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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 6469002" data-attributes="member: 42582">Here is Gary Gygax on p 61 of his DMG:As has been detailed, hit points are not actually a measure of physical damage, by and large, as far as characters (and some other creatures as well) are concerned.The "as has been detailed" presumably refers to his PHB, p 34:A certain amount of these hit points represent the actual physical punishment which can be sustained. The remainder, a significant portion of hit ponits at higher levels, stands for skill, luck, and/or magical factors. . . . [T]he majority of hit points are symbolic of combat skill, luck (bestowed by supernatural powers), and magical forces.And also presumably the DMG, pp 82 and 111:[T] increase in hit points [with level gain] . . . reflect<s> both the actual physical ability of the character to withstand damage - as indicated by constitution bonuses - and a commensurate increase in such areas as skill in combat and similar life-or-death situations, the "sixth sense" which warns the individual of some otherwise unforeseen events, sheer luck, and the fantastic provisoins of magical protections and/or divine protection. Therefore, constitution affects both actual ability to withstand physical punishment . . . and the immeasurabe areas which involve the sixth sense and luck. . . .</s> <s></s> <s>Each hit scored upon the [high level] character does only a small amount of actual physical harm - the sword thrust that woud have run a 1st level fighter through the heart merely grazes the character due to . . . exceptional skill, luck and sixth sense ability .  . . However, having sustained 45 or 50 hit points of damage [of a maximum of 95], our lordly fighter will be covered with a number of nicks, scratches, cuts and bruises. . . .</s> <s></s> <s>[T]he accumulation of hit points . . . represents the aid supplied by supernatural forces.</s><s></s><s></s><s>In other words, Gygax denies that most of the hit points gained with level represent meat. Higher level characters don't get meatier! They are more skilled, and luckier (via both "sixth sense" and supernatural protection).</s><s></s><s>It is true that, discussing healing times, Gygax says (of the 95 hp character who has lost half his/her hit points) that "It will require a long period of rest and recuperation to regain the physical and metaphysical peak of 95 hit points." But no reason is given for this. It cannot be that it takes weeks for this character to recover from nicks, scrathces, cuts and bruises when a 1st level fighter can recover from the same sorts of injury (perhaps 3 hp lost to falling damage, or as a result of being hit several times with a whip, in this latter case) in a few days. So presumably the bulk of the time required is to regain "metaphysical" hit points. (If not, then gaining levels has the bizarre side effect of making it harder to heal relatively minor injuries, which would be very counterintuitive.)</s><s></s><s>But that is a purely arbitrary stipulation. Stipulating, instead, that powerful heroes can regain their metaphysical mojo in hours rather than weeks is equally arbitrary. But these are differences of narrative pacing, not of verisimilitude.</s></blockquote>

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