General RPG DiscussionDiscussion of all RPGs and non-system-specific topics. DM/GM/player issues, settings, etc. Rules discussion belongs in one the forums below.
In D&D anything that can draw blood is considered to do damage. Even a house cat is considered to have a bite/claw/claw(claw/claw) attack routine. With every attack doing a minimum of one point of damage Garfield can shred the average mook in seconds. Even in 4th edition a horde of angry gerbils can strip an adventurer to the bone in seconds.
Where am I going with this?
Okay, Yesterday I had to deal with an enraged Kinkajou. (Don't laugh, it's in the raccoon family. They have teeth.) And in spite of sustaining several scratches and a few good bites including one where the tooth was actually hooked in my flesh and I had to pry her jaws apart so I could move up and off the tooth... I'm still not convinced I took an actual point of damage. I feel no closer to death. I don't feel less capable of dodging an incoming blow. I don't need a bards song to lift my spirits to get back on my feet. I would have taken out another animal it wasn't that I get yelled at for bleeding at the public.
So how much damage is a point of damage?
__________________ -Andor
"Congratulations. You just invented 'negligent regicide.'" - Schlock Mercenary
I'd say you were an NPC. How much damage the kinkagejolojoo did to you is irrelevant to forwarding the story, so he dm fiat decided it did none. It will only matter when Hagar and Veronica decide to come steal your jewels or usurp your throne.
So you still might be a minion. Or you are a Solo leader.
Oh... That's not the question...
A point of damage is enough to put you one point closer to death.
__________________ Game on, gang! Ptolus #16 (with customized, personalized sig from Monte. Awesomesauce.), Rappan Athuk Reloaded #37 (Another Awesomesauce, the Necromancer way.)
Try to not let failure to use technical language properly get in the way of getting to the real point under discussion. - Umbran
Characters & Games
Books currently in play: Dungeon & Dragon Magazine (*Scales of War AP*), WOTC 4e Core and Supplemental books
Current Campaign: Scales of War - Lost Mines of Karak -- Kodirgo, Minotaur Barbarian 6; Vondal, Dwarf Cleric 6; Karithul, Gnome Bard 6; Marshaun, Elf Druid 6
Last edited by catsclaw227; 28th June 2009 at 03:42 AM..
I always think of 1 point of damage as those inconsequential blows in a battle that leave a mark but don't really hinder the injured party appreciably.
I'd say, OP, that you took at least one point of damage. Might as well go do an extended rest.
Okay, Yesterday I had to deal with an enraged Kinkajou. (Don't laugh, it's in the raccoon family. They have teeth.) And in spite of sustaining several scratches and a few good bites including one where the tooth was actually hooked in my flesh and I had to pry her jaws apart so I could move up and off the tooth... I'm still not convinced I took an actual point of damage. I feel no closer to death. I don't feel less capable of dodging an incoming blow. I don't need a bards song to lift my spirits to get back on my feet. I would have taken out another animal it wasn't that I get yelled at for bleeding at the public.
That makes perfect sense. HP loss doesn't affect your abilities until the hit that drops you to zero or below.
__________________ We can lick gravity, but sometimes the paperwork is overwhelming. - Werner von Braun
Right now you have no idea how lucky you are that I am not a sociopath. - A sign seen above my desk.
Never confuse movement with action. - Ernest Hemingway
Important Note: In 4e, there is no minimum 1 point of damage rule anymore. In fact the rules even site an example where you can do 0 points of damage. So an army of fluffy bunnies remain fluffy!
Being bit by an enraged wild animal is bad. I'd suggest you clean your scratches and bits REALLY well and (if I were you) I'd get myself to a Urgent Care or Emergency Room to make sure I was safe.
__________________
It only surprised me up until around 1977, ... I had thought we were going to have a considerable audience of gamers and science fiction and fantasy fans. I thought easily with those we'd have 50,000 or more [buyers], but when people began to write me [with questions] about what fantasy books to read, and I saw the wide range of both younger and older people who were attracted to the game, I understood that it was reaching a deeper chord, something deep within us. E. Gary Gygax (July 27, 1938 March 4, 2008)
Okay, Yesterday I had to deal with an enraged Kinkajou. (Don't laugh, it's in the raccoon family. They have teeth.) And in spite of sustaining several scratches and a few good bites including one where the tooth was actually hooked in my flesh and I had to pry her jaws apart so I could move up and off the tooth... I'm still not convinced I took an actual point of damage. I feel no closer to death. I don't feel less capable of dodging an incoming blow. I don't need a bards song to lift my spirits to get back on my feet. I would have taken out another animal it wasn't that I get yelled at for bleeding at the public.
In the heat of battle you did not feel the pain.
Then you used one of your healing surges.
And thank you for solving this mystery... healing surges heal damage, but they do not stop the bleeding.
__________________ "Democracy must be something more than two gnolls and an elf voting on what to have for dinner."
Okay, Yesterday I had to deal with an enraged Kinkajou. (Don't laugh, it's in the raccoon family. They have teeth.) And in spite of sustaining several scratches and a few good bites including one where the tooth was actually hooked in my flesh and I had to pry her jaws apart so I could move up and off the tooth... I'm still not convinced I took an actual point of damage. I feel no closer to death. I don't feel less capable of dodging an incoming blow. I don't need a bards song to lift my spirits to get back on my feet. I would have taken out another animal it wasn't that I get yelled at for bleeding at the public.
So how much damage is a point of damage?
I don't think you did, either...
I once took 1, perhaps 2, hit points (it very well may have been a critical hit ) of damage from a cat that bit me. It left several deep gashes in my right hand, and left my entire hand swollen and achy with a mild infection. I defenitely had trouble opening and closing my hand for a day or two after ward until the infection cleared up. That definitely would have made it more difficult to wield a weapon and fight -- I couldn't grip anything properly -- should I have had the need to... and I've still got the scars. After two days, the wound was "healed" by D&D standards, but the cuts and bruises didn't completely vanish for almost two weeks.
Also, I've experienced several bike crashes that likely dealt one or more d6's of damage. The worst one was a spill I took at about 20 mph that left me with bruises all down one side of my body, a strained shoulder and a slightly broken rib... it's hard to estimate exactly how many hit points of damage that was, but had I been a 4E character, I think I'd definitely have been "bloodied". It took a good week or two before I wasn't feeling debilitated by that injury.
__________________ The Pbartender
"I don't believe it. There she goes again! She's tidied up, and I can't find anything! All my tubes and wires and careful notes and antiquated notions..." - Thomas Dolby
Andy the originator, Mega the drama queen, Mania the insane, Al whom uses movie quotes to connect with the world he did not create, Ugh- primal urges and the only sane one of the group and DarkMania the Sith Lord
Lovin' the four 'B's of life- Beer, Babes, Buffets and Bombs. just being funny
Important Note: In 4e, there is no minimum 1 point of damage rule anymore. In fact the rules even site an example where you can do 0 points of damage. So an army of fluffy bunnies remain fluffy!
Fluffy my butt! A rabbit broke my car once! Ok, it was a texas jackrabbit, not a fluffy little bunny but still.... Rabbits can be mean. Although I suppose "Hitting your car really hard" is not a conventional attack form.
Good to hear they fixed that rule though. I was never a fan of 1st level mages getting mauled to death by playful puppies.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hjorimir
Being bit by an enraged wild animal is bad. I'd suggest you clean your scratches and bits REALLY well and (if I were you) I'd get myself to a Urgent Care or Emergency Room to make sure I was safe.
No worries. It was an enraged zoo animal, not wild. And I'm up to date on tetnus and rabies anyway. Plus 2 days later looks like no infection at all. Yay betadine.
__________________ -Andor
"Congratulations. You just invented 'negligent regicide.'" - Schlock Mercenary
Fluffy my butt! A rabbit broke my car once! Ok, it was a texas jackrabbit, not a fluffy little bunny but still.... Rabbits can be mean. Although I suppose "Hitting your car really hard" is not a conventional attack form.
A fluffy bunny was what caused the aforementioned bicycle crash that broke my rib.
__________________ The Pbartender
"I don't believe it. There she goes again! She's tidied up, and I can't find anything! All my tubes and wires and careful notes and antiquated notions..." - Thomas Dolby
Also you're just not meeting the right tieflings. 
Linear Mode
And yet another word from our sponsors
