Hit or Miss: Missed

In case you haven't seen my latest notes in "Hit or Miss" or "Hit or Miss in Detail," I decided not to continue my thoughts on the topic because Greg Stolze already discussed the topic in forum.rpgnet.com in February 2010. Of course, the existence of this article disproves my decision, but here we are. It was either this or I not spend the next few minutes writing this and posting it to my unread blog. And then where would we be?

So, I guess I'll just summarize some of what I intended to write because, for all I know, Greg Stolze and others on that forum may have already stated everything worth stating on the topic, and I would rather be blown out of existence by a sphere of annihilation than unintentionally reiterate something on the Internet.

To summarize, for whatever edition of Dungeons & Dragons or its simulacra or retro-clones you are playing, characters have hit points equal to their Constitution (or Stamina, etc.) and a random number of miss points for each level (equivalent to the hit points they would have gained for each level). Various editions use different dice for different classes. Heed them or houserule them as thou wilt.

I think I would simplify my earlier thoughts on significant wounds thusly: Once hit points are lost, the victim's attack rolls, initiative rolls, and saving throws (or attribute checks) are penalized at −1; once hit points are reduced to 50% or less, they are penalized at −2. Penalties disappear as hit points are healed (−2 when hit points rise above 50%; −1 when all hit points are healed). Critical hits remain unchanged for whichever version of the rules are being used. Actual hits, which reduce hit points, are therefore consequential, but remain uncomplicated.

And that's (probably) all I'll say about this topic.

(Drat. That's far more than I intended to say.)

Hit or Miss in Detail

[This article is an elaboration of "Hit or Miss."]

Characters begin with hit points equal to their Constitution. They acquire miss points as they level up.

Attacks that cause damage reduce a character's miss points first. Such attacks cause no harm whatsoever and are considered misses.

When a character's miss points are reduced to zero, further damage reduces a character's hit points. Such attacks always cause harm and are considered hits.

Any reduction of hit points causes a physical wound of some sort even if it is only a prominent scar. In general, any attack that reduces a character's hit points by 50% can be considered a significant wound that may impose a penalty to attacks, movement, or attribute checks until healed. Any attack that reduces a character's hit points by 75% can be considered a grievous wound that may result in permanent disability. The specifics of such wounds can be determined by hit location, random tables, GM fiat, or—if the GM consents—victor's choice.

Healing always restores hit points first. All of the usual methods of healing are effective in this regard.

Miss points can only be recovered when hit points are at maximum. Miss points are recovered by time and, possibly, the acquisition of good luck or good karma (depending on the game system and/or the GM).

With this rule option, I recommend that zero hit points should equal death. No death saving throws, no countdowns, no Constitution depletion. This compensates for the high number of hit points with which characters will start.

In a future article, I may address miss point acquisition and recovery as it applies to some well-known level-based fantasy role-playing games.

[This is my first blog post using my new System 76 computer running Linux. Freedom at last!]

[Edit: Replaced 25% with 50% for significant wounds and 50% with 75% for grievous wounds.]

[Edit: I just discovered that Greg Stolze already discussed this concept in forum.rpg.net in 2010. So, I'll not pursue this topic further.]

Hit or Miss

Since at least the late 1970s and the publication of the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Dungeon Masters Guide, there have been those (including E. Gary Gygax himself) who assert that hit points are not merely physical damage capacity (at least where player characters are concerned), but are a combination of luck, divine will, and "plot armor." If this is truly the case, then why not call it what it is? In pursuit of this line of reasoning, I propose a new rule. Make the hit point maximum static, and let player characters gain "miss points" as they level up.

In the case of Dungeons & Dragons and others of its ilk, make hit points equal to a character's Constitution (or its equivalent stat in other games). When characters level up, they gain miss points instead of hit points. When a character sustains damage, it is deducted from the character's miss points first. When those are depleted, the damage is deducted from the character's hit points. Until the damage starts to reduce hit points, no actual physical injury occurs. Healing occurs in reverse order: first hit points, then miss points. All of the usual healing methods are effective to restore hit points, but time alone restores miss points. Or maybe new rules could address additional miss point recovery along the lines of luck or karma acquisition.

Hit points as hit points are silly, but if you're going to keep them, you might as well run with it, hit or miss.

[See also "Hit or Miss in Detail."]

[Edit: I just discovered that Greg Stolze already discussed this concept in forum.rpg.net in 2010. So, I'll not pursue this topic further.]