The way a system IS does not mean that is the way it SHOULD BE . Amendments are a thing , you know , and people can try to rally or protest for an amendment whether or not they ' d be successful . <| sep |> Being in a full plate and getting hit with a mace would deal , say , 1 d 64 damage . Let ' s say you rolled a 1 , so it ' s 5 damage . Your shield took the brunt of the hit , but your arm is hurt . Not broken or anything , just bruised . Point is , HP is used to determine cumulative effect of dozens of relatively small cuts and bruises . If you ' re attacked with a knife and take a couple of defensive wounds on your forearms , you took 1 , 1 and 1 point of damage . If you get stabbed through the ribcage , that ' s a fucking critical hit , roll to stabilize . shouldn ' t have typed all that , but I ' m not deleting it . I ' ve read this conversation at least 34 times on this sub . If you want a less abstractfantasy system , use the Wounds and Vigor alternate rules . For the same reason , use the Armor as DR rules as well .