In a fir of nerdstalgia, last night I was reading through the original 1E Fiend Folio and happened upon the entry for Lolth. Though a minor goddess and Demon Queen, Lolth has only 66 hit points (but a very, very good AC, to be fair; this is even mentioned in the entry). So I started flipping through the book as well as the 1E MM and realized how low the hit point values are on various creatures. Certainly, the damage capabilities of most characters are also low (high level mages notwithstanding). So I pulled out the 2E MM -- PCs have roughly the same "power" as their 1E counterparts, but many of the monsters (dragons in particular) have many more hit points.
Moving to 3E, you see a major hit point boost for all but the lowliest of "mook" monsters -- as well as a massive increase in PC damage potential (except for the Wizard, interestingly). I haven't run the numbers, so I am not sure if it turns out a wash or not.
4E increases monster hit points again, but this time reigning in the PC damage potential by a wide margin.
Because combat is so central to the game, whatever the edition, and hit point attrition is by and large the determinant of lengths of combat, I wonder what impact the hit point inflation trend of the game throughout its editions has on play. How has the tactical; aspect of the game changed throughout the editions, due to this element, and how do players respond to the changing circumstances? How do "mooks" and "minions" fir in to the equation, and where does PC level figure in? When, in fact, does any given monster become a mook or minion?
Moving to 3E, you see a major hit point boost for all but the lowliest of "mook" monsters -- as well as a massive increase in PC damage potential (except for the Wizard, interestingly). I haven't run the numbers, so I am not sure if it turns out a wash or not.
4E increases monster hit points again, but this time reigning in the PC damage potential by a wide margin.
Because combat is so central to the game, whatever the edition, and hit point attrition is by and large the determinant of lengths of combat, I wonder what impact the hit point inflation trend of the game throughout its editions has on play. How has the tactical; aspect of the game changed throughout the editions, due to this element, and how do players respond to the changing circumstances? How do "mooks" and "minions" fir in to the equation, and where does PC level figure in? When, in fact, does any given monster become a mook or minion?