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Message: <blockquote data-quote="hong" data-source="post: 427801" data-attributes="member: 537">Well, let's be clear about what we're talking about. In _every_ RP combat system, an attack either hits or it doesn't. You either apply damage, or not. What varies is what the _game-mechanical application of damage_ (a "hit") is meant to represent in-game.One bug/wart/misfeature of the hit point model is that hits ain't hits. Someone who takes 10 points of damage from a sword might have suffered a mortal wound to the belly (if they have 4 hp), a serious cut to the side (if they have 12 hp), or a minor graze (if they have 100 hp). The mapping between the abstract rules model and in-game reality is left unspecified.The same applies to the VP/WP system, which is really just hp dressed up differently. Someone who takes 10 VP damage has in fact been _missed_; they use up their VP in dodging what would have been a solid hit. Only attacks that deal WP damage are real, physical hits that draw blood. The VP ablation process is explained in terms of fatigue or luck, but the point remains the same: hits ain't hits.Contrast this to something like GURPS, which has explicit mechanics for parrying, dodging and blocking attacks. In this model, there is a clear and rigid mapping between the outcome of the abstract model, and what happens in-game. If you take 10 points of damage, that's always a serious wound (assuming you have 10 HT), regardless of how many points you have in swordfighting skills. In this sort of model, character ability comes into it in the parry/dodge roll, which determines whether you take that 10 points of damage in the first place.Nothing wrong with that. If you fail your Ref save, that doesn't mean you stand up and take the full force of the blast. It means you managed to dodge aside, but not quite as successfully as you would have liked.Well, if we're going to go into variants, there are tons of them, some of which might also make it _harder_ to survive silly stunts like jumping off cliffs. d20 modern sets the massive damage threshold at damage equal to your Con, for example. I'm just going by what's in the PHB/SRD.Yes, it's rule 0. So what? I never said the hit point model was perfect. I said that it works. And personally, I've never seen anyone purposefully jump off a cliff in the knowledge that they'll survive a fall. I've seen lots of characters fall into pits or have their fly spells dispelled, but that's different.As in any ruleset. In fact, you said much the same thing about D&D -- see the first bit right above.And this is a Good Thing, believe it or not.As said before, hits ain't hits. In the end, the same result eventuates: you fight for eleven rounds, one guy eventually takes a killing blow, and the other is exhausted or heavily wounded.No, they're supposed to help us _play the game_. A situation where two people hack at each other for multiple rounds without any discernible result is boring for most gamers, regardless of how "realistic" it might be.</blockquote>

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