Do you describe HP abstractly?

[Delta]

This might be a good poll question. I'm also in the camp that "a hit is always a hit", at least a scratch or laceration of some sort. Usually I'm a little more colorful at the start of a fight, as time runs on I tend fall into a shorthand of everything's a "cut" somewhere and leave it at that. The quote above from the 1E DMG basically defines how I've always thought of hit points.

 

[Gez]

I've never been a fan of how hit points are described in D20. So many spell effects describe gruesome consequences, whereas the damage mechanic only drains HP. If a spell says "the target's body explodes, sending blood and veins everywhere" or something, and it drains half their hit points, how am I supposed to tell the player that "Oh, that just means you rolled with the punch, narrowly avoided the hit, it's something that'll patch up by morning, etc etc"

If your insides are on the outside, you are hurt, not just tired!

Well, a spell which explodes a body yet isn't of the "save of die" variety is kinda ridiculous, don't you agree?

Gory Mess
Necromancy [Fire]
Level: Sor/Wiz 0
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Long (400 ft. + 40 ft./level)
Area: One person
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Spell Resistance: Yes

The target's body explodes completely, showering the whole area with entrails that magically catch fire and explode again on the following round. This inflicts 1 damage. If the save is successful, the victim explodes but takes no damage.
Material Component: A videotape of a cheap horror movie.​

Right. That's stupid.

If the effect has gruesome consequences that ought to be fatal, yet the victim survives, then it's because the effect didn't actually happen.

"The sorcerer's foul magic invade your body like a tentacle monster from a Japanese cartoon, and try to pull it apart. The pain is indescriptible. The rumble in your entrails is even worse than the burritos you had the other day. But you're tough as nail and hold on, and keep your physical integrity, though a bit fragilized now."