How To Make D&D COMBAT Fast & FUN!

Here are 4 tips to keep your D&D combat fast and FUN! There are many rules for combat in Dungeons & Dragons 5e, so it's easy to get bogged down, but these simple DM guidelines will keep you on track! ⏬ More below! ⏬

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#dnd #dungeonsanddragons

[BobWorldBuilder]

What are YOUR top tips for combat pacing? :)

[DIWhyGarage]

When playing in person (remember doing things in person, that was fun), I use initiative to determine who goes first, and then I just go around the table clockwise. The monsters go when the it gets to the DM. Players seem to be more aware of their initiative order and are ready to go when it's their turn. Mechanically, it doesn't matter that much.

[mushroomsoup]

Quickest combat I ever ran was when the PCs were running back out of a dungeon before the whole place detonated, but there were still cultists in there trying to stop them and kill everyone at once.
Initiative just went around the table, every attack became a coin flip. Heads, your target is dead, tails your attack missed. Players have 2 seconds to shout out what they're doing or they miss their turn. All enemies did the average attack roll when they hit. Same idea with ability rolls and the like- heads was success, tails fails, but you can only flip on things you're proficient in.
Put the Doom soundtrack on in the background to enhance the vibe.

Didn't quite go as well as I had planned, but it really hit that panicked "no time to think just do" atmosphere that I wanted.

[JKBrules]

One way I help my player's get into the action is to have them describe what happens when they roll a natural "1" & "20". They get really creative and have fun with it. While this may make it feel like it slows it down, the level of engagement is worth it to them.

[nickmuzekari]

Not sure if this equated into quicker combat overall, and I'm not sure if this was how it was mainly done per previous versions, but I remember the DM we had when I was a kid used to go around the room and ask everybody what they were doing, have them roll for it, and then he'd take all of that and describe how the round unfolded. So essentially he narrated per round instead of per turn. It was quite epic because the scene was much more continuous and cool, like 'as the thief comes behind with his dagger, the ranger lets their arrow fly and it finds its mark above the larger kobold's neck, the other kobolds swings and cuts into the fighter's leg and then is pummeled from behind by the dwarf's heaving ax...' etc.

[TimeInTheWordWithBroDavid]

Thanks for sharing! The one thing that works best at my table is having the players be ready with their actions & results. "Player X, you're up. Player Y, you're on deck" is the standard phrase I use to give subsequent players opportunity to prepare their spells, actions, damage, etc.
And "Bad D&D advice" - that would be a good video!

[DungeonClass]

Those Dungeon Class guys are pretty handsome:-) We love how you edited our clip. We will just send all our videos to you to edit:-) Thanks for having us, Bob. That was a lot of fun.

[samchafin]

I've heard a good way to keep everything moving faster (not just combat) is to not have any rules looked up at the table. The DM makes a call, and it's looked up after the game session is over. Full disclosure, I have not tried this at the table yet, but I've been palsying long enough to have a pretty good sense of how much time this would save - though that assumes the players trust the DM, and time looking up the rules won't be replaced with time arguing with the DM.

[Serutans]

I really disagree on the attack+damage together not being faster. It might not appear a lot faster but it adds up - and if it isn't faster then there is some underlying problem - like some archaic habit along the lines of asking players for their AC. I suppose that could be advice - know the player AC by heart. If you do that and you roll attack and damage at the same time you can instantly start narrating the result. Also that is where another big piece of advice comes in - if players want to flavor their attacks, let them! But as a DM, don't elaborate in length over how a creature is burned by Sacred Flame when the cleric uses it for the 283rd time in a campaign. If a good description pops into your head, go for it! If not, a good quick flow of combat is much better than stale repeated descriptions that make you sound like a town npc from a computer game.

[gabrielhawk]

I've been looking all over the internet for advice in frustration. I'm getting really tired of 5e combat (hearing "roll for initiative" makes my group sad, me included). There's a lot of "player-blaming" in combat pacing tips, which seems to be missing the point to me.

Finally found this video and everything you said was directly from my brain. Even your joke about the bad combat gimmicks people suggest made so much sense. Thank you for the help. I'll be looking all over your channel.

[miguelcrafter]

5:00 hol' up! THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT ME?!
Always since the beginning of my friend being a dm, i always assist him by being the one looking for the stats the party has, even tho im a player myself, its nice that i can help my dm and the other players

[willtijerina]

All great tips. I think a good portion of it falls on players as well. As a player I am always thinking three steps ahead tactically. This means you have to be in the mindset that you're not gonna be the one that slows things down. Keeping the chatter down to what moves things along. You've got to be thinking, as your character, what can I be doing that helps the entire party the most. Being ready by knowing the what and where of your character sheet, being helpful and paying attention. All this also goes for the rest of the non combat times as well.

[biggriz]

Pre-rolling initiative for monsters (if you're using the likes of roll20), for monsters hidden on the GM layer can save a bunch of time. If combat doesn't end up breaking out, no biggie, but if it does - you're not having to jump from statblock to statblock to roll it up.

[deoleonardo]

I bursted out laughing after you show "Let's be honest, they're going to just kill him." This is so true and I thought it's the trademark of our group I used to play with. How I miss that campaign.

[swordsman]

I just started using them, but Arcane Library’s combat cards make combat roll so smooth. You have initiative in order at all times and you can see all your players stats, and all your monsters stats / key attacks and abilities. You will never need to ask a player what their passive perception is or Spell Save DC. I can’t suggest these enough. She has a YouTube video on how to use them too.

[distructerdistrorer]

2:30 my first DM session (which could’ve went better) this actually happened and I loved roll-playing a poor soldier who just wanted to live - in the end, after much debate, and cries of “PLEASE DON’T KILL ME!” one of them knocked the poor lad out and popped them on a tree with rations. So hey, at least they didn’t just kill then.

[themagescorner]

Well on a VTT like Fantasy Grounds, combat is usually pretty fast since everything is automated, including stuff like enemies resistances/concentration checks that DMs sometimes forget about. As for fun, I believe it's all down to good narration by players and DMs, as Matt Mercer would say when a player lands a killing blow "how do u wanna do this?"

[Ghostwolf]

I use the "you barely cuts through their armor" or "your weapon just glances off their armor". This allows my players to figure out what the enemy AC is. For health, I try to actively describe how wounded the enemies are, usually at half, quarter, and the last few hitpoints. This makes it more interesting.

[bobcarnicom]

A great way to speed up combat is to have Tiamat fly in on initiative count 20! Joking aside, great tips Bob! Preparedness goes a long way, and I have seen a great change in combat length after my players and me talked about why our combats were taking so long. Not only myself, but now my players are more prepared by knowing their characters abilities, skills, and feats so that they don't have to think long on what they want to do. Same goes for me, I should know what my monsters or evil guys do before I roll initiative.

[NickPierson]

Solid tips. And I would LOVE a video on bad DM advice. I think there's MOUNTAINS of it, especially in the homebrew sphere. Great idea for a video.