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<blockquote data-quote="The Crimson Binome" data-source="post: 6677142" data-attributes="member: 6775031">I strongly disagree. The correlation is there, but it lacks detail. A damage result of 7 has a strong in-game definition, based on the inherent meaning of damage and HP as defined by the system.When the orc gets hit, it suffers from (the thing which correlates to the loss of 7HP). The 5E rules tell us that this thing may vary by the DM, but one common interpretation is that HP loss represents physical trauma, and the degree of physical trauma depends on the amount of damage done, either in an absolute sense or relative to the total HP of the victim. Thus, the translation protocol is defined. It's a systems-level question, which (in the unique case of D&amp;D 5E) is intended to be set by the DM prior to the game. (Most games don't leave that translation protocol up to the DM.)To translate the whole action, &quot;The PC hits with the attack&quot; tells us that the character's weapon impacted with the orc; &quot;The attack dealt 7 points of damage&quot; tells us that a moderate amount of physical trauma was caused; and &quot;The orc is reduced to 0HP&quot; tells us that the total trauma sustained was enough to incapacitate the orc. The in-game effect directly follows from the in-game cause. The descriptions might seem bland and scientific, but the correlation is there.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="The Crimson Binome, post: 6677142, member: 6775031"] I strongly disagree. The correlation is there, but it lacks detail. A damage result of 7 has a strong in-game definition, based on the inherent meaning of damage and HP as defined by the system. When the orc gets hit, it suffers from (the thing which correlates to the loss of 7HP). The 5E rules tell us that this thing may vary by the DM, but one common interpretation is that HP loss represents physical trauma, and the degree of physical trauma depends on the amount of damage done, either in an absolute sense or relative to the total HP of the victim. Thus, the translation protocol is defined. It's a systems-level question, which (in the unique case of D&D 5E) is intended to be set by the DM prior to the game. (Most games don't leave that translation protocol up to the DM.) To translate the whole action, "The PC hits with the attack" [I]tells us[/I] that the character's weapon impacted with the orc; "The attack dealt 7 points of damage" [I]tells us[/I] that a moderate amount of physical trauma was caused; and "The orc is reduced to 0HP" [I]tells us[/I] that the total trauma sustained was enough to incapacitate the orc. The in-game effect directly follows from the in-game cause. The descriptions might seem bland and scientific, but the correlation is there. [/QUOTE]

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