 PM	this happened in one of my campaigns.... DM: A long line of women and children are entering a portal to escape certain death from the evil goblin hord. PC: I wanna get on my dire wolf and enter the portal DM: So.....You're saying you want to pummel all those women and children to save yourself? PC:Yes.... DM: ~ hits head against table~
DaemeonBlack 01-08-05, 04:53 AM	Staring through the hole in the partly collapsed wall you begin muttering incantations as you trace arcane sigils in the air. With a sudden sucking sound the air around your finger tips forms into a pin point of fire that grows to a fist size in a matter of moments. As you hurl the ball of flame through the hole in the wall only a couple of the goblins around the fire notice it. They stare mutely at the fireball as it arcs toward them, following it with their eyes as it impacts the cooking fire between them. In a huge conflageration of flame a few week screams are heard as if the sound itself is seared from the air. After your eyes adjust from the flash you see no movement, just several chared bodies still smoking from the inferno.
ShadowDragon8685 01-08-05, 05:05 AM	Unicorn companion of a druidess (don't ask) sensing something very wrong with some 'dwarves,' just after his Detect Evil starts going off like an atomic air-raid siren. Valerian clops closer to his druidess, the inteligent eyes scanning the dwarves, noticing the odd fit of their armor - after a certain, almost arbitrary line is crossed, the unicorn rears up in startlement, whinneying and kicking his hooves in the air. This takes everyone by surprise, and the white steed hits the ground with his front hooves, golden horn, so well-bathed last night with gnoll blood now clean again - but not for long as he charges, hooves kicking up clods of dirt as he streaks in... [Unicorn charges, using Smite Evil: Rolls a critical confirm, full damage...] The dwarf stood about as much chance as a hippie flower girl banished to Asmodeous' bedroom - Horn glowing, with golden contrails spiraling off it, the unicorn neatly impales the 'dwarf' in one shot, horn spearing straight through and bursting from it's back, bathed in reddish-black blood - in one neat move, the unicorn plants his hooves and tosses his head, sending the body of what was once posing as a dwarf flying through the air like a limp ragdoll..... Roll Inititive.
thugpoetry 01-08-05, 10:10 AM	You take....14 damage. hehehe...
Sand_Man 01-08-05, 11:44 AM	those are all great...how about making some undead ones! I need a few good ones! ;) :P
Sand_Man 01-08-05, 07:20 PM	any other posts....cmon..let the rage flow through you!!!!! LOL :P
anomaly_agent 01-08-05, 10:48 PM	A high level fighter can shrug off damage from a few arrows. Does this mean he's running around with a bunch of arrows in him? I wouldn't start describing characters getting wounded until they're winding down in HP. That's why I love the VP/WP deal in the SWRPG. But that's just me. Shrug.
ShadowDragon8685 01-08-05, 10:57 PM	Yeah, our party wizard got shot last game session with an arrow, and the DM put it in him. We had 'fun' trying to get it out, and eventually resorted to "Have the unicorn CSW him to put him at full hit points, with an arrow in him. Knock him unconcious, rip it out and deal another D6, then CLW to fix THAT.
Ropeltaja 01-09-05, 01:26 PM	From nowhere, a magical banana appears right under your foot and... :D Hehe, I love fumbles.
General_Ridley 01-09-05, 03:09 PM	You cast your spell successfully and see a large chandelier fall upon your enemy. The zombie's arm falls off as it swings at you.
Darkstealth 01-09-05, 06:22 PM	The Lich starts casting a spell... and then suddenly a Fireball appears from the thin that was hovering near you and... *rolls dice* explodes for... umm, tell me your HP. Fighter: 100 Barb: 110 Bard: 75 Wizard: 40 After the attack... Fighter: 0 Barb: 0 Bard: 0 Wiz: 0
Ree 01-09-05, 10:12 PM	I always have problems describing melee combat against huge or bigger creatures. First, unless the PCs are using reach weapons, its normally very hard for the PCs to hit the critical areas (torso, head), even if the PCs jump. Second, because these creatures normally have a ton of HPs, the description tend to get repetitive. I run out of descriptions quite early in combat. Thirdly, the weapons these creatures wield are huge in proportion to the PC's size, but being medium level or higher when they face these types of creatures, the PCs can normally survive a few of these hits. So how do you describe your PCs getting whacked by these creatures? So I would love to hear more descriptions of combat against cloud giants, elder elementals, dragons etc.
Old_One 01-10-05, 11:27 AM	The giants masive club comes down in a tremendous crash, but it is slow and you have plenty of time to get away from its path. (Giant rols a miss) The second swing is much more dificult to dodge and you have to put your shild up to block it, as it conests you can barly keep your grip and your arm feels numb. (The giant hits) with your shild arm in a bad way and your footing a bit wobbly from the pain you berly (sp?) manage to duck as another swing ends just inches from your toes, the resoulting crash couses the stone to of the cave to explode in a shower of fragments, you cover your eyes but can feel many little pricks cover your body (The giant rols minimum dmg, or hits the exect AC)
Sand_Man 01-10-05, 12:40 PM	i need some undead ones..... :)
Old_One 01-10-05, 12:55 PM	As you are snaking along the hall way you feel a chill run down your spine, your sword sudnely feels hevier and your armor begins to weigh you down. You jump away from the wall just in time to see a hand still griping something emerge from the wall folowed by a horible incororel face.
Sand_Man 01-10-05, 01:13 PM	SWEET MAN! Heres one of mine: :) the ghoul runs tword you in a silent charge, you bring your axe down on his head, and it slices it in two, with a deafing crack. The body of the ghoul falls to the ground, scrambling around, and sliping in its own fluids, untill you finish it off with a slice in the back! :D
clarkvalentine 01-10-05, 01:30 PM	So I would love to hear more descriptions of combat against cloud giants, elder elementals, dragons etc. Watch FOTR for the fight against the cave troll. Some great stuff there.
Sand_Man 01-10-05, 05:42 PM	any more, i just want this to be a thread were DMs can post cool combat descriptions.. :)
Ree 01-10-05, 09:04 PM	I agree that LOTR has some great scenes of fighting large creatures. I especially like the scene in ROTK where Gandalf slashed the neck of the troll creature :rolleyes: while on horseback at the gates of Minas Tirith. Anway another problem I have is that, in movies, when someone gets hit by large creatures they are often thrown back by the force of the blow. Doesnt matter if the blow is fatal or not. I dont see this reflected in the rules. Anyway, sorry for asking more questions instread of providing useful discriptions. My combat discriptions suck :( .Fortunately, I have good players with their own vivid imaginations. So thanks Sandman for starting this thread. :)
sandgriffin 01-10-05, 11:25 PM	sparing is hard to discribe with sharp weapons, i did my best Fightgar: Ok, who's next? DM(me): a small halfling with a knife and a shifty look walks into the ring and unsheaths his weapon {halfling rouge w/ knife} Fightgar: a halfling?! well let me look at my options (looks at char sheet) hmm... fight? I swing at the little knat DM: roll it (hits for max damage, well over its total HP, but sense its subdual, im between a rock and a hard place) DM:you smack him with the flat of your blade and hear an audable CRACK as his head is suddenly much flatter. He slups to the ground before clerics with a streacher take him away Fightgar: i squashed his head? DM: sure did Fightgar: for subdual? DM: uh...ya.... Fightgar: then he's dead DM: nope, still breathing Fightgar:with a pancake on his neck?! DM: you dont like it? ok! Psikic Warrior time! Fightgar: :help:
Iron_Peanut 01-11-05, 05:17 AM	Fightgar: a halfling?! well let me look at my options (looks at char sheet) hmm... fight? I would be hard pressed to explain why, but this is monstously funny to me. I shall have to try this bit with my barb. Nobody scores any hits: "Your opponent manages to parry your every blow, but he's not touching you either. You both of you can't keep up this dance forever; sooner or he's going to slip, and that's when you'll strike"
Old_One 01-11-05, 10:50 AM	The knock back we see in the movies can be achived by giving your biger badies the Awesome Blow (http://www.geocities.com/sovelior/srd/monsterFeats.html) feat from MM, just ignore the size prequisitive, and maybe applay a size modifier to DC Aboove the clang of steel on steel you hear yur comrad cry out in pain, as you turn around you see him falling to ground, blood evrywhere. With a pray to your god on your lips you, your eyes half closed in concentration you duck under swings and dodge stabs for the split second it takes for you to lay your hands on your friend. You almost slip-up in the chanting when a goblins sword comes only inches from your nose but you keep your concetration and a golden lihght can bee seen bursting from his wounds. (a cleric casting cure wounds defensivly)