Yes, but the not getting hit thing still does apply. I think that they are just taking the health out of your armor, like how you use your skills to better us it. The barbarian doesn’t have armor so it would still be taking the health out of his body.
Honestly, its the tough part of how D&D works...armor doesn't really stop damage...it just makes it harder to..."hit" so either stuff hits and damages or misses...there's no mechanical way to say, "OK you hit but their armor absorbed all the damage!" D&D, 5E specifically, makes it much harder to do things like remove limbs because of how its setup and it feels to me like the average 5E player isn't looking for things that give disadvantages.
That's still the default assumption in 5e; see "Describing The Effects of Damage" in Player's Handbook chapter 9 (Combat). Not gonna quote the whole thing here since it's not part of the free rules, but the idea is that you're only hit directly by attacks that drop you to 0 HP.
Not to be a jerk, but there is no such section in the PHB. There is a "Damage and Healing" section in Chapter 9, with the above referenced rule about loss of it points having no affect until the creature is reduced to 0 hit points.
I feel kind of bad bringing this up weeks later - but since the thread is still active, for the record there is such a section in my Player's Handbook. It's a sidebar, so you may have overlooked it. Of course there's no question that there's no effect to damage until 0 HP. "Describing the effects of damage" is a presented as a narrative suggestion, not a mechanical rule.
That's still the default assumption in 5e; see "Describing The Effects of Damage" in Player's Handbook chapter 9 (Combat). Not gonna quote the whole thing here since it's not part of the free rules, but the idea is that you're only hit directly by attacks that drop you to 0 HP.
Not to be a jerk, but there is no such section in the PHB. There is a "Damage and Healing" section in Chapter 9, with the above referenced rule about loss of it points having no affect until the creature is reduced to 0 hit points.
I feel kind of bad bringing this up weeks later - but since the thread is still active, for the record there is such a section in my Player's Handbook. It's a sidebar, so you may have overlooked it. Of course there's no question that there's no effect to damage until 0 HP. "Describing the effects of damage" is a presented as a narrative suggestion, not a mechanical rule.
Copied from the PHB on DDB. Found in chapter 9 between Falling Unconscious and Death Saving Throws, as an insert. I'm not currently at home so I cant check through my various physical copies to see if this was added after an earlier printing.
DESCRIBING THE EFFECTS OF DAMAGE
Dungeon Masters describe hit point loss in different ways. When your current hit point total is half or more of your hit point maximum, you typically show no signs of injury. When you drop below half your hit point maximum, you show signs of wear, such as cuts and bruises. An attack that reduces you to 0 hit points strikes you directly, leaving a bleeding injury or other trauma, or it simply knocks you unconscious.
No, the point is that HP is an abstraction of your ability to remain standing in combat that encapsulates more than just your ability to soak injuries. Also, a direct hit against an armored or similarly toughened foe would not necessarily be fatal/debilitating either; that was rather the point of armor. There's not a singular "right" or "correct" way to describe damage, the sidebar in the PHB is just a guideline.
Maimings, decapitations, shots through the eyes or heart - all that happens at zero HP.
HP isn't a measure of physical damage only, but also of combat readiness. As long as the opponent retains HP, they narrowly escape certain death (how narrowly defined by how much HP they have left, and how much damage the attack did) by partially dodging or whatever.
Also, if the PC's can do it, so can NPC's. So allow insta-kills for shooting at the eyes, and everyone will be doing it.
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Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
So wouldn’t that be him getting hit then?
Honestly, its the tough part of how D&D works...armor doesn't really stop damage...it just makes it harder to..."hit" so either stuff hits and damages or misses...there's no mechanical way to say, "OK you hit but their armor absorbed all the damage!" D&D, 5E specifically, makes it much harder to do things like remove limbs because of how its setup and it feels to me like the average 5E player isn't looking for things that give disadvantages.
I agree
Trying to apply the science and physics to a fantasy game is hard…
I guess this is why forums are a thing
I feel kind of bad bringing this up weeks later - but since the thread is still active, for the record there is such a section in my Player's Handbook. It's a sidebar, so you may have overlooked it. Of course there's no question that there's no effect to damage until 0 HP. "Describing the effects of damage" is a presented as a narrative suggestion, not a mechanical rule.
Copied from the PHB on DDB. Found in chapter 9 between Falling Unconscious and Death Saving Throws, as an insert. I'm not currently at home so I cant check through my various physical copies to see if this was added after an earlier printing.
DESCRIBING THE EFFECTS OF DAMAGE
Dungeon Masters describe hit point loss in different ways. When your current hit point total is half or more of your hit point maximum, you typically show no signs of injury. When you drop below half your hit point maximum, you show signs of wear, such as cuts and bruises. An attack that reduces you to 0 hit points strikes you directly, leaving a bleeding injury or other trauma, or it simply knocks you unconscious.
So according to all this, all attacks are indirect hits until you are knocked unconscious, that strike being direct, right?
No, the point is that HP is an abstraction of your ability to remain standing in combat that encapsulates more than just your ability to soak injuries. Also, a direct hit against an armored or similarly toughened foe would not necessarily be fatal/debilitating either; that was rather the point of armor. There's not a singular "right" or "correct" way to describe damage, the sidebar in the PHB is just a guideline.
Maimings, decapitations, shots through the eyes or heart - all that happens at zero HP.
HP isn't a measure of physical damage only, but also of combat readiness. As long as the opponent retains HP, they narrowly escape certain death (how narrowly defined by how much HP they have left, and how much damage the attack did) by partially dodging or whatever.
Also, if the PC's can do it, so can NPC's. So allow insta-kills for shooting at the eyes, and everyone will be doing it.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
So…RP flavoring?