Converting HD to Hits-To-Kill

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I had a suspicion the other day that HD 1 figures are more like HD 2 figures than HD ½ figures in terms of longevity since it will usually take at least 2 hits to defeat both (since HD 1, half the time, will have more hit points than damage dealt by a single attack). Simulated this and it turned out to be more-or-less true!

Hit Dice Turns to Defeat Hits to Defeat Relative to HD ½ Relative to HD 1
½d 2.37 1.16 100% 74%
1d–1 2.75 1.37 118% 87%
1d 3.22 1.58 136% 100%
1d+1 3.71 1.85
 159% 117%
2d 5.01 2.51
 216% 159%
4d 8.91 4.47
 385% 283%
6d 12.9 6.49
 559% 411%
8d 16.9 8.47
 730% 537%
10d 20.9 10.4
 897% 659%
12d 25.0 12.5
 1078% 793%

This effect is due to the Packing Problem, the effect of which Delta's D&D Hotspot also discusses on sweeping attacks: figures with less hit points "waste" overflow damage, whereas figures with more hit points soak the full force of the attack. This means that one attack is worth "more" against a higher-HD figure than one with lower HD.

This means that, when converting from hit dice to hits-to-kill, you might not want to use the same value 1:1 for lower-HD figures since HD 1 does not necessarily mean 1 hit-to-kill unless you round down. You might consider that monster 2 hits-to-kill instead, if it seems more appropriate. On the other hand, for HD greater than 1, the value is more or less equal to hits-to-kill.

Comments

  1. Jack TremainJanuary 30, 2024 at 3:53 PM

    I also moved to HD = Hits to kill and stumbled with this problem. It makes certain monsters a little weaker, but its OK in my opinion because at low levels it gives players a little inch of advantage. Why does your blog not have an index by month/year? Im having a rough time reading it and its a pity because Im liking it a lot. Consider putting one. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Marcia B.January 30, 2024 at 5:10 PM

      hello and thank you for reading! the archive widget available for this theme (under "old posts" on the side-bar) groups posts by month and year, although it doesn't display individual posts in list format like the old blogger theme does. will see if it's an option!

      Delete

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