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<blockquote data-quote="Lehrbuch" data-source="post: 7284766" data-attributes="member: 6811402">But the consequences depend not (only) on the amount of damage but on how many hit points the target has relative to the damage. If the target has 20 hit points and makes the saving throw, 30 damage is still a fatal problem for the target. If a target has 150 hit points, and fails the saving throw, 60 damage is not such a problem.Yes, as DM, of course, I narrate the effects of a Fireball.&quot;Your fireball erupts in the midst of the lizardmen warband, illuminating the twilight swamp with a searing flash. The survivors dive under the murky waters, leaving three charred and steaming, floating corpses. The swamp smelled bad before, now there is also the stench of barbecued lizard to contend with.&quot;So, of course, sensible players might infer that the three dead lizards failed their save and the others made it. And maybe they'd be right. But that's not definitely the case. Maybe the dead ones made their save but were already injured. Or one of the survivors failed his save, but simply was a tougher kind of lizardman who simply had more hit points. Or maybe one of the survivors failed their save, but had resistance to fire damage. Without more information, which the players may or may not know, the players don't definitely know which lizardmen made or failed their save. Sometimes it is obvious. Sometimes it is not.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Lehrbuch, post: 7284766, member: 6811402"] But the consequences depend not (only) on the amount of damage but on how many hit points the target has relative to the damage. If the target has 20 hit points and makes the saving throw, 30 damage is still a fatal problem for the target. If a target has 150 hit points, and fails the saving throw, 60 damage is not such a problem. Yes, as DM, of course, I narrate the effects of a [I]Fireball[/I]. [INDENT]"Your fireball erupts in the midst of the lizardmen warband, illuminating the twilight swamp with a searing flash. The survivors dive under the murky waters, leaving three charred and steaming, floating corpses. The swamp smelled bad before, now there is also the stench of barbecued lizard to contend with."[/INDENT] So, of course, sensible players might [I]infer[/I] that the three dead lizards failed their save and the others made it. And maybe they'd be right. But that's not definitely the case. Maybe the dead ones made their save but were already injured. Or one of the survivors failed his save, but simply was a tougher kind of lizardman who simply had more hit points. Or maybe one of the survivors failed their save, but had resistance to fire damage. Without more information, which the players may or may not know, the players don't definitely know which lizardmen made or failed their save. Sometimes it [i]is[/i] obvious. Sometimes it is not. [/QUOTE]

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