WotC WotC needs an Elon Musk

[Lanefan]

Well, that handholding can be a lot. And, there's also a question of the background the reader has at their disposal.

An analogy: If you go to college, Physics 101/102 is taught without assuming the student knows calculus (because they are typically taking Calculus 101/102 in that same semester).

Physics 301/302 often covers the same topics, but expecting the student knows calculus, linear algebra, and differential equations. A person on the street can typically understand the textbook for Physics 101. The book for 301 is incomprehensible without the math background.

The sort of guide I have in mind would contain both the 101 material and the 301 material - here's what you could/should consider doing (101), here's how to do it/what to do (201), and here's how to make it quality (301).

The 101 level course can be seen as telling you, in not much over layman's terms, what is happening. The 301 level course gets into the fundamentals of why it happens, and gives you tools to handle far more complex scenarios.

Edit to add: So, to bring that around to gaming - a beginning worldbuilder's book would probably be "here's a bunch of stuff you could consider doing". A book for a 20-year worldbuilding veteran might be more like, "How to make publishing quality worlds"...

 

[Lanefan]

The whole point is that any hits against your hit points ARE NOT deadly blows. No warlord is shouting your wounds closed. Or needs to. If you want a mortal wound system, use something other than hit points.

Why, when the hit-point mechanic is already there to do the job?

Yes, there very much needs to be some sort of wound-vitality or body-fatigue system built in to hit points, but even if most-all of your hit points are fatigue or vitality points there's no good reason to expect to wake up fully refreshed in the morning when you've maybe been at death's door (in 5e, that'd mean making death saves) a few times the previous day.

 

[cbwjm]

In the hit points do/do not equal meat argument, I've always like the 4e version which has half as meat (kind of), half as something else. Becoming bloodied means that you've started to get cuts and scratches. Some of this has come up in 5e, the champion's regeneration or life cleric's channel divinity heal only restoring up to half hit points, i.e., restoring the meat points.

I'm fine with the ease of using just one pool of hit points, but if you wanted to represent meat points and slow healing, you could split it into 2 pools: one wounds, one vitality. Cure spells can restore wounds, a nights sleep restores vitality, hit dice restore both (regain hit dice during a long rest, spend them to restore wounds).

 

[UngainlyTitan]

In the hit points do/do not equal meat argument, I've always like the 4e version which has half as meat (kind of), half as something else. Becoming bloodied means that you've started to get cuts and scratches. Some of this has come up in 5e, the champion's regeneration or life cleric's channel divinity heal only restoring up to half hit points, i.e., restoring the meat points.

I'm fine with the ease of using just one pool of hit points, but if you wanted to represent meat points and slow healing, you could split it into 2 pools: one wounds, one vitality. Cure spells can restore wounds, a nights sleep restores vitality, hit dice restore both (regain hit dice during a long rest, spend them to restore wounds).

In think that healing surges in 4e was a better representation of physical damage. In 5e something with hit dice should be the way to go however the way healing works would have to be redone.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

Why, when the hit-point mechanic is already there to do the job?

Yes, there very much needs to be some sort of wound-vitality or body-fatigue system built in to hit points, but even if most-all of your hit points are fatigue or vitality points there's no good reason to expect to wake up fully refreshed in the morning when you've maybe been at death's door (in 5e, that'd mean making death saves) a few times the previous day.

Why would that be? Death's door doesn't mean you've been physically injured. What does death's door mean to you? I guess in a non-meat hit point world it means the edge of exhaustion or similar. Why does that necessarily mean a night's rest can't cure that?

But I get what you're saying: it would be interesting if there was a penalty for getting to the point of having to make death saves. Maybe that imposes a penalty on the max hit points you can heal on a rest? Maybe it applies a level of exhaustion?

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

In the hit points do/do not equal meat argument, I've always like the 4e version which has half as meat (kind of), half as something else. Becoming bloodied means that you've started to get cuts and scratches. Some of this has come up in 5e, the champion's regeneration or life cleric's channel divinity heal only restoring up to half hit points, i.e., restoring the meat points.

I'm fine with the ease of using just one pool of hit points, but if you wanted to represent meat points and slow healing, you could split it into 2 pools: one wounds, one vitality. Cure spells can restore wounds, a nights sleep restores vitality, hit dice restore both (regain hit dice during a long rest, spend them to restore wounds).

I don't know if bloodied meant physical injury necessarily.

 

[Ulorian - Agent of Chaos]

As I've said, some of what hit points are  has to be meat-based, so I support slower natural healing. It wouldn't hurt to have more long-term effects in the game too.

Why does some have to be meat-based?

 

[Micah Sweet]

I on the other hand refuse to believe that any hit points are meat. Just as a point of information.

Interesting! How does poison damage work?

 

[Micah Sweet]

Why does some have to be meat-based?

Because of the aforementioned damage types, and their meaninglessness without physical contact.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I don't know. You'd have to ask the game designers. Maybe the rules were imperfect before and later editions have improved on them.

Anything's possible, I suppose. I guess 2009 was just the watershed moment when they finally got it right huh?