When your DM asks you how many hit points you have left...

[Darth K'Trava]

I'd rather the DM tell me right straight up. I know one time he did fudge the rolls to keep from killing my ranger one time.... he didn't want to kill him again so soon after him just coming back from the afterlife. But I can deal with it if I lose a character due to damage. I'll either see if they can be brought back or just roll up another one...

 

[Lalato]

How completely weird... this just happened to me last Sunday. The DM, not thinking clearly, pitted us against creatures of a much higher CR than we could handle (we're 2nd level). My soulknife moves in to attack and gets critted for 29 points of damage. Even if it wasn't a crit. Half that damage would have been enough to get me close to unconscious.

It ended up being a TPK.
--sam

 

[Darth K'Trava]

I'd always tell the DM any time he asks, I think it is only reasonable.

When I'm DM I need to know how many hp each PC has as base (and currently) so I can judge threats appropriately.

BTW, on Sunday the DM didn't ask the half-orc barbarian's player how many hit points he had left (it was about 10) since the clay golem went "critical hit, 40 damage! Critical hit, 38 damage!). Poor old Fragh was (literally) pasted...

Sounds like what happened to this one guy's paladin, when his wife who was DMing, screwed up on the monster generator and gave a cloud giant about 8 fighter levels on top of it's CR! Three whocks later and there was only a gooey mass where the paladin once stood after charging the creature. It wasn't until afterwards we found out she'd screwed up with generating this encounter. It was a 9th level party vs. an 18th (approx.) level cloud giant.

 

[reanjr]

I have a table rule, at no time are you to speak how many hit points you have left. I don't want to know. You can tell others that you look "seroiusly wounded" or whatever, but as the DM I never know how many hit points the PCs have until they drop dead. The PCs know I'm not going to do some quick math and leave them at -5 or whatever.

That would be great except anybody can keep track of hit points by listening to how much damage has been dealt out. I never saw a purpose in it. My players watch the dice and earmark the AC and Attack Bonus of everything they come into contact with. They see what the thing does to see if it might be an advanced version of a normal creature. (the goblin just cleaved, so he's got at least 3 levels or a level of fighter instead of the normal 1 level of warrior). They even remember these things for recurring villains (well, we last fought him 3 months ago and he dropped at 73 damage before getting teleported away; he might have even more now).

The only way around this that I've found is to not use the rules for monsters. If I want a level 1 goblin warrior with great cleave, I can have it. Rules take to long to follow anyway.

 

[megamania]

If asked I tell. When I ask as a DM it is basically to know it I killed you or tore you in two

 

[FroggusMaximus]

Merak, IIRC the player in question here wanted to make a new PC anyway.

Also, I would like to point out that you didn't seem to mind using that same tactic on the archer. Did the arrowhawks happen to miss him and tag the monk on the second round?

I think you're just upset you didn't take me out and are subtly asking people ways to off the archer without guilt.

-Frog


P.S. YEA first post

 

[reanjr]

http://barsoom.hyboria.net/Swash.html

Fast enough for ya?

No .zip or .tar format?

 

[Jdvn1]

This (relatively) new group I'm in says the percentage of hp they're at. I don't get it.

 

[sarek]

I voted to tell the DM, but the question is phrased like the infamous "have you stopped beating your wife yet?" The DM may not be asking in order to fudge, but just to make the description of what happens more accurate. If the blow drops you to -1 hp I might describe it differently than if it drops you to -17 hp. If I'm not sure exactly how close the character is to death I don't wish to describe a blow as almost lethal, when in fact it is a lethal blow.

Yeah this is EXACTLY what I do in this situation.

 

[A'koss]

I don't think I've ever let the players keep track of their own hit points. I just let them know how much sanity-stipping agony they're in...