explaining D&D combat to newbes

[Aust Diamondew]

You could say that until a PC reaches zero HP he has not taken any significant enough wound to hinder his abilities, just near misses, bruises, cuts and scrapes. This is because until you reach zero HP wounds do not effect you.

This is generally how I look at it. Hit points are rolling with the blows to make otherwise lethal attacks insignificant injuries.

 

[argo]

I am running a game (finally) of Conan but it is basically D20 with minor modifications. I have 4 players. All are new to D20 and only 1 has a lot of role playing experience. I am trying to introduce combat. A player asked about the HP mechanic and asked why it was that I person who is very wounded can hit as well as he could at full heath. I told him HP were an abstract system representing wounds and fatigue together. And I pointed out that any game plays a balancing act between fun and playability vs realism. Does any one know a better answer?

Conan makes this distinction really clear because it uses the MDT mechanic. Explain to your players that when they get "hit" one of three things happens.

1) they are hit and take less than 20 damage after their DR is factored in. This means they successfully blocked (Pary DV) or ducked (Dodge DV) the blow but they were somehow fatigued a little in the process: their sheild arm is numb from the force of the blow or they scraped their knee when diving to the side. Or if they have plenty of armor say that that soaked the damage but they felt shaken by the impact. Over time these little things will sap their speed and strength in the fight.

2) they take 20+ damage but make their massive damage save. This means that their opponent gave them a very nasty, but not fatal wound. Lots of blood and they feel like they want to vomit or lie down and sleep but they don't because they are too awsome to just give up. Point out how many times in the stories Conan does exactly this.

3) they take 20+ damage but fail their massive damage save. This means they just had three feet of cold steel shoved through their stomach. Time to spend a Fate Point.

Additionally explain that when they get to less than about 10 HP or so it means that they have become so exhausted that their ability to defend themselves is impaired and that means that it is likely they won't be able to protect themselves from the next blow. Meaning that they are very close to going to negative HP and bleeding out on the ground.

Hope that helps.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

A player asked about the HP mechanic and asked why it was that I person who is very wounded can hit as well as he could at full heath. I told him HP were an abstract system representing wounds and fatigue together. And I pointed out that any game plays a balancing act between fun and playability vs realism. Does any one know a better answer?

That's a decent enough answer. If it was me, I'd emphasize that hit points don't represent actual physical damage in many cases, but also reflect luck, fate, and an almost uncanny ability to avoid real physical damage. Eventually, though, one's luck runs out...