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<blockquote data-quote="Mannahnin" data-source="post: 9262922" data-attributes="member: 7026594">I think this is a hurdle Professor Dungeon Master on his Dungeon Craft YT channel has done a good job discussing over the years.&nbsp; A character with fewer HP can still feel badass and heroic and even more cinematic if common enemies have few enough HP that you don't have to hit one over and over again to kill it.&nbsp; Legolas in the LotR movies looks awesome one-shotting orcs.&nbsp; If your average orc has 4 HP, a B/X Fighter swinging a normal sword has a 5/8 chance to kill it with a single hit, even assuming no strength bonus.&nbsp; But (especially with the point-swapping to PR) a B/X Fighter can normally be relied on to have at least a +1 Str bonus, so make that 3/4 chance.&nbsp; Similar with old school spells.&nbsp; You may start with 1/day, but original sleep can one-shot an entire fight.&nbsp; Ogre down- no save.&nbsp; Or a whole squad of orcs.&nbsp; Or it takes out 3/4 of the baddies and your Fighters suddenly have a manageable or easy fight where before it was looking like a TPK. For me the main virtue of the HP inflation in later editions is that it gives the players more decision space.&nbsp; It's less swingy and you're less at the mercy of getting taken out with one lucky attack.&nbsp; You have more opportunities to heal or maneuver or (gods forbid) even retreat or negotiate.&nbsp; But that does come at the cost of usually slower fights, which can become grindy slogs.It's a fair concern about relying on DM judgement to run special maneuvers or tricks and tactics.&nbsp; This is really a skill for DMs, to say yes and assess good enough odds of doing something awesome that it feels worthwhile but doesn't become &quot;well, let's ALWAYS do that then&quot;.&nbsp; But I also think there is a certain relaxed mindset really necessary for the players to let go of control a bit and attachment to maximizing outcomes.&nbsp; I know that's been a challenge for me, too.&nbsp; This actually makes me think of my own main current reservation about running DCC- the Mighty Deeds.&nbsp; I love this concept and how it makes Warriors able to do awesome stuff, without having to choose between sweet stunts and regular attacks.&nbsp; And I'm glad that they provide a bunch of examples and guidelines for &quot;levels&quot; of deeds and what kind of stuff can be done and how powerful it can or should be.&nbsp; I do feel a little intimidated by the details of those guidelines, though.&nbsp; It seems like quite a lot to internalize to make sure my judgements/rulings are good.&nbsp; That being said, I'm sure I need to take some of my own advice and let go a little, and not obsess over the fine points of individual rulings.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Mannahnin, post: 9262922, member: 7026594"] I think this is a hurdle Professor Dungeon Master on his Dungeon Craft YT channel has done a good job discussing over the years. A character with fewer HP can still feel badass and heroic and even more cinematic if common enemies have few enough HP that you don't have to hit one over and over again to kill it. Legolas in the LotR movies looks awesome one-shotting orcs. If your average orc has 4 HP, a B/X Fighter swinging a normal sword has a 5/8 chance to kill it with a single hit, even assuming no strength bonus. But (especially with the point-swapping to PR) a B/X Fighter can normally be relied on to have at least a +1 Str bonus, so make that 3/4 chance. Similar with old school spells. You may start with 1/day, but original sleep can one-shot an entire fight. Ogre down- no save. Or a whole squad of orcs. Or it takes out 3/4 of the baddies and your Fighters suddenly have a manageable or easy fight where before it was looking like a TPK. For me the main virtue of the HP inflation in later editions is that it gives the players more decision space. It's less swingy and you're less at the mercy of getting taken out with one lucky attack. You have more opportunities to heal or maneuver or (gods forbid) even retreat or negotiate. But that does come at the cost of usually slower fights, which can become grindy slogs. It's a fair concern about relying on DM judgement to run special maneuvers or tricks and tactics. This is really a skill for DMs, to say yes and assess good enough odds of doing something awesome that it feels worthwhile but doesn't become "well, let's ALWAYS do that then". But I also think there is a certain relaxed mindset really necessary for the players to let go of control a bit and attachment to maximizing outcomes. I know that's been a challenge for me, too. This actually makes me think of my own main current reservation about running DCC- the Mighty Deeds. I love this concept and how it makes Warriors able to do awesome stuff, without having to choose between sweet stunts and regular attacks. And I'm glad that they provide a bunch of examples and guidelines for "levels" of deeds and what kind of stuff can be done and how powerful it can or should be. I do feel a little intimidated by the details of those guidelines, though. It seems like quite a lot to internalize to make sure my judgements/rulings are good. That being said, I'm sure I need to take some of my own advice and let go a little, and not obsess over the fine points of individual rulings. [/QUOTE]

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