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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fenris-77" data-source="post: 9843061" data-attributes="member: 6993955">I might agree with you in detail, but in broader strokes he's on to something. As regards HP for example. I'm not sure, as you are not, that the focus on HP in combat represents a desire path as such, at least not a path based on clear choices. I do think that HP tend to occlude most other options in combat though, especially for newer players. Sometimes that changes. For example, when one looks carefully at the 5E wizard spells the overwhelming usefulness of control spells over damage spells is pretty clear. The catch is you need a pretty deep reading (or a good blog post) to really see the underlying math and ramifications. Better examples might the 2014 Battlemaster, or Bardic Inspiration. What HP does have going for it is precisely what he mentions in the article - the effects are instant and very measurable. There are no delayed effects or fuzzy possibilities as there are if you decide to trip or disarm instead of doing direct damage. 5E really lacks any specific telos in combat other than the kill and doing damage speaks directly to that aim. In a different game, one that has morale rules and one that isn't predicated on fighting to the death, those other options might look more attractive to the same player, at least in part because they more directly index a path to a win condition.</blockquote>