Thinking about Hit Points

Applying a Little Imagination
In a recent discussion with a fellow gamer the topic turned to hit points and what constitutes damage and healing. White Box is a game which treats many aspects of the adventure in an abstract manner. Hit points and hit dice for monsters are just such areas of abstraction. White Box makes no mention of what hit points are other than being the number of points of damage the character (or monster) can sustain before death. Obviously being burned by dragon breath and stabbed by an orc can result in taking damage to one's hit points, but does each of those lost hit points equal blood loss or tissue damage? Vol. III The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures "healing" is described as being the result of magic or natural healing which occurs at the rate of 1 hit point recovered each day of rest (presumably in a safe place) after the first. There seems to be no permanent result of having been wounded or damaged to near death and there is no incremental loss of abilities as one takes damage. The door for such interpretation is left open, however, for such rules as stated in Vol. I Men & Magic, "Whether sustaining accumulative hits will otherwise affect a character is left to the discretion of the referee."
Well, in case we want to determine how sustaining hits might affect a character it seems important to determine what those hits may represent. Blood loss and physical injury is assumed, but what about fatigue? Using up one's luck? The deterioration of mental sharpness, loss of the will to continue, mental fatigue, sanity - all these and more could possibly be folded into the accumulation of damage and loss of hit points. Time resting safely would certainly restore such loss (as could magic).
In later Editions the concept of hit points is carried forward and new mechanics are introduced such as "short rests" which can restore some lost hit points. The "short rest", taking just a few minutes to refresh, drink and maybe eat something, to catch one's breath and regroup, or maybe patch-up and bind some wounds, all makes sense if we consider accumulated damage to hit points as including fatigue and other conditions. A "House-rule" that results in some deterioration of abilities (a minus to hit, perhaps) corresponding to accumulation of hit point damage can also be rationalized. Use of a hit location table (or die) may also be useful in determining the nature and effect of wounds if it occurs as a result of accumulating damage.
Whether your hero succumbs to the cumulative effect of many small cuts, or having finally been worn down by fending off the worst effects of many blows, or having finally run out of luck and taking that one serious wound that drains the will to resist may not really matter, but such narrative can sometimes add to the fun of the game. "Take two hit points of damage." can get rather monotonous at higher levels when the result can be repeated many times over. White Box is foremost a game of imagination and the imagination tends to work best with a little prompting. Therefore it seems appropriate to me for the referee to use descriptive language when describing the results of various die rolls. Narrating, "Twisting aside just in time to avoid the worst of a blow aimed at your midsection, you lose two points as your luck begins to run out." or "The savage orc, slobbering and howling deals you two points of damage as your nerves fray a little more." can widen the player's interpretation of damage and help everyone imagine a more complete encounter where more than blood loss is at stake. Healing descriptions can also be somewhat detailed, but should perhaps come from the players themselves. "As the earth cleric kneels beside you, he picks up a handful of dirt and asks if you will receive the healing power of the Earthshaker? As you nod, he rubs the dirt into your wound which ceases to bleed and slowly closes, first leaving a red scar, but even that quickly fades."