Hit Points (Get to the Point)...

When I was a young gamer (so many years ago), hit points seemed like the most important attribute, at least first among equals; and I had a point. In a pastime known for its lethality, one's hits amounted to life itself. How could a mere magic-user hope to compete, much less survive, with 2 hit points? And what was the point (pun intended) of so few anyway? You could say likewise for the whole Player's Handbook; fighters, the works...

And what about your avarage (in AD&D speak) fighter? A typical veteran with a median constitution had a whopping 4-5 hit points, which explains why constitution remains a close second to strength for any martial profession. A robust fighter might get 8 hits, which was definitely better, but first level was still a pretty bitter pill to swallow. By way of example, that's two hits with a longsword. And these were a party's front liners.

I understood. Magic-users specialized in spellcraft (niche protection); but fighters did combat for a living (again, pun intended). And levels didn't necesarily help, since these were rolled randomly on notoriously fickle dice. Barring merciful house rules, a 3rd-level type might easily run 10-12 hit points. That's three average hits from a common longsword. Of course, armor would reduce the number of successful hits, but still. It appeared unworkable...

Until I had an epiphany. After several years of generous house rules designed to mitigate the obvious flaw of a game where you couldn't venture room to room killing everything, I had a flash of insight that put the whole thing into perspective. Twin revelations that transformed my immature campaign into a mature enterprise. I think we all have these moments; and while youth is wonderful, these two insights heighted my pleasure in the game:

(1) You don't fight everything. But door-to-door killing is how it works, right? Wrong. Combat is dangerous, so you avoid all but the most obviously winnable (and profitable) encounters. I admit, a certain charming, get-to-the-point fun was lost; but gearing up to explore the waiting underworld took on a depth that made a second childhood altogether unthinkable...

(2) If at all possible, take henchmen. Charisma isn't a dump stat. An expedition is just that, an expedition. If your game doesn't look like a trip to the unexplored Congo, you're potentially missing out on valuable loot and, of course, experience. There's safety in numbers, and hired help blunts the power of wandering monsters while increasing profitable fights.

Of course, this isn't universal, and our latest, Mydwandr, assumes smaller parties with uniform progression. But you won't find long (or short) rests to recover precious resources either, calling for the same caution AD&D advised. There's no wrong way to play games involving elves and magic, and you may recognize my youthful apprehension in our earlier titles. Even so, AD&D's approach was no mere oversight, and that's this week's point...