[Polydamas]

In some campaigns I might just ignore the game stats, and focus on understanding the real properties of similar weapons, on the grounds that the result when a human being is shot with a cannon is "they lose whatever body part it hits" and the GURPS damage rules are not the best for simulating damage to large ships or fortifications. If I already know more or less what will happen when my galleon gives fire to those nasty English sea-dogs, no need to convert the gun side and the target side into game stats!

But the Realms have giant monsters, heroes who can take more damage than ten men, and magical armour ... so damage could be a useful stat.