Theater of the Mind || Running D&D Combat

[@DaleThibodeau]

I've been playing D&D since the 80's and watching this helped me realize something. The most memorable moments came about when we were tired, relaxed and we didn't play 100% by the book. Your ideas about narrating between turns, scope based combat, approximate location, Intent... You're blowing my mind. I'm dm'ing for my kids and can't wait to try this stuff out. Honestly, I feel like I've been doing this backwards for 30 years!

[@francoglz3072]

Man, last week I was playing with my friends and it took us 3 full hours to get through 2 small encounters and everyone was falling asleep. Watched your "make your combat flow" video, and yesterday we got through 3 encounters in 1h, and everyone was on the edge of their chairs. You really saved me from losing a group to play with. Love your stuff!!!

[@ZipperonDisney]

AWESOME!!!!! You just made my day!

[@Calebgoblin]

Dude your channel is so little known but it's exactly the kind of content I'm looking for and I know I'm not the only one...it's kind of baffling to me how you're not more popular.

[@ZipperonDisney]

Thanks! like, share and subscribe he he :)

[@Calebgoblin]

@@ZipperonDisney oh for sure my dude

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Caleb Baker this is the guy

[@artcatdraws4203]

Ik I discovered him through this video and immediately subscribed

[@roddyhansen5221]

This guy says it best. I really feel like the reason your videos are so important are that they include the player characters, and always emphasize moving forward with the story instead of putting up some ‘walls’ the characters have to overcome.

[@BobWorldBuilder]

Great video for this time when many people are switching online. Making roll20 maps can take a lot of time, and theater of the mind play is honestly just more engaging for many people like myself

[@HowtoRPG]

Thanks for making this video. I think Theatre of the Mind will become the new normal for playing D&D for the next few years.

[@ZipperonDisney]

You got it dude!

[@denniscastello504]

What's old is new again. lol

[@Lachadine]

How to D&D what makes you think that?

[@HowtoRPG]

@@Lachadine The world is going to change dramatically. We will see 1 or 2 years of strict boarder control and social isolation.

[@Lachadine]

How to D&D oh ok

[@wizardswine4621]

I really enjoyed this video. I think the most important part is that you need your players to trust you. A difficulty I often have is that the only way to build that trust is through playing over a long period of time. By the time you've built that trust, your players will expect a certain style of play from you and it's hard to break away from that. I think a lot of players would actually prefer playing different systems, but D&D just has such a monolithic reputation that it's hard to get away from.

[@jonathanvernon7251]

I ran a campaign with the same group of players for 10 years. I just started a new campaign with them, and this one is VERY different from the old one. [There was initially a bit of resistance to some changes (going gridless was one), so I can see your point about expectations. I approached it as a "let's try this and see how it goes".] The trust built up over the long term allows this type of change to happen.

[@Southpaw_Blue]

I know a bunch of people have said it, but your channel is criminally under appreciated. You’re providing the best and most well thought out guidance on what really matters to gameplay bar none! I’m new to DMing and keen to try a few of these techniques. On reflection, some of the TOTM stuff I did early because I hadn’t set up a VTT yet had by far the most engagement.

[@NemoOhd20]

Love the video. Funny that many think playing TOM isnt "playing by the rules".

[@TonyCrenshawsLatte]

This is the first video of yours that I'm watching. Earlier today, I ran my very first DM session, and it was a theatre of mind. Everything was great, except running the combat. And it was because of the exact problem that you described; I do not have enough brain RAM to keep a mental board with minis. Love your tips and love your video. I'm subscribing. :)

[@ZipperonDisney]

I'm glad you found this helpful!! I have two livestreams on my channel where I put this into action in case you want examples :) kzbin.info/www/bejne/sJOcdXt-ecqjj8U

[@recon441]

The KZbin algorithm has blessed me today, great video! I'm going to share this with my husband, he has vision problems and has been lamenting about how it's harder for him to DM online so he's been contemplating more theater of the mind style of play.

[@ZipperonDisney]

Wonderful! ❤️ I'm so glad you found the channel, and I hope it proves helpful to your hubby 😎

[@AsIfInteractive]

Really excellent advice. I have similar values, and it led me to create the "CORE" system which literally backs up YESes and NOs with ANDs or BUTs. I used to be a strong simulationist and created tables for everything; but ultimately it dawned on me that the real excitement of any game had nothing to do with the fine-grained detail of the empirical system, but simply delivering dramatic possibilities that emerge from character actions in surprising ways. That insight changes everything. :-)

[@ZipperonDisney]

That sounds like a flexible, simple system that can have lots of interesting narrative choices - thanks for sharing!

[@YorozuyaNeesan2010]

This was fantastic. Thanks for all this great advice! I'm just learning to DM right now and I don't intend to use minis or maps. I just want people to use their imaginations and not get pulled out of the zone. These were some great tips!

[@ZipperonDisney]

Glad it was helpful!! Feel your way though, don't be dogmatic, and do what works best for your table in the moment!

[@Morjixxo]

This video is really useful even if u are using the grid. I appreciate its non superficial content.

[@michaelpatton9909]

I've watched all the big "how to do theater of the mind combat" videos, and this is still by far the best. Everyone else is just talking about which is better, without any practical tips, or is just a remake of each other's video. This is a 10/10 Ps. Would love to see a real world example of this in a real game session. I may record one myself. I think that would be a way more "viewer pleasant" modality to the board and minis that Critical role does.

[@voidatmosphere7654]

You made Theater of the Mind easier for me! Thank you so much for the tips, especially the conjunctions and descriptive distance!

[@ZipperonDisney]

Glad it was helpful!! The conjunction idea was a real game changer for me!

[@Matthew-Fair]

After my first campaign flopped due to scheduling, I'm starting my second campaign with my same group here in a few weeks and will definitely be employing these tips. I spent so long making maps, diagrams, trying to grid everything out, and it's a whole hassle I no long want to deal with. I think these ideas will VASTLY improve our gaming experience and I can't wait to start

[@ZipperonDisney]

Excellent!! I never use virtual table tops! I think there are a few liveplays on my channel if you want to see how these tips work in practice

[@NZDND]

Great video, as always! For 2 years now I've done most of my games on Roll20 (in these lockdown days, it's the only way for most people). I use grid and theatre of the mind simultaneously. I know many people need the certainty of the grid so I offer it but am not a slave to it. The best thing I've found about running games online is the power of a well chosen image. Players are quick to engage in a picture of an enemy and what he is wearing or what the mountain actually looks like - a picture really can paint 1000 words and saves more time than rolling damage in advance. I admit I skim descriptions of terrain in books myself and although I like describing things, I don't like listening! What you can about the 'and/if/or' of combat is spot on.

[@ZipperonDisney]

I can't wait for my pack monster cards I kickstarted to arrive just for that reason!

[@Lockinvar393]

Fantastic video with good advice. I'm really glad I found this chanel and I'll be passing it on. With games running over voice chats so often these days, having a better understanding of theater of the mind is a great addition to the DM toolbelt.

[@ZipperonDisney]

Awesome, thank you! That's exactly what I was hoping this would help with :)

[@Mermer-16]

I love your dm videos! They're informative and the advice is intelligent and unique. As a newbie dm really having to tailor D&D to my players, the combat advice has been particularly useful. I've watched tons of tips & tricks videos, but yours is one of the few that has been exactly what I needed. Thanks so much!

[@ZipperonDisney]

Thank you so much! I try really hard to put out unique content and I'm thrilled you appreciate it :)

[@Madcanard]

Good stuff! I think that this video and the SlyFlourish article that you mentioned are all anyone needs to run good theater of the mind combat.

[@AmpleGames]

I'm looking at running my first campaign and this video (plus the other one you recommended) was exactly what I was looking for! I don't have a battlemap or any minis like I'm used to but this made me feel like I might actually be able to manage :D Keep up the great work!

[@ZipperonDisney]

I have some streams on the channel where you can watch me use TotM in action

[@patricklee2606]

Your channel is excellent - I'm so glad that I found it!

[@SevenWondersProd]

I've never been a fan of theater of the mind combat because it is normally executed so arbitrarily. Your insight has given me second thoughts and I could see where it is not only playable, but might be a better option for certain encounters. Great video!

[@ZipperonDisney]

Awesome! Let me know how it works out for you!

[@twilightgardenspresentatio6384]

Cooperative storytelling at its best

[@notorious.scoundrel]

Wow, I just found your channel today and I'm happy to have bumped into it, you're content is very helpful and entertaining m8. Hope you're proud, you got yourself a new sub!

[@ZipperonDisney]

Welcome aboard!

[@nicholasromero238]

How am I just now learning about this channel? This one and the flow videos answer a lot of issues I've been running into in my pf 2e games

[@ZipperonDisney]

Excellent! Glad you find them helpful. The pacing pt 2 video might be up your ally too!

[@diegoleaodiniz2646]

Great suggestions: I'll try and apply them asap.

[@ZipperonDisney]

Let me know if any of these tips work out for you

[@BeyondTheScreenRPG]

Plenty of excellent ideas in that one. I really like the part about intent. I tend to run games for a lot of players, so it makes it a bit harder to manage, but I feel like some of the ideas here could make it manageable. There's one thing with Theater of the Mind combat that I am not entirely sure how to address. By design, the balance of certain spells in the game is based on their range. Narrowing it down to 3 types of distance can interfere with that. Perhaps Homebrew can solve that, but it's definitely something we should keep in mind if we choose to eliminate range in a game that was designed with it.

[@ZipperonDisney]

Thanks Aviad! I think that's the sort of problem that is more theoretical than folks notice in play. Even so, you can just use your magic DM wand to make it matter when it needs to!

[@esay7403]

Brilliant. You should write a ToTm handbook

[@ZipperonDisney]

Glad you found it useful! I run a lot of TotM streams on the channel. They make for good listening while driving

[@Maninawig]

5:34 "the corpse of the felled monster. Not only does this help to paint a nice mental picture" I think I am starting to understand your tastes... lol

[@RyuuKageDesu]

In my recent experience, some players naturally become more descriptive with a battle grid, while some with theater of the mind. The same goes for engagement. My current campaign switches back and forth. It's been kinda interesting.

[@ZipperonDisney]

In my experience players are more tactical when they have a grid, and more interested in doing zany things in ToM. Both of which are fine with me 😎

[@RyuuKageDesu]

@@ZipperonDisneyTrue. Different players gravitate to different play styles.

[@Minotaur36191]

Great video! Very useful as I move my campaigns over video. I've run a lot of games over discord and found myself avoiding setting up a map on Roll20 more and more. Towards the end I would have one set piece map for the final encounter and use the flexibility of theater of the mind to see what the encounters leading up to it would look like. Close, Near and Far is definitely the key to that style and communicating that to player's and making sure everyone's on the same page is super critical.

[@ZipperonDisney]

I like that hybrid style, using a map for big set pieces and ToM for everything else

[@johnsullivan2376]

You might be interested in Shmeppy... Not quite a VTT, just enough mapping to make the spatial logistics of theater of the mind a bit easier to manage.

[@VAHelix]

Excellent content and just what I need for my game. We are a highly narrative style gaming group and love describing the actions of players and npcs. I find the little grids can hinder creative flow as well and overly mechanize the game. There is a balance to be found though and thanks for helping me find it. Thank you and spreading the word.

[@northofvalhalla5087]

Great video. After moving all of my games online using maps has become the default for my groups. Though I used to run a lot of theater of mind combat for in-person games. I've always found that while maps can be great for immersion and clarity they do sometimes limit the creation of more interesting scenes, that aren't strictly two dimensional. So wanting to bring some of that back into my games this video has given me some good ideas to try out, thanks!

[@ZipperonDisney]

Glad it helped! To be honest, what we've started doing is pithing an extra camera at a battle mat in our zoom game hehe

[@druidic_intent]

I started TTRPG playing AD&D 3.5 in the mid to late 90's. I never knew miniatures for the games existed for years. Recently digging back into 5e I appreciate the miniatures in complex combat, but they're an added expense and a time sink that I can't afford. Edited to add: I still remember specific events from those early games. They were an absolute mess and we did so much wrong, but some of the most fun I ever had around a table. That could just be nostalgia speaking.

[@chriseggenberger]

Love the advice! 🙌

[@ZipperonDisney]

Glad it was helpful!

[@imabf]

I've gotten kind of tired of setting up roll20 maps every week so I thought I'd try totm for a while and this vid is very helpful!

[@ZipperonDisney]

Glad it helped! I figured folks would benefit from this vid :)

[@allisonniesen3230]

I super appreciate this video, since I'm broke in both money and time, so I use theater of the mind more than anything else! I'll definitely focus on that intent, and use your advise to help make things flow a bit more... and also go watch that other video :)

[@danielbridges6186]

Amazing video, especially at the moment, because we have to play via discord. We always used minis and grid and this has got me excited about running theatre of the mind. Thanks :)

[@ZipperonDisney]

Glad I could help! That's why I made it!!

[@jacobvanveit3437]

This is gonna be good!

[@RIVERSRPGChannel]

Old school D&D, we used to always use theatre of the mind Good stuff Stay safe

[@trevors3908]

Having always had a reference point (ie: a battle map with minis), I never really understood how people can do "theater of the mind" combat because I couldn't help but think of it without all of the specifics that come with such a reference point. I think I understand more now!

[@ZipperonDisney]

Awesome! glad this could help!!

[@kalleendo7577]

This is so on point!

[@HienNguyenHMN]

Good tips. Thanks!

[@ZipperonDisney]

Glad it was helpful!

[@xllvr]

Very useful video in how to run ToM. I do feel like this sounds like almost a different game with the core mechanics built upon D&D 5e, but I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing

[@thedorklylionchannel415]

Good video man :) Saw you on kibs stream last night - I think you missed it but he's same time same place next week

[@ZipperonDisney]

Cool beans! I'm doing a design stream of my own tomorrow night on twitch

[@nlnrose]

I love how you have a biochem textbook sitting next to a novel and a lovecraft collection. also, who does the are in your room?

[@ZipperonDisney]

I do it all myself

[@Randomdudefromtheinternet]

I think those who have played CoC have a bit on an advantage here, everything is theater of the mind (probably worth importing some stuff)

[@matteopfenninger5602]

Hi! I was wondering if you only play D&D or have you dabbled in other systems as well? Your ideas on handling distance for example are found almost exactly like that in Forbidden Lands by Freeleague for example :)

[@ZipperonDisney]

I'll read other systems or play at a convention. But most everything I run nowadays is a variation of 5e

[@josephdellavecchia7828]

Great video Zipperon. I would love to hear how to do exploration in tbeater of the mind. I have thought like drawing out a computer type nested flow chart. But that sounds dreadful.

[@ZipperonDisney]

I think it's actually super easy! Here is the whole dungeon I ran in the twitch stream: twitter.com/ZipperonDisney/status/1242820873368846338

[@josephdellavecchia7828]

@@ZipperonDisney Awesome, can't wait to check it out.

[@dark_dar]

I opened your Twitch, but there are no videos there. Did I miss it all? It's been a year :)

[@ZipperonDisney]

Yuph! All the VODs from those streams are on my patreon

[@TheMosquitoHunter]

As a vampire the masquerade DM (or rather "narrator" as they call it) and player, I hate grids for a number of reasons. I always thought that not using grids in d&d would ruin the core experience of the game, but I guess I will give it a try with theater of the mind, which I'm very used to

[@Domina7ion]

Love this. Dming my first proper session and I've been considering using roll20, but this has convinced me to stick to my gut that theater of the mind will suit what I want my games to be better. Your first point is especially important, I was close to having a grid in my head. The first encounter in phandelver involved a goblin ambush in some woods, and its concerning me more than other future combats because it will surely involve a lot of hiding. And woods are kind of uninspiring and disorienting to describe. Any ideas how to make it work?

[@ZipperonDisney]

Well, you have the path, the cart and woods. The woods are always within your movement, they always can provide cover and concealmen. But due to the thickness of the brush, it's hard to move around in them. Maybe, if you're in the woods, goblins can't hide from you, BUT you can't get from one to another unless you dash.

[@Domina7ion]

@@ZipperonDisney right, I was still playing squares in my head. I need to think bigger and think in terms of turns and larger meaningful choices.

[@spigotofpudding8937]

grids get in the way of fun for me (story)

[@scarlightemperor3410]

This is what I use because, EVERYTHING is so much PROBLEMS

[@SeeAche]

My players tend to have trouble with TOM due to spell effects having the possibility of friendly fire. Would you say that allowing the use of a reaction to gain advantage against an ally's spell would be acceptable? Like the caster gives them a heads up?

[@erikboge7445]

Good

[@samuelhain2160]

Got a sub out of me. Great video.

[@ZipperonDisney]

Welcome aboard! Hope you find some other videos you like. Check out the 2 on pacing!

[@johnnii]

The problem with TotM is that it suffers from weakest link syndrome, with it that regardless of how skilled you are at TotM all the players also need to be at least somewhat skilled at TotM. And one single player not "getting it" might be disastrous to the enjoyment of everyone. I suppose your diagram or rough sketch suggestion will alleviate that, can you really call it Theater of the Mind when you are drawing the battlefield? Great content nonetheless

[@ZipperonDisney]

This is a good comment! I get what you're saying, and I don't necessarily disagree. But I'm not sure TotM is unique in having a 'weakest link' problem in ttRPGs. I think the same claim can be made of a role-play heavy group with one non-theater kid, or one non min-maxer when everyone else if super focused on engineering and tactics. I think drawing out a rough sketch or a diagram is fine too. But my big points in the vid is running TotM that it's a skill that can be improved, and you don't do that by trying to keep position and the grid in your head.

[@dragonchr15]

what about dungeon crawls?

[@ZipperonDisney]

I think you'd have to have a map (or map maker) for a complex dungeon, but I run simple ones in TotM all the time. Just one choice at a time: left or right door, forward or into the pool, etc

[@jayteepodcast]

I what to be a Dm like you

[@ZipperonDisney]

I make the vids to share my ideas so other can use them! :)

[@angrysloth]

Hot Take: Theatre of the Mind is awful. Part of what makes dungeons and dragons great is the the fact that every person is imagining scenes described in their own way as if reading a book, no two players will have the exact same mental picture. This makes storytelling great, but makes combat TERRIBLE. Every dungeon is infinitely more labyrinthian in theatre of the mind, and this can only really be done effectively in a homebrew module where a dungeon becomes just a chain of rooms where you exit one room and enter the next. You have to adjudicate marching order at the beginning of every combat, and if the DM takes liberties with this, the wizard is going to be really salty he's at the front of the group, because that's not the way he had imagined this scenario. Theatre of the Mind is also going to make certain tactical elements of combat like flanking or sneak attack givens on almost every attack, or almost never handed out. Entirely at the DM's discretion. Dungeons and Dragons is a game born out of tactical wargames, and it just doesn't translate to theatre of the mind very well. Nobody would want to play theatre of the mind chess, checkers, or even battleship. Please don't play theatre of the mind D&D.

[@filthycasual8187]

I've homebrewed my own rules for combat to allow for theater of the mind in the absence of maps and minis (I'm too poor for either of those). Basically, the "Movement Speed" stat is now strictly movement speed, not how far you can move. The DM/Referee can roll to see if a fleeing enemy actually manages to escape the combat area, at which point it will disappear either forever or until the next time the DM/Referee brings that enemy back for the sake of narrative. Turns still end with an action or the holding of an action. It sounds to me like you work with something similar, based on this video.