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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KarinsDad" data-source="post: 5791423" data-attributes="member: 2011">Not if PC options included more damage mitigation. Course, I'm not convinced that decreasing the HP pad will necessarily result in decreased game protection. I'd really have to sit and look at the math because I'm thinking that part of that idea is illusory and misleading.If a 1st level 14 Str NPC does 6.5 points of damage with a longsword (like in 4E, but starting with slightly less damage and hit points for both PCs and monsters) and a 3rd level monster does 7.5 points of damage with that same sword and a 11th level monster does 11.5 points of damage with that same sword, is the 6th level PC with 20 starting hit points and 35 hit points now really that much in trouble by a monster 5 levels higher? Assuming that same level monsters hit 40% of the time similar to 4E, that monster 5 levels higher hits 65% of the time and would need 3 successful hits to take out the PC. That's 4.5 rounds. That's probably enough time for the PC to be healed by allies or whatever.The 1st level NPC hits 15% of the time, so it would take 36 rounds to knock down the PC. A 6th level PC could probably take on 4 such foes most of the time without help from his allies. At 10.5 damage (8.5 at level 1, 10.5 at level 5 and 6), it takes 2 hits for the PC to take out a 20 hit point first level foe (without using any more potent abilities and without getting healed) and he probably has a 75% chance to hit (higher if using 4E to hit rules and options). It would take him 10 hits to take out his foes and that would require about 11 rounds. 4 foes in rounds 1 to 3, 3 foes in rounds 4 to 6, 2 foes in rounds 7 and 8, and 1 foe in rounds 9 to 11 for a total of 28 enemy man-rounds, not enough to take him out.Obviously, we are not talking minions here, so it would be more grindy (shy of the PCs using larger resources) and most DMs wouldn't throw monsters 5 levels lower at a party, but if the DM did, the PCs could survive being outnumber 4 to 1 against foes that are not minions, just 5 levels lower.I'm not convinced that this is more swingy and that PCs are more vulnerable than they were in 4E. If 2 NPCs got lucky and critted in this example, they would do 20 points of damage and bloody the PC, but with healing and such, that shouldn't be an issue. It might turn out that this is a bad system because it makes PCs too powerful, easily taking out lower and higher level creatures alike. One would have to solidify the math ranges to figure it out.</blockquote>

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