Monster HP question

[Korgoth]

Out of curiosity I was looking at a PDF compilation of what I take to be known monster stats.

One thing that seemed really strange to me was that 1st level Human bandits and guards have about 30 hp each. Is that correct?

If that is correct... it looks like they don't do a whole lot of damage. Does this mean that a 1st level guard can never one-shot a 1st level bandit, and vice versa? Also, does this mean that the PCs cannot mow through them, one-hit-one-kill style?

 

[Charwoman Gene]

Does this mean that a 1st level guard can never one-shot a 1st level bandit, and vice versa? Also, does this mean that the PCs cannot mow through them, one-hit-one-kill style?

Basically, yes. I'm sure there will be human minions available in the full game.

 

[frankthedm]

Correct sadly. It is almost as if everyone has a extra 20 HP.

Ther ARE minions statted out to die in one hit, but typical oppositions have to take hit after hit after hit to drop.

 

[Kordeth]

Correct sadly. It is almost as if everyone has a extra 20 HP.

Ther ARE minions statted out to die in one hit, but typical oppositions have to take hit after hit after hit to drop.

That's because 4E makes a distinction between "guys that drop in one hit" and "guys that provide a decent one-on-one fight," which 3E didn't. This has two advantages over the "low-level guys can be one-shot-killed, high-level guys can't" approach:

1) It allows you to have one-shot-kill enemies at all levels who still have a decent shot of threatening the PCs. No more wasting time rolling for a bunch of orc warriors who will never hit as the 20th-level PCs wade through an army and yawns.

2) It allows 1st-level PCs to face enemies that take a few rounds to bring down, as opposed to most CR 1 monsters in 3E who fall over if you sneeze on them.

How is this a thing to be sad about? No functionality has been taken away, and quite a bit has been added.

 

[Satori5000]

And who says the guards cant one shot enemies in a battle? If you as the DM want them one shotted, just say they were a minion and problem solved. If you want the guards to be helping the PC's defend something, you can have the guards fight whichever you deem thematically appropriate. If it looks like the PC's are wading through the minions or having a tough time with the regular enemies, you can always say,"He drops" or "He's tougher then he looks. Its up to you to be the thematics person in this sense.

 

[Stalker0]

Correct sadly. It is almost as if everyone has a extra 20 HP.

Ther ARE minions statted out to die in one hit, but typical oppositions have to take hit after hit after hit to drop.

But just like 1st level pcs, 1st level guards are schlubs. They are decently trained men who know how to fight. If you want the standard mooks that the hero kills in one hit, then use minions.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

IMHO it was a bit overdone...about 12-24 hp would have been sufficient for first level characters... (normal hp per level + constitution score)
but as i don´t know the full rules and keeping in mind, that hit ratio seems higher now (due to the new math) 30 hp are down quite fast.

 

[Korgoth]

I guess I'm pretty out of the loop... what's a "minion"?

 

[Sammael]

I guess I'm pretty out of the loop... what's a "minion"?

"Minion" is one of 4E's new gamist features. Minions are basically creatures with no hit points who die after being hit once in combat. There are supposedly minions for all levels of play, and I am not sure if they differ from regular creatures in any other way.

There are basically three tiers for each type of creature:

Minion (no HP)
Regular (normal HP)
Elite (double HP)

 

[Korgoth]

Do Minions really have zero HP?

I guess it's just another thing I don't like about 4E... but the way I see it, a wizard shouldn't be able to mow through an army of mooks with his dagger (at least not reliably). That's something that the fighting types should be able to do.