No, it's absurd even if you do take the conceit that HP aren't really "meat", but magic pixie stamina points mixed with "luck" and all that nonsense they used to explain what HP supposedly represent in old D&D, which is a notion I'm perfectly aware of. But that still doesn't take actual wounds or injuries into account, which are a real thing that happens in combat, or the fact that even if you take stamina alone into consideration that still doesn't just recover completely overnight if you engage in actual heavy exertion like you would in combat.
I'll be sure to tell Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas that they should have taken more wounds while getting their magic pixie stamina points whittled away while they fought all those orcs and trolls and what have you. Also that they needed at least a week of bedrest after that fight at the end of Fellowship before they'd be able to pursue the orcs who made off with Merry and Pippin because they couldn't possibly be able to pursue them over land and gain ground on them after all that previous exertion.
Because that's what Hit Points ultimately are; Plot Armor. The Troll's club would realistically crush anyone if it actually connected, but Aragorn has the skill and luck to evade those blows, though it does tire him out a bit in the process (i.e. his hit points are reduced). They get dropped to zero hit points and its either they're just knocked out of a minute then get up and keep going (they stabilize and spend some hit dice) or they're Boromir and have bled out (they fail to stabilize and die).
Also, for the record... my wound system is optional for those who want a grittier game. Default is you lose a heroic surge; a resource that represents your deep reserves of stamina... used to rally, take extra actions, push yourself to the limit (i.e. bonuses to actions) and not die at 0 Edge... making it a tactical choice to save them for rallying and avoiding death or spending them on actions and powerful actions that might end fights quicker.
I highly agree on the need for "modularity" and dials to customize campaigns... Theater of the Mind, Abstract Minis and Tactical Minis play would all need support... Random, Easy Template and Fiddly Build chargen also would need support. The question would be how much of that should be at launch vs. a major supplement.
Geeky is right. The time is now, but we need someone with $250k to throw down.
I'm probably stuck making beer money (though I'm a tea-totaler so, Tea money?), but I do have a system just about ready to go (211k words; "How to GM" advice and some random world-building assistance tables is what's left to do) that's got a pretty high degree of modularity, can support theater of the mind, abstract and tactical minis, has options for simple (including actual pre-gens if you don't even want to make simple choices) and fiddly builds and optional rules for random chargen and have done some artwork for it already (though it does need a ton more). It also plays a LOT like WotC-era D&D at the table despite the differences (which come up more in how you build characters vs. how you use them at the table; d20+mod vs. TN is d20+mod vs. TN regardless of what the actual mods and TNs are and how those are determined).
Default chargen is a pretty simple Pick Species, Pick Background (skills and non-combat boons), Pick Class (combat abilities and talents), Pick Equipment (for fast play you can pick a package). The species entries also have three sample PCs per species if all you want to do is grab something and go. A sidebar in the classes section covers what options to pick if all you want is a really simple "I hit it with my sword/spell" type character.
The current list of included optional rules are;
- Level 0 and Negative Level Characters (for those who want to play zero-to-hero games; default is TV action star to start that scales up to Blockbuster action star at high level)
- Attribute Point Buy and Random Attribute Assignment (default is an array)
- Random Species and Backgrounds (for those who want to randomly determine the circumstance into which you're born)
- Skill Points (for those who want greater skill detail than trained/untrained)
- Detailed Languages (for those who actually want a campaign with regional dialects and the ability to learn them).
- Retraining (for changing your character after the game starts)
- Incremental Advancement (breaking up the level based bonuses into smaller chunks)
- Broadened Abilities (improving max level characters by adding breadth instead of more power)
- Infinite Levels (adding more levels past the normal maximum)
- Rolling More or No Damage Dice (for those who want to roll buckets and those who just want to take the average)
- Alternate Measuring Methods (measuring tapes for actual distance and mapless theater of the mind; default is a grid)
- Faster Free Strikes (speed up play by changing them from a hit roll to a static effect; good if you want to make withdrawl more of a tactical choice instead of a gamble)
- Simple Measurement and Simple Bursts (just measuring diagonals as 1 pace; default is they count as 1.5 paces rounded down)
- Abstract Cover (for mapless/theater of the mind)
- Mapless Area Effects (roll dice to see how many enemies you can catch in your burst; roll twice, use best if you're willing to hit an adjacent ally to do it)
- Static Condition Modifiers (I use the roll twice, use best/worst for a number of modifiers because all the testing showed it was way more fun for the players; if you want static modifiers to the die rolls, this is how you do that instead).
It also has rules for running larger/mass battles, vehicle combat, building castles and acquiring and renting out farmland to support yourself and hire troops.
It's also got a pretty kickass kitchen sink default/implied setting (its the one with the various kingdoms, each with their own problems, I've mentioned in other threads), at least according to those who've read it.
But like you said... it would need some serious supporting money (the plan was to Kickstarter to pay for art, editing and production related expenses once I had the manuscript done to use as one of the rewards/proof-its-not-vaporware) to make it happen.