Why should I be able to increase my health?
There was a post by DarkMage139 on a far away little known board that asked a simple question. "What if health was constant and you just modified it with armour saves?" This is a very good point, and it really makes you wonder at whether your character can really handle more hits or whether it is just their armour that is making the difference. The example was given that you could give each character 1000HP and they would then be required to maintain this number. They could increase their armour or decrease it, but if they had no armour, then they would be as vulnerable as the first day that they played. At least then the player would have a reason not to lose their stuff or die. An interesting idea I think.
Disease seldom makes an appearance in games and I think that there can be great potential for such to be worked into storyline and into gameplay. It may just be yet another quest the character may embark upon, to rid the world of a plague. It may be the character whom is responsible for the spread of the ailment. More apocalyptic reasons for Health deterioration could be used instead of war etc. There is more than just physical battles that need to be fought in the world, so mind battles may be also good for the player to consider.