Of Heroism and Hit Points part1

Land Of Nod has a good article on Hit Points. He describes hit points in his game Blood and Treasure ;

"Hit points don’t represent anything solid or real or concrete in and of themselves. Rather, they are part of a complex calculation that boils down to this: “What are the chances that the next moment of mortal peril you experience will be your last.” That mortal peril might be a sword fight, a poison needle, a trap door … anything that might kill you. Most often, hit points relate to combat.

This hits closest to how I imagine hit points work. To him they are an abstract measure of how likely you are to die in a dangerous situation. I think they are an abstract measure of how likely you think you are going to die. Think of it as morale. The player with their knowledge of the remaining hit point total acts like a countdown timer until they cut and run. That's how it could work. There is one problem though. Most players feel they have no other choice but to die when the ticker goes to 0. So many turn into suicide machines fighting on to the better end.

To counter this I use what I like to call my AWO option. Another Way Out. Let them escape or surrender and be taken prisoner. What ever the situation calls for.

P.S This is the first part of a two part post.
In the second part I will go into more detail about HPs work as morale.

I Lost My Notes

AARRGG! I lost my notes. I who never lose anything have lost my notes. I made a note about my next few posts. I just jotted a few thoughts on a single piece of small note paper. I can't find it anywhere.
I will just have to reconstruct the ideas from memory. During the search I did find an old note about several subjects that I never posted so its not too bad. One question to you fellow bloggers;
Do you plan ahead or just wing it when posting?

Not Falling for Falling Damage

Over at Grognardia there is an article about the falling damage articles from Dragon magazine. Falling damage was one of a few things that never made sense. It just didn't mesh with our expectations. Back then we were trying to make everything "realistic". But the relationship between hit points, weapons damage, healing and falling damage was always difficult to understand. Much effort was put towards this end with (IMHO) little results. Usually adding more rules to a growing list.
But I am not falling for it anymore. I my future games (as I'm not currently running any now) hit points are considered a measure of fighting capacity and are only used in stand up fights where you can defend yourself. Falling down isn't a fight so it doesn't do hit point damage. I might use a saving throw to escape unharmed or assign arbitrary damage like half your hit point total. That might seem harsh to some. However I did create the world and populate it. So why can't I decide how much damage someone takes from falling down?

P.S. In my world if its not a monster or NPC attacking you, then its not hit point damage. This includes traps.

I Forgot My Anniversary

My last post was just after the 3 rd anniversary of my blog. I can't believe I forgot it. January 14 was my first post 3 years ago. I also can't believe its been that long.

IF They Ask Me....

So WOTC is looking for players to tell them what they want in the new edition of Dungeons and Dragons. If they asked me I would gladly tell them what I want. I want D&D to be wild , mysterious and even a little bit creepy. I want the artwork to reflect that style. I would like the books to be like ancient tomes, not how to guides. I want them not care about upsetting people and not shy away from some material. I want the game to feel like an experience not an activity. I do not want some over hyped , one in every store, mass marketed, spoon fed, bubble wrapped, safe version of the game.

I WANT IT TO BE LIKE A HAUNTED HOUSE , NOT A FUN HOUSE.

That's what I would say if they asked me.

Rain on the Parade

5th edition scmith edition. I don't want to rain on the parade but the new edition of D&D will suck. By suck I mean fail to achieve its promise of having something for everyone. It just can't happen. I hope I am wrong but lets look at the facts. 3rd edition was supposed to be the massive revamp of the system designed to clear up and unify the rules and make the game accessible to a mass market. Yet it was replaced only 3 years later by the 3.5 "revision". 3.5 itself was replaced only 5 years after that by 4th. That edition was decried by many of the old guard as a tabletop copy online RPGs. 3.5 had a lifespan of 5 years. 4th ed is currently four years old. Time for a new edition! The designers might want a good game but the company wants a popular one. Popular means it will appeal to the most players. Does anyone wonder why 3 rd ed was so similar to computer games? I think the designers tried to tap into that popularity thinking popular=better. They could have turned away from that path with 4th ed. But they didn't so why would you think they would now. Sure they will listen to the players. But who is going to be talking. The squeakiest wheel will get the grease. I think the grognards voices will be lost to the noise of the munchkins.

P.S. This post didn't turn out as I originally planned. I had to compose it over the noise of children in the background.

I Got it , I Got it

Number two on the list of inspirational authors from the AD&D 1st ed DMG. I have been looking for years. Apparently John Bellairs is mainly a children's novel writer with only one adult book to his name. That might explain why its been difficult for me to find a copy. But after a recent trip to the local used book store to just browse the shelves it practically jumped out at me. I wasn't even looking for it at the time. Although coming in at less than 200 pages (my copy has 174) I look forward to it with great anticipation. Each book that I have read from that list has given me great insight into the complex realm that is Dungeons & Dragons.