At The Table: Adding Detail to Combat

Combat is a core element of D&D. The vast majority of the rules are related to adjudicating combat, and the majority of character's abilities are only really useful in combat situations. The side-effect of this is that combat is a very mechanics-heavy math break that can break player's immersion in the game as they study their character sheets, battle mat, and dice. One simple way to help hold players in the universe is by adding more description to events. Instead of simply saying "the Orc's attack misses", a GM wanting to improve immersion could say "the Orc swings wide, leaving a gash in the wall behind you" while looking across the table at the player who is being attacked. Producing these descriptions quickly without pausing or stammering requires either practice or preparation. Here are some guidelines to help you provide these on-the-fly descriptions of action:

Know the surroundings

This comes naturally when designing an encounter. Most encounters can be thought of as taking place in an arena, be it a dungeon room or square kilometer of woodlands. Whatever the area you expect your battle to take place in, be sure you know what's in it. Focus on things likely to be interacted with or stood near during battle like as walls, terrain, and anything players or enemies might use for cover.

Know the actors' defenses

To effectively add detail you'll need to know what defenses the players and enemies have. This is important so you know if you can describe an arrow glancing off a fighter's shield or being stopped in a flash of light from a wizard's Mage Armor. The easiest way to keep track of this it to have access to a copy of each of your players' character sheets, and keep track of temporary defenses (like Mage Armor) on a scratch pad.

Melee Attack Misses

Result relative to AC	Attack stopped by*	Example Outcomes
Close call -1 to -2	Armour, or Natural Armorr	The attack got past your defenses and struck your body. You were saved only by your armour "The warhammer strikes with a loud crunch, but your armour holds" "The blade glances off your armour, trailing sparks"
Blocked -2 to -5	Shield or Deflection	The attack was on-target but you kept it from hitting your body "You parry the attack with your shield" "The blade is turned aside by your magic defenses"
Miss -5 or lower**	Dex	You evaded the attack, or it went wide and hit something around you "The Golem swings his axe high and you simply duck under it" "The Orc swings wide, smashing the table next to you and scattering its contents across the floor"

Ranged Attack Misses

Result relative to AC	Attack stopped by*	Example Outcomes
Near-miss*** -1 to -3	Natural Armour or Shield	"The shot embeds itself in your shield" "Your arrow breaks against the dragon's scales"
Close -3 to -5	Armour, Deflection, or Dex	"The bolt plinks off your armour" "You sidestep the shot"
Miss -5 or lower	Object or terrain	"The arrow embeds itself in the wall behind you" "The shot goes sailing off into the night"

*If the character doesn't have this defense, pick the next one down
**Within reason, a very bad role doesn't require any player ability to evade
***I use a home-rule where projectile near-misses have a chance of hitting a randomly-chosen adjacent target.