I’m continuing with the design for my fantasy game, but I cannot decide wither to pool hp like in D&D, or to break it into the hit locations like in Rune Quest. I like the pool system because it’s simple, and quick. At the same time I like the break down system used in Rune Quest because it’s a little more realistic, allows for called shot like action’s to make a bigger result, but it’s slow, and adds more paper work. I what to know what know what people think about this important part of the character break down, and also any other systems that people may know of for this.

do pool for majority hits then use locations for critical.  That way you can use the quick easy system 90% of the time, then get more granular when something cool happens.

There's also the wound system which deals with how debilitating the effects of attacks are . . .

here's an idea.
have a body die that fits your game.
Roll it with every attack die. if you hit -- that's where it hit.
If it misses that wear the armor stopped it/ where it was closest too. (makes it easier for the players to narrate they actions too I find)

I had a few blank 6 siders laser-engraved to read
head
torso
sword arm
shield arm
Leg
Torso

We use them with every attack roll in my biweekly AD&D-2e game but just for narration purposes and critical hits.
Its less useful on non-humanoid monsters. So if you went with a divided health pool you'll have to keep that in mind.

maybe players could roll:
1 (or however many) attack die/dice
1 location die (or regular die linked to a chart)
1 effect die (or regular die linked to a chart)

the attacker roles all these at once.
[sub]Just a sidenote: I [shadow=Black,left]hate[/shadow] it when players roll all their dice separately. I mean different actions fine but 6d6 fireball damage.. one at a time? gurrrr[/sub]

My suggestion is to come up with a few different ideas and if your game isn't ready for playtesting
just use a game you're used to and know well - D&D for example - and insert your Health mechanic and see which is most satisfying to you/your group.
shouldn't take more that 10-20 rounds of combat to find out if any are too annoying.

Best of luck.
-Brent

crap.
replace 1 of those Torso's with Disarm.

Why do you want hit points in the first place?  If there is no positive reason, consider not having any at all.  If you do have a reason, then being clear on it will help you frame the problem.

I disagree with Brent's suggestion about testing within an existing game.  This will just tend to skew your efforts toward an adaptation rather than an original design.

I think I’ll just go with a pool Hp system easy on book keeping, and after reviewing character creation I think it would be best to stay away from breaking down the Hp, that at max is about 25 points.
I already have a hit location system in place, and I’ll just resolve critical hits as a special for each hit location.