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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Maxperson" data-source="post: 7036359" data-attributes="member: 23751">Yes.  As a rule of thumb, I used the PCs constitution scores as a measure of their physical hit points and everything above that was skill, luck, etc.  Say a PC had 40 hit points with a 10 con.  30 of those would be non-physical hit points.  If that 40 hit point PC took a hit from an orc for 7 points of damage, I would describe the "hit" as being blocked, dodged, etc.  It might possibly do a bruise or scratch.  Once the hit points dropped to the point where they were in constitution territory, the descriptions involved more serious wounds.  Cuts or deep cuts to a limb.  Feeling light headed, and so on.  A hit that knocked a PC out was fairly serious.  The same was also done for the monsters.  That way the players had an idea of where they and the monsers stood with hit points, without knowing exactly.I also varied the descriptions based on damage done.  So if that orc above hit the 40 hit point PC for 7 points of damage, I might describe the blow as, "You see the orc's axe coming straight for your head, but at the last moment you manage to duck and it removes a few hairs."  That conveys a hit.  A miss would have been something like, "The orc swings at your head by you easily duck the blow".  If however it was an ogre swinging for 22 points of damage, the description of the hit would have been different.  Something like, "The massive club in its hands come crashing down towards your skull.  You throw yourself to the left to avoid being crushed to a pulp.  One knot on the club brushes your armor as you move out of the way.  You're pretty sure that will leave a mark.  You feel the ground at your feet tremble with the impact."  That conveys that the ogre hit took a great deal more of the 40 hit points than a small orc hit would.  If you talk to the players before the campaign begins and give them some ideas on how hits and misses will be narrated, that will also help them remain aware of the approximate hit points their PCs have.  After a few fights they should be pretty good at it.  A PC is going to be approximately aware of what condition it's in, and what condition the monsters are in, so it's important to consistent in your descriptions.  The more you play this way, the better you become with your descriptions and the smoother they flow.</blockquote>

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