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Message: <blockquote data-quote="CleverNickName" data-source="post: 5806692" data-attributes="member: 50987">I'm trying to follow the different threads here, but I'm getting turned around.  So far, everything from life force and vitality, to luck and force of will, have been rolled up and called "hit points."  I think that we are starting to reach a bit too far in our attempt to redefine the stat, so let's go back to the basics.And by "basics," of course I mean the Basic Rules Boxed Set.  Oh yes, that's right...the B in BECM.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />Hit Points:[SBLOCK]Damage and Hit PointsIn the game, when any creature is hit (either monster or character), damage is caused.  There is a way of keeping track of damage, called hit points.The number of hit points is the amount of damage that a creature can take before being killed.  Hit points can be any number; the more hit points a creature has, the harder it is to kill.  We often use an abbreviation for hit points: it is hp.Your fighter starts with 8 hp (hit points) and still has all 8, since the goblin never hit you.  He may have hit your armor or shield, but never got through your protection, so these attacks are still called "misses" -- they didn't actually damage your character.- Player's Manual, pg. 3.  Emphasis is in the original text.[/SBLOCK]Constitution:[SBLOCK]Constitution: Your healthYour fighter is healthy, and can fight a long time without tiring.  This ability is measured by another Ability Score, called Constitution.  Your Constitution is 16, well above average but not perfect.Your Constitution affects your hit points.  If you have a low score, you might only have 2 or 3 hit points.  On the other hand, if you had an 18 Constitution, you might have as may as 10 hp, or more!- Player's Manual, pg. 3.  Emphasis is in the original text.[/SBLOCK]Save Throws:[SBLOCK]Poisoned?This is a poisonous snake, which can be very dangerous.  In the game, there is a way of finding out whether the poison hurt you or not.  Roll the twenty-sided die again.  If you rolled a 12 or higher, that means that you dodged before the snake could inject its poison (but you still take damage from the bite.)  If you roll an 11 or less, your fighter takes 2 more points of damage from the poison (cross off the 7 hp and write 5).You made a roll to see if you saved yourself from trouble; this roll is called a Saving Throw, and will be used later in many situations of the game.- Player's Manual, pg. 4.  Emphasis is in the original text.[/SBLOCK]So there you have it.  Even back in the BECM rules, the Player's Manual explained how your character's hit points, health, and even pure dumb luck all work together to keep your character alive.Now, I'm not saying that it's wrong to re-imagine the fundamentals of the game.  But please understand that when other gamers don't share a new point of view, it isn't because they don't understand it or because they are being obtuse.  They are just sticking to the old rules, and there is nothing wrong with that either.</blockquote>

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