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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Flamestrike" data-source="post: 8305571" data-attributes="member: 6788736">No there is not a difference in the mechanics at all.Hit points (mechanically, RAW) represent (among other things) luck, fighting skill, experience, resolve and the will to live. Expressly and implicitly.I could 'hit' you and do 22 points of 'luck' reduction (damage) with the 'hit' narrowly missing you (via sheer luck). Or I could 'hit' you and lower your 'resolve points' by 22, with the sword also not actually hitting you (in game) and instead your morale and confidence being affected by my demonstration of superior fighting skill.Hit points are deliberately, intentionally, and expressly not 'meat'. They are extreme abstractions of a multiple of factors including:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">fighting skill,</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">experience,</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">luck,</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">resolve,</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">the will to live and fight on, and</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">health.</li> </ul>How a DM or group chooses to narrate those things is entirely up to them, but mechanically its MORE correct to do it my way, than it is to try and argue that 'every loss of hit points is a meat hit'.No, the issue isnt with HP. The issue is with people such as yourself that dont understand what HP represent, and what they have always represented through the various editions:AD&D 1E: These hit points represent how much damage (actual or potential) the character can withstand before being killed. A certain amount of these hit points represent the actual physical punishment which can be sustained. The remainder, a significant portion of hit points at higher levels, stands for skill, luck, and / or magical factors. PHB P34.Only a 'certain' amount of your HP represents actual physical punishment. The remainder (the significant portion at higher levels) represents fighting skill (parrying, dodging etc) luck and 'other'.This has largely remained the case in every edition since.Despite our fighter landing 3 'hits' for 20 odd points of damage each, the first 'hit' was him knocking aside the Ogres clumsy strike, and leaving the Ogre open to a counter attack, the second 'hit' was a dazzling show of martial prowess that demoralized the Ogre and shattered its resolve as the figher leapt into the air, his sword arcing in a huge swathe, and only the final 'hit' was a solid (actual in-game-word stabby) hit, which plunged deep into the Ogres heart.Thats RAW, and RAI. Thats what HP are, and how they're supposed to be handled. The problem isnt with HP, its with 'HP are meat' interpretations such as yours.</blockquote>

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