Monster Stats

[IronWolf]

I do not give the players the number of hit points remaining but will try to give some description of the condition it is in. It could simply be saying the creature seems to shrug the blow off or that it is visibly weakned and moving slower or less confidently than at the beginning of the battle.

I also do not tell them what the AC of the creature is. Though after a few rounds they have a ballpark idea of what it takes to hit it just from seeing what rolls have hit and what has not.

 

[Pinotage]

Like others, I describe the effects of hits in combat, taking into account the fact what hp represents in the D&D context. For example, I find it hard to imagine many bleeding wounds scored to a guy in plate armor. Sure that sword hits, but it slams into his armor and caused 'bludgeoning' damage. How exactly can you find enough room to cut a guy with a sword while he's wearing plate armor. It's not like there's skin free.

In any event, I also add a descriptive text to qualify the monster's status. I use barely wounded, lightly wounded, wounded, badly wounded, severely wounded, and critically wounded. These ranges correspond to specific percentages of a creature's hp, so wounded would be between 30 and 70 percent of hp left. Of course, my players don't know this, but it gives them a good idea when a creature is nearing death.

Pinotage