Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 9099729" data-attributes="member: 42582">Right.Gygax was clearly aware, in his DMG, that there is no uniform narration of hit point loss that makes sense. It's ad hoc, case-by-case narration. Mostly hit point loss, by a PC, is being winded or scratched or getting worn down - but if the attack inflicts poison, and the player fails their save, then the narration had better include something that makes the poisoning make sense!4e recognises and builds on this logic. All "damage on a miss" means, in the context of a melee attack, is that you always wear down your foe, but have a chance (reflected by the roll to hit) to wear them down a bit quicker. In other words, the roll to hit for that attack is not "Do I hurt them?" but rather "Do I get in my best strike?"</blockquote>