Health

I know a lot of people who larp.
I myself have larped, it's why I write this blog.

But I've recently been thinking about something that is in most systems where active combat is a thing.

The health pool.
Hit points.
Health.

Call it what you will. The thing that shows when we are alive or dead.

Seeing as most larp is essentially based off of Dungeons and Dragons what many People see is that you are either healthy or you are dead/dying.

Anything above one hp means alive.
Zero usually means unconscious and below zero means dying.

It's not really very realistic when you think about it.

But do we really want it to be realistic?
We're meant to be hero's aren't we?  Everyone knows that Grog the Barbarian can suffer injuries that would fell a normal man...

Is that why then a great many systems are instead going fir the low hit approach?

Who needs to be doing maths whilst fighting a group of villains intent on killing you?

Isn't it easier to say "get hit twice in the location and it's damaged, take more than five damage at all and you're ko'd and have two minutes for the medic to stop you from dying."

But then why bother being heroes.
Or is it more heroic for anyone to die a senseless death from a bad ricochet.

Is realism in health the new heroism?