Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
How do you handle hit points?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Scott Graves" data-source="post: 7589889" data-attributes="member: 6981164"><p>First off, are you sure you don't want to switch to GURPS... One good sword blow can kill anyone no matter the experience. That system has Parry, Dodge and Block options to evade the blow or take the hit on a shield. If your players find themselves wanting to put more details into their combat, like "I want to hit the orc in the head" then they want to play GURPS. Steve Jackson Games. A lot more detail, but a lot more realistic combat. </p><p></p><p>As far as description of the melee I reserve details for huge hits. For instance the Rouge hits an Orc with her thrown dagger and does 5 points of damage. No need for description. The Ranger fires his arrow from his +1 longbow using hunters mark and all the other stuff he gets at 5th level and does 39 points of damage to the orc. That deserves a "The orcs heart is ripped from his body and stuck to the building behind him." The Paladin rolls a Critical Hit on a Smite attack with his magic sword and deals 30 points to the Dragon. That deserves a "A eight inch long slash is ripped open across the right forearm of the dragon making it recoil in a pain it hasn't felt in a century." If the Veteran Fighter gets smacked for 1/3 of it's Hit Points a "He steps back shaking off the pain of your strike. His next swing seems less powerful than the last one." </p><p></p><p>I avoid talking about specific body parts being severed. A wound to a body part is fine as long as you remember to not say it again or else some player is bound to say "is it cut off yet?" slowing everyone down. If the player is obnoxious enough remind them that whatever they do to the badguys (like target limbs and such) you will have bad guys do to them. Makes that "I used to be an Adventurer until I took a Warhammer to the knee" meme take on a whole new meaning. </p><p></p><p>The Joy of D&D is the ease of getting through a combat. With eight players I can get through four heavy combats in four hours with D&D. With four players I can get through two similarly heavy combats in four hours with GURPS. SOme nights of GURPS I plan the whole session as a combat with some groups. Not joking. Threaten them with GURPS a few times and they will be happy for D&D.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Scott Graves, post: 7589889, member: 6981164"] First off, are you sure you don't want to switch to GURPS... One good sword blow can kill anyone no matter the experience. That system has Parry, Dodge and Block options to evade the blow or take the hit on a shield. If your players find themselves wanting to put more details into their combat, like "I want to hit the orc in the head" then they want to play GURPS. Steve Jackson Games. A lot more detail, but a lot more realistic combat. As far as description of the melee I reserve details for huge hits. For instance the Rouge hits an Orc with her thrown dagger and does 5 points of damage. No need for description. The Ranger fires his arrow from his +1 longbow using hunters mark and all the other stuff he gets at 5th level and does 39 points of damage to the orc. That deserves a "The orcs heart is ripped from his body and stuck to the building behind him." The Paladin rolls a Critical Hit on a Smite attack with his magic sword and deals 30 points to the Dragon. That deserves a "A eight inch long slash is ripped open across the right forearm of the dragon making it recoil in a pain it hasn't felt in a century." If the Veteran Fighter gets smacked for 1/3 of it's Hit Points a "He steps back shaking off the pain of your strike. His next swing seems less powerful than the last one." I avoid talking about specific body parts being severed. A wound to a body part is fine as long as you remember to not say it again or else some player is bound to say "is it cut off yet?" slowing everyone down. If the player is obnoxious enough remind them that whatever they do to the badguys (like target limbs and such) you will have bad guys do to them. Makes that "I used to be an Adventurer until I took a Warhammer to the knee" meme take on a whole new meaning. The Joy of D&D is the ease of getting through a combat. With eight players I can get through four heavy combats in four hours with D&D. With four players I can get through two similarly heavy combats in four hours with GURPS. SOme nights of GURPS I plan the whole session as a combat with some groups. Not joking. Threaten them with GURPS a few times and they will be happy for D&D. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
How do you handle hit points?
Top