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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6599479" data-attributes="member: 42582">In the version of D&D that I am currently GMing - namely, 4e - there is no such thing as "maximum hp".It is fair to double a monster or NPC's hit points - that makes it into an elite, and requires some other changes too (+2 to saves, 1 AP for the encounter - very similar to a 5e fighter's action surge, and a boost in action economy, not unlike Legendary Actions in 5e). This in turn affects the XP budget of the encounter, which in turn interacts with other aspects of the mechanics (XP earned by the players, and milestones accrued, are the two main ones).Is it fair to make all NPCs/monsters elite? Sure, though that can have weird pacing consequences. I've run encounters where the PCs fight multiple solos, or a solo with an elite or two for company; but I wouldn't run all encounters that way. It makes for a lack of variety in pacing, tactics etc.Restatting a monster/NPC after initiative is rolled isn't something that I would do, though. It's the wrong point in time, as far as play procedures are concerned.Back when I used to GM AD&D, I used an XP system (a variant of Don Turnbull's MonsterMark from the early days of White Dwarf) which made XP dependent on hit points (on the simple principle that hit points determined staying power in combat). So in this system, if an NPC had more hp it was worth more XP - similar to 4e in that respect.</blockquote>