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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JohnSnow" data-source="post: 4101761" data-attributes="member: 32164">"Abstract" and "Consistent" are, to a certain extent, mutually exclusive terms.What First Edition had was a detailed explanation that basically amounted to "hit points are abstract, and represent a combination of factors, including: sheer toughness, luck, the blessing of the gods, and whatever other abilities the character has to turn a lethal blow into a nonlethal one."It then went into ridiculous detail about recovery of hit points, including justifying things like the amount of time it takes "to reach the physical and metaphysical peak..."I would like it if Fourth Edition has an explanation somewhat along the following lines, originally written by Mike Mearls for Iron Heroes, to which I have made no other changes beyond cutting out a lot in the middle and substituting the Fourth Edition phrase "Healing Surges" for IH's "Reserve Points" (since they basically amount to the same thing). "Hit points measure your toughness, endurance, and tenacity. They are an abstract measure, one put in place to enable heroic action in a roleplaying game. They are not supposed to be realistic — no matter how many hit points you lose, your character isn’t hindered in any way until your hit points drop to 0 or lower. Healing Surges represent your resiliency, toughness, and willpower. Since hit point damage has no effect on characters until they reach 0, most effects that damage you cause no more than superficial bleeding, minor scrapes, and bruises. While these injuries can prove life threatening if you sustain many of them in a short period, you can rally your strength quickly if you have time to rest. (Healing Surges) represent your capacity to recharge your energy and shrug off the effects of minor injuries."Since that's what Mike wrote for Iron Heroes, and he's one of the Fourth Edition developers, I fully expect to see a similar explanation in the Fourth Edition rulebooks somewhere. It may also bear strong similarities to the description for hit points given in Star Wars Saga Edition, which I don't have handy at the moment.Of course the fighter knows that he's fatiguing and slowing down. He's also aware that as this happens, he's more vulnerable to serious injury. Furthermore, he realizes that if he could take some time to recover, he'd be able to keep fighting. He also knows (maybe) that he has a number of shallow cuts and bruises. I say "maybe" because like the person who gouges their leg on a hike, the fighter might feel a burn in his side, but not know it's an open wound until after the battle when he has time to check it.But the range of hit points exists for the player's benefit. What the fighter doesn't know is that one sword strike can't kill him. He just knows that the first one (or 6, or whatever) probably won't do it, assuming he's fresh and alert.Make sense?</blockquote>

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