Keeping track of monsters hp

[DEFCON 1]

Since damage numbers mean nothing, I'd just stop rolling damage altogether and either make up numbers (I hit him for 173 points of damage), or else start giving percentages of hit points lost (I hit him for 1/4th of his hp.) Since the "dice" are no longer the "fun" part of combat, I'd amuse myself by finding all different ways of describing how much damage I do.

- I hit him for 2 pints of blood loss.
- I hit him and cut his left arm off at the elbow.
- I hit him sixteen times in the stomach.
- I hit him so hard he has to make a death save.
- I hit him for as much damage as a piano dropping on your foot.
- I hit him for 16 hit points for every wound he's thus far suffered in combat.
- I hit him and kill him.
- I hit him and he releases his bowels.
- I hit him for 12 wounds.

Do all this stuff and just see what the DM says or does. Heck, if it was me, I wouldn't even roll to hit... I'd just say I did every time and let him worry about it.

 

[Scribble]

Wonder if he's just tracking # of hits? Like 4 hits and it's dead.

 

[herrozerro]

Wonder if he's just tracking # of hits? Like 4 hits and it's dead.

then damage is moot, might as well just go for hyper accuracy, powers like careful aim just got a whole lot more powerful.

 

[The Human Target]

Here's the thing.

I love 4e.

And one of the reasons I love it are the super elaborate interesting tactical combats.

Removing something as vital as damage rolls and HP tracking from the game is, to put it mildly, insane.

Tell the DM to run a system more in tune with his style.

And your whole party should totally just not record there own HP for a session and say "I just decapitated that orc in one blow" instead of rolling damage. Stop rolling to hit as well.

Because it would amuse me.

 

[Scribble]

then damage is moot, might as well just go for hyper accuracy, powers like careful aim just got a whole lot more powerful.

Shrug.

 

[Saracenus]

scribble,

I agree with you when everyone is clear on the gaming contract and its all up front. If its fun its fun.

Here is the problem with what replacement DM is doing. He didn't announce, "hey I am not into tracking hp, so here is how I do it." This would allowed folks to either buy into his system or say nope. Instead he just started ignoring damage rolls.

This then begs the questions: How does he determine when a creature is bloodied, is he expecting the players to track damage while he doesn't, is he ignoring recharge powers limits, monster saves? How far does it go?

To me this is a cardinal sin of DMing. If you are going to play outside of RAW, then tell everyone what you intend to do and get buy in from the players. Otherwise, it is just rude.

 

[Traveon Wyvernspur]

Here's the thing.

I love 4e.

And one of the reasons I love it are the super elaborate interesting tactical combats.

Removing something as vital as damage rolls and HP tracking from the game is, to put it mildly, insane.

Tell the DM to run a system more in tune with his style.

And your whole party should totally just not record there own HP for a session and say "I just decapitated that orc in one blow" instead of rolling damage. Stop rolling to hit as well.

Because it would amuse me.

I agree with this assessment, if he doesn't want to play with hit points he needs to use a different system like the savage worlds setting with wounds. Then he doesn't use hit points just hitting/shaking/wounding to keep track of things. Perhaps he's playing it this way in his head, but not being upfront about it with the players.

To me, the group needs to have fun. If the DM is the cause of the non-fun then you need to pick up the mantle again and DM or find one of the other players to DM.

 

[The Human Target]

Whats the point of having strikers in a game with no damage?

 

[DracoSuave]

Whats the point of having strikers in a game with no damage?

Well... if he's keeping track of 'hits' rather than outright damage rolls, then he might have something in play where a striker based around damage does extra hits when he hits... and a striker based around accuracy just hits more often.

Of course, he could just be too lazy to jot down numbers and keeps it all in his head. I know I've done it like that a number of times.

 

[Scribble]

scribble,

I agree with you when everyone is clear on the gaming contract and its all up front. If its fun its fun.

Here is the problem with what replacement DM is doing. He didn't announce, "hey I am not into tracking hp, so here is how I do it." This would allowed folks to either buy into his system or say nope. Instead he just started ignoring damage rolls.

In theory I agree with you, but I think how people play on message boards is always clear cut and well thought out... How people play at the table is always messy, and a war zone.

In theory, we should all carefully think out our houserules and actions and announce them to the group for a democratic vote of approval, where we weigh all the effects the new rule will have on the game at large... then continue on knowing all ideas and options have been ratified by everyone...

What actually tends to happen is we're in a game, and someone (probably the DM) does something that is not in the rules, but might be fun. Sometimes it is, and a grand time is had by all... Sometimes it's not, and people wanna smack the dm.

Since it's a thing we do to amuse ourselves, we should then be able to just say "Dude that sucked." and then hash it out till a consensus is made.

It sounds like the OP is really the only one that has a real issue with the houserule (although others seem to be coming around to his way of thinking.)

If that's the case, and everyone else is cool with it then he needs to suck it up and either deal with it, or do something else. If everyone else in the group thinks it sucks, and the DM keeps doing it then yeah we have a problem.

If that's not the case, and the OP is the only one with the issue then, he's just being a winy rules lawyer.

I'm not a fan of we HAVE to do X simply because the book says so.