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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celtavian" data-source="post: 429302" data-attributes="member: 5834">ReThe hit point system is a very viable model for simulating fantastic combat. A DM must simply be creative when determining damage.A roll to hit does not necessarily mean you were directly hit. It even states in the PHB that part of hit points is one's ability to dodge or take blows more effectively. AC is avoiding blows all together, which completely mitigates damage.I liken it a to a boxing match. There are many blows that hit, but not all blows land a hit hard enough to really injure the opponent. In fact, many of the blows in boxing are simply done to set up knock-out attacks or wear the opponent down. That is the essence of hit points. Alot of blows are exchanged, some miss entirely, some land but are shaken off by the opponent, some land hard and seriously injure the opponent (Crits), and when the opponent is on his last legs, all it takes is a few solid blows to finish him or her off.The hit point system does a reasonably fair job of showing the slow process of two opponents wearing each other down. It doesn't handly all situations well, such as the classic example of jumping off a cliff, but if your players do such things in a RPG, then find a new group.The hit point model allows a heroic fantasy warrior to be heroic without dying to the first wizard or dragon he or she meets. In GURPS, you are going to die quickly to such beasts and wizards rule, especially if you allow the 100 point Super magic advantage where they can exceed the normal damage caps.On a last note, I would never use the hit point system for a modern campaign with guns. Guns are an entirely different form of combat that require a different model to simulate. This is my opinion because I run all my modern campaign's using the GURPS system. GURPS is the best system for modern campaigns. It really catches the gritty, dangerous reality of gun combat and their martial arts system is second to none. (except for the arm lock maneuver.)Even given my preferences, each person will use the system they feel best suits their style of play. Some folks like gritty fantasy and some folks like four-color modern campaigns. It's up to the DM and his or her players to figure which fits the group and game world best. Just remember, none of this is reality, so comparing simulated combat systems based on real world combat is a moot point. There have been folks who have survived countless "you should have died" events, while some die to the lightest of wounds. Combat is a strange situation that one can never really determine an obvious outcome. Ultimately, it's up to you as a DM to throw strange events into your combats to give them flavor no matter what system you use. You are the luck, fate, or divine guidance of your campaign world, if you exercise that power on occasion to liven up a combat or two, more power to you. It's your job to make combat fun, and not just wipe your PC's or the villains out because someone made a bad roll or only has so many hit points.</blockquote>

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