D&D 5E DMs of EN World: How do YOU assign HP to monsters?

Lanefan

Victoria Rules

• Jan 27, 2018

• #51

Satyrn said:

. . . I wonder if, taking a cue from AD&D, capping AC at 20 would improve the game. Well, as a 6e sort of idea.

Click to expand...

Arguments could be made either way. For my own part I've never really liked the hard cap in 1e - hell, if someone can get their AC down to -11 more power to 'em - but to get a non-temporary AC below -10 involves a huge amount of magic; the cost of which is thus not being spent on offense. And armour etc. can still be destroyed by area-effect damage and some bad saves...

I think the best I've ever seen in a game I've DMed was someone got to -11 for a while; -10 is the best in anything I've played in. That said, I've seen quite a few -8s and -9s - those next few points are really hard to get, so it works almost like a soft cap which is IMO far preferable to a hard cap.

Lan-"yes I know this is supposed to be about h.p. - sorry 'bout that"-efan

 

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LordEntrails

Hero

• Jan 27, 2018

• #52

Random. Because I can do it with a single setting in Fantasy Grounds so it given the randomness for the players (they enjoy it) and it takes me zero time to do it.

In years past, when I was on paper I would use standard, and they players always knew how many more average hits until each creature was dead.

 

alienux

Explorer

• Jan 29, 2018

• #53

I roll, but if possible, I do it ahead of time. I generally know where the party could go, and what encounters they might run into, so I roll monster HP for those charts pre-game session and keep them on a piece of paper out of sight of the players. That way, when they get to an encounter, I can still use the random HP values, but I don't have to stop and roll to interrupt game flow.

 

Y

Yes

Explorer

• Jan 29, 2018

• #54

Average amount for each opponent. If the first one drops too fast or I feel like the combat will be too easy or if my init roll for all the monsters sucks I give them all max hp. I have this unspoken rule that either I adjust their HP on the fly at the very start of the fight before any of the bad guys gets killed, or it's too late.

 

B

BigBadDM

Explorer

• Jan 31, 2018

• #55

Generally I give the monsters the average listed in the book.
If a monster is a boss/leader type I usually give them full HP.
If it is a single creature I usually give them full HP (though I tend to stay away from single enemy encounters). I tend to add an environmental variable if I do.
If the battle is becoming tedious (too many enemies for example) I might lower the hit points --but usually I bring in a trap/environment condition as an AOE (as it adds tension)
If the battle is going to fast, I try to bring in reinforcements rather than boost HP on the fly (as it adds to tension).
For BBEG, I never have them act alone anymore as HP does not matter as far as creating something memorable.
For BBEG, always have minions. And I try to have some 'lair action' that acts on init 10 every round. (again adds tension).
Sometimes a monster with 1 HP is more fun that 100 HP. You punch the ogre in the face--its nose crunches into its skull and dies. The other Ogres rage with fury.

Overall I feel HP of monsters do very little to the game. They come in handy with a creature as a special ability you want them to use. But otherwise it is no indication of the fun to be had at the combat table.

 

S

sim-h

Explorer

• Jan 31, 2018

• #56

For generic monsters I roll them. For named NPCs etc I take the suggested stat block figure

Currently instead of rolling actual dice I'm using a spreadsheet with formulas that auto-generates the hitpoints for all my monsters. Cut and pasting the rows means I can 'roll up' a dozen monsters very quickly. I also use the sheet to track initiative and damage and monster stats etc without having to flick through books

E.g. zombies:
=((INT(RAND()*8)+1)+(INT(RAND()*8)+1)+(INT(RAND()*8)+1)+9)

 

D

DRF

First Post

• Jan 31, 2018

• #57

I use average from the MM. I actually hadn't realized some people roll! I'm still fairly new to DM'ing. I can see the advantages; I've had fights where PCs fought a large'ish group of monsters, and they eventually figure out how much damage they have to deal. I don't like when players learn that stuff, so having monsters with different HP levels seems neat. I might do that in the future.

I've extended the life of a monster for another round if the combat was too short and/or easy. I've also done it once for a BBEG because otherwise it would've been very anti-climatic. I honestly try to fudge as few dice as possible because I do want to let the dice tell the story, but occasionally I think clever use of on-the-fly changes/fudging can increase tension, excitement and enjoyment. I would never screw over a player in this way; my goal is always making the game more interesting for them.

 

Edwin Suijkerbuijk

Explorer

• Jan 31, 2018

• #58

When it comes tot monster hitpoints I mostly use the avarage from the stat block
I somtimes vary it a bit, for example in a pack of wolves there migt be a alpha with max HP and a runt of the litter with minimum hp . Things Luke knowlage nature dan be used tot identify thema

 

R

Ratskinner

Adventurer

• Jul 10, 2018

• #59

Satyrn said:

. . . I wonder if, taking a cue from AD&D, capping AC at 20 would improve the game. Well, as a 6e sort of idea.

Click to expand...

Lately I've been wondering if AC, HP, and proficiency/"to hit" shouldn't all be capped or relatively static like Dungeon World. Somebody just recently kitbashed a version they called "homebrew world" and it looks very nice.

 

JediSoth

Voice Over Artist & Author

Epic

• Jul 10, 2018

• #60

I usually use the average in the stat block. The only time I don't when I'm feeling fairly confident the PCs will completely obliterate that monster and I want them to have a bit more of a challenge (usually only for climatic battles). In those cases, I'll just bump it up to max HP.