I could have sworn I posted this as a discussion topic a while back but I cant find it and sadly, cant remember for sure if it was here or elsewhere so...

Im playing D&D 5th Ed. with a new group and things are going well. I am also rebuilding a 30 year old campaign in the 5th ed. role for my own campaign to start during the holidays.

In becoming reacquainted with D&D I am struck by an oddity in the narration of combat effects. Its been around forever and been discussed to death Im certain but as I am returning to the game after a LONG hiatus its a new issue for me.

I am well versed in what a HP actually represents and understand that hitting someone in D&D and applying damage does not necessarily represent physical injury to them, BUT

How the hell does a GM then narrate the fight?

I would be willing to bet that a Vast majority of GMs, when consulting their Goblin's AC and determining the player's roll did indeed register a hit, probably say something like...

"Your sword cuts into the Goblin and he screams, spitting at you through his pointed teeth, but he is still standing."

The same would apply when the Goblin attacks the PC. More than likely some sort of Impact or Injury is related, because....lets face it, a HIT is a HIT - not a miss that bled some of the target's energy, stamina, skill or luck away. Mechanically that may well be what is represented but it seems very difficult to reply to a player that succeeded in rolling higher than his target's AC with...

"Your swing is a good one and he really has to dodge out of the way to avoid it, looks like you are pressing him hard, defenses are weakening!"

I mean, seriously? Does anyone actually do that?

The issue here is of course of no consequence unless you factor in healing, which in 5th ed is pretty rapid (ridiculously rapid) So when a GM explains the Goblin slashes the PC's arm, bruises him through his armor and cracks a rib as he falls down... it creates a very odd situation when these apparently nasty injuries suddenly dissappear without any magical assistance after the guy takes a nap.

So... Im not complaining about the healing (Thats another thread) instead Im simply asking how to narrate the actual loss of HP so this odd disconnect doesnt occur in the game?

Thanks in advance!

Everything is a nick, or something that would have hit but for a great exertion on the part of a character increasing their sense of fatigue (addressing the stamina portion of HP), or (rarely) prevented by something unusual (the favor of the gods expended on behalf of the PC)...until the last few hit points.  Then hits are narrated to substantially strike.

"You gave it to him hard that time!"

Humans in the real world can be damn tough, so there's no reason adventurers can't be, too. Plenty of athletes have kept playing despite broken bones or other serious injuries. Hits for fairly low damage might be small cuts or mostly absorbed by armor. More damaging attacks are more dangerous, leaving characters bruised or bleeding. And the final blows that see a character's final HP slip away deliver potentially lethal wounds that can endanger the character's life if left untreated.

One thing to keep in mind is that just because a character is at full HP doesn't mean they are completely recovered from a fight. They might still have cuts or healing bruises. But they're at full HP because those wounds aren't significant enough to be a problem. You see this sort of thing in fiction all the time. Protagonists get the crap kicked out of them and go out to fight again with healing wounds that don't really hold them back. In D&D terms, they'd be at full HP even though they're technically still wounded, narratively speaking.

That's how I treat it, anyway. No clue if that's how the latest books suggest doing it.

"He hits you for five points of damage."

Don't try to make D&D a role-playing game when it's not one.

Yeah!

Now getting shot for 3 pts of Str, on the other hand, now THAT'S Roleplaying!

Quote from: CRKrueger;999873Yeah!

Now getting shot for 3 pts of Str, on the other hand, now THAT'S Roleplaying!

Speaking of hands, I don't believe it counts as roleplaying unless hit locations are involved.

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;999865"He hits you for five points of damage."

Sorry Gronan but thats just not how I like to run the game. Nothing wrong with it of course, it is a GAME afterall of numbers, dice, statistics and such but I really enjoy (holding breath, closing eyes, waiting for the backlash) the story that all that statistical math and probabilities stuff generates. I have lots of wargames that dont require anything other than "You force him to back up one hex" or "the unit is now depleted, flip the counter over". I just see Roleplaying games as something much more in the interpretation department. I try to keep the game mechanic stuff to a minimum and relate everything I can in a more flavorful style. Its just a preference, once I know a lot of GMs enjoy, my players pretty much expect it.

The late Gary Gygax would probably disagree, as would ..oh, I dont know, thousands of players and GMs across the world. Its never been my favorite system certainly but your statement doesnt hold much weight in my opinion.

I'm certain you made a thread about this, somewhere...

Quote from: rgrove0172;999883Sorry Gronan but thats just not how I like to run the game. Nothing wrong with it of course, it is a GAME afterall of numbers, dice, statistics and such but I really enjoy (holding breath, closing eyes, waiting for the backlash) the story that all that statistical math and probabilities stuff generates. I have lots of wargames that dont require anything other than "You force him to back up one hex" or "the unit is now depleted, flip the counter over". I just see Roleplaying games as something much more in the interpretation department. I try to keep the game mechanic stuff to a minimum and relate everything I can in a more flavorful style. Its just a preference, once I know a lot of GMs enjoy, my players pretty much expect it.

Well, I try to enforce tension in a different way.

If a player says "Is that guy still STANDING?" I will say "He's laughing at you as he fights," or "he looks pretty beat up," or "he's leaking all over the carpet", or something.

But I want to keep things moving fast; the fury of hand to hand combat, confusion, tension, not knowing for sure what's going on, and the monkey brain in back of your head screaming to hit the other fucker until he stops moving.

Until the foe collapses and the players groan "Thank fucking CROM!"

Mileage, vary, etc.

Quote from: rgrove0172;999884The late Gary Gygax would probably disagree, as would ..oh, I dont know, thousands of players and GMs across the world. Its never been my favorite system certainly but your statement doesnt hold much weight in my opinion.

?

Quote from: Gronan of Simmerya;999865"He hits you for five points of damage."

Nah, that would just take me out of immersion and back to thinking of the character as just numbers on a page.

Quote from: CRKrueger;999873Yeah!

Now getting shot for 3 pts of Str, on the other hand, now THAT'S Roleplaying!

Traveller is awesome. Don't take it out on Traveller just because Shawn is annoying with his Tourette syndrome squawks about real role-playing games.