For those who don't get it
Power Word Kill
You utter a word of power that can compel one creature you can see within range to die instantly. If the creature you choose has 100 hit points or fewer, it dies. Otherwise, the spell has no effect.
Easy to make misstake, butit was Power Word: Pain,not Kill.You speak a word of power that causes waves of intense pain to assail one creature you can see within range. If the target has 100 hit points or fewer, it is subject to crippling pain. Otherwise, the spell has no effect on it. A target is also unaffected if it is immune to being charmed.
I would not give an NPC a spell like that so I suggest this:
Power Word Incapacitating Tickles
You utter a word of power that can compel one creature you can hear within range to fall over squirming and laughing, begging you to stop the imaginary tickles until you choose to end it's effect. If the target has less than 100 hit points it takes effect, otherwise the target enjoys the sensation that feels like tummy rubs and is charmed for one round.
When they put you against someone using it in Baldur's gate 3 the make it a three turn ritual, so you just need to break the caster's focus and you get a few goes at it
Sorry, why did you need to math your hit points? Were you not keeping track already?
One of my friends started doing a thing where he adds his damage together. When it's as high as his hit point total, then he's down. I am trying it out. So I just needed to math the subtraction. Not a lot of math but shrug.
Makes sense. One of those "it's easier to add than subtract" things. I probably won't do that, but if it works for you, then that's good.
As a DM you should not be asking your players about their HP totals directly in order to target them with Power Words (or Sleep)
If it is to see whether it takes effect I think it is fine if it is to know whether or not to target them I completely agree that it is not fun or fair.
As a DM, I don't think you should be using Power Word Kill at all. "I've set up this awesome encounter that you're all going to love. Except you. You'll have to sit this one out."
There are ways. You could, for example, set up a bbeg where that's his whole deal. The townsfolk are scared of this guy because he has the supernatural power to just kill you, straight-up. Maybe the questline leading up to their encounter involves the players finding defenses or counters or sabotaging his supply of spell components or whatever, such that, if they DO get power-word-killed, it's because they had ample opportunities to not, and failed to take them.
Makes for a great BBEG move to use against a favorite DMPC or other beloved party companion, though. You don't use it on a player, you use it on their feelings.
Do you not keep up with your own HP?
I have a guy who does that for me and yells a lot about positioning.
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