GUIDELINES FOR

THEATER-OF-THE-MIND
COMBAT
The following guidelines can help Gamemasters run
combat in the “theater of the mind,” without the need SUMMARY GUIDELINES
for a gridded battle map or miniatures. This style of
combat takes the emphasis away from tactical features
FOR THE GM
such as distance, range, and the specific size of areas • Each turn, describe the situation surrounding
of effect. Instead, it focuses on the in-game action, the characters.
the intent of the characters, and what happens in • Ask for the players’ intent and help them achieve it.
the story. • Be generous. Give players the benefit of the doubt.
• Use ability checks to let the characters try crazy ideas.
This style of combat works just like any other scene
in your game. On each player’s turn, you describe the • Ask the players to describe interesting physical
current situation, the players describe their intent, characteristics of the monsters, and use these
and you adjudicate what happens as a result. to identify monsters during combat.
• Bring characters into the story by asking them
Theater-of-the-mind combat requires that the players to describe their killing blows.
trust you as the Gamemaster, knowing that you’ll • When needed, use sketches, abstract maps, or
describe the situation and adjudicate the results of the miniatures to show complicated locations and
characters’ actions fairly. As the GM, you’ll earn this relative positions.
trust by favoring the players whenever possible, and
by focusing on sharing an action-packed story.

Running theater-of-the-mind combat removes agency

SUMMARY GUIDELINES
from the players. It takes away their ability to control FOR PLAYERS
every aspect of how their characters move and what • Describe your intent. What you want to accomplish?
they do. As GM, you can mitigate this by asking each
• Use the features of the area to your advantage.
player for their intent each turn, then helping them
meet that intent. For example, a player who says “I • Don’t worry about specific distances. Just describe
move close to the orcs” potentially leaves too many what you want to do.
possibilities open. So encourage the player to focus • Try awesome ideas based on the details of the location.
their intent more—perhaps along the lines of, “I want • Describe your character’s actions within the story.
to position myself so that at least two orcs are within
the reach of my glaive.”

When playing in the theater of the mind, both you

MOVEMENT, DISTANCE, AND RANGE
At the beginning of combat, you describe the situation,
and the players must worry less about the mechanical
features, distances, and arrangements of the creatures
details of the game. Instead, everyone will focus on
in the area. Assuming a moderately sized combat area,
the action and the story.
any creature can generally move within 5 feet of any
other creature, and every creature is within range of
every other creature making ranged attacks. You’ll
make it clear whenever this isn’t true, such as when
an enemy is farther away or behind a front line of
protective allies.

Characters with fast movement might have

opportunities to move places other characters can’t.

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POSITIONING, OPPORTUNITY LOCATIONS, FEATURES,
ATTACKS, AND COVER ENVIRONMENT, AND TERRAIN
On each player’s turn, they describe how they intend When first describing the combat encounter, describe
to position themselves. Examples of movement in the notable locations, objects, environmental features,
theater of the mind might include moving next to an and terrain features. Write these down and keep them
ally, moving next to two enemies, or staying out of in front of the players if it helps them visualize the
reach while attacking with a polearm. battlefield. Let the players know that they can interact
with these environmental features, through such
If a creature is within an enemy’s reach, it will likely actions as swinging from magical chandeliers, climbing
provoke an opportunity attack if it tries to move away up obsidian cliffs to advantageous positions, or hiding
from that enemy. Creatures able to disengage can do so behind ruined statues. If any feature or effect creates
and avoid opportunity attacks. difficult terrain, let the players know how this might
affect them, such as requiring that they use the Dash
As you describe the features of the area, make a note of
action to get out of the area.
which ones can provide cover to the characters or their
enemies, and how much cover.
RANDOMLY SELECTED TARGETS
AREAS OF EFFECT Avoid biases—whether perceived or actual—by
randomly selecting targets when it isn’t clear which
The following guidelines offer a rough baseline for
character a monster would attack. Rolling randomly
determining the number of targets that fall within
for targets in the open can help build trust between
an area of effect. The circumstances of a battle can
you and the players, letting them know that the
increase or decrease this number. For example, for
GM isn’t picking on anyone. Monsters aren’t idiots,
larger monsters or monsters that are more spread out,
though. If it’s clear that a monster would attack a
an area of effect might target only half the normal
particular character, such as a wizard concentrating
number of creatures. For smaller monsters or monsters
on a dangerous spell, the monster will do so. When
that are packed close together, an area of effect might
this happens, just describe why the monster chose that
include up to double the normal number of targets.
particular character, so the players understand.
• Tiny Area: 1 or 2 creatures (cloud of daggers)
•
•
Small Area: 2 creatures (burning hands, thunderwave)
Large Area: 4 creatures (cone of cold, fireball)
PHYSICAL TRAITS AND
• Huge Area: Everyone (circle of death, earthquake) IDENTIFYING ENEMIES
• Short Line: 2 creatures (wall of fire) Ask each player to describe the physical traits of a
• Long Line: 3 creatures (blade barrier, lightning bolt) monster their character is attacking. This helps identify
the monster, opens up all the players’ imaginations to
Abilities like the evoker’s Sculpt Spells feature can the battle, and helps everyone know which monster is
increase the number of affected enemies, usually by which using in-story descriptions. Write these physical
one or two. Likewise, an area of effect that targets both traits down on a 3×5 index card or on a dry-erase flip
the characters and their enemies might affect more mat so everyone can see which monsters are in play.
total targets—including an effect created by a character
or monster willing to put allies in harm’s way. If a
spellcaster character wishes to place allies within an GOING BIG WITH DESCRIPTIONS
area of effect, you and the players should negotiate this Theater-of-the-mind combat can go stale if you don’t
before the spell is cast. continually reinforce the story of what’s happening.
Go big with your descriptions of the location and the
action. Ask players to describe their attacks and killing
blows. Between turns, describe the current situation
using in-story language. These descriptions are vital to
keeping the scene interesting.

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