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Message: <blockquote data-quote="rkanodia" data-source="post: 4033113" data-attributes="member: 11681">I do see the point that, under the system I had proposed, a character would rather take three small hits, go unconscious, and then take a big hit, than to take the big hit, go unconscious, and then take three small hits.  It is a problem.  But any system is going to have weaknesses.  For instance, imagine a fight with a big ogre brute and then a bunch of kobold minions.  The ogre lands a big hit, knocking the fighter down but only a little bit into the negatives.  Now, it's the cleric's turn.  Under the system proposed in the article, the fighter would prefer it if the cleric would wait, and let the kobolds spend their turn kicking him while he's down, and then cast a healing spell, since he can easily 'soak up' the negative hit point damage which will suddenly vanish when he gets the healing spell.  That doesn't seem right to me.I'm not saying that my proposal would be better in all situations.  I just think that the advantages and disadvantages are kind of a wash, so you might as well go for the one with less bookkeeping.'Massive blow -> instant death' could be done without recording negative hitpoints.  For instance, if the blow that drops the player reduces him to less than -1/2 of his max HP, he dies outright; otherwise, he goes to zero. Likewise, a blow that hits him for 1/2 of his max HP when he is already down kills him outright; otherwise, it adds an extra 'save versus death'.</blockquote>

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