5 D&D Phrases A DM Can Use!
âHow do you want to do this?â
Ok, Iâve mentioned it, you can smile now.
But, for those that donât know what this means, itâs what Critical Roleâs Matthew Mercer says when a player is about to slay an enemy in an epic manner.
Getting the killing blow on an enemy, whether big or small, it still satisfying to a player, so let the player take the wheel for a second to describe how they dispatch of their foe.
And you can simply say it back to them and the rest of the table, but in greater detail, to really show the strength and power behind this final fatal strikeâŚ
âWhen last we playedâŚâ
It is almost essential to recap the events of the last game, especially if your group meets up only a few times a month, or even only a few times a yearâŚ
But recapping the story to the group helps them remember what they were planning to do next before the session ended, and allows You, the DM, to bring up and highlight some of the more epic, gruesome or comedic events of last session.
It also helps the players and you to remember what happened, what new enemies they made, and what new allies they have for the next big battle they faceâŚ
âDo you say that in character?â
This one is probably the most common phrase on the list, because all DMs want their players to role-play and think in-character rather than simply looking at a bunch of numbers on a piece of paper and saying âI probably shouldnât do that, Iâve got a -3 in Charisma.â
âPlay the Character, not the Gameâ is common advice to players.
If you, the player, think that itâll be REALLY REALLY NOT GOOD for you to call the Lich a âbone-y dead boy that lives in a rockâ, but you just KNOW that your character would say it the first chance they get, then play the character and scream your insults to the rooftops and beyondâŚ
Actually⌠Maybe that might not be the greatest of adviceâŚ
âI donât know, is it?â
This one is just fun and letâs you play with the players a bit⌠mess with their mindsâŚ
A player can ask âIs it trapped?â and you can simply reply âI donât know, is it?â.
It can at the best of times provide just the tiniest bit of tension and suspense.
Combine this with âYou find nothingâŚâ and youâll have a group of paranoid players checking every door, window and wall in every dungeon roomâŚ
âThat Hit wouldâve killed you⌠ButâŚâ
This is my personal favorite, and one I use almost every game I DM forâŚ
When an enemy hits a character, and drops the character to extremely low Hit Points and leaves them barely alive, this is your chance to let the player describe how they bend over backwards to avoid the immediate force of the impact, or how they take the hit, but keep on fighting.
I use this phrase a lot, take this example:
A barbarian rages, so the barbarian now takes ½ damage from almost every non-magical weapon.
The barbarian is on 5 HP, and takes 6 damage from an enemy hit, but because the barbarian has resistance, that damage is reduced to 3, so the barbarian is still alive, but barely.
If the barbarian wasnât raging, they wouldâve been knocked unconsciousâŚ
That Hit wouldâve killed them, but because of their sheer strength they take the mighty blow and throw it off as if it were mere scratch across the chest, and with their own primal anger fueling their body, they fight onâŚ
You get the point, these phrases just sound really coolâŚ
