Hit Points... Up or Down?

[Boregar]

I have always subtracted the damage - I have to say it have never even occured to me to add it up.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

Down, of course!

Though I've seen a lot of different notation systems in use:

- make a list of dashes in groups to mark lost HP and erase dashes for healing

- keep a tally on a separate scratch paper and underline the current number at the session's end

- make a chain of changes (-7 -3 +5 -1 - 4 ...) and calculate the resulting number at irregular intervals

- keep tally with poker chips

 

[Wicht]

When I'm GM, I add up damage to monsters.

When I play, I subtract damage from my hit points.

Why? Because when I'm GM, I generally am not so worried about exactly how many hit points each critter has remaining - what I'm most concerned about is if they are still standing. When I'm playing, what I'm most concerned about is how much longer I'll still be standing, so knowing how many hit points I have left is more important.

That's my practice as well and for exactly the reason Umbran states.

 

[Glyfair]

In D&D I add up. However, when I play different RPGs, sometimes I subtract. it depends on how the RPG handles damage (for example, if "hit points" are low enough to have boxes to check off, etc.)

 

[IronWolf]

I have traditionally subtracted damage when DM'ing or playing. I do have plans to switch with my next stint in the GM's chair coming up shortly and start doing the adding damage up method. Since I'll have more critters to control I think the speed increase by using addition as opposed to subtraction will help a bit. We'll see how it works out!

 

[BlubSeabass]

I subtract damage, because I'm conservative like that. Now I can proudly say I'm not stubborn, but prefer to keep training my subtraction-skills.

 

[Jhaelen]

I can't vote!

As a DM I write down the accumulated damage (i.e. add), as a player I substract damage from my hp total. As a DM that's easier since I often have to tally the current hp of lots of creatures.
As a player I'm doing it differently because I find it easier to see how badly wounded my pc is.

Note, that in 3e there was lethal and non-lethal damage:
Non lethal damage was added, lethal damage substracted...fun!

 

[jaerdaph]

I've always subtracted. Subtraction doesn't bother me. It's exactly the same as addition in my mind.

Long division? That's another story...

 

[MrMyth]

As a DM, for monsters, I start at 0 and add damage. As a player, for my character, I count down from my max hp. I can't really explain why each feels natural, it just does - perhaps it just feels easier that way for characters, since they have much more healing, and hp going back and forth, etc.

However, funny story!

In a game some friends were running, one of the players was playing a big fighter type, really focused on tearing enemies apart, wades into the thick of things and so forth. And as the combat goes on, he's got a column on his character sheet where he is tracking damage.

And at some point, the DM realizes that the character has taken a lot of damage, and is wondering if he should have dropped by now. And he looks at the column on the character's sheet, and starts trying to figure it out. Is he counting down from his total hp? No, the damage is adding up... but it comes out to a huge total, hundreds of damage, way more hp than the character should have. And the DM asks about this, and the player answers:

"Oh, I haven't been tracking the damage I've taken. I've just been tracking the damage I've dealt."

 

[Dausuul]

When I'm GM, I add up damage to monsters.

When I play, I subtract damage from my hit points.

Why? Because when I'm GM, I generally am not so worried about exactly how many hit points each critter has remaining - what I'm most concerned about is if they are still standing. When I'm playing, what I'm most concerned about is how much longer I'll still be standing, so knowing how many hit points I have left is more important.

This.