I'm not sure but at low levels probably not a lot but at higher levels it would keep you more cautious. I'm guessing. Assuming various powers that attack Harm 3 or Harm 4 come into play more at high levels, and the boxes don't change, then of course the threat of death would be high at any level. Perhaps unmanageably high but again I'd have to see an entire system to know for sure.
I am happy enough with a moderately unrealistic system like hit points for a high fantasy super heroic game. I might also enjoy a less super heroic game. In such cases maybe WOIN or GURPS or even RQ would work. This is a totally different axis from metagame. I wouldn't want a metagame mechanic in any of those games if I had a choice. I think I could enjoy any of those games otherwise but I'd still favor the high fantasy game of D&D style the most.
[MENTION=6698278]Emerikol[/MENTION] (and [MENTION=29398]Lanefan[/MENTION] and perhaps [MENTION=6775031]Saelorn[/MENTION] ), you (and Lanefan) answered my question with a response about the implications on the gameplay paradigm; eg “it would make it more lethal.”
This thread is about “metagame mechanics” and players making decisions based exclusively on (what you perceive as) observable phenomenon (biological, physical) from the character’s perspective.
I’m looking for your response in relation to that. So let me go a bit further and perhaps you can comment on this.
A 10th level Fighter is challenging a trio of Stone Giants on the edge of their plateau which sits 70 feet above the ground.
Situation 1:
a) He has 100 HPs and the only chance the fall has to kill him is if he’s been significantly worn down in combat by interaction with the Stone Giants and their clubs (that are as big and weighty as him) and thrown boulders.
b) As he waded in he sees a show of strength by the Stone Giant Cheieftan; the impact of one of these clubs and/or thrown boulders utterly ruins a rock formation of approximately his size. However, because of his HP pool relative to their attacks, he knows (for sure) it will take a large number of interactions with these mighty creatures before he is then under immediate threat of death and he’ll never be under threat of a collapsed lung, a crushed pelvis, or even a concussion.
Situation 2:
a) A fall from that height is almost surely going to kill him (Harm 4) unless his God spares him (a difficult chance for a Saving Throw). Even then, he’s going to come away from the fall with something grave that will stick with him for a long while (at best a couple of broken ribs and a concussion; both Harm 2 boxes filled which will cause x and y mechanical interactions for z duration of care/recovery).
b) As he waded in he sees a show of strength by the Stone Giant Cheieftan; the impact of one of these clubs and/or thrown boulders utterly ruins a rock formation of approximately his size. He’s certain that his heavy armor will deflect the worst of it for an impact or two (say Heavy Armor can reduce Harm from those blows by 2 until it becomes useless), but after that, he can rely solely on his training, footwork, guile, grit, and the favor of the gods so that he doesn’t become pasted (Saving Throw vs Harm 2 for every attack, success outright mitigating it and a few times per combat he can knock Harm down one step due to his prowess).
I’m looking for a response about the juxtaposition of the above two paradigms that engages with the thread topic.
