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Message: <blockquote data-quote="takyris" data-source="post: 975846" data-attributes="member: 5171">Well, hit points as they currently stand are supposed to represent dodging and parrying and taking a sword-thrust as a tiny scrape rather than a full-on wound that you somehow ignore.  In that way, you can fix a lot of the problems with flavor text improvements, and forcing your players to do the same.  Don't let them say that they cleave a bad guy's arm off when they critically hit and leave him with only 13 hit points.  13 hit points out of 90 does not mean that a limb has come off.  It means that you have received a number of tiny scratches or bruises, or a few big ones, and that you are weakened, your defenses are down, and you're likely to take the brunt of the next shot.Frankly, after doing d20 Modern, I'd recommend that if you want D&D to be more lethal but still feasible, you incorporate the d20 Modern rules as they are, without changing weapons around.  The problems with your idea, as I see them, are:1) They favor Rogues, Bards, Monks, and the new Ranger over Fighters and Barbarians.  A change to combat rules should not make the Rogue more likely to stay standing than the Fighter.  A Fort save can be abstracted to "Tough enough to keep functioning despite the impending pain and get his body out of the way of most of the attack" -- so that sword-cut that COULD have eviscerated the character (instantly to -1) instead just leaves a nasty scratch (takes normal damage).  In this manner, I'd change the flavor text, not the Save Type.  The Save Type is balanced.  You can flavor-text it so that the person making the save is tough, fast, or lucky, whichever they like, but it should stay a Fort save.2) Any weapon hit is now likely to be an instant-damage check.  This makes the game a LOT less fun, and probably a bit too dangerous.  Trust me on this -- a character with a greatsword still forces massive damage checks WAY too often.  If a shortsword (1d6) was given a greatsword's damage (2d6), you'd be dramatically upping the randomness of your game.  Maybe you'd like it, but I suspect that your players would be frustrated at their hit points meaning so little.Switching to d20 Modern lethality rules, without making any other changes, will make the game a lot more dangerous.  Any crit with a medium-weapon is a potential instakill, and a strong character with a large weapon can force an instakill check on a high percentage of his hits.  If you incorporate these rules, your players will get a lot more careful about combat, guaranteed.  Making the additional changes you suggest might be overkill, though.</blockquote>

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