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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ian O'Rourke" data-source="post: 190444" data-attributes="member: 4584">Wearing armour is useful to characters in all eras - but not all in all genres. You seem to be under the mistaking beliefe that reality even applies in some games. Star Wars is a setting/genre which repeatedly shows that armour has zero effect at all. Only the bad guys wear it in the most part, and the heroes of the story rarely do. In fact, at most armour is an excuse to look cool and hang good weapons off (such as in the case of Boba Fett). Realistic no. In genre? Yes.As for the VP/WP issue - it has nothing to do with making armour unfashionable - but it has everything to do with making the game play a certain way. Note in the below explanations I'm not saying either is better, they are just different.In a pure HP system characters have the resource HP, and this is quantifiable resource, your character is pretty much alive until he runs out. As a result he can make decisions based on how much HP he has left.This is not the case with VP/WP, as even if a low-threat Battledriod happens to get a critical his blaster damage goes straight to WP and will cause serious harm. As a result, this tends to enforce a certain style of play, which suited to Star Wars. When the characters outnumbers by enemies that are individually not a threat (they shoot stormtroopers down like skittles) they still run - because one could get lucky. In a pure HP system - they rarely get that lucky as they have to deplete HP.I doubt they will ever turn D&D into a VP/WP system because HP works for that system - it's all about choice to gain a certain effect. In D&D you regularly go up against creatures that can cause masses of damage - as a result single pool of depleting HP works. How would D&D change if the large damaging attack of a dragon went to a persons WP of 14 when it got a critical? Charactrer mortality would significantly increase.In Star Wars the major enemies use blasters and as such the range of damage applied to your character pretty much always falls within a certain range.Another reason for VP is it works well in lightsaber duels, very little else can represent the cut and thrust of the fight withought having rediculous situations like a character taking too many lightsaber hits. As a result the VP loss could be a parry, or a last minute dodge.Can the same be done with HP? Probably, but I must admit I view all HP damage as real damage, but not all damage is equal. 40 points to the 10th level fighter is graze to a 10th level Mage its a serious wound, etc.While in a VP/WP system only WP is real damage, the rest is grazes, blocks. dodges, whatever.Anyway, the choices are a tool to enforce genre, it's nothing to do with realism.</blockquote>

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