How Many Hit Points Should a D&D Monster Have? #dnd #lazydm

Mike shows his system for determining how many hit points a monster should have and how much damage a monster should inflict.

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[petsdinner]

I gotta admit, CR was a complete mystery to me until I heard you talking about damage and HP "per challenge rating"! After that I opened up the DMG, found the averages of everything, stuck it all in a spreadsheet and now I have every monster I could ever want right in front of me! Cheers Mike!

[dukeragnvaldr]

I enjoyed this. Thank you. Since we are talking about simplifying it because it’s just a guide, I would suggest…
…CR x7 = damage output. Then just double that for hit points.

[Throgmoyd]

As well as your sensible 'dial-tweaking' suggestion, clearly not every single monster of any given type is going to be the same strength, have the same number of HP etc. I've been operating a 'HP Red Zone' approach for monsters effectively for a while now. The monster type is given a HP range from manageable- to difficult- with the Monster Manual suggestion being somewhere in-between. I have in mind a version suitable to my group's capabilities to set a theoretical 'death point' within the red zone. As the conflict ensues, this point can be fluid. It's equivalent to dial-tweaking but with predefined limits. It's allowed me to introduce the players to monsters that might otherwise be 'too high a CR' - and similarly helps me extend the lifespan of the campaign by stretching out the party's cumulative 'level'. Am increasingly playing with the game mechanics to try and permit the characters to experience longer campaigns and more adventures. Whilst not embracing Professor DM's 'hardcore' path, I am enjoying the Five Torches Deep concise, pseudo-OSR approach. Fortunately the Lazy DM guidance applies whatever rules I use! :-) OneD&D, SchmoneD&D.

[michaelcourtemanche]

Hi Mike. I just got the "Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master" & "The Lazy DM's Workbook". Thank you for writing these. Happy to support your for all your hard work.

[Spyger]

What a great shoutout. I've been using and iterating on that work by Paul Hughes for a while now. SUPER helpful for those of us who tweak/homebrew all of our NPCs, especially since the official guidelines are so screwy!
Oh, and I also settled on 7 damage per CR. Great minds think alike, I suppose!

[GeeVeeGM]

CR is so busted it is almost funny, particularly given what players can do. I focus a bit more on the attack bonus since it doesn't matter how much damage I do if I can't hit a player. And it gets players' attention when a monster rolls anything over 20 to hit. :) I really like the table from blog of holding you shared. Super helpful.

[carlwarner]

What I'd add is that I tend to lean lower AC higher HP. Nothing is more frustrating to players than getting to your turn and just missing both your attacks. It's like teachers when they tell their students to just turn in something because anything is better than a zero.

[ladyofpain]

Great content sir. The most helpful think I have learned is to create stat lines, a one line version of a stat block.

[dragonflyradio]

I'm done running hit points monsters. I use rounds and put in an hp target for the players to meet to finish the combat early. Some encounters I use pooled hp for the monster group and drop off lower threat monsters as the pool is whittled away, reducing the damage output for the encounter as the group damages the enemies, a minion rule variant. My logic is based on the idea that monster hp is functionally designed to dictate the length of a combat. Legendary resistance is a hint that the designers think 3 rounds is the minimum length of a satisfying combat for a monster with 3 LRs

[wanderinghistorian]

You are the king Mike. If anyone asks I always recommend your Workbook and Companion books over the DMG.

[RIVERSRPGChannel]

I’m hoping to get your book for my birthday

[majestyc]

I'll say it again, I've never liked CR. Equating Monster HD to Player HD was much easier.

[cmsgiahatch]

This is probably answered somewhere already but does this HP calculation factor for resistances? When I've customized stuff based on the CR tables in the DMG, they seem to half HP for creatures with resistances...but in mid level play and above (and most of my games), magic weapons are fairly common so it makes those encounters really easy if I just follow the book. So I tend to just give them more HP (or adjust it based on how many rounds I want a fight to last compared to average party damage).

[austinvardeman]

I realize im late to the party, but what exactly do you mean by damage? I get the concept but am having trouble thinking about it practically. For example, how does a CR 3 monster dish out 20 damage per round....going off of dice averages thatd be close to 8d4, 6d6, 4d8, 3d10, or 2d12 (i know not all of those are exactly 20, but they are close enough 🤷‍♂️)

[stephenchilcoat]

The Monster HP and damage and attack bonuses are all bumping up because the player HP, Attack bonuses, and damage are super high. IMO both should come way down. 1 pc vs 1 monster with both having say 12 hp is the same as both of them having 80hp. The battles just take longer and get lost in minutia and math. To me, games or more fun when we don’t have to stop and do math for ten minutes with every action.

[garryame]

SF, have you ever considered making a book of monsters, or adding a monster section in one of your books?

[brandonduer]

Less damage at higher cr because monsters get more attacks