Hit Points (HP)
Hit points are a game construct representing how close to death or incapacitation a character is. While loss of hit points is colloquially called ‘damage’, there is no mechanical penalty to loss of any hit points except for the loss that takes a character from a positive hit point total to zero or negative hit points. Because of this, players are free to describe hit point loss as anything they like from physical wounds, their stamina being worn down, or their luck being consumed as they they narrowly escape another threat.
For reference, one character can be like John McClane in Die Hard, getting progressively bloodier and more visibly injured. Meanwhile, another can be like James Bond, crashing through action scenes with maximum bravado and only needing to smooth out their tux and adjust their cufflinks at the end.
A starting character has a number of hit points equal to their CON score plus their class’s hit point bonus.