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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 9200223" data-attributes="member: 42582">Gygax says exactly this in his DMG.For most monsters, depleting their hit points means physically hurting them. But for some, it's more like fighting a skilled warrior.Within the AD&D framework for hp, which as [USER=6747251]@Micah Sweet[/USER] notes 4e D&D picks up, there is no need to decide in advance what any given moment of hp loss means. It is narrated after-the-fact, reflecting everything that happened. So as Gygax explains, if a hit triggers a save vs poison then you can't narrate the hit and its consequences until the saving throw is rolled - if the save is made, the hit can be narrated as a graze or a near thing, narrowly avoided by skill and luck; if the save is failed, then some sort of physical injury must be narrated, even if it's only a mild puncture.</blockquote>