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<blockquote data-quote="Ahnehnois" data-source="post: 6289414" data-attributes="member: 17106">Which is fine, but, it seems, pretty atypical (though I'm not surprised by who chose that answer). I think the the idea of considering hit points as a purely metagame element would suggest that the character can't understand them, as it would essentially break the fourth wall if he knew things like that.To me, where that leads is that there must be a separate set of rules in the reality the characters live in. That is, the characters in the world experience fatigue and wounds in some fashion, and they develop an understanding of how health and harm work. If that understanding does not reflect what is going on in the mechanics, it begs the question of what exactly is going on in their experience.Do we assume that they live in a realistic world where people sometimes get an eye poked out or gangrene in their wounds, but that this reality simply never interacts with the hp system (i.e. those outcomes only occur through DM 'fiat'). Or do they live in a Hollywood world where no one of consequence ever gets hurt, but they lack the self-awareness to understand that? Or are they cartoonish characters that know they can't get hurt and jump off cliffs for fun?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Ahnehnois, post: 6289414, member: 17106"] Which is fine, but, it seems, pretty atypical (though I'm not surprised by who chose that answer). I think the the idea of considering hit points as a purely metagame element would suggest that the character can't understand them, as it would essentially break the fourth wall if he knew things like that. To me, where that leads is that there must be a separate set of rules in the reality the characters live in. That is, the characters in the world experience fatigue and wounds in some fashion, and they develop an understanding of how health and harm work. If that understanding does not reflect what is going on in the mechanics, it begs the question of what exactly is going on in their experience. Do we assume that they live in a realistic world where people sometimes get an eye poked out or gangrene in their wounds, but that this reality simply never interacts with the hp system (i.e. those outcomes only occur through DM 'fiat'). Or do they live in a Hollywood world where no one of consequence ever gets hurt, but they lack the self-awareness to understand that? Or are they cartoonish characters that know they can't get hurt and jump off cliffs for fun? [/QUOTE]

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