Battleships & Barbarians!

What do battleships and destroyers have in common with barbarians and wizards?

Well, the answer may surprise you.

Welcome!

First of all, welcome to another exciting installment of The Philosphy of Game Mastering! A newsletter and YouTube channel for gamers of all ages, editions, and play styles.

In today’s letter I want to talk about the mathematical abstraction of Hit Points.

I'll show you how the Endurance trait in early wargames influenced the Constitution attribute in Dungeons & Dragons.

Are You New to Gaming?

If you’re new to tabletop roleplaying games, the term hit points and hit dice may seem confusing.

When I first heard about hit points, I had no clue what they were or how they differed from hit dice. They sound the same, right?!

I also didn't understand their importance and function in D&D, or how and why I needed to track them as a DM.

You may be in the same boat (no pun intended) but have no fear, I’ll explain what these cryptic terms mean shortly.

What’s a Hit?

You could be thinking to yourself, what kind of hits are we talking about exactly?

• Are we talking about a hit that a batter makes to an incoming fast ball?

• Or, a hit song that’s played on the radio?

• Or, the number of hits a player character can take before falling unconscious on a cold dungeon floor?

Yes, let’s talk about that last point!

Now, if you’ve been playing TTRPGs like Dungeons & Dragons for as long as I have, you know exactly what hit points are and why they’re important.

You may even know that Dungeon Masters keep track of the monsters’ hit points. And the players usually keep track of their own hit points.

Wait! Did you say “players USUALLY keep track of their hit points?!”

What other ways can you do it?

Well, I have some ideas with regards to how I like to track hit points, which I’ll share with you later.

But before I get to that, let’s talk about the history of where hit points come from and how they made it into D&D.

Going Way Back

Now, you’ve undoubtably heard of the game Chess, I assume?

Chess is a two player game where each player attempts to win by capturing the opponent’s King.

It’s like capture the flag, but with royalty.

In chess, each piece has a binary life force. And, unlike Schrödinger's cat, a chess piece can’t be alive and dead at the same time. Sorry Erwin.

In chess, each piece has a binary 'endurance'—it's either in play or captured, with no in-between. This straightforward approach makes the game easy to learn, but difficult to master.

However, this simplified combat can be limiting in other types of games. Wargames and roleplaying games, for instance, often need a more nuanced system to track the health and damage of individual units or characters, adding layers of realism and enhancing gameplay.

War Game History

In early war games, military units were made up of more than 1 soldier. This created more overhead to track the outcomes of battles, unlike a game of chess.

These grouped units, and the game rules that supported them, needed a more dynamic way to capture the sense of realism it needed. A realism that chess lacked.

The binary endurance of a chess piece, would not only be too unrealistic in military wargames, but would prove to be too boring to play as well.

YAWN!

The Complexity of the First Non-Binary Units

In 1812, a Prussian nobleman and wargaming enthusiast named Georg Leopold von Reisswitz wanted to develop a more “realistic” wargame.

Oh, crap! I forgot to explain what a wargame is. Sorry! Sorry! I’m really most awefully sorry!

Whew!

A wargame is a military-based strategic boardgame attempting to mimic battles between armies. The earliest wargames were invented in the German states around the turn of the 19th century. They were derivatives of chess, but the pieces represented real military units, like cavalry, infantry, and artillery.

In earlier wargames such as Hellwig (HELL-vig) and Venturini (ven-too-REE-nee), units were like chess pieces in that when attacked, they were simply killed and removed from play. Even if the pieces represented groups of soldiers.

By contrast, units in Reisswitz's game could suffer partial losses yet still remain on the battlefield. A unit might withstand several rounds' worth of enemy attacks before being removed.

Reisswitz's game was thus the first to incorporate unit hit points.

- From Wikipedia.

“The Reiswitz family first conceived of non-binary wargame units.” However, there was a complexity to its realism that made it cumbersome to track.

For example, in Jon Peterson’s book, Playing at the World, he describes the complexity of hits and damage on military units in a game of Kriegspiel.

If the infantry marched in three ranks, every point of damage would result in five men being lost. However, if they marched in two ranks, the effect of fire is reduced, and three points of damage would cause the loss of ten men, not 15.

WHAT?! Why is this so complicated?

In the complicated model of the Reiswitz system, tallying the damage inflicted on a unit required careful accounting. If that unit took enough damage, the referee withdrew the unit from the table.

By rejecting the binary method of damage, Reiswitz inaugurated a tradition of endurance in wargaming, systems wherein a unit can sustain quantitative damage, without being destroyed. Hit points in Dungeons & Dragons are fundamentally descended from this idea of endurance.

From Playing at the World by Jon Peterson

Simplified Endurance in Games

Fletcher Pratt (1897 - 1956) was the inventor of a set of rules for naval wargaming, which he created before the Second World War. The game was simply known as the "Fletcher Pratt Naval War Game" and it involved dozens of tiny wooden ships.

In Pratt’s wargame, each player is the commander of a single ship, effectively making their ship their entire army.

The responsibility of the referee for tracking the damage suffered by each ship is simpler than that of a kriegsspiel umpire, who manages hundreds of units that may or may not suffer individual wounds.

From Playing at the World by Jon Peterson

These early decisions of endurance played an important role in the Constitution attribute in D&D and would influence how damage and hit points worked.

Hit Points in D&D

The year is 1979, and Dungeons & Dragons is now five years old, having captured the imaginations of gamers across all ages. The game's success owes much to the surge in popularity of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series, which saw a significant revival in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

This resurgence brought fantasy literature into the mainstream, paving the way for D&D to introduce tabletop role-playing to a wide audience eager to explore their own epic adventures in fantastical worlds.

As the first game of its kind, D&D quickly became a cultural phenomenon, inspiring countless players to embrace the possibilities of storytelling and collaborative gameplay.

The British rock band Led Zeppelin, known for their blues-inspired riffs, also drew heavily from Tolkien's mythology, incorporating references into tracks like 'Ramble On,' 'The Battle of Evermore,' and 'Misty Mountain Hop.'

In 1979, D&D was a rocket ship of success, and its fans’ love of fantasy-based storytelling was its fuel.

Focus Shifts to Individual Units

As rules for wargames became more realistic, it focused more on the indivual units that made up armies of men. We saw this with Pratt’s ‘endurance’ trait, which treated a naval ship as a single unit. He quantified each ship’s functions by assigning values that made up its capabilities.

Pratt’s naval game thus treats a warship as a composite entity, one that slowly relinquishes its capabilities (movement, speed, and firepower) as it withstands enemy bombardment.

From Playing at the World.

This move towards single units—with multiple composite traits—would play a huge influence in how hit points were used in Dungeons & Dragons.

Ship Endurance, Becomes Constitution in D&D

Many gamers think a reduction in hit points is about taking physical damage, and they’re not wrong. But, they’re only half right.

On page 82 of the 1st edition AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide, under the section simply titled HIT POINTS, it states the following:

(Hit points) reflect both the actual physical ability of the character to withstand damage…and a commensurate increase in such areas as skill in combat and similar life-or-death situations, the ‘sixth sense’ which warns the individual of some otherwise unforeseen events, sheer luck, and the fantastic provisions of magical protections and/or divine protection.

Therefore, Constitution (the attribute that modifies a character’s hit points) affects both actual ability to withstand physical punishment (physique) and the immeasurable areas which involve the sixth sense and luck (fitness).

It’s clear from these words, that hit points not only represented a character’s physical health, but also their ability to withstand damage based on their luck, their sixth sense, and otherworldly magical and divine protections.

And, this makes a ton of sense to me. If hit points were just about physical damage, most 15th level characters would have hit points much closer to their first level equivalents.

Hit Points Are About XP (Prove Me Wrong)

In Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, the type of hit die used to generate a monster's hit points is determined by that monster's size.

Here’s a breakdown:

Tiny: d4

Small: d6

Medium: d8

Large: d10

Huge: d12

Gargantuan: d20

In D&D, when a character gains levels, their hit points increase accordingly.

But, the important point to rememebr is, their hit die is based on their character class, not their size.

In general, a character’s physical size remains the same as they gain experience points and go up in level.

Therefore, all increases to a character’s hit points are an abstraction that has more to do with their luck, sixth sense, and magical or divine powers.

Let’s look at an example. But first, a warning.

WARNING: This section has a lot of math in it to show calculations and prove I’m not full of BS. Just wanted to warn you. Feel free to skip to the next section.

OK. Carry on!

Joe’s Boring Calculations

In Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition, a Fighter's hit point progression is determined by their Hit Die, which is a d10, plus their Constitution modifier.

A breakdown of the average hit point progression for the Fighter Class, from 1st level to 15th level, looks something like this:

1st Level: At 1st level, a Fighter's hit points are equal to 10 + their Constitution modifier.

Subsequent Levels: From 2nd level onward, a Fighter gains an additional 1d10 (or 6 on average) + their Constitution modifier for each level.

Calculating Average Hit Points:

For simplicity, let's assume the Fighter has a Constitution modifier of +2 throughout their progression.

1st Level: 10 (base) + 2 (Constitution modifier) = 12 hit points.

2nd to 15th Level: Each level adds 6 (average roll on a d10) + 2 (Constitution modifier) = 8 hit points per level.

Calculation for levels 2 through 15:

Total hit points gained = 14 levels × 8 hit points = 112 hit points.

Adding 1st Level Hit Points:

Total Average Hit Points at 15th Level = 12 (1st level) + 112 (2nd to 15th level) = 124 hit points.

Therefore, a Fighter with a +2 Constitution modifier would have an average of 124 hit points at 15th level.

Math Section Ends

You’re welcome.

Hit Points and the Bloodied Condition

Seeing this abstraction of hit points is interesting because it makes the “Bloodied” condition make a lot more sense.

What’s the Bloodied condition, you ask?

Well…

On June 6, 2008, when D&D was only 36 years old, Wizards of the Coast released the Fourth Edition of the Dungeons & Dragons game.

D&D 4E introduced a new game condition called “Bloodied.”

The Bloodied condition occurs when a creature or character has lost half or more of their maximum hit points. So, if a 15th level Fighter has a maximum hit point score of 100, they would be considered Bloodied when their hit points fell to 50 or less.

Author’s note: At the time of this writing, I don’t have a copy of the 2024 5e PHB so I’m unsure if the Bloodied condition was carried over. If you have a copy of the new 2024 PHB, could you please let me know? Thanks.

Where Did Bloodied Go?

The Bloodied condition wasn’t officially moved into D&D 5th edition, but it is mentioned once in the 2014 5e Dungeon Master’s Guide. On page 248, it states:

You can describe a monster taken to half its hit points as bloodied, giving the players a sense of progress in a fight against a tough opponent, and helping them judge when to use their most powerful spells and abilities.

Although Bloodied is only mentioned once in the 5e DMG—and more as a description than an official Condition—it’s mentioned 56 times in the 4th Edition Player’s Handbook.

Yes, 56 times.

Why I think Bloodied Wasn’t Carried Over to 5e, but Could Be 🤔

Of all the other conditions that actually were carried over to fifth edition from 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0, none of them involved hit points. Well, unless you count the Unconscious condition (when a character is reduced to zero hit points.)

But, I’ll argue that the Unconscious Condition isn’t really about hit points because a character can be knocked Unconscious in other ways without having zero hit points (such as under the effects of a Sleep spell).

But, having zero hit points is one of the triggers of the Unconscious condition.

Bringing Bloodied Back

Regardless of its “unofficialness” in 5e, I think the Bloodied condition should be used in your 5th edition campaign. Why, you might ask?

Well, it’s a wonderful trigger for secondary effects and can make combat more exciting, dynamic, and unpredictable. All the things I love in a great D&D battle.

In fact, on the website, TheGamer.com, in an article entitled, Dungeons & Dragons: Bloodied Condition Explained, Mason Quah reveals several great ways to use the Bloodied Condition.

He lists 5 examples, but I’m only sharing the first. Check out his article to read them all.

Idea #1 Magical Triggers — Multiple spells allow the user to program in specific triggers. Contingency and Glyph of Warding both activate when a preset condition occurs.

Usage: Have a villain (that the party isn’t supposed to kill yet) have a Contingency spell that teleports them to safety when bloodied. A Contingency spell cannot be counter-spelled.

Now, I like where Mason is going with this, but as a Dungeon Master, I’m not sure I’d allow a spell caster in my campaign (PC or NPC), to use the Contingency spell in a manner that crosses the threshold between in-game and meta-game.

What Are You Talking About, Joe?

What I mean here is that I wouldn’t allow a PC to create a trigger for the Contingency spell that the PC wouldn’t know about “in-game.” And since, the Bloodied condition is something only a player would know about (and not their character) I wouldn’t allow it as a trigger for the spell.

The example given in the PHB, for the spell Contingency, references Water Breathing as an example, with a trigger of: “if my character becomes submerged in water, trigger my Water Breathing spell.”

This makes sense as an “in-game” trigger for the Contingency spell.

However, stating a condition, such as Bloodied, shouldn’t be allowed as a valid, in-game spell trigger. But, stating something that says: “If I ever become unconscious, trigger my spell.”

I’m Getting Triggered Here

For example, a character could state, “Trigger my Teleport spell if I fall unconscious.” This work because the spell caster knows about being unconscious in the game world, but wouldn’t know about Bloodied because it’s a condition of a game mechanic that’s outside of the campaign world.

Is this making any sense? Let me know in the comments.

How I Track Hit Points (it’s not for everyone)

As I mentioned earlier, DMs typically track hit points and damage for the monsters and each player usually keeps track of their character’s hit points and their sustained damage.

However, sometimes, as a DM, I like to keep track of everyone’s hit points, the monsters and the players.

But Joe, why? Why in the world would you want to do that?

Well, I have my reasons:

1. Playability - It allows the PCs to be focused on the battle, and helps to hide details that their characters wouldn’t know about. For example, when you’re sick or injured in real life, you know how bad you feel without having to calculate hit points.

As the DM, this allows you to focus on using descriptions of the hits a PC sustains and how bad it makes them feel. Whether it causes bleeding, a broken arm, or if a hit is so powerful, it knocks the character back 10 feet and into a dungeon wall.

2. Abstraction - If players don’t know their current hit points they’ll think more strategically about the battle. It helps separate the environment from the rules and removes game information that may unduly influence their character’s decisions.

3. Realism - By not having to track a real-world mathematical calculation, it allows the players to be more immersed in the game world, making it seem more realistic and intriguing. It also helps focus their imaginations on the more important parts of the game.

You might be thinking, Joe, are you crazy?

This is you talking: As a DM I’m dealing with so much overhead as it is during a game session. Why would I want to take on more work and have to track the PC’s hit points when they can easily do it themselves?

I hear you. I thought the same thing too.

If you’re still not convinced, that’s okay.

But, I do want to let you in on a little secret…

It’s not that hard to keep track of all the hit points in a battle especially if you have the right system in place.

Which brings me to…

My Secret Hit Point System Framework

Hiding the PCs current hit points from them is what I call Secret Hit Points.

For obvious reasons.

And, the way I keep track of this is by focusing on ticks and tracks, instead of adds and subtracts.

Graph Paper to the Rescue

Other than dice, rulebooks, and a pencil, a DM’s best friend is graph paper. Ah, yes, trusty old graph paper!

Graph paper is great for drawing out dungeon maps, but they’re also great for matrices and damage charts.

What’s a damage chart, you might ask?

Well, it’s the next best thing since sliced pie. I like pie. 🥧

Through the magic of graph paper, I’ve created a simple, yet powerful, system to keep track of hit points for monsters and players.

In the next few days, I’ll be recording a new YouTube video using this newsletter content as my script. Towards the end of the video, I’ll provide an overview of this system and how you can use it in your next game.

Until then, thanks for being here and keeping me company on my life-long journey as a Dungeon Master.

Thanks and I’ll see you again soon!

-Joe

P.S. I’ll be providing a PDF of my damage tracker when I release the video version on YouTube next week. Stay tuned.

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I’m not only a gamer and dungeon master. I’m a husband and a father. I’m also a writer, ghostwriter, and editor. I’m working on more than gaming content and I’ve been teaching what I know and learn.

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