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<blockquote data-quote="D'karr" data-source="post: 6457407" data-attributes="member: 336">A &quot;hit&quot; or a &quot;miss&quot; are not meant to be descriptions of a physical, in gameworld, thing.&nbsp; A &quot;hit&quot; does not denote actually hitting the PC, NPC, Monster, or thing.&nbsp; It denotes hitting (equalling or surpassing) a mechanical and abstract target number, which in turn depletes &quot;mojo&quot; (the potential to stay in the fight also known as HP).&nbsp; A miss does not denote actually missing the PC, NPC, Monster or thing.&nbsp; It denotes missing a mechanical and abstract target number which can have many different effects, including depleting &quot;mojo&quot; though usually not as much depletion as with a hit on the target number.&nbsp; AC, HP, Hit, Miss, and a whole myriad of other terms don't describe a one-to-one relationship to an in gameworld event.&nbsp; Nobody in the gameworld is rolling dice and determining if they are able to damage their opponent.&nbsp; These are all metamechanical devices for an abstract combat system.&nbsp; Because combat is abstract, there is no reason that a &quot;miss&quot; on the target number cannot have a &quot;splash&quot; effect of depleting mojo (decreasing HP).&nbsp; If a portion of HP is thought of as Stamina, even a miss on the target number can deplete your stamina.&nbsp; Time in the ring with an opponent that is trying to kill you is going to tire you (decrease your chance of staying in the fight) even if they don't hit with every jab, swing or upper-cut.&nbsp; In no edition of D&amp;D have HP ever been described as solely a physical thing (meat).&nbsp; They have always been described as a metaphysical combination of a lot of things (luck, stamina, skill, etc.).&nbsp; Some have internalized the inconsistencies and flaws of the abstract combat system for so long that they might have lost sight of exactly the only thing that makes the HP mechanics work - their abstractness.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="D'karr, post: 6457407, member: 336"] A "hit" or a "miss" are not meant to be descriptions of a physical, in gameworld, thing. A "hit" does not denote actually hitting the PC, NPC, Monster, or thing. It denotes hitting (equalling or surpassing) a mechanical and abstract target number, which in turn depletes "mojo" (the potential to stay in the fight also known as HP). A miss does not denote actually missing the PC, NPC, Monster or thing. It denotes missing a mechanical and abstract target number which can have many different effects, including depleting "mojo" though usually not as much depletion as with a hit on the target number. AC, HP, Hit, Miss, and a whole myriad of other terms don't describe a one-to-one relationship to an in gameworld event. Nobody in the gameworld is rolling dice and determining if they are able to damage their opponent. These are all metamechanical devices for an abstract combat system. Because combat is abstract, there is no reason that a "miss" on the target number cannot have a "splash" effect of depleting mojo (decreasing HP). If a portion of HP is thought of as Stamina, even a miss on the target number can deplete your stamina. Time in the ring with an opponent that is trying to kill you is going to tire you (decrease your chance of staying in the fight) even if they don't hit with every jab, swing or upper-cut. In no edition of D&D have HP ever been described as solely a physical thing (meat). They have always been described as a metaphysical combination of a lot of things (luck, stamina, skill, etc.). Some have internalized the inconsistencies and flaws of the abstract combat system for so long that they might have lost sight of exactly the only thing that makes the HP mechanics work - their abstractness. [/QUOTE]

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