346
Uhhh... what spell are you using? (ttrpg.network)
submitted 2 years ago by to c/rpgmemes@ttrpg.network
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Good news, it was only Power Word Pain so. That was nice.

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[–] 12 points 2 years ago (19 children)

As a DM you should not be asking your players about their HP totals directly in order to target them with Power Words (or Sleep)

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  • [–] 16 points 2 years ago (6 children)

    As a DM, I don't think you should be using Power Word Kill at all. "I've set up this awesome encounter that you're all going to love. Except you. You'll have to sit this one out."

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    There are ways. You could, for example, set up a bbeg where that's his whole deal. The townsfolk are scared of this guy because he has the supernatural power to just kill you, straight-up. Maybe the questline leading up to their encounter involves the players finding defenses or counters or sabotaging his supply of spell components or whatever, such that, if they DO get power-word-killed, it's because they had ample opportunities to not, and failed to take them.

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  • [–] 1 point 2 years ago

    Can make for some epic moments depending on the party and setting and fight etc. My character in the first stage of the final fight of the campaign got power word killed after getting the BBEGs lair action enabling staff away from him, because taking the staff hurt him enough to put him under 100. Incredible narrative moment, didn't expect the disarm to work and he passed it off with his dying breath. Got revived in a later stage once reinforcements started showing up

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  • [–] 4 points 2 years ago (4 children)

    I agree. The enemy considering using the spell doesn’t know the HP totals. Why should the DM controlling that enemy?

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  • [–] 3 points 2 years ago (3 children)

    Whoever downvoted, I'd be interested in hearing why you disagree.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago

    I didn't down-voted. However, I would somehow disagree. Knowing how badly injured are the PC allows to adapt the tactic, in both direction. Yes the warrior is a tank who can take tons of hit (is there really games where PC have 100 HP ? that much ? ) and you have that social character who can't do much in combat, who is usually unconscious at the end of the first-round. So knowing how much HP do the PC have helps managing the right level of power against them and avoid stupid character death.

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  • [–] 2 points 2 years ago*

    Quite possibly the enemies have a better idea of the players' hitpoint total than the DM, since they can, like, see how the player characters look, and probably have been tracking the battle much more closely than the DM has.

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