|
5 years ago ::
Mar 06, 2008 - 10:21AM
#31
|
Date Joined:
Jun 15, 2002
|
Just wondering if anyone has thought about the whole 'bloodied' condition? Y'know, that thing that is roughly equal to about half your hit points. They way I see it, now of course I could be wrong but to me it makes sense, once you hit the 'bloodied' condition, that's when you've started taking the nasty wounds. Everything before that is going to be in the area of strained muscles, bumps, bruises, minor lacerations, etc. Anything past bloodied is going to the gushers, the gaping wounds and such.
Some of the others here have said it well, the healing surges, is catching your breath, putting some bandages on, or taking a swig of dwarven ale from your flask, whatever works for you, you block out the pain and continue on. Hell, humans do it all the time in real life. The human animal is a remarkable creature, we have the capability to do extraordinary things, usually in the most dire of circumstances. That's one of those things that make us special. And Dangerous.
|
|
|
|
5 years ago ::
Mar 06, 2008 - 10:31AM
#32
|
Date Joined:
Feb 10, 2008
|
^ I think you've got it 
|
|
|
|
5 years ago ::
Mar 06, 2008 - 10:58AM
#33
|
Date Joined:
Aug 19, 2007
|
Here's a question.
If Hit Points are not a measure of total physical damage (and I agree with this), how do you explain to your players as a DM "being hit by an arrow and taking 7 damage"
The ole reliable "It only grazed you." Or thudding into the armour with enough force to damage, but not seriously wound. I know that TECHNICALLY that is represented through the armour itself, but I think D&D would be a ridiculously frustrating game if arrows dealt the kind of damage that an arrow would actually do to a human being if it hit them.
It's like Pippin says in LOTR Return of the King to Denethor, when he asks how Pippin was able to survive whilst Boromir died
"A single arrow can fell even the mightiest of warriors, and Boromir was pierced by many."
While that's a great visual idea and realistic, its certainly not something I want my players to worry about to the same degree at Lvl1 and Lvl21. Who wants to play a character for months, watch them grow, change, struggle through epic deeds, only to see them go down to a single goblin with short bow?
I don't think that a hitpoint system as generous in amount as D&D's (even in 3.5) will ever be able to reflect reality. So this isn't something that's changed in 4E really...
|
|
|
|
5 years ago ::
Mar 06, 2008 - 11:06AM
#34
|
Date Joined:
Feb 18, 2008
|
Re: "You get hit by an arrow for 7 damage."
Things I've used in the past myself:
"The arrow lodges between two chinks in your armor. You pull it out easily: it didn't penetrate more than a half-inch or so."
"The arrow zips past your face, nicking your cheek and drawing a drop of blood. You're not hurt, but the closeness you came to death shakes you up pretty badly for a moment before you recover."
"The arrow thumps into your shield, and the edge bangs into your chin hard."
"You're just too suave to get hit by an arrow, but it carries away the martini in your hand."
|
|
|
|
5 years ago ::
Mar 06, 2008 - 11:13AM
#35
|
Date Joined:
Feb 10, 2008
|
Thanks for the clarification.
I was just wondering because about seven years ago now I remember a half-elf monk I was playing got hit by twenty one crossbow bolts and two spears (not at once) from Sahuagins invading a ship, he had three hitpoints left, but he survived. And the DM just said I became a pin-cushion. I sure would have loved Healing Surges then! :D
Using your above examples kind of states that in order to score a successful wound on a monster (or monster on character) it would take a few shots unless you were a Rogue doing a sneak attack, or any character scoring a critical hit?
I suppose that's all well and good
|
|
|
|
5 years ago ::
Mar 06, 2008 - 11:56AM
#36
|
Date Joined:
Sep 10, 2007
|
"You're just too suave to get hit by an arrow, but it carries away the martini in your hand."
Ha! I like that.
|
|
|
|
5 years ago ::
Mar 06, 2008 - 12:10PM
#37
|
Date Joined:
Jun 12, 2005
|
The way I understand the rules that I played at DDXP your average character can't just use healing surges, you get one second wind a combat which heals you your healing surge amount, some actions allow you to use a healing surge of your own, like when a cleric heals you, and others others to heal you using their healing surges, like the paladin's lay on hands.
The only thing thats any different suspension of disbelief wise seems to be the second wind, in between combat these can used approximately every 5 minutes or so, so you can think of it as bandaging your wounds, in combat its a standard action(unless you're a dwarf and then its minor) and its basically you spending the round gathering yourself instead of attacking.
|
|
|
|
5 years ago ::
Mar 06, 2008 - 12:26PM
#38
|
Date Joined:
Feb 20, 2008
|
Salla said it very well, as did others.
Damage isn't always a wound (although in order to adjudicate poisoned weapons you have to at least say that they knicked you with the weapon each time).
I've fought in matches. I've taken kicks to the head in full contact matches against 3rd degree black belts... and yes, some have been without the benefit of padding. At the end of the 3 minute match you are dead tired, sore, and feel like you're about to drop dead... but 30 seconds later, after you catch your breath, you're ready to jump back in and do it again.
Healing surges make perfect sense. The only trick will be to not give too many or too few surges to the PCs.
|
|
|
|
5 years ago ::
Mar 06, 2008 - 1:43PM
#39
|
Date Joined:
Dec 21, 2007
|
I have many of the same concerns some have raised in this tread.
I do understand that hp is a mix of physical and intangible aspects of health. I also think I understand the feel they are going for with the relatively high hp for lvl-1 characters, along with the availability of healing on the go, and being at 100% after a night’s rest. It seems to lend itself quite readily to a hack and slash type game where the PCs are not just heroic, but Super-Human.
My fear is that it makes my “red-box” D&D game less like fantasy and more like some sort of action-adventure film (and supported by all the Die Hard references). It seems to me that injury has NO lasting impact on the PC beyond the encounter. After a hard day fighting horde of orcs barely escaping death and spent of all energy, they are at 100% with roses and sunshine after just 6 hrs under the stars without using any resource of any sort. It makes me wonder if damage and injury has become too trivial.
A lot of the changes I have been reading about have been very interesting to me. I think the at-will / encounter / daily powers structure can work very well. But this is the 1st change I have saw that I disagree with. There should be some consequence when you end the day at 5% of your hp, instead of 90% of your hp. It seems to eliminate a part of the risk in combat.
I will have to test it out when the rules are released, but I can envision a house rule that you get a “free” surge after a night’s rest (along with a reset of your powers).
|
|
|
|
5 years ago ::
Mar 06, 2008 - 2:17PM
#40
|
Date Joined:
Oct 30, 2006
|
Yes, but in 4e, %50 of your hit points is considered bloodied. You are slowed down because of your injuries.... So, that sounds like physical damage.
But you can get from %50 to %75 in a standard round...
I feel the other posters have already answered the Hitpoints concern, but I still want to adress this one.
Being bloodied when hitting 50% does not mean that 50% of you HP represent physical injuries. The only thing it means is that by the time you are down to 50%, you're likely to have already suffered enough damage to slow you down a bit. That doesn't mean you've taken heavy physical damage or a serious wound or something, it just means that all those glancing blows, clubs to the shield, and superficial wounds are finally starting to get you down.
When that happens, people start to fight poorly and unwillingly, while heroes fight through the pain, ignore the weariness, shake off the low morale, and pull out a healing surge. 
I hope I was clear enough.
|
|
|
