Thread title.It's a pain in the ass occasionally, but I calculate DEX Armor Class different from 'armored' Armor Class, so I can tell players if they dodge an attack or if it's stopped by their armor (I used to keep track of shield AC too, but fuck that.)For fighters, I usually say that every one in three attacks are parried by them instead.When super-strength is a thing, I try to describe (harmless) collateral damage as much as possible. I have had players in superhero games who are simply flying bricks, and it makes them feel like they're having a more tangible effect on their surroundings.Also, I randomly flavor the attacks of big, strong foes as picking up shit and hitting people with it.If a PC kills an important foe, I tell him to describe the Mortal Kombat-style deathblow i.e. At 0 HP you abruptly become made of putty.
>>96772460But all of that is flavor text, what's the point?
>>96772481Well yeah, 90% of RPGs are 'flavor text' as you put it. I feel that having more tactile feedback makes people better-engaged, if that makes sense.A sword with +1d6 electricity is just a minor bonus, but if it fries people you kill with it, it's more memorable.
>>96772460>anon reinvents the wheel because his system suckseven 3.pf had touch and flatfoot ac values
>>96772460I for one likes your blog post anonI usually prepare a list of precise voice to give to my NPCs, with a few gimmicks too
>>96772460... what's the actual purpose of this thread?Because it reads like a misplaced blogpost on how you deal with the fact DnD is shite and how you are doing basic-tier narrative touches to combat narration.Are we suppose to... what? Applaud your effort? Share my own basic-tier stuff?Seriously: what goal did you have in mind when making this weird-ass thread?
>>96772460In WFRP, I don't like the human NPCs on offer and a lot of the monsters are too weak, so I made a big folio of generics to use instead of the published ones.
>>96772460RAH!
>>96772483> Well yeah, 90% of RPGs are 'flavor text'And it is a thing in one RPG.
>>96772460How do you actually manage this, genuinely curious, i try to make my combats more engaging and fun, but it always ends up being that dry ass player saying they try to hit a guy, them rolling, then i tell them whether they hit and move on to the next guy, idk if i get overwhelmed by the numbers or if i just suck at engaging my players, but every attempt i make at it ends that way and i want to get better at it.
>>96772481Because it's fun, Lois
>>96777326Take it upon yourself to set the scene and paint a picture of what's happening. Instead of:>"I attack Bandit #1.">"Okay, roll to hit.">"24. He takes 9 bludgeoning damage.">"Okay. Chuck, your turn."Try:>"I attack Bandit #1.">"You make a swing towards the bandit, and...">"24. He takes 9 bludgeoning damage.">"The bandit winces in pain as your mace pushes past his attempt to block you and lands at his sternum with a cracking sound. Chuck, you are now free to take advantage of the bandit's vulnerable state and finish him off."I promise if you get autistic about it, it will rub off and they will try to match your energy.
>>96772481Flavor text is the only thing that matters in a game.
>>96773384tg is for shitposting, try to keep up
>>96777326It helps to use a system that provides the players with more interesting things to do than "I hit the guy"
>>96778057Thanks for the advice, i guess in that case i would ask how you come up with varied enough descriptions of what they do so as to not end up with multiple cases of repeating the same actions with little variation, i guess a way i can imagine handling that is taking the difference between the rolled number and thetarget into account as to how hard the blow was.>>96779300You see that's also the problem, i play with my irl friends and even though they like playing and constantly ask me to schedule the next sessions, the fuckers loathe playing anything too complex and wont read a manual unless i beg them to, so in most cases i play really rules light stuff where the actions are based on the player's descriptions and not what they've specced into.I also find that a lot of times if its a system they haven't played in a while or that we've run less than 10 times they get bogged down on what to do to strike, so stuff like "you make a swing towards the bandit and..." is replied by "ehhh what did i have to roll again? and what's damage?".The mix-ups of To-Hit and Damage rolls have happened to me so much in so many different games with so many different people that it makes me think I'm autistic for generally grasping how to hit things from looking at most games' character sheets.
>>96778057>>96779612>The combat turn went from 30 minutes to 45>No actual gain was achieved, since it's still a fillibuster>DM run out of descriptions after 3 attacksIf a player isn't participating beyond "I attack the closest", it takes to be brain-damaged to try to push even the smallest bit of narrative - because the player doesn't give a fuck anyway
>>96779612I also play rules lite systems that aren't complex. They have more interesting options than "I attack".Good design and complexity are not correlated at all.
>>96779612Let me reframe what the other two anons said already:>Stop playing shitty games>More rules = more rules, but more rules =/= better game or more complex engagement with the game>Adjust your own engagement to the level players are displayingEffectively, HYTNPDND and more importantly, copying shit you saw in directed, rehearsed and edited videos of "real play".The best GM I ever had never did voices, always delivered information up-front and had the most dry and to the point descriptions imaginable.But he was still capable of coming up with interesting stories, still could adjust on the fly and always searched for the most simple, short and hand-wave system for his current campaign. If combat was involved, he provided the exact level of description players were giving to him, the action-reaction loop. It all worked fantastically and I'm still pissed covid destroyed that group and it never re-emerged
>>96772460Who are you talking to?
>>96779612Your post is a non sequitur. No one suggested switching to complex systems. Where did you get that from?
>>96779612Why do you post on forums if you're not interested in discussion? What do you get out of it?
>>96782313>>96782596>>96783210
>>96779612Well?
