[PnP] Weights and HP

[Burton Choinski]

By logic and science. the size-cubed law will have giants crushed by their own mass, so we we have to handwave some of it off with magic.

I think I did that to some degree way back when my players skinned a dragon for armor.  I granted them a set amount LESS than the AV of the dragon, waving it away as the magical affect of the beast.

At present, most large creatures are just walking EXP bags -- all exp is based on HP (CEL = ahp/10, so effectively AHP^2).  If you ignore giant versions being denser, looking at a person who is 12' tall does not make his skin or organs than much harder to penetrate...in the one dimension, his skin is 2x thicker when facing his sword, so perhaps that rates an AV bonus, but AHP is also a matter or stringing critical points (severe/critical hits), so this is represented by his increase of AHP.

If you wanted to be a bastard about it, for man-scale creatures like giants, I would actually increase the AHP by the square root of the height/6 to allow for this.  A giant at 12 foot average would "reasonably" be denser, increasing the noted AHP by x1.4

 
On Jul 22, 2015, at 10:35 PM, David Sanders wrote:

> I've been bothered by something (well, several something's you will discover) in the game and I thought I would research it and let you know the results.  Yes...I am totally geeking out on this.
> 
> The weights of creatures like the Giants has never made sense to me.  I work in the Engineering world.  I think the giant weights are WAY off.  Here's why...
> 
> Assume a 6' human weighs 200 pounds.  This is not out of the question since I am less than 6' and weigh more.  Sure, it's not all muscle, but let's not quibble. Stop laughing.
> 
> Anyway, if a giant is twice the height of a man, he is going to be twice the height, twice the width, and twice the depth.  Instead of simply doubling the human's weight, it should go up by the cube of the height multiplier...in other words...two to the third power...or eight, in this case.  For the others, multiply the ratio of giant height to 6', and multiply that result by itself, then again by the same amount.
> 
> To make it easier...here's some pre-done calcs.
> 
> 6' guy - 200#
> 9' guyant...er...giant...675#
> 10' giant - 925#
> 12' giant - 1600#
> 16' giant - 3800# (forest giant, earth giant)
> 18' giant - 5400# (this is the size of a small SUV!)(hill giant, storm, fire)
> 20' giant - 7400# (frost giant)
> 22' giant - 9400# (mountain giant)
> 24' giant - 12,800#
> 30' giant - 25,000#!!!
> 
> Now, all of this assumes the giant creatures proportions are equal to a human's...some of the Giants, like ogres, are going to be proportionately larger...so their weight should go up.
> 
> Now...think about what this means when a punk-a$$ character is trying to kill a giant.
> 
> Think about an 18-footer and how thick his bones are...are you thinking you are gonna chop his leg off?  Really?  His ankle is going to be about a foot thick...and his leg twice that. Minimum.
> 
> Also...does this make the HP of some of the creatures seem underwhelming?  If a 30' giant is 25,000#, how much does a dragon weigh...and how many HP does 25k pounds mean?
> 
> Dave Sanders...a guy with just a bit too much free time on his hands lately...stop laughing...
> 
> Sent from my iPad
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