Damage

When a character suffers injury, whether from the actions of foes in combat, bad luck, or naturally occurring hazards, they suffer damage. Whereas harm is a term used to describe the lethal power of weapons and spells, damage is the amount of injury a character sustains in the form of lost Health Points.

You make a Guard check to resist lethal injuries from things like swords, spiked pits, and fireballs. See the Guard entry in Chapter 6: Skills. The amount of incoming damage minus the result of your Guard check equals the amount of HP lost. When a character reaches 0 HP, he falls comatose. When a character drops below 0 HP, he dies. Cry you may, but die you must.