What do you see in your head in Theater of the Mind?

[Thomas Shey]

My group uses TotM exclusively and always has. Though these days we play games that aren't as combat-intensive as D&D.

Assuming you GMed these, do you have enough spatial memory to keep the balls in the air? That's my issue, I'm not only not visual, but I can't keep track of positioning without a visual representation for any length of time.

 

[The Shadow]

Assuming you GMed these, do you have enough spatial memory to keep the balls in the air? That's my issue, I'm not only not visual, but I can't keep track of positioning without a visual representation for any length of time.

I rarely GM, and never did at the time we played D&D.

Come to think, I did GM a playtest adventure during D&D Next. It went fine, though I won't claim that I had the monsters using complex tactics. Yes, I have a bit of trouble keeping track of everything.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

I answered the first option as it seemed to be the closest, but it is still an exaggeration. It is more blurry than vague than seeing a real movie, but still something like this. Also, such mental image isn't necessarily so great at accurately judging exact numerical details required for game play such as distances. Like even if you were watching a real movie judging such things based on scenes would be somewhat difficult. So for more complicated combats I use maps. And one of my players is aphantastic, so they particularly appreciate that I do.

With less crunchy games I personally am pretty fine with TotM. Or for situations where there aren't that many participants or several important terrain details. I am also a bit particular how I prefer the visual presentation when it is provided. I prefer more abstract markers and token over miniatures or or tokens with pictures, as that visual presentation provided often doesn't exactly match what is being described, but will affect the visualisation nevertheless.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Full visualization, though when I'm describing the positioning of everyone in a battle, that's generally just a still picture.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I rarely GM, and never did at the time we played D&D.

Come to think, I did GM a playtest adventure during D&D Next. It went fine, though I won't claim that I had the monsters using complex tactics. Yes, I have a bit of trouble keeping track of everything.

Well, this isn't just an issue for D&D; any game that cares to any significant degree about distance and positioning (and an awful lot do to one degree or another) kind of needs you to remember what those are, and I have trouble just remembering what the layout is without visual representation, let alone where all the combatants are.

 

[J.Quondam]

I voted "Rough sketches, blurry images" for what happens in my head during most gaming. In practice, though, it's probably more like an amalgam of "Just keeping track" along with plenty of "zooming in" to higher resolution details as needed.

Minis (or coins, glass counters, M&Minis, whatever) and rough sketches on paper/whiteboard have been the norm at most tables I've played at. Such "crude" representations have pretty much always helped rather than hindered my own ToTM. Detailed gridded maps are fine, too; I can take 'em or leave 'em most of the time, unless needed for a highly tactical game.

 

[moriantumr]

One of my favorite parts of having aphantasia is that nothing is ever how I picture it, because I can’t. It makes so many more things enjoyable for me to not have preconceived ideas of visuals/sounds for any media or games I consume.
When I gm I prefer to play totm because mapping is taxing because I can’t just lay something out because I don’t have a reference in my mind

 

[aco175]

I could always picture where my PC was and how I thought the others were, but the DM had a different picture and my PC was always attacked when I thought differently.

 

[Thomas Shey]

I could always picture where my PC was and how I thought the others were, but the DM had a different picture and my PC was always attacked when I thought differently.

This is why, again barring the occasional game where position, movement and distance is almost irrelevant, I will not run without at least a minimal ability to show the situation and position as a map as a GM, and pretty strongly dislike it as a player.

 

[cranberry]

I'm a visual person. Theatre of the mind is challenging for me, but I know that it makes things easier for the DM.