Playing D&D at a distance - A GUIDE

Playing Dungeons & Dragons is a great way to spend time with friends & family who are in isolation, and stay connected with them. There are many ways to play online, but this guide will focus on a method called the “theater of the mind”. It will mainly cover the role of the dungeon master, and how to best prepare for, and subsequently run, a theater of the mind style game.

What is the “Theater of the Mind”?

Theater of the mind is a style of play that uses no miniatures or battlemaps, where all of the action takes place in the collective imagination of the group. This style of play can deliver wonderfully immersive stories, and requires you to learn no additional apps or websites. In addition, each player can organise themselves however they prefer, using either digital resources like online dice rollers and pdfs, or traditional paper character sheets and real dice.

What does it involve?

The important facets of running a game like this involve the following:

• Preparing flavourful descriptions and set pieces
• Using relative descriptions for combat
• Providing helpful reminders for players 
• Maintaining game etiquette during play

This guide will explore these facets below.

Preparing for a session

To run a theater of the mind style game, you will need to prepare a series of set pieces. A set piece represents an important character or location, with all the information you need to know about them collected in one place. For this way of playing, it is important to add a few lines of flavourful description that you can refer to when introducing the set piece to your players - This will help set the right mood, and ensure you don’t forget to communicate anything important.

A location set piece should include:

• A flavourful description of what it’s like inside.
• A list of the people (creatures) that can be found inside, including any important NPCs. 
• How those people (creatures) may respond to visitors (the player characters).
• A practical list of the items the player characters might find inside.
• Any number of plot hooks that could be discovered inside.
• Any number of game mechanics relevant to the location (ex: The skill check DC for finding the princess disguised as a maid)

A character set piece should include:

• A flavourful description of what it’s like to meet them.
• A list of the people (creatures) or organisations that they have a connection to, be that friendly or hostile.
• A practical list of the items the character may carry.
• Any number of plot hooks that involve the character.

You can move set pieces around at will! One big advantage of using theater of the mind is that a set piece only has to get “locked in place” after the adventurers have encountered it. Did they miss the witch’s hut they were supposed to find in the middle of the screaming forest? Now they might find it on the road to the weeping willow instead. Make liberal use of this freedom!

Creating flavourful descriptions

In a theater of the mind style game, it is important to paint a vivid picture to your players of what their characters are experiencing. The descriptions you prepare for your set pieces should be designed to inspire them, and to invite them to engage with the set piece. 

Begin such a narration with a simple explanation of the space, object or person you’re describing, and then add inspiring details to invite players to explore and interact. A good way to accomplish this is to hit on at least 2 of the 5 senses: Sight, Sound, Scent, Touch and Taste. 

Example: Entering the King’s Kitchen

Ending your description with a reminder of why the player characters have come to this place can be helpful. The example above assumes the characters came to the kitchens looking for the head chef - So it ends with the chef addressing them. Your players’ motivations for going places can be unpredictable, though, so more often than not you will be improvising that part of the narration.

Running combat scenes - without a battlemap or grid

Theater of the mind lacks a visual representation of the battle, and so it is important to make use of every opportunity you can to paint a clear picture of what’s going on around the players at any time. Everytime you, the dungeon master, give your players information about the fight is an opportunity to remind them of the scene that’s unfolding around them - and you should make good use of these opportunities.

Describing range and distances

A lot of features in Dungeons & Dragons are very specific about the range at which you can use them. When you play without a battle grid, keeping track of distances can become a difficult and confusing process.

Instead of describing distances in feet, describe distances in narrative terms, as they are relevant to the players. You shouldn’t stretch this beyond the distances indicated by the game, but using relative distances in your descriptions can help combat feel like a more integrated part of your collective story.

TIP: For a fight with multiple enemies or tricky terrain, sketch it out on a slip of paper that will help you to keep track of where your players and enemies are, and better inform your descriptions.

Etiquette over voice chat

The nature of theater of the mind games means that sometimes players will need a helpful reminder as to what’s going on around them. You may find that you need to remind players of the details of set pieces and combat scenarios much more often than in a game played around a physical table. Don’t forget to give players frequent cues and prompts during voice chat games.

During online play, sometimes people will speak at the same time - just make sure that everyone has a chance to be heard. If people are saying things at the same time, ask them to repeat themselves one by one. 

Be patient with each other. Miscommunications are bound to happen, and you or your players will, on occasion, get confused. If a player ends up doing something and regretting it when they gain a better understanding of the situation, it’s okay to rewind a turn or retcon an event here and there! 

Q&A

I hope this guide can be useful to you! If you are left with any questions, please ask them in the comments, and I will do my best to answer them. If there are any frequent questions, I will add the answers to them to the guide.

Have fun playing with your friends!

Cheers,
- Niels