@NullNowhere @neatchee Traditionally, level-based HP system treat hit point damage as "the ability to minimize a wound" -- so 6 points of damage would be a fatal blow at 1st level, but at 5th level, you step back at the right moment and it's a slight scratch.

GURPS, OTOH, has even light injuries imposing a shock penalty for a round (making it better to focus on defense), with increasing penalties as you fall closer to death.

@LizardSF @NullNowhere I'd be interested in trying to create a system where HP is static across levels, with a performance penalty as it is reduced, and a different mechanic - a stagger gauge? - that controls whether or not the next attack will cause damage or not.

e.g. blunt attacks deal more stagger/knockdown, while slashing attacks deal more damage if they connect.

@neatchee @LizardSF @NullNowhere Savage Worlds does what you are thinking about. The main characters all have 3 wounds, while the extras (disposable minions) only have one. You also get a penalty to your rolls equal to the number of your wounds.

It does suffer a bit from the problems others have pointed out (it has a very punishing death spiral, because healing is not easy at all), so your best bet is always try to avoid wounds.

@nikelui @LizardSF @NullNowhere I sort of recall playing some d&d5e homebrew that borrowed that mechanic, but it felt overly simplistic on top of the death spiral.

I remember feeling like once you got a single wound my efficacy was so dramatically reduced, and my likelihood of being wounded even further increased as a result, that we all got unreasonably defense-oriented

Maybe that was just because it was shoehorned into 5e? It wasn't very satisfying either way