How would I describe shooting an arrow and make it less repetitive? Most of my combat turns usually end with "I loose an arrow" with variations of "ready", "nock", and "aim" sprinkled around unless I say some fluff about how I move.
I want to say where I aim, but if I aim anywhere vital I'm pretty sure the DM will impose penalties on me and it leaves less for the DM to talk about how the shot lands.
Any tips?
Make a body chart and roll on it.
>I fire an arrow
>rolls
>It lands in their right shoulder
>Their right arm tenses up, but barely manages to keep a hold on their sword
I really don't want to make combat takes any longer by adding more rolls to it.
The archer is so good at throwing arrows than he can just pick an arrow with his mouth and spit the arrow, and would still kill the target.
Well, sometimes you snap shot, sometimes you go still for a brief instant lining up your shot. Sometimes you do it so quickly and calmly no one realizes you've shot until they hear the twang. Sometimes you quip or just grin fiercely.
Focus on the whole aiming part of it. Talk about how you're aiming at the creatures vital points, or its eyes, or something.
If your major creative outlet in a game is just trying to find new ways of describing how you shoot stuff, and moving about during combat is just fluff, there's really no helping.
It sounds terrible, and like someone trying to get the kind of fun sane people get from videogames, but in the most inconvenient and prep heavy way possible.
You don't spruce up role-playing sessions by trying to find new synonyms for the boring repetitive parts, you play sessions with less of the boring stuff and more fun stuff.
If combat is a big focus and you're using a medium that has no visuals, you should re-evaluate your choices.
This.
I always got the fun of a thrilling action scene that looks good in everybody's heads but the core of interest for me is in the setting and character interaction.
How does asking how to make my combat turns sound less repetitive equate to my "major creative outlet" being combat? Or even combat being my favorite part?
Make it dynamic by inserting the previous character's action. Example: "As Sir Godfried slashes its thigh, I see an opening and shoot for the neck opening!"
Thanks for the ideas, I have a better idea of how to make my turns feel less same-y.
Fantastic. Why not just sit around playing tic-tac-tie while you take turns describing it as a thrilling battle scene.
FFG D100 system made a nice way around that - basically the body part is determined by the hit roll, except read backwards, so 10 or 30 are headshots, because head is 0-10 hit zone and 10 and 30 are 01 and 03 backwards. Not sure how it could be applied to D20 yo most likely use in your game
Not him, but I'm curious as to why you're so upset at this? Seems a pretty reasonable request to me.
You need an attitude. What you want to do is watch some crazy archery tricks, The Great Wall trailers, Legolas's killcounts and Hobbit's directors cut. Done? Ok. Here's how to spice things up, listen up, 'cus I ain't gonna repeat myself.
> angle your shots so they will hit multiple targets
> do flips and shit while you do it
> steady your fucking breath
> describe as you feel kinda funny because you are shooting while hanging from a chandelier heads down
> do some flashbacks to the training with your mentor, who told you how to pull that extremely hard shot off
> spin the arrow in your fingers before setting it on bow's string
> witty remarks are your friends
> describe as you scan the surroundings before firing
> when fighting a teleporting enemy lower your head, close your eyes and shoot in the place you expect them to be, and this is important, do not aim. You are too good for this.
> describe as you dip your arrow in tar and put in fire before shooting
> if you manage to dodge a shot, fire back ASAP, in one single, taking aim, pulling the string and releasing it in one fluid motion
That's atleast how I play my archer.
Also, decide, what do you prefer: to loose a fight in style, becoming a hero of legends or be the winner that just camped all the time?
Moreover, talk with your GM about it. He should be ok with this, they're not monster, for the love of God.
I'm mostly asking because he gets upset when we just say "I attack" and roll dice. This sounds like a load of fun so I'll definitely be giving this a shot. Thanks for the advice!
I cap that nigga 1600 style!
Describe the flight of the arrow through the air
I shot an arrow into the air.
It fell to earth, I knew not where.
Because on Veeky Forums we simply use other anons as a convenient spitoon for our phlegmatic outbursts against things we don't like.
Then pick a target body part, retard.
Just shoot it and get it over with.
>I'm mostly asking because he gets upset when we just say "I attack" and roll dice.
Then it's his fault for picking a system and/or building combats where taking the standard attack action every round is sufficient to win.
Sure, you might get some good flavourful descriptions of your attack action today. They might help for a while, but eventually you'll have used them enough that they get boring.
Sure, you can get some more help with new descriptions.But the more ways of describing a standard attack action that you go through, the harder it is to find new ones that the GM understands as a standard attack.
Create trick arrows, profit.
Combat is slow enough as it is, just fire off your shot and be done with it. The only person who should be taking time is the party wizard but even then he should be deciding which spell to use as it comes up to his turn.