Storyline Option During Combat

[pjrake]

quick question: during combat, i like to describe the action, like "you strike the orc with your blade..." and stuff like that. just wondering if i should use the "story" option when sending the text to players or just the "chat" where it'll say GM in italics.

what option do you guys use when describing combat?

[joshuha]

It depends on your style really.

I tend to relay things like that in story so it all stands out. Metegame answers and what not I tend to use the normal GM voice.

So I will describe what the characters see and experience in the bolded story voice. I do game mechanics and resolutions in the GM italic text.

[Xorn]

Pretty much the same for me. My group just recently started using the chat window for in-character and VoIP for out-of-character, and I've started using chat a lot more. The pace slows a tiny bit, but the immersion is much better, according to my players. I know I'm a lot more into it. Makes the chat logs a lot more interesting, too. :)

I use Story for anything that there shouldn't be a voice attached to. Descriptions of the environment (a yawning howl of wind erupts from the crypt as the seal is broken, ominously sending your cloaks buffeting away, as though they sought to flee this place), the results of combat (Ursk shrugs off the kobold's spear thrust, grabbing the haft still protruding from his leg and pulling the kobold into a mighty chop from his axe, killing the wretched thing.) or description of actions (Rubel sets the corner to his back, preparing to block any attack that comes his way).

I use GM text for anything that's just me talking, like requesting a skill check, hit roll, and basically any game mechanics. I use story a lot, by the way. We've sped our combat up. Players type what they want to do, and then I'll type the results after we adjucate the action.

So Chad (Ursk) says, "I'll chop that kobold in half with my axe."
He'll make his hit roll, I'll call out hit or miss over VoIP, and depending on how the swing went, make a Story comment to describe the action. Then we'll move to the next player. Getting pretty fast at it, too. Plus the next player is usually working out what he wants to do ahead of time. :)

[Griogre]

quick question: during combat, i like to describe the action, like "you strike the orc with your blade..." and stuff like that. just wondering if i should use the "story" option when sending the text to players or just the "chat" where it'll say GM in italics.

what option do you guys use when describing combat?
I use voice during combat, so I usually describe third person "flavor text" with voice. However, to answer your question - when I have run combat without voice like last week - I used story (bold) for 3rd person descriptions and emotes for 1st person descriptions. I prefer first person so I usually use emotes. If you like 1st person then you need to make sure you are familiar with the /id GM command which allows the GM to speak (or emote in this case) as anyone. In the example above if I didn't already have an Orc ID I would have typed /id Orc then hit return. Then I would have typed /e flinches from the sword wound.

A tip on the /id - it really can be anyone - including PC's. If you want to show damage on the PC with flavor text you can use this technique. IE say you have a fighter PC named Kaelia who just took a massive hit but is still alive. You could express this as: /id Kaelia (then press return). /e reels back from the force of the Giant's Mace. /e staggers on her feet, seriously wounded. (A moment of silence for Kaelia who got killed by a Giant’s Mace last session.)