So we all know about 'suspension of disbelief' -- it's when you ignore the fact that you're reading fiction, in order to better appreciate what's supposedly happening within the fiction.

Here's something D&D players might recognize: suspension of fiction -- when you ignore that you're telling a story at the table, in order to better follow the supposed rules of the game.

D&D starts training you on this early. It needs you to be able to perform these mental gymnastics at will. So, you get practice from the very first damage roll, usually.

Almost every attack will, at least in the beginning, be described as a lethal blow. After all, it's the player's job to describe what they're doing, and to make it sound cool. Then, of course, you roll damage, and oops, turns out no. The orc doesn't die from having his head chopped right off. Perhaps he didn't even get his head chopped off in the first place!

Now you might say, in fact the proper way to do things is to describe only the beginning of your attack, then roll, then describe the resolution or let the DM do that part. "I raise my axe in a feint, then lunge in, trying to knock him off balance for the killing stroke... [7] ...but he doesn't take the bait." And sure. But that's not how it's ever gonna happen for a newbie. Instead, they're gonna have to suspend their fiction, plain and simple.