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<blockquote data-quote="Capn Charlie" data-source="post: 6556646" data-attributes="member: 16046">Hit points are best viewed as an abstraction for me, they are plot armor, destiny, or as I prefer &quot;John Mcclane points&quot;.&nbsp;&nbsp; A person is a person with a similar amount of capacity to take physical harm, give or take size and pain tolerance.&nbsp; What sets aside our heroes, their allies and their foes, is their ability to withstand rigors that would kill lesser men, and keep going strong.&nbsp; Turning a blow, near misses, dramatic fleshwounds, etc.&nbsp;&nbsp; A longbow does 1d8 damage, and will generally hit for 5-7 depending on the dexterity of its user, call it an average 6 per hit.&nbsp; A mid level (10) fighter can have 80 odd HP.&nbsp; Does this mean that if we tie him to a log and shoot him with arrows it takes 14 arrows to kill him?&nbsp; Is he some sort of human porcupine?&nbsp; A spell that heals wounds, that's all well and good, but if HP are an abstraction, and that arrow for 6 damage didn't actually hurt me, why do I need to have a wound magically healed? Ah, well, yep, good catch.&nbsp;&nbsp; I would posit that long resting to full HP and using hit dice in short rests make more sense than healing magic.&nbsp; I am starting to look at healing magic, the province of the divine, as being almost as much about divine providence as it is about physical healing, restoring luck and destiny, recovering plot armor, and functionally doing a lot to alleviate stress, soothe pain, strengthen nerve and resolve, and yes heal up a few boo boos, and less about sucking someone's guts back into their abdomen and sealing the wound.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Capn Charlie, post: 6556646, member: 16046"] Hit points are best viewed as an abstraction for me, they are plot armor, destiny, or as I prefer "John Mcclane points". A person is a person with a similar amount of capacity to take physical harm, give or take size and pain tolerance. What sets aside our heroes, their allies and their foes, is their ability to withstand rigors that would kill lesser men, and keep going strong. Turning a blow, near misses, dramatic fleshwounds, etc. A longbow does 1d8 damage, and will generally hit for 5-7 depending on the dexterity of its user, call it an average 6 per hit. A mid level (10) fighter can have 80 odd HP. Does this mean that if we tie him to a log and shoot him with arrows it takes 14 arrows to kill him? Is he some sort of human porcupine? A spell that heals wounds, that's all well and good, but if HP are an abstraction, and that arrow for 6 damage didn't actually hurt me, why do I need to have a wound magically healed? Ah, well, yep, good catch. I would posit that long resting to full HP and using hit dice in short rests make more sense than healing magic. I am starting to look at healing magic, the province of the divine, as being almost as much about divine providence as it is about physical healing, restoring luck and destiny, recovering plot armor, and functionally doing a lot to alleviate stress, soothe pain, strengthen nerve and resolve, and yes heal up a few boo boos, and less about sucking someone's guts back into their abdomen and sealing the wound. [/QUOTE]

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