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<blockquote data-quote="The Crimson Binome" data-source="post: 6301544" data-attributes="member: 6775031">It would be a better example if you used bigger numbers. When he's just starting out, Bob can usually take one arrow but a second usually drops him; much later on, he can take twenty arrows without dropping. Your question would seem to be about verisimilitude, though, rather than internal consistency. Maybe some of those hit points represent divine protection, and the gods are more willing to protect their accomplished champion Bob rather than the fledgling adventurer Bob? That's a perfectly plausible and consistent explanation. It is one of many, actually.I believe the traditional explanation is that gaining a level represents a benchmark where you have learned enough from your experiences that you are better capable of doing what you do - fighters are now better enough at fighting for it to be reflected with increased accuracy, spellcasters are better enough at casting spells that they can now prepare more/better ones, and everyone is better enough at &quot;taking&quot; &quot;hits&quot; that it now requires more of hits in order to drop them.Where those extra hit points come from doesn't really matter all that much. One popular explanation (from 3E) is that hit points represent your ability to turn a lethal hit into a less lethal hit, such that a 5-point arrow represents a direct hit against a level 1 character (who may not even have 5 hit points), but a similar 5-point arrow represents a grazing shot to a level 10 character.For the purposes of consistency, though, a level 6 character is substantively different from the same character at level 5 in precisely the ways which are reflected by the game mechanics - including the ability to take more hits before dropping.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="The Crimson Binome, post: 6301544, member: 6775031"] It would be a better example if you used bigger numbers. When he's just starting out, Bob can usually take one arrow but a second usually drops him; much later on, he can take twenty arrows without dropping. Your question would seem to be about verisimilitude, though, rather than internal consistency. Maybe some of those hit points represent divine protection, and the gods are more willing to protect their accomplished champion Bob rather than the fledgling adventurer Bob? That's a perfectly plausible and consistent explanation. It is one of many, actually. I believe the traditional explanation is that gaining a level represents a benchmark where you have learned enough from your experiences that you are better capable of doing what you do - fighters are now better [I]enough[/I] at fighting for it to be reflected with increased accuracy, spellcasters are better [I]enough[/I] at casting spells that they can now prepare more/better ones, and everyone is better [I]enough[/I] at "taking" "hits" that it now requires more of hits in order to drop them. Where those extra hit points come from doesn't really matter all that much. One popular explanation (from 3E) is that hit points represent your ability to turn a lethal hit into a less lethal hit, such that a 5-point arrow represents a direct hit against a level 1 character (who may not even have 5 hit points), but a similar 5-point arrow represents a grazing shot to a level 10 character. For the purposes of consistency, though, a level 6 character is substantively different from the same character at level 5 in precisely the ways which are reflected by the game mechanics - including the ability to take more hits before dropping. [/QUOTE]

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