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Message: <blockquote data-quote="howandwhy99" data-source="post: 5703806" data-attributes="member: 3192">Blow Points are Hit Points in that each is representing how many solid hits someone can take.1 attack does 1 blow of damage and these are subtracted from Blow Points - how many blows a person can take before death or destruction. It's simple and straightforward.Hit Points do the same thing, but with greater variability. To understand how we have to go back to the beginning.1 attack always did 1d6 HPs of damage. Every class level equaled a 1d6 Hit Die of damage sustainability. So in the original game an average 1st level character could sustain only 1 average attack. However, the variability allowed them a chance of taking less and staying alive. Of course variability also meant the damage rolled could be over the Hit Die rolled, so zero Blow Points - death - was still a possibility.By rolling for an outcome, in this case both Hit Points and Damage, we allow for more variability and a greater number of outcomes in the game. Level 1 characters have 1 to 6 HPs possible and basic (level 1) weapons deal 1 to 6 HP of damage.  Of course after that base core game relationship we got tons more variability with different Hit Dice for classes, different weapons dealing different damage amounts, not to mention crits and fumbles and all kinds of more additions. Later games even remove 1 hit for 1 level too for an easier game at start.I think both Blow Points and Hit Points can work well, but each comes down to where players want to account for odds in the game. Hitting is still rolled for in both systems, right? Damage and Hit Point variability allow players to know the top and low ends of the bell curve of their damage ability and also how good their PC is at taking a hit, while not necessarily being the same as everyone else. Rolling hit points is less popular now, but it allows for PCs and NPCs too to have variation. This adds some flavor of its own after fighting orc after orc who are all 3 Blow Points becomes dull.</blockquote>

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