Stayin' Alive (in Theatre of the Mind)

[NecessaryWeevil]

Hi again playground,

the DM for the new campaign I've joined is using Theatre of the Mind instead of the grid I'm used to for encounters. I'm staying away from a few spells I was otherwise considering (e.g. Longstrider) because of this, but I'm struggling with another aspect: I'm playing a bard, probably going Lore, and my Dex is only 14, meaning my AC is currently 13 and unlikely to get significantly better without significant multiclassing or feat adjustments (don't have the WIS to MC in cleric and would rather not anyway). If playing on a grid, I could stay somewhat safe by looking at movement ranges, staying behind the frontliners, utilizing cover etc. But the DM is pretty much just rolling the dice to see who gets targeted except in cases like the last fight in which I was explicitly walking into the room, firing off Vicious Mockery, and walking out again during my turn.

So: any tips for staying alive in Theatre of the Mind combat?

[Unoriginal]

Theatre of the Mind should still use moving speed, ranges, covers and the like, though.

[JellyPooga]

TotM is all about how you describe what you're doing. If you, for example, say "I move into the room behind the Fighter, following him as he moves from cover to cover and enjoying the protection of his stalwart presence" and the GM ignores those details by having you attacked without mentioning the possibility of OA's or the benefits of cover, both you and the (hypothetical) PAM+Sentinel Fighter have pretty legitimate cause for complaint.

[Tanarii]

Your DM isn't playing theatre of the mind, he's playing house-ruled no-grid combat.


Theatre of the Mind should still use moving speed, ranges, covers and the like, though.
Basically, this.