RP in combat. - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

RP in combat.

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
tibalt
Jun 12, 2008 11:08:36 Hi I'm sort of new to D&D and have been playing in a 4e group recently. I have no problem with the rules or roleplaying when not in combat but whenever we're faced with a combat situation its like my brain locks. I cant figure out how to continue with the roleplaying aspect of the game while were battling. I'll roll my attack and then the DM does a pretty good job describing the results in a cinematic fassion. I feel like we should be RP while this is all going on but I cant figure out how. Is their something I can do to keep it going?
#2
kelvinaw273
Jun 12, 2008 11:21:11 Think in terms of 'what my character would do' - actions speak louder than words, so think of how he speaks and then act, would be a good place to start.
#3
xtian
Jun 12, 2008 14:40:44 Something that I have success doing is describing how I'm actually making the attack. If, for example, I intend to use Commander's Strike (Warlord At-Will 1), instead of saying "I use it, now Bob, make your basic attack," I might say "I block the goblin's last swing and then kick it's shin while our swords are clashed in the air. Thelgan the Paladin takes advantage of the opening as the goblin steps back wincing in pain."

I would caution against using this too often, since DMs like to do that too, and it can get old pretty quickly. It probably works best if you get inspired by something, but don't force it. However, it's a cool way to stay in character in combat.

Also, react to other people's actions in character. When your pretentious rogue is standing next to a kobold that your party's wizard just fried with a fire spell, comment on how hot it was, or how the wizard needs to aim a little better and not singe your arm hairs. Or cheer on your Ranger when he hits with his daily, or whatever. Again, responding to every action gets old, but tossing it out every now and then helps keep people in RP mode even when the minis come out.
#4
pigknight
Jun 12, 2008 16:37:27 The only Channel Divinity power my pally uses it Raven Queen's Blessing (he does not wear all black armor).
#5
warcolonel
Jun 12, 2008 17:13:13 While I am not sure what pigknight is talking about ( :D ), mosty you hve to play it by ear. In my 3.5 horror game, my character, the archivist, and the wizard have come up with the verbal/somatic components for our spells. So instead of saying "I cast Detect Undead" I put one hand to my pulse, gesture with a sweeping motion with the other, and whisper Locata Necra. Or, casting Augury, I scratch my head and mumble Isa-thisa-good-idea.

Combat roleplaying comes mostly in two forms: comical and "made of awsome and win". You are going to remember the funny ones better; unable to move with spikes in my feet someone called out they were in danger of dieing, to which my archivist quickly replied "Yeah, lemme just run right over there". Of course when an ally and Sith-in-training Force user finally decided it was time to kill my light-side Jedi Knight and spoke the words "You were an ally, and a friend. Now, no more." as he crushed the life from my body, we left our GM speechless.

In any game, for any character, almost any witty remark will fit. The more relaxed the group and the fight, the better to joke around. Stay on topic, of course; refrences to last nights episode of "TV show X" may be funny but not quite fit in, and can diverge from the topic at hand, namely killing baddies. A more stoic game and character has a very different approach. A necromancer may comment on the futility of life as he snuffs out opponites, a fighter/monk may yell out the name of his maneuver as he strikes, a paladin may continually go on about honor, glory and such. "SMITE EVIL" does not sound as good as "The fires of Pelor will burn the evil from your soul!" Of course, the second one is much more long-winded than the first.

The key is to make sure what you say and describe in character does not sound forced. Don't delay something because you don't have a witty remark. Also, try not to go to deep into the narrative descriptions; I find speaking in character is much better to get across what visuals you wish to present. In some games in my group, specifically the mentioned horror game, we do not say anything OOC. As long as you can keep the mindset of your character and your group has fun, any sort of roleplaying in and out of combat will be natural, which usually equates the best moments of comedy and "awsome and win".
#6
dragonsblood
Jun 12, 2008 18:12:37 Flavor your attacks with a little description. When my pact initiate uses eyebite, "I stare dramatically at the dragon" or "I give the dragon the evil eye." If I do a sly flourish, "I twirl the dagger in my hand and thrust it forward" or "I fake with my right hand dagger and stab low with my left hand dagger." Just be careful not to step on the DM's toes with the description. Saying "I stab my dagger in the goblin's throat and twist it" doesn't make much sense if the goblin takes 5 damage and keeps fighting, or you miss the goblin entirely. I also recommend keeping your descriptions simple, at least until you get the hang of it, or you're going to run out of ideas and burn out.

Develop some speech or behavioral patterns for your character and carry those into combat when talking to your companions or taunting your enemies. My rogue calls people "boss" so when my friend got hurt I yelled out, "you OK over there boss?" The party fighter likes to showboat, so he jumped on a sarcophagus and yelled "bring it on kobalds!" Again, simple is good.
#7
harsgault
Jun 12, 2008 18:47:42 Of course then there are old MUSH gamers like myself who write full poses to maintain the roleplaying aspect of a fight all the way through.

-Pulling back to avoid the goblin's wild swing Harsgault lets the crude blade pass by before pushing himself forward again, with his own sword's edge leading the way toward the enemy's chest.-

<>

Makes things tend to go more slowly this way than just 'I attack the darkness!' and rolling dice, but it makes for a more entertaining experience and if someone is logging it all, it can make for great reading in the future too.
#8
holy_beholder
Jun 13, 2008 8:09:05 I prefer it when the players just say "I attack with x". Because then I can describe it, and since their descriptions always seem to include success, even when it should be how they try(so I can then describe how it glances off of the armor, or the goblin dodges to the side, cackling) so thats probably the reason. I'm just used to the DM doing all the description for what hits and such. So for instance, in a game I was GMing recently I used this description. "After hooking the female seers feet out from under her, the male seer swings his sword at a slight diagonal. You strike the handguard with your staff, knocking it off to an angle as you twist and bring the staff around again in a devestating sweep, sending the seer flying. 'I didn't see that one coming' the seer grones, moments before falling to the ground, blood coming out of his head." This was on the equivalent of a maximum damage scythe crit in third edition, pretty much an insanely powerful blow due to how well the player managed to hit.
#9
aamaxu
Jun 14, 2008 3:42:31 It comes to whether you want it to be more realistic or more cinematic. If you go with cinematic, you have all the time in the world to say something awesome, just like in the movies. Though even then, if the character you're playing isn't much of a talker (or much of a talker in combat), he might not say anything.

Realistic combat is fast and frantic and leaves little room for speech amidst all the parrying, dodging, countering and striking. When you're fighting for your life, you rarely try to think anything clever to say.

I often leave the good bits to the after-battle situations. Like this one time when I killed a half-fiend, I nailed his corpse to a ship's mast and then proceeded to mock him with bad jokes.
#10
zillah
Jun 15, 2008 1:32:43 dude, in 3.5 my battle cry was "RAWR!!!!!" :D
so, in 4.0 as a warlock my battle cry is /stealth check. haha
just kill stuff. think of something cheesy if you really want, like "the roll of the dice will determine your fate!" in a nerdy fat guy voice
#11
holy_beholder
Jun 15, 2008 13:11:58 On the other hand funny lines on death are fun. When somebody stabs a combat seer(not in D&D, but they are basically a mind spy, but better), and they die what better line is there than "I didn't see that coming"? Especially when it is the campaign ending hugely climatic final battle. One character was fighting two extremely capable swordsmen(well one was female) who were combat seers, after being blessed by the godess of fate, the other was fighting a massive troll who was out for revenge, after having grown considerably(they had previously decapitated him after shooting him with lightning, then kicked him into a river, where he spent several months regenerating while getting sliced up by a sort of specialized horizontal waterwheel being used to continually heat a forge.). It ended when the first character, grabbed the second seer, flipped her over, and then drowned her in ankle deep water, and on the same round the other character, who had slowly metamophisized into what was basically a souped up half dragon(1200 pounds, a black dragonbone sword, scales, black dragonbone armor, fire breath, wings and claws, the whole nine yards. From someone who used to be basically humanoid) decapitated said troll after finishing off the armor, pined him with his foot, and just sprayed him with fire. Even in an intense climatic battle you can roleplay in combat.
#12
AutumnRoo
Jun 15, 2008 14:19:48 We've only played one session so far, but one round my tactical warlord used Knight's Move to grant the fighter a move action, and Inspiring Word to help the rogue who'd taken a good bit of damage. But I didn't just say "This is what I do". I said "You, Astronom, run over there and block in that kobold before he can escape! And come on Balasar, you can do better than this I know it! Rub some dirt in it and go for it! (Knight's Move, Astronom can take a move action. Inspiring Word, Balasar can use a healing surge and adds [rolls die] five to the amount healed)"

Good times. Although I've come to the conclusion that my warlord is mostly a cheerleader right now. But oh well. We all have fun.
#13
BrannonB
Jun 17, 2008 0:42:26
Good times. Although I've come to the conclusion that my warlord is mostly a cheerleader right now. But oh well. We all have fun.

I'm playing with the idea of a Warlord built on the "Princess Leia" model of inspiration. Her Inspiring Word would be:
"I should have known better than to trust someone like you to hold up in a fight."

Her version of Commander's Strike would be:
"I can't believe you don't see that. He's leaving himself wide open. Hit him! Do I have to do everything?!"

Furious Smash: [hits the enemy]:
"See? Like that! It's not like I'm asking you to teach [insert name of other party member] to read!"

I'm not sure that character could survive, though
#14
xtian
Jun 17, 2008 12:24:11
I'm playing with the idea of a Warlord built on the "Princess Leia" model of inspiration. ... I'm not sure that character could survive, though

Learn from the movies. As a princess (or other similar character), the less you wear, the harder you are to hit.
#15
shivafang
Jun 18, 2008 23:31:01 As a player (esp a new player) don't worry about describing every move in a cool fashion. Your DM is a DM because he likes storytelling, hence he's very good at making stuff up on the fly.

Our group had 3 dms that alternated. TWo of which were very good at story telling and describing scenes, and one who basically just says 'he swings at you' 'yeah.. you hit'. (His plot creation and overall campaign were excellent, his storytelling skills lacked, but it was an enjoyable campaign!)

In short - don't worry about it. It's a skill that is developed and the more you play the more you will get it. Just have fin er.. fun
#16
holy_beholder
Jun 19, 2008 19:54:11
Your DM is a DM because he likes storytelling, hence he's very good at making stuff up on the fly.

Thats one reason. Another one is that your DM caved first, when everyone was trying to avoid DMing. Another one is that your DM likes power tripping. Another one is that your DM knows that everybody else in the group can't DM worth and isn't willing to subject themselves to that.(Right now, this is me. I also love storytelling though)

Oh and in some games, which tend to be a little more rules light than others, you do describe everything awesomely. Because you spend your turn kicking off walls, cutting chandeliers on people, smacking ceiling bricks to drop them on people, kicking tables on people, grabbing torches out of walls and throwing them at people, and then finally ending in some sort of acrobatic spinning leap at somebody. Bonus points if you throw about 10 knives or darts while doing the acrobatic spinning leap.

Or sometimes its more of a team effort, one person grabs an enemy and throws him at his buddy, who kicks him so he bounces off of the ground, at which point a third person shoves him back so he hits a wall, at which point person four grabs him and pins him while person one and two both do flying kicks at vital spots on their now immobilized opponent.
#17
volund-starfire
Jun 23, 2008 10:19:25 I still RP in combat. I play a defensive paladin, so I am all about other people. Also, my character is the "Leader" of the party. So, I sometimes yell out for others to position themselves differently or whatnot.

"Thraghack, they're breaking through!" "Alena, Guli's hit!" "Taer's casting, everyone DUCK!"

In general, though, I give light descriptions of some of my more specialized moves. However, I don't let my RPing get in the way of fun.
#18
i_roll_ones
Jun 24, 2008 17:11:49 I still RP, through it appears that the DM makes the call regarding what a move does(The players don't always know how effective it is) and it seems to work just dandy for us.

However, this is not all you can RP. Warlords will be shouting commands and encouragements to the rest of the party, clerics will be praying, and people who are not fond of the idea of getting hit will be getting hit.

Now, every move is probably superfluous and will bog down combat, but if something goes extremely wrong or right, it might be time to RP something. Botch a roll? Scream a prayer to the goddess of luck, or chosen god.

Also, rather then rely on the players seeing the map, maybe have the squishies shout for help, since tanks don't normally have eyes in the back of their head. Might also be interesting if party members picked up exotic languages, and can shout across the battlefield without the enemy picking it up.

Tieflings also have the Bloodhunt ability, and might alert others to it(Don't they smell fear or something?) or demand that the party leave the honor/joy/task of killing that enemy to them.

Also, I think it says a lot regarding a character as to what they shout to their enemies. Do they demand surrender, try to threaten the enemy, praise the glory of their god or shout drunken obscenities?

Just a thought, but if you try this, allow for some thinking room from people, especially at first. Takes a while to get used to, and many people might not be comfortable coming up with phrases right in the thick of things.
#19
volund-starfire
Jun 24, 2008 19:48:25 At one point, on my Paladin, I was pulling pint after our Rogue misstepped into a trap. I rounded a corner and came face-to-face with a horde of Kobolds. Not just a small party, but a large group that was so thick that they prevented movement all the way down the hall. (A trap that was triggered alerted them and they were going to see what the commotion was.)

Well, I rounded the corner, got the description, and said that I was throwing my lantern to the ground, raising both of my arms, and screaming a battlecry... I was looking at three times my CR in Kobolds which included casters.

The DM had me roll my intimidate, add my CHA modifier to it (basically 2x Charisma), and scratch my lantern off of my character sheet.

He rolled a group WILL check and came up with a critical failure... The entire horde turned and bolted in complete fear.

The rest of my team came around the corner quickly and saw an empty hallway with some swords and whatnot on the ground asking what happened. I told them that I really didn't know and continued on while pulling out a torch.
#20
aaror
Jun 27, 2008 7:51:22 Well, the way I read your question, kinda implies that you "freeze," in combat.
Now, you have a list of the powers you know, you know the names of your friends, you do not know your foes (but sometimes you can guess), so you know a lot about what you need to talk about. Pre-plan it?
Figure out what you would say using power X or buddy Y, or on monster Z. Have a dozen or so, and when something matches your list, use the item from your list. It will happen often enough to be fun for everyone, but not every time (scratch the comment off your list after you use it). Soon everyone will wonder how you are such a good roleplayer in combat.
You probably don't need to have a witty comment every action... do you?
#21
markdey
Jul 01, 2008 7:22:55 Lots of good suggestions here! If I may be so bold...

Off the top of your head, anyone have any lines for a semi-timid wizard who knows Cloud of Daggers, Thunderwave, Illusory Ambush, Grasping Shadows, Sleep, and Flaming Sphere?

-Mark
#22
volund-starfire
Jul 01, 2008 9:37:37
Off the top of your head, anyone have any lines for a semi-timid wizard who knows Cloud of Daggers, Thunderwave, Illusory Ambush, Grasping Shadows, Sleep, and Flaming Sphere?

AHHH!!!! Hurt them, hurt them!!!!!

Actually, it depends on how you play your character.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 tibalt Jun 12, 2008 11:08:36	Hi I'm sort of new to D&D and have been playing in a 4e group recently. I have no problem with the rules or roleplaying when not in combat but whenever we're faced with a combat situation its like my brain locks. I cant figure out how to continue with the roleplaying aspect of the game while were battling. I'll roll my attack and then the DM does a pretty good job describing the results in a cinematic fassion. I feel like we should be RP while this is all going on but I cant figure out how. Is their something I can do to keep it going?
#2 kelvinaw273 Jun 12, 2008 11:21:11	Think in terms of 'what my character would do' - actions speak louder than words, so think of how he speaks and then act, would be a good place to start.
#3 xtian Jun 12, 2008 14:40:44	Something that I have success doing is describing how I'm actually making the attack. If, for example, I intend to use Commander's Strike (Warlord At-Will 1), instead of saying "I use it, now Bob, make your basic attack," I might say "I block the goblin's last swing and then kick it's shin while our swords are clashed in the air. Thelgan the Paladin takes advantage of the opening as the goblin steps back wincing in pain." I would caution against using this too often, since DMs like to do that too, and it can get old pretty quickly. It probably works best if you get inspired by something, but don't force it. However, it's a cool way to stay in character in combat. Also, react to other people's actions in character. When your pretentious rogue is standing next to a kobold that your party's wizard just fried with a fire spell, comment on how hot it was, or how the wizard needs to aim a little better and not singe your arm hairs. Or cheer on your Ranger when he hits with his daily, or whatever. Again, responding to every action gets old, but tossing it out every now and then helps keep people in RP mode even when the minis come out.
#4 pigknight Jun 12, 2008 16:37:27	The only Channel Divinity power my pally uses it Raven Queen's Blessing (he does not wear all black armor).
#5 warcolonel Jun 12, 2008 17:13:13	While I am not sure what pigknight is talking about ( :D ), mosty you hve to play it by ear. In my 3.5 horror game, my character, the archivist, and the wizard have come up with the verbal/somatic components for our spells. So instead of saying "I cast Detect Undead" I put one hand to my pulse, gesture with a sweeping motion with the other, and whisper Locata Necra. Or, casting Augury, I scratch my head and mumble Isa-thisa-good-idea. Combat roleplaying comes mostly in two forms: comical and "made of awsome and win". You are going to remember the funny ones better; unable to move with spikes in my feet someone called out they were in danger of dieing, to which my archivist quickly replied "Yeah, lemme just run right over there". Of course when an ally and Sith-in-training Force user finally decided it was time to kill my light-side Jedi Knight and spoke the words "You were an ally, and a friend. Now, no more." as he crushed the life from my body, we left our GM speechless. In any game, for any character, almost any witty remark will fit. The more relaxed the group and the fight, the better to joke around. Stay on topic, of course; refrences to last nights episode of "TV show X" may be funny but not quite fit in, and can diverge from the topic at hand, namely killing baddies. A more stoic game and character has a very different approach. A necromancer may comment on the futility of life as he snuffs out opponites, a fighter/monk may yell out the name of his maneuver as he strikes, a paladin may continually go on about honor, glory and such. "SMITE EVIL" does not sound as good as "The fires of Pelor will burn the evil from your soul!" Of course, the second one is much more long-winded than the first. The key is to make sure what you say and describe in character does not sound forced. Don't delay something because you don't have a witty remark. Also, try not to go to deep into the narrative descriptions; I find speaking in character is much better to get across what visuals you wish to present. In some games in my group, specifically the mentioned horror game, we do not say anything OOC. As long as you can keep the mindset of your character and your group has fun, any sort of roleplaying in and out of combat will be natural, which usually equates the best moments of comedy and "awsome and win".
#6 dragonsblood Jun 12, 2008 18:12:37	Flavor your attacks with a little description. When my pact initiate uses eyebite, "I stare dramatically at the dragon" or "I give the dragon the evil eye." If I do a sly flourish, "I twirl the dagger in my hand and thrust it forward" or "I fake with my right hand dagger and stab low with my left hand dagger." Just be careful not to step on the DM's toes with the description. Saying "I stab my dagger in the goblin's throat and twist it" doesn't make much sense if the goblin takes 5 damage and keeps fighting, or you miss the goblin entirely. I also recommend keeping your descriptions simple, at least until you get the hang of it, or you're going to run out of ideas and burn out. Develop some speech or behavioral patterns for your character and carry those into combat when talking to your companions or taunting your enemies. My rogue calls people "boss" so when my friend got hurt I yelled out, "you OK over there boss?" The party fighter likes to showboat, so he jumped on a sarcophagus and yelled "bring it on kobalds!" Again, simple is good.
#7 harsgault Jun 12, 2008 18:47:42	Of course then there are old MUSH gamers like myself who write full poses to maintain the roleplaying aspect of a fight all the way through. -Pulling back to avoid the goblin's wild swing Harsgault lets the crude blade pass by before pushing himself forward again, with his own sword's edge leading the way toward the enemy's chest.- <> Makes things tend to go more slowly this way than just 'I attack the darkness!' and rolling dice, but it makes for a more entertaining experience and if someone is logging it all, it can make for great reading in the future too.
#8 holy_beholder Jun 13, 2008 8:09:05	I prefer it when the players just say "I attack with x". Because then I can describe it, and since their descriptions always seem to include success, even when it should be how they try(so I can then describe how it glances off of the armor, or the goblin dodges to the side, cackling) so thats probably the reason. I'm just used to the DM doing all the description for what hits and such. So for instance, in a game I was GMing recently I used this description. "After hooking the female seers feet out from under her, the male seer swings his sword at a slight diagonal. You strike the handguard with your staff, knocking it off to an angle as you twist and bring the staff around again in a devestating sweep, sending the seer flying. 'I didn't see that one coming' the seer grones, moments before falling to the ground, blood coming out of his head." This was on the equivalent of a maximum damage scythe crit in third edition, pretty much an insanely powerful blow due to how well the player managed to hit.
#9 aamaxu Jun 14, 2008 3:42:31	It comes to whether you want it to be more realistic or more cinematic. If you go with cinematic, you have all the time in the world to say something awesome, just like in the movies. Though even then, if the character you're playing isn't much of a talker (or much of a talker in combat), he might not say anything. Realistic combat is fast and frantic and leaves little room for speech amidst all the parrying, dodging, countering and striking. When you're fighting for your life, you rarely try to think anything clever to say. I often leave the good bits to the after-battle situations. Like this one time when I killed a half-fiend, I nailed his corpse to a ship's mast and then proceeded to mock him with bad jokes.
#10 zillah Jun 15, 2008 1:32:43	dude, in 3.5 my battle cry was "RAWR!!!!!" :D so, in 4.0 as a warlock my battle cry is /stealth check. haha just kill stuff. think of something cheesy if you really want, like "the roll of the dice will determine your fate!" in a nerdy fat guy voice
#11 holy_beholder Jun 15, 2008 13:11:58	On the other hand funny lines on death are fun. When somebody stabs a combat seer(not in D&D, but they are basically a mind spy, but better), and they die what better line is there than "I didn't see that coming"? Especially when it is the campaign ending hugely climatic final battle. One character was fighting two extremely capable swordsmen(well one was female) who were combat seers, after being blessed by the godess of fate, the other was fighting a massive troll who was out for revenge, after having grown considerably(they had previously decapitated him after shooting him with lightning, then kicked him into a river, where he spent several months regenerating while getting sliced up by a sort of specialized horizontal waterwheel being used to continually heat a forge.). It ended when the first character, grabbed the second seer, flipped her over, and then drowned her in ankle deep water, and on the same round the other character, who had slowly metamophisized into what was basically a souped up half dragon(1200 pounds, a black dragonbone sword, scales, black dragonbone armor, fire breath, wings and claws, the whole nine yards. From someone who used to be basically humanoid) decapitated said troll after finishing off the armor, pined him with his foot, and just sprayed him with fire. Even in an intense climatic battle you can roleplay in combat.
#12 AutumnRoo Jun 15, 2008 14:19:48	We've only played one session so far, but one round my tactical warlord used Knight's Move to grant the fighter a move action, and Inspiring Word to help the rogue who'd taken a good bit of damage. But I didn't just say "This is what I do". I said "You, Astronom, run over there and block in that kobold before he can escape! And come on Balasar, you can do better than this I know it! Rub some dirt in it and go for it! (Knight's Move, Astronom can take a move action. Inspiring Word, Balasar can use a healing surge and adds [rolls die] five to the amount healed)" Good times. Although I've come to the conclusion that my warlord is mostly a cheerleader right now. But oh well. We all have fun.
#13 BrannonB Jun 17, 2008 0:42:26	Good times. Although I've come to the conclusion that my warlord is mostly a cheerleader right now. But oh well. We all have fun. I'm playing with the idea of a Warlord built on the "Princess Leia" model of inspiration. Her Inspiring Word would be: "I should have known better than to trust someone like you to hold up in a fight." Her version of Commander's Strike would be: "I can't believe you don't see that. He's leaving himself wide open. Hit him! Do I have to do everything?!" Furious Smash: [hits the enemy]: "See? Like that! It's not like I'm asking you to teach [insert name of other party member] to read!" I'm not sure that character could survive, though
#14 xtian Jun 17, 2008 12:24:11	I'm playing with the idea of a Warlord built on the "Princess Leia" model of inspiration. ... I'm not sure that character could survive, though Learn from the movies. As a princess (or other similar character), the less you wear, the harder you are to hit.
#15 shivafang Jun 18, 2008 23:31:01	As a player (esp a new player) don't worry about describing every move in a cool fashion. Your DM is a DM because he likes storytelling, hence he's very good at making stuff up on the fly. Our group had 3 dms that alternated. TWo of which were very good at story telling and describing scenes, and one who basically just says 'he swings at you' 'yeah.. you hit'. (His plot creation and overall campaign were excellent, his storytelling skills lacked, but it was an enjoyable campaign!) In short - don't worry about it. It's a skill that is developed and the more you play the more you will get it. Just have fin er.. fun
#16 holy_beholder Jun 19, 2008 19:54:11	Your DM is a DM because he likes storytelling, hence he's very good at making stuff up on the fly. Thats one reason. Another one is that your DM caved first, when everyone was trying to avoid DMing. Another one is that your DM likes power tripping. Another one is that your DM knows that everybody else in the group can't DM worth and isn't willing to subject themselves to that.(Right now, this is me. I also love storytelling though) Oh and in some games, which tend to be a little more rules light than others, you do describe everything awesomely. Because you spend your turn kicking off walls, cutting chandeliers on people, smacking ceiling bricks to drop them on people, kicking tables on people, grabbing torches out of walls and throwing them at people, and then finally ending in some sort of acrobatic spinning leap at somebody. Bonus points if you throw about 10 knives or darts while doing the acrobatic spinning leap. Or sometimes its more of a team effort, one person grabs an enemy and throws him at his buddy, who kicks him so he bounces off of the ground, at which point a third person shoves him back so he hits a wall, at which point person four grabs him and pins him while person one and two both do flying kicks at vital spots on their now immobilized opponent.
#17 volund-starfire Jun 23, 2008 10:19:25	I still RP in combat. I play a defensive paladin, so I am all about other people. Also, my character is the "Leader" of the party. So, I sometimes yell out for others to position themselves differently or whatnot. "Thraghack, they're breaking through!" "Alena, Guli's hit!" "Taer's casting, everyone DUCK!" In general, though, I give light descriptions of some of my more specialized moves. However, I don't let my RPing get in the way of fun.
#18 i_roll_ones Jun 24, 2008 17:11:49	I still RP, through it appears that the DM makes the call regarding what a move does(The players don't always know how effective it is) and it seems to work just dandy for us. However, this is not all you can RP. Warlords will be shouting commands and encouragements to the rest of the party, clerics will be praying, and people who are not fond of the idea of getting hit will be getting hit. Now, every move is probably superfluous and will bog down combat, but if something goes extremely wrong or right, it might be time to RP something. Botch a roll? Scream a prayer to the goddess of luck, or chosen god. Also, rather then rely on the players seeing the map, maybe have the squishies shout for help, since tanks don't normally have eyes in the back of their head. Might also be interesting if party members picked up exotic languages, and can shout across the battlefield without the enemy picking it up. Tieflings also have the Bloodhunt ability, and might alert others to it(Don't they smell fear or something?) or demand that the party leave the honor/joy/task of killing that enemy to them. Also, I think it says a lot regarding a character as to what they shout to their enemies. Do they demand surrender, try to threaten the enemy, praise the glory of their god or shout drunken obscenities? Just a thought, but if you try this, allow for some thinking room from people, especially at first. Takes a while to get used to, and many people might not be comfortable coming up with phrases right in the thick of things.
#19 volund-starfire Jun 24, 2008 19:48:25	At one point, on my Paladin, I was pulling pint after our Rogue misstepped into a trap. I rounded a corner and came face-to-face with a horde of Kobolds. Not just a small party, but a large group that was so thick that they prevented movement all the way down the hall. (A trap that was triggered alerted them and they were going to see what the commotion was.) Well, I rounded the corner, got the description, and said that I was throwing my lantern to the ground, raising both of my arms, and screaming a battlecry... I was looking at three times my CR in Kobolds which included casters. The DM had me roll my intimidate, add my CHA modifier to it (basically 2x Charisma), and scratch my lantern off of my character sheet. He rolled a group WILL check and came up with a critical failure... The entire horde turned and bolted in complete fear. The rest of my team came around the corner quickly and saw an empty hallway with some swords and whatnot on the ground asking what happened. I told them that I really didn't know and continued on while pulling out a torch.
#20 aaror Jun 27, 2008 7:51:22	Well, the way I read your question, kinda implies that you "freeze," in combat. Now, you have a list of the powers you know, you know the names of your friends, you do not know your foes (but sometimes you can guess), so you know a lot about what you need to talk about. Pre-plan it? Figure out what you would say using power X or buddy Y, or on monster Z. Have a dozen or so, and when something matches your list, use the item from your list. It will happen often enough to be fun for everyone, but not every time (scratch the comment off your list after you use it). Soon everyone will wonder how you are such a good roleplayer in combat. You probably don't need to have a witty comment every action... do you?
#21 markdey Jul 01, 2008 7:22:55	Lots of good suggestions here! If I may be so bold... Off the top of your head, anyone have any lines for a semi-timid wizard who knows Cloud of Daggers, Thunderwave, Illusory Ambush, Grasping Shadows, Sleep, and Flaming Sphere? -Mark
#22 volund-starfire Jul 01, 2008 9:37:37	Off the top of your head, anyone have any lines for a semi-timid wizard who knows Cloud of Daggers, Thunderwave, Illusory Ambush, Grasping Shadows, Sleep, and Flaming Sphere? AHHH!!!! Hurt them, hurt them!!!!! Actually, it depends on how you play your character.