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Hit Points (view source)

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Rather than using actual wounds and damage, players have a number attributed to their health that clearly indicates how close to death they are. It's like a time-irrelevant take on [[Exact Time to Failure]] in that [[Critical Existence Failure|only losing the last one]] causes any real harm. It should be noted, however, that HP in many games (especially [[Tabletop RPG|Tabletop RPGs]]) is supposedly a statistically concealed conceit of both [[Plot Armor]] and actual health. As your HP drops, it's ostensibly your talent/luck at dodging, deflecting and absorbing blows dropping as you get more tired and desperate until you actually get hurt (This explanation raises [[Fridge Logic|problems of its own]] all too often.)
 
This trope can be directly traced from the original ''[[Dungeons and Dragons]]'', right down to the name. Since then, it's been used in genres as diverse as [[First -Person Shooter]], [[Role Playing Game]], and [[Real Time Strategy]], and is nigh-universal for each, due to its usefulness for programmers (the alternative is the [[One -Hit -Point Wonder]]). On some occasions, the number itself is hidden and only a [[Life Meter]] is shown to represent damage. [[Survival Horror]] games favor foregoing even that, and simply displaying one of three to four colors in the status screen to indicate well-being.
 
In [[First -Person Shooter|First Person Shooters]], this number is often ''exactly'' 100, and is taken to be a percentage of the player's normal uninjured health, with "mega health"-type items that cause your health to go above 100 often resulting in your health slowly ticking back down to 100. Ever since ''[[Golden Eye 1997 (Video Game)|GoldenEye]]'', players and enemies often take multiples of damage based on where they are hit, but in the end, [[Boom Headshot|a bullet in the head]] is exactly the same as twelve in the foot, or what have you. It's a good thing there are so many [[Heal Thyself|water fountains]] and [[Healing Potion|Healing Potions]] spread about.
 
In [[Role Playing Game|Role Playing Games]] with levels, you usually get a higher maximum number of Hit Points with each [[Character Level]].
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* The ''[[Bushido Blade]]'' fighting series used aversion of this trope as a selling point. Unlike most fighting games that use HP bars, Bushido Blade lets you fight just until you receive a lethal injury. A solid hit to the head or body ends the match right there. Hitting an arm or leg would disable that limb--if both your legs are crippled, you can't even stand up.
 
== [[First -Person Shooter]] ==
* Pretty much any [[First -Person Shooter]] released before 2001's ''[[Halo]]: Combat Evolved'' will use traditional [[Hit Points]]. Most, but not all, released afterward will use [[Regenerating Health]]. A few, like the aforementioned ''Halo'' will use both, typically represented with a second [[Life Meter]], usually called something like "Stamina" or "Shields." For the most part, healing items will only improve the non-regenerating side.
* ''[[Left 4 Dead]]'' has the survivors with the standard 100 hit points. However, once they hit 40 hit points and below, they start to show the signs of their injuries, moving slower and slower, until they hobble along painfully at 1 hit point.
** Pain pills will give survivors a temporary health boost and it wears down over time. When someone is down, their health for being down starts at 300 points and drains by 3 points per second and more if attacked. Survivors die if the incap health reaches zero.
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== [[Platform Game]] ==
* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' is something that manages to fall into the gap between the two health systems: a [[One -Hit -Point Wonder]] without rings, invulnerable to most things with them. Rings are usually plentiful, and you even get a chance to grab some back if you get hit.
** In ''[[Shadow the Hedgehog]]'', the ring counter functions more like a typical life bar: You lose 10 rings instead of all of them when struck.
** In ''[[Sonic Generations (Video Game)|Sonic Generations]]'', if Sonic has more than a certain number of rings in his possession, he will lose a considerable percentage of them. Less than that, and he will lose all of them.
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[[Category:Video Game Tropes]]
[[Category:Hit Points]]
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