Storytelling in D&D
Feb. 3rd, 2026 05:27 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerIn a comment on one of my recent posts about my Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) game someone remarked, "It's all Greek to me!" I get it, a lot of times when we fans talk about tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs), of which D&D is a classic, we use so many specialized words and phrases it can sound like a foreign language. For example, who else remembers THAC0? Not to mention, a lot of what we might be talking about is elaborate rules and calculations.
The remark, "It's all Greek to me" kind of stung, though. That's because I strive in how I write about my D&D games here to avoid citing rules and math and esoteric terms and instead write descriptively. I want to tell a story the same way the author of a science-fiction/fantasy novel would, or the way you'd describe a scene in a movie.
My purpose here isn't to complain about the remark (note I'm not naming anyone) but to illustrate the difference between how I like to describe D&D scenes versus how esoteric real "It's all Greek to me" descriptions can be. In the famous words of naval hero John Paul Jones, "I have not yet begun to Greek!" 😂
Let's take what's going on in this scene as an example:
This is an initiative card I illustrated with the help of AI. It depicts, roughly, something that happened in one of the scenes in my D&D game recently. Here's how I described it in the journal entry I posted the other day:
That's not speaking in tongues, is it? That's descriptive. It's cinematic. It's storytelling.
Storytelling is what I strive for TTRPGs. Yes, it's hard with the "crunchy" games; the games like D&D that have a lot of detailed rules and arithmetic to resolve what's happening in a situation.
How bad can crunchy get? How much like Greek can it seem? Consider this abbreviated transcript of how this scene played out at the table:
Good lord, that's tedious, isn't it? Was that like trying to read The Odyssey in the original Greek? This is what we sign up to go through at the gaming table when we play rules-heavy games D&D. But even at the gaming table, let alone when I'm retelling the story later, I like to summarize the outcome of all the rules-checking and math with a storytelling narrative like in the first quote above.
The remark, "It's all Greek to me" kind of stung, though. That's because I strive in how I write about my D&D games here to avoid citing rules and math and esoteric terms and instead write descriptively. I want to tell a story the same way the author of a science-fiction/fantasy novel would, or the way you'd describe a scene in a movie.
My purpose here isn't to complain about the remark (note I'm not naming anyone) but to illustrate the difference between how I like to describe D&D scenes versus how esoteric real "It's all Greek to me" descriptions can be. In the famous words of naval hero John Paul Jones, "I have not yet begun to Greek!" 😂
Let's take what's going on in this scene as an example:
This is an initiative card I illustrated with the help of AI. It depicts, roughly, something that happened in one of the scenes in my D&D game recently. Here's how I described it in the journal entry I posted the other day:
Ryuu-Han posted up several paces back from the fray, at the foot of a grand staircase. This is where he could be most effective. He traced a pattern with his fingers in the air as he spoke words in an ancient language, compelling invisible energies of the universe to create fire. A scorching ray shot from his outstretched finger as he complete chanting the words of power, searing through the air and burning the owlbear's hide.
That's not speaking in tongues, is it? That's descriptive. It's cinematic. It's storytelling.
Storytelling is what I strive for TTRPGs. Yes, it's hard with the "crunchy" games; the games like D&D that have a lot of detailed rules and arithmetic to resolve what's happening in a situation.
How bad can crunchy get? How much like Greek can it seem? Consider this abbreviated transcript of how this scene played out at the table:
Ryuu-Han entered the great hall, using up most of his 30' Move Action to reach a square at the bottom of the stairs. It was a safe spot well beyond of the owlbear's Threat Range. Ryuu-Han has weak AC and Hit Points so can't risk Melee combat.
Ryuu-Han checked the stats on Scorching Ray, one of his better spells. It didn't require a Material Component— a good thing, because it meant he didn't have to spend another Move Action fishing something like powdered sulfur out of his pack.
Ryuu-Han also checked the spell's range. "Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)" meant 35 feet. And the owlbear was just 25 feet away. Perfect!
Ryuu-Han cast the spell then made a Ranged Touch Attack roll. That's a d20 roll +3. The +3 bonus includes his +2 Base Attack Bonus and the +1 he gets for his Weapon Focus (Ray) feat. He rolls a 12 on the d20, for a total of 15.
The owlbear's Touch AC is lower than its normal AC because Touch AC excludes Armor and Natural Armor but includes Dexterity and Dodge bonuses. The owlbear's Touch AC is 10, so Ryuu-Han's 15 is a hit!
Next Ryuu-Han rolls damage. Scorching Ray does 4d6. Throwing 4 dice and adding up the result yields 16 HP damage. And there's no Saving Throw, so the monster takes full damage. Boom
Ryuu-Han checked the stats on Scorching Ray, one of his better spells. It didn't require a Material Component— a good thing, because it meant he didn't have to spend another Move Action fishing something like powdered sulfur out of his pack.
Ryuu-Han also checked the spell's range. "Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)" meant 35 feet. And the owlbear was just 25 feet away. Perfect!
Ryuu-Han cast the spell then made a Ranged Touch Attack roll. That's a d20 roll +3. The +3 bonus includes his +2 Base Attack Bonus and the +1 he gets for his Weapon Focus (Ray) feat. He rolls a 12 on the d20, for a total of 15.
The owlbear's Touch AC is lower than its normal AC because Touch AC excludes Armor and Natural Armor but includes Dexterity and Dodge bonuses. The owlbear's Touch AC is 10, so Ryuu-Han's 15 is a hit!
Next Ryuu-Han rolls damage. Scorching Ray does 4d6. Throwing 4 dice and adding up the result yields 16 HP damage. And there's no Saving Throw, so the monster takes full damage. Boom
Good lord, that's tedious, isn't it? Was that like trying to read The Odyssey in the original Greek? This is what we sign up to go through at the gaming table when we play rules-heavy games D&D. But even at the gaming table, let alone when I'm retelling the story later, I like to summarize the outcome of all the rules-checking and math with a storytelling narrative like in the first quote above.
