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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Water Bob" data-source="post: 5881900" data-attributes="member: 92305">The answer is different depending on what rules set you are using, even though several editions of D&D and the Conan RPG all use hit points. Does hit point loss mean real damage? To answer this, I always look at the effect on the character of losing hit points, AND, I look at how long it takes to heal that damage naturally. In D&D, if you don't knock a character down  to zero hit points or into the negatives, there is no penalty on the character.  As long as he still has one hit point, he can run, dodge, fight, jump, and do everything he normally can when he's at full health. Therefore, any damage that does not take the character to zero or negative hit points is minor, minimal damage.     But, how long does it take to heal this damage naturally?  Different games have difference answers for that.  In 1E AD&D, it's one HP per 8 hours of rest.  In 3.5 D&D, it's 1 HP per character level per 8 hours of rest.  In the Conan RPG, it's 3 + CON mod + 1 per character level per 8 hours of rest, with a minimum of 1 HP.  And, in all cases, there are ways to faster healing with more rest and medical help (not counting magic). This tells you the relative worth, in a game, of 1 HP of damage. In AD&D, 1 HP of damage is actualy a more serious wound than it is in 3.5 D&D or 2E Conan.  Why?  Because it takes longer to heal naturally.     Therefore, HP damage ALWAYS represents light, minor damage unless the character is taken to zero or negative hit points.   That's the threshold.  The blow that takes a character to zero or negative hit points is the blow that results in serious damage on the character.  There's a chance that the character may die from this blow. If the character doesn't go to zero or negative hit points, then the blow is always minor.     What we've got to get our heads wrapped around is that a successful hit that does 19 points of damage is actually less serious than a blow that does 2 points of damage, if that second 2 point blow takes the character to zero or negative hit points. In other words, If a Fighter with 40 HP takes a blow that does 19 points of damage, the Fighter is still only minorly damaged because there is no penalty to his physical actions.  If he were suffering from a terrible wound as a result of that blow, then he'd have issues in not using one of his arms or have his Move Distanced modified--or he might be taking negatives on his attack because he can't swing as hard as he used to while suffering from the wound. Since there is no physical penalty to the Fighter, the blow, no matter how many HP it reduces the character by, is still a minor blow. Now, later in the fight, the same Fighter has been whittle down to 1 HP.  And, his foe, not with his main weapon, but with a dagger in his foe's off hand, scores a hit for 3 points of damage. THIS is blow that does some actual damage on the Fighter.  The 3 HP blow did more real damage to the character than 19 Hp blow did earlier. Why? Because now, the Fighter suffers some real effects as a result of that blow.   But, there's another aspect of this game system that I haven't been addressing.  And, that's the fact that melee in D&D is an abstract process.  That 19 HP blow doesn't necessarily mean that one blow was struck on the character for a total of 19 hit point.  It could have been several hits that add up to 19 hit points of damage during the six second combat round.  Or, it could have been just two or three blows.  Or, it could have been a combination of one successful blow and the effort expended by the character to block and dodge.  Some of that damage could be fatigue. Since melee in D&D is abstract, a lot of different things can happen.    In the end, the AC HP system in D&D is quite complicated and complex in its meaning but simple in its implementation. Personally, I think it's brilliant.  It promotes visual, exciting, heroic fantasy combat that can really be anything you want it to be because it's abstract. And, I think some don't like the system because it's not an easy thing to understand.</blockquote>

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