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<blockquote data-quote="Rod Staffwand" data-source="post: 6988744" data-attributes="member: 6776279">Yes, hit points are intentionally cloudy--except when they're intentionally cubey. They're awesome that way.I don't understand why gamers need mechanical effects to tell them what a 'hit' means. One of the advantages of hit points is that a hit can mean whatever is convenient at the time. They are literally doing all they can to get out of the way and let you tell whatever story you want*.*As long as that story is heroic fantasy and not some 'gritty' deathcrawl with the PCs stumbling around like Leo DiCaprio in the Revenant after one random encounter. I think that's probable more of a Rolemaster thing.I like to think of hit points as your stack of chips in poker. The larger your stack the more you can intimidate and bludgeon opponents. You have a buffer against defeat and can trade blows with weaker opponents. If you have 100hp and your opponent 20hp and you're both dealing 10hp per round, you're in a far stronger position. The reverse is also true. Being 1 hit away from defeat is a huge psychological difference than being 2+ hits away. The risk of every action is higher so that a player might become more cautious or even more desperate in their approach. In some cases this can mirror the effects of injury. This is certainly a cloud effect and that allows it to vary from player to player, PC to PC and situation to situation in wonderful fashion.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Rod Staffwand, post: 6988744, member: 6776279"] Yes, hit points are intentionally cloudy--except when they're intentionally cubey. They're awesome that way. I don't understand why gamers need mechanical effects to tell them what a 'hit' means. One of the advantages of hit points is that a hit can mean whatever is convenient at the time. They are literally doing all they can to get out of the way and let you tell whatever story you want*. *As long as that story is heroic fantasy and not some 'gritty' deathcrawl with the PCs stumbling around like Leo DiCaprio in the Revenant after one random encounter. I think that's probable more of a Rolemaster thing. I like to think of hit points as your stack of chips in poker. The larger your stack the more you can intimidate and bludgeon opponents. You have a buffer against defeat and can trade blows with weaker opponents. If you have 100hp and your opponent 20hp and you're both dealing 10hp per round, you're in a far stronger position. The reverse is also true. Being 1 hit away from defeat is a huge psychological difference than being 2+ hits away. The risk of every action is higher so that a player might become more cautious or even more desperate in their approach. In some cases this can mirror the effects of injury. This is certainly a cloud effect and that allows it to vary from player to player, PC to PC and situation to situation in wonderful fashion. [/QUOTE]

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