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<blockquote data-quote="Krensus" data-source="post: 4440904" data-attributes="member: 59340">The guiding philosophy I use in this situation is that players should have plenty of information to enable them to make an intelligent move.&nbsp; Part of a leader's job is to keep the party alive to the best of their ability, and making them overheal or use a less effective heal than is needed is causing them to make a less than optimal move.I played in a game once where the DM said that we couldn't discuss our hp totals, but all it led to was smoke and mirrors like someone described above with KotDT.&nbsp; Basically the Cleric and I switched seats so he was sitting next to the Fighter and the Fighter made no effort to hide his hit point tally.&nbsp; Before the game the Cleric would get everyone's max hp value and then keep his own tally as the DM handed out damage.&nbsp; Eventually the DM caught on to it and started keeping track of damage and hit points behind the screen, but this led to frustration.&nbsp; Interpreting what one person considers to be heal worthy damage with no reference point is very difficult and not fun.&nbsp; It led to lots of deaths because &quot;pretty bad off&quot; was apparently DM language for &quot;1/8 hp.&quot;&nbsp; Other times, &quot;pretty bad off&quot; could mean &quot;1/2 hp,&quot; and the cleric would blow a Heal for no reason.&nbsp; What I'm trying to say is that there can be a break down in communication that will probably lead to frustration that makes the game lose a lot of its fun qualities.&nbsp; The example above just overcomplicated the game and either inspired subterfuge or caused player deaths beyond the control of the players, neither of which is desirable or enjoyable in a social game like D&amp;D.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Krensus, post: 4440904, member: 59340"] The guiding philosophy I use in this situation is that players should have plenty of information to enable them to make an intelligent move. Part of a leader's job is to keep the party alive to the best of their ability, and making them overheal or use a less effective heal than is needed is causing them to make a less than optimal move. I played in a game once where the DM said that we couldn't discuss our hp totals, but all it led to was smoke and mirrors like someone described above with KotDT. Basically the Cleric and I switched seats so he was sitting next to the Fighter and the Fighter made no effort to hide his hit point tally. Before the game the Cleric would get everyone's max hp value and then keep his own tally as the DM handed out damage. Eventually the DM caught on to it and started keeping track of damage and hit points behind the screen, but this led to frustration. Interpreting what one person considers to be heal worthy damage with no reference point is very difficult and not fun. It led to lots of deaths because "pretty bad off" was apparently DM language for "1/8 hp." Other times, "pretty bad off" could mean "1/2 hp," and the cleric would blow a Heal for no reason. What I'm trying to say is that there can be a break down in communication that will probably lead to frustration that makes the game lose a lot of its fun qualities. The example above just overcomplicated the game and either inspired subterfuge or caused player deaths beyond the control of the players, neither of which is desirable or enjoyable in a social game like D&D. [/QUOTE]

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