Narrate This 3 HP Hit

[The Human Target]

All of em but numerous uno really.

It takes a mix.

 

[howandwhy99]

Shoulders and ears are called shots. If her armor were so worn, it was destroyed I would say it pierced the armor. Or if the arrow were armor piercing. Or the arrow was in a different phase from metals I would say it passed through the chainmail. Or... etc.

3 Hit Points damage from the arrow is accurate to what happens on the game board.

 

[pemerton]

I went for option 4, because I tend to prefer the sense of what's happening in the fiction to be derived from the mechanical results and the emotional effect those have on the players, rather than narration that doesn't actually effect resolution.

But clearly I should have gone for this!:

The arrow might strike her in the forehead and pierce the brain but she yanks it out and grins as the blood flows down here face, and she says "I gain power with every thing I kill, a single arrow can't possibly hurt an elf who has reaped a thousand souls!"

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

Other: A, B, or C. I would most often choose D during an actual game, but you asked us to narrate it, so D is out IMO.

 

[jasper]

Yo yo what your name OP, your elf takes 3 hit points. Oh you want me to narrate it? $200 up front and don't tell my agent.

 

[Quickleaf]

[MENTION=6683099]dd.stevenson[/MENTION] Are they broad heads? And how tightly woven is the chainmail?

I answered "Other" because I subscribe to the bloodied at half HP model.

"The arrow imbeds itself in Elspeth's chainmail right over her heart, but the tip only bruises and winds her. With a stronger pull bow - or if she was less nimble - she might be dead. However, she can't keep dodging these orcish arrows all day."

She is not close to being bloodied (at half HP), so I would not narrate the arrow as drawing blood.

Now if she was wearing no armor or very minor armor, it gets more interesting...

For example, we could recall that defense is not passive and Elspeth is an awesome elf after all so...

"The arrow whirls thru the air, but amazingly Elspeth hits it with her bow at the last minute, causing it to shatter midair, the arrowhead scraping her ear and the broken arrow shaft falling in splinters over her. Gritting her teeth, Elspeth knows she can't rely on that trick to keep her alive for long."

Alternately, we could recall that the damage an arrow deals is very much dependent on the type head it employs and the power of the bow it is fired from...

"The snub-tipped arrow firmly lands in Elspeth's arm, and it stings like hell. Recognizing that it doesn't have a barbed tipped, Elspeth yanks it out easily. Those orcs should get better bows. It's only a flesh wound, barely bleeding, but she can feel herself tiring.

I mean, there are any numbers of ways to narrate this without it being a big bloody affair or being reduced to "you're hit, take 3 damage."

 

[Ichneumon]

The arrow tears through Elspeth's leg, causing a big gaping hole that spurts arterial blood onto the grassland. Fighting back the pain, Elspeth glares at her attacker and yells "I know what you're asking yourself. Do I have 10hp or less, or could it be more? Will I go down in a couple of hits before I catch you and turn you into sashimi, or should you start running now? Do ya feel lucky, punk? Well, DO YA?!"

 

[Henry]

I prefer to narrate actual hp damage as actual drawing of blood, though not necessarily more than flesh wounds unless it's the final blow, because of rules for things such as poisons. If you get hit with a poisoned arrow or blade, how would you justify a poison save if narrated as, "narrowly missing and luck used up?" Though some would say, "if poison's involved, change the narrative," but there can be times when the DM forgets about the poison, or the player forgets to remind the DM until after the description, etc. -- I hedge my bets on the side of "flesh wound" so I can still ret-con the poison back into the narrative without too much trouble.

 

[mlund]

"Elspeth twists just in time catch the arrow on her mailed shoulder instead of her exposed neck. With a grimace, she wrenches away the splintered remains snagged in her armor."

Because non-magical arrows from hand-draw bows can't penetrate properly made chain mail in the first place, after all.

The real question is this: later in the battle Elspeth is hit by another arrow for 3 damage, only this time she only had 2 hit points left. Narrate that attack in contrast to the first one.

- Marty Lund

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

I prefer to narrate actual hp damage as actual drawing of blood, though not necessarily more than flesh wounds unless it's the final blow, because of rules for things such as poisons.

The real question is this: later in the battle Elspeth is hit by another arrow for 3 damage, only this time she only had 2 hit points left. Narrate that attack in contrast to the first one.

This is exactly why each hit can be (IMO needs to be) narrated differently. It does depend on the outcome. I prefer to narrate the end result, not predefine what a "3hp hit" is.