[Rules Cyclopedia] Hit points

[pawsplay]

I was researching to see if the below 0 hit points optional rule was present in the RC. It is; you save each turn you are below zero hit points (it does not state if you take the penalty for being prone). What is missing, however, is any direct mention of how hit points work.

The Rex Box version states, "The number of hit points is the amount of damage that a creature can take before being killed." This is basically never elaborated on again.

Natural healing is mentioned in neither set.

 

[pawsplay]

I was kind of bemused by the knowledge the game assumes, or at least how much is left to you to figure out. It's also curious to me that the Red box had a solid glossary while the RC did not; although the RC is well organized and innovative in many respects, it's certainly not the teaching tool the original basic set was.

Maybe it's something not many other people found peculier.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

[Tangent: Huh, I rarely check this forum for TSR-era D&D threads (I usually stick to General).]

I think the Rules Cyclopedia is overrated. I prefer the boxed sets. (I think something like the Rules Cyclopedia is a good concept, but I found that I disliked using the RC as it was implemented. There were errors and omissions, and I hate the interior art and the cramped layout (I rather like the cover art, though).

 

[pawsplay]

There's probably a layer of nostalgia attached, but I really like the Easley/Elmore art in the red box.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

I was researching to see if the below 0 hit points optional rule was present in the RC. It is; you save each turn you are below zero hit points (it does not state if you take the penalty for being prone).

What? Why would being prone cause a penalty on a save roll?

 

[pawsplay]

What? Why would being prone cause a penalty on a save roll?

p. 150 of the RC:

A character who has fallen (e.g., been knocked over in combat) is easy to hit: Attackers receive a +4 bonus to their attack rolls when attacking a fallen foe.
A fallen foe also has a -4 penalty to all saving throws and a -2 penalty to attack rolls whole on the ground.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

They completely changed what prone means? A nonsensical save penalty and half the attack penalty (so that the it's now uneven with the AC penalty; two guys prone next to each other? Ok, they both effectively have +2 to hit each other...wait, what?!).

Sorry I didn't help you, I was just curious why you were saying that. *Adds ANOTHER reason to his list of "why I'm never ever using or even reading the RC"*

 

[coyote6]

So being prone makes you more vulnerable to poison and easier to charm -- sounds like a great entry for Murphy's Rules.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

So being prone makes you more vulnerable to poison and easier to charm -- sounds like a great entry for Murphy's Rules.

"What? You're stricken with disease? Don't worry, we'll lay you down in the infirmary and take care of you daily till you shake it off and recuperate."

"*cough* But...laying prone means I get a -4 on my save to resist it, because apparenly back support is kryptonite to the immune system...*cough*"

"...We can lean you upright in the storage closet till you get better?"