[Runequest] Advice Sought re Damage & HP

[royce at efn.org]

Greetings, All,

Disclaimer:
   I've been failing to keep up on all but job-or-family-essential
correspondence, and have not made a diligent Internet search, so this
question may well leave me looking pretty clueless.  If so, my
apologies ahead of time.

Situation:
   This summer, I hope to introduce some roleplayers to RQ.  These players
are not mindless hack-&-slashers, but they do need action every two
hours of seat time, or they'll get restless & dissatisfied.

Worry:
   People in RQ are, well, delicate.  Take an arm, with its measly 3 HP. 
Even average damage with average weapons -- say, a roll of 4 on a D8
weapon, plus a roll of 3 on a D6 strength bonus -- will leave my
character carrying his arm home in a bag.
   Most of the players I know will get themselves dismembered or dead in
fairly short order.
   On the other hand, if I, as GM, double location hit points, then a
strong hit to the chest (with say, 5 HP doubled to 10) is merely
inconvenient.  That's even worse.
   I exaggerate, of course, but...

Request:
   But I'd like to know how other RuneQuesters deal with horrid menace of
melee.  Do you make sure that PC's always start with some decent armor?
 Start with high shield & weapon parry skills?  Both?  Is there another
approach?  Start with two or three characters?  What do you do?

   Wisdom, advice, insights, relevant experiences, old war stories -- all
feedback is welcome.  Many thanks ahead of time.
   Sincerely,
Asher