#RPGaDay2024

I’ve played miniature games for almost as long as I’ve played RPGs. I get why people love battle maps and grids in their RPGs; I love tactical combat games. I get that “fix” from mini-games like Marvel Crisis Protocol, Malifaux, or Rumbleslam. I don’t need tactical grid combat in my RPGs –it pulls me out of the experience. My marvelous miniature for RPGs doesn’t exist as I play combat using theater of the mind (TotM).

I have picked up a few tips on handling TotM in your RPGs.

Put the initial focus on the environment.

A big reason why I prefer TotM to battle maps is that battle maps define and limit the environment. “Is there a crate in the corner?” isn’t asked, as they can see on the map if one is there. I want my table to engage with, use, and help define where the battle is happening. I start any combat with a level set on where they are relative to the other characters and what they can see. If your players don’t feel a sense of placement, you can lose them. Where is everyone relative to the other? Who else is there? What is around them? Give the table enough information to understand the “where” but not too much to limit what they can imagine.

It is all happening at once

Most RPGs use some turns or initiative. Fights happen fast, and everything explodes in seconds. One person doesn’t act, then the next one goes, then it’s the goblin’s turn to react. It helps give a sense of place and time; I will often do a short rewind and recap at the start of each character’s turn.

“Conan, you’re up. Sonya is to your right, standing on the table. She is slicing at the mutant, cutting across his chest, and blood is spraying on your right arm. The wolf is running towards you with its jaws open and ready to take a piece of your leg. The little tavern boy is behind you, screaming at the violence all around all of you.”

“I’m going to throw my spear at the wolf!” (rolls and determines success blah blah)

“The spear hits the wolf in its side and shifts to your left as the momentum of your spear pushes it off course.”

“Soloman, you’re up. You can see Sonya swinging at the mutant on the table ahead of you. The tavern boy is backing up towards you, moving away from Sonya and Conan. You can see the wolf veer to your left with Conan’s spear in its side. The window on the far side of the tavern breaks as more wolves break in, launching glass shards across the room.”

“I’m going to grab the boy’s arm and back him to safety while shooting my crossbow at one of the wolves coming in through the window.”

At the start of each initiative, I give the players context and a sense that the turns before them are in process and unfolding almost simultaneously. This helps provide a feeling of place and time and increases the tension and urgency. I encourage the table to ask questions to increase their awareness. “Is there a chandelier?” “Where is the evil wizard right now?” “Who looks like the most immediate threat?” We are all imagining this in our minds, and this process lets us all check in with each other to recalibrate and align on what is going on.

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