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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Moochava" data-source="post: 4092209" data-attributes="member: 39691">You don't whittle away at someone's "chance to suddenly take a mortal blow"; nowhere does that happen. Yet you accept hit points without them violating your believability."Heroic people don't spam maneuvers like they're playing a first-generation arcade fighting game" works pretty well.Really, the thing with hit points is that you're required to make a lot of case-by-case ad hoc rulings if a player has a believability complaint. (I think players with believability complaints in the middle of games should choke on a pretzel, but that's an argument for another thread.) In round 1, losing 10 hit points represents ducking a blow and getting a little winded from it; in round 2 (since the player got hit with a minor poison effect), losing 5 hit points represents a slight cut on the chin. In round 3, the character doesn't die from his 50-foot fall because he crashes through some tree branches, slowing his descent, before he hits the ground--the NPC who died from the same plunge fell ten feet to the left, of course, and there was nothing to break his fall. In previous editions of D&D--and probably in 4E too--the DM is engaged in round-by-round justifications for an abstract system that is primarily designed to facilitate entertaining game-play. 4E's per-encounter powers will occasionally require the same sort of round-by-rounding in order to sync the desire for a "realistic" experience with a mechanical contrivance designed for fun."How come I can't use Decapitating Blow this round?""You already used your per-encounter power.""But I wanna know WHY!"(At this point, the player is ejected from my table for wasting everyone's time and being a tool, but if you must humor him...)"You're too tired from using it last time, so you can't focus.""What about this round? In my boundless arrogance and sense of entitlement, I demand that my illusion of verisimilitude be constantly maintained, though it distracts you from providing an entertaining game.""Okay, this round you can't line up a clear strike at anyone's head because they've watched your maneuvers and they're keeping their shields raised.""What about this round? My only joy is in pretending that D&D is an accurate simulation of reality.""This round all the orcs near you have iron gorgets that you can't cut through with your old sword.""Okay, what about this round? I won't be happy until I've outsmarted the DM by catching him in a setting-based contradiction.""More gorgets. They're all the rage in Orclandia.""Would they be 'all the rage' if I had my per-encounter power available?""You'll never know, since you don't have it available."I have a dozen explanations, each less flattering than the last.</blockquote>

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