[RPG] Are enemies’ combat statistics and current HP public or hidden

combatdnd-5e

During my very first game using D&D 5e as a DM where everyone has zero experience in TRPG, the party got in to a battle with 4 enemies. I was using Roll20 and I instinctively showed every player the enemies status and remaining health. After the session, I realized that I did not know how to handle enemies at all. My question is how much raw information do you reveal to the player? Do I…

  1. Present the raw data to the player (the goblin has 15 HP, 7 AC. Your attack dealt 1 point of damage) or
  2. Use descriptive term for everything and keep the number to myself? (the goblin looks weak and has a worn-out armor. Your attack barely scratch the goblin) ?

This also extend to the player as well. Should I allow the player to say "I have 7 HP left!" or should they only say "I'm almost down!" ?

Best Answer

Monsters' Hit Points

There is nothing wrong here if the DM decides to show actual Hit Points as numbers. See DMG, page 247:

Tracking Monster Hit Points
During a combat encounter, you need to track how much damage each monster takes. Most DMs track damage in secret so that their players don't know how many hit points a monster has remaining. Whether you choose to be secretive or not is up to you. What's important is that every monster's hit points be tracked individually.

If you decide to describe the HP loss instead, use the Player's Handbook, page 197:

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 O hit points strikes you directly, leaving a bleeding injury or other trauma, or it simply knocks you unconscious.

Remember though that Hit Points are not Health. A creature with some Hit Points lost is not necessarily injured.

Monsters' stats

Talking about AC and other statistics, that generally depends on the character. Is this kind of creatures familiar to him/her? You also can call for the character's knowledge check, to see if he/she knows about this particular kind.

In the fight, GMs often give hints about To Hit and AC like "you've barely hit it". Nothing prevents you from revealing actual AC after a couple of hits (or right from the start, if you think it is necessary).

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