Hiya!
Some of the discussion from other threads, and my gaming session last Sunday, has had me thinking about this a little more, and why it's problematic.
((SNIP))
So it seems like a paradox of sorts. HP are not just meat or fighting capability, but if you don't act like they are meat in the game, it has a negative affect to game play.
One thing I learned back in the mid to late 80's was this: If the players are really into a battle, don't be afraid to outright tell the players "Oh man, he's down to under 20hp now...!". Why? It gets them excited. Like, REALLY excited! Loud, smiling ear to ear and on the edge of their seat level of excitement. When they are all beat to Hell and back, and it's down to only the Barbarian with his two-handed sword, and the almost dead but still kicking Thief with his Shortbow and 6 arrows...telling the players how many HP their foe has is the right call.
But that's for uncommon situations.
For common, every day battle, again, I've found it best to tell a player that asks 'roughly' how many HP's it has left based on it's total, but I almost never use HP's unless it's a common monster and everyone at the table knows the creature's stats anyway (re: goblins, orcs, kobolds, ogre, etc). I adjust my descriptor and breakdown of HP's based on the PC's
class and level. So a 4th level fighter asking about an ogre they've been fighting: "He looks really hurt..multiple deep gashes, favouring his right leg and not swinging so much with his left shoulder...probably under a third HP". Maybe the ogre leader with 80hp max has 5hp left...or maybe it has 25hp. But the 4th level Sorcerer? "He's bleeding all over and is limping a bit, but it's hard to tell...half? Maybe a bit more or less?". By using the PC's Class and Level, it helps drive home that Fighters, while they may not be as smart as the Wizard or as wise as the Cleric...they know wounds, the sound's things make when in pain, and all that other 'battle stuff'. It's their jam, so to speak.
I gave up trying to 'define' any version of D&D's Hit Points decades ago. I just go with whatever seems good at the time. This changes battle to battle, character to character, and campaign to campaign...which is why I go with just accepting that it's part of the "game system" and using it, and the players knowledge of the mechanics, to drive the level of "should we be worried?" at the table. Otherwise you're just "code wording" mechanical numbers anyway (e.g., "At 25% hp it's deeply wounded and weak"...so every time a creature hits that 25% hp, it gets described as 'deeply wounded and weak'...you might as well just stop lying to yourself, accept that it's part of the game, and say "It's almost dead, gushing blood...probably under 20hp").
^_^
Paul L. Ming
