D&D 5E (2014) Should martial characters be mundane or supernatural?

[Maxperson]

But none of that (except the unconscious condition) means a darn thing mechanically.

Correct. It's descriptive. At no point, though, is the description intending for nothing to be described, just mark off a handful of hit points because game.

 

[Oofta]

You're adding there stuff that isn't there. The different ways are not, lose either a handful of HP because game or that way described above. The different ways mentioned, when taken in proper context and not out of context like you are doing, means that while you might describe a sword hit under 50% as leaving a cut behind, I might describe it as hitting the shield so hard the arm becomes bruised. That's the variety of ways being mentioned there.

It literally states that DMs describe it different ways. It also really, really doesn't matter.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I have to wonder if people don't seem hurt until they've lost half their hit points, why would the healers heal them and why would they drink a healing potion?

An excellent question. By all appearances you're completely fine until you get below 50% and someone taps the panel in your chest that swivels around to reveal your "battle damage".

 

[Oofta]

Did you actually read what I was objecting to? I know it's easy, because I said exactly that. I was objecting to the idea that D&D uses hit points because "it's a game". That is strictly incorrect.

If D&D were trying to simulate wounds for a real world military operation it would be far more complex. It still wouldn't be 100% accurate because there's no way to achieve that. But we aren't simulating real world wounds for the military so therefore we have a much more simplified system. Why do we have a simplified system? Because it's a game.

Games that deal with combat have to decide how much abstraction is used. D&D decided on a high level of abstraction ... because it's a game that prioritizes speed and ease of play over simulation.

 

[Scribe]

I have to wonder if people don't seem hurt until they've lost half their hit points, why would the healers heal them and why would they drink a healing potion?

To prevent a 1 shot kill, assuming the system could support such damage incoming.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Correct. It's descriptive. At no point, though, is the description intending for nothing to be described, just mark off a handful of hit points because game.

But the problem is that without any play-affectibg implementation, the DM is within their writes to describe nothing at all, especially since it's impossible for any attack to cause an injury beyond unconscious or dead (or more likely nothing at all).

 

[Crimson Longinus]

To prevent a 1 shot kill, assuming the system could support such damage incoming.

But how do the characters know that the HP are missing?

 

[Scribe]

But how do the characters know that the HP are missing?

Vocal queues, observation, I mean I think I get you, but this is an area of obvious abstracts.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Vocal queues, observation, I mean I think I get you, but this is an area of obvious abstracts.

Observations of what? If you're not visibly hurt until you've lost half your hit points, what is there to observe?

 

[Scribe]

Observations of what? If you're not visibly hurt until you've lost half your hit points, what is there to observe?

Duress, being attacked, growing fatigue.

HP represents a lot, as an abstraction, so all that is valid.