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<blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 6290675" data-attributes="member: 6696971">The same reason why athletes proactively drink Gatorade to maintain electrolyte levels before cramping up.&nbsp; The same reason why everyone proactively drinks coffee/tea before they're so sleepy/fatigued that they can no longer keep their eyes open.&nbsp; Its preventive maintenance and placebo as much as anything else.&nbsp; In some cases though, there may be a twinge of something that alerts them to &quot;fuel up&quot;.In our historical D&amp;D games though it has worked just as everything else; &quot;shrodinger's wounds&quot; or post-hoc narrative justification.&nbsp; The player is aware of HPs.&nbsp; The character's relevant awareness is only loosely related to rituals they regularly fulfill in their lives (the behavioral regime variety, such as quaffing the stray potion) and the sensory information available to them in their world (of which only a small sum would be available to the player).&nbsp; This sensory information is married to their systemic HP ablation and restoration only so far as a player or GM wishes them to be in the present moment (possibly for visceral or genre concerns...or possibly for some measure of internal consistency).&nbsp; Here are a few examples from my game:Player (with character suffering from severe HP loss):&nbsp; &quot;After my latest foe falls at my feet, I turn to race to another.&nbsp; The twist of my torso takes my breath away.&nbsp; I reach inside my leather jerkin.&nbsp; No blood.&nbsp; No matter.&nbsp; I can't be slowed by anything.&nbsp; I quickly pull a small vial from my belt (minor action) and empty the silvery contents into my mouth (minor action - I lose a healing surge and gain 10 HP).&nbsp; Whether it truly made a difference or not, the practice of imbibing it immediately renews my fighting spirit.&quot;Player (administering a potion to an unconscious character):&nbsp; &quot;I didn't see what took Raynor from his feet and I don't see any blood coming from his nose or mouth nor injuries needing poultice.&nbsp; I've yet to feel the sting of their cruel blades but poison is a weapon common to scoundrels.&nbsp; I think I saw a nick slip past his sword's guard when we were fighting close.&nbsp; Perhaps that is the culprit (he was indeed suffering from 5 OG poison damage).&nbsp; I unclasp the potion from his belt (minor action) and administer unto him (standard action - he loses a surge, gains 25 HP, and makes a saving throw) a single drink and pour the rest on his breast.&nbsp; When he opens his eyes to regard me awkwardly pouring liquid on his chest in the middle of a battle I say 'a midfight bath is typically supposed to be in the blood of your enemies...&quot;Those sorts of examples are more than sufficient to the cause.&nbsp; Sometimes it will be even less provocative than that - just premptively staving off being winded after 3 rounds of intense fighting, or clearing the cobwebs after a collision (which should happen regularly in a melee skirmish whether the rules stipulate they do or don't).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Manbearcat, post: 6290675, member: 6696971"] The same reason why athletes proactively drink Gatorade to maintain electrolyte levels before cramping up. The same reason why everyone proactively drinks coffee/tea before they're so sleepy/fatigued that they can no longer keep their eyes open. Its preventive maintenance and placebo as much as anything else. In some cases though, there may be a twinge of something that alerts them to "fuel up". In our historical D&D games though it has worked just as everything else; "shrodinger's wounds" or post-hoc narrative justification. The player is aware of HPs. The character's relevant awareness is only loosely related to rituals they regularly fulfill in their lives (the behavioral regime variety, such as quaffing the stray potion) and the sensory information available to them in their world (of which only a small sum would be available to the player). This sensory information is married to their systemic HP ablation and restoration only so far as a player or GM wishes them to be in the present moment (possibly for visceral or genre concerns...or possibly for some measure of internal consistency). Here are a few examples from my game: Player (with character suffering from severe HP loss): "After my latest foe falls at my feet, I turn to race to another. The twist of my torso takes my breath away. I reach inside my leather jerkin. No blood. No matter. I can't be slowed by anything. I quickly pull a small vial from my belt (minor action) and empty the silvery contents into my mouth (minor action - I lose a healing surge and gain 10 HP). Whether it truly made a difference or not, the practice of imbibing it immediately renews my fighting spirit." Player (administering a potion to an unconscious character): "I didn't see what took Raynor from his feet and I don't see any blood coming from his nose or mouth nor injuries needing poultice. I've yet to feel the sting of their cruel blades but poison is a weapon common to scoundrels. I think I saw a nick slip past his sword's guard when we were fighting close. Perhaps that is the culprit (he was indeed suffering from 5 OG poison damage). I unclasp the potion from his belt (minor action) and administer unto him (standard action - he loses a surge, gains 25 HP, and makes a saving throw) a single drink and pour the rest on his breast. When he opens his eyes to regard me awkwardly pouring liquid on his chest in the middle of a battle I say 'a midfight bath is typically supposed to be in the blood of your enemies..." Those sorts of examples are more than sufficient to the cause. Sometimes it will be even less provocative than that - just premptively staving off being winded after 3 rounds of intense fighting, or clearing the cobwebs after a collision (which should happen regularly in a melee skirmish whether the rules stipulate they do or don't). [/QUOTE]

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