I don't see a problem with a hit causing 1hp damage. You think armour in Conan is underpowered? :?
IRL people certainly can die without their armour ever being penetrated - policemen wearing bulletproof vests that resisted the bullet impact still occasionally die from subdermal haemorrhaging, and a big hunk of iron like a sword or mace has much more force than a bullet. I can't really understand either what you have against an 'Agincourt' type scenario, it sounds very Conanish to me - I can't see King Conan laughing at the 500 Nemedian archers just because he's wearing plate harness, he'd find some cover fast!
IRL people certainly can die without their armour ever being penetrated - policemen wearing bulletproof vests that resisted the bullet impact still occasionally die from subdermal haemorrhaging, and a big hunk of iron like a sword or mace has much more force than a bullet. I can't really understand either what you have against an 'Agincourt' type scenario, it sounds very Conanish to me - I can't see King Conan laughing at the 500 Nemedian archers just because he's wearing plate harness, he'd find some cover fast!