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Message: <blockquote data-quote="WalterKovacs" data-source="post: 4544046" data-attributes="member: 63763">However, the "pre-4e" HP systems are being looked at through rose-coloured glasses simply because they've been used for so long that it's assumed it can be the status quo. No matter how many wounds you take in ANY version of D&D you are either concious or dying/dead. There are a few exceptions like death from massive damage, etc ... but ultimately, no one gets hurt unless they die [or "may die"]. In 3e they had the "bleed to death regardless of why you are dying" mechanic for dying/stabilization. In 4e it's a different "dying" mechanic. One thing to remember ... healing surges are one of the things that seperates the hero/PCs from the rest ... NPCs have 1 healing surge per tier, which PCs will always have more per day than that. Thus for the "average person" in that world, they'd only be able to recover from dying because of a warlord's shout [note, not just ANYONE giving encouragement, but a person specifically trained in doing it ... something that a non-warlord can only hope to ever pull off once per day with training] once in a day. To each their own, but the idea of someone being healed over and over and over and over by magic [i.e. a full curestick] vs. having a limited number of surges per day. Magic is always the "special trick" ... but a person can only really stand up to so much punishment and pain.  Your HP is the equivalent of death by massive damage. Your healing surges is your HP from older editions. And while ... without magic ... you'd have to sleep numerous days to get back your HP ... this "realistic" system was something that was just about subverted by most parties anyway. HP was reduced, for the most part, to a "during the encounter" resource, with the access to healing magic (curestick and cleric spells) being the day long resource. This has been changed to HP and healing surges respectively ... with things further restricted by having a limited number of heals per encounter, instead of the restrictions of 3.5 which are that some effects only heal over time [vigor] and are better out of combat, or that you are replacing a standard action to do a heal [or need to get next to someone, etc]. The entire "issue" with 4e is ultmately the no-magic "healing" ... which alerted people to the fact that HP isn't sword through the chest ... even though it never was before, since people seemed to be suffering NO ill effects (other than the possibility of dying) from that sword to the chest in earlier editions.</blockquote>

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