D&D 5E A New Way to HP

[MichaelSomething]

@Ashkelon I agree with @Jester Canuck that there is the kernel of a good idea here.

You and others have identified the two main drawbacks, and I don't know if there's a way around them:

1. Multiple attack vectors are more dangerous than single attack vectors. 10 goblins might actually be more dangerous to an individual PC than a dragon. There is fiction-rules dissonance there, unless there are further rules to limit this, or dragons are designed as multi-attack whirlwinds.

That could be considered a feature, not a flaw. After all, it would be more realistic for a large group of beings to overpower an adventurer by sheer force of numbers....

 

[fjw70]

I like the idea of HD being damage avoidance instead of healing. Maybe when you roll a HD to avoid damage any unused points become temp HP. That would take care of the goblins being too tough issue.

 

[Arduin's]

Take a moment to imagine a world where both camps who enjoy HP = slowly recovering meat and HP = stamina/fatigue/moral/luck/etc can play the same game and not have any issues with how the game portrays HP. Yeah, that is a lofty goal, but I think we can reach it, or at least get close. So bear with me here.

This has been tried countless times over the last 35 years or so. It has never worked out well. Why are you trying yet again? Just curious?

 

[Cadence]

When Pitfall Harry gets bit by a scorpion, he dies.

Was one scorpion jump away from a perfect score in Pitfall II on the Atari 2600 back in the day... only time I came close.

 

[DEFCON 1]

And if you aren't talking about hit points at all, what are you doing in this thread?

He's trying to get people to try his personal RPG that he made, which seems to be the basis for every thread I see DMMike posting in. Usually we can be assured that no matter the thread topic, if DMMike appears, one of the first posts will be him pimping how his Modos RPG solves the issue.

 

[Garthanos]

That could be considered a feature, not a flaw. After all, it would be more realistic for a large group of beings to overpower an adventurer by sheer force of numbers....

There are fantasy combat tropes involved here... realism isnt primarily the target.

 

[Garthanos]

I like the idea of HD being damage avoidance instead of healing. Maybe when you roll a HD to avoid damage any unused points become temp HP. That would take care of the goblins being too tough issue.

Not a bad idea.. although it kind of tweaks on the ambiguous meaning of temp hit points.


I do feel the trope allowing highly skilled characters to operate like mowing machines against lesser adversaries needs to have its representation both offensively and defensively.

Other tropes are important too.. not thinking 4e always did good service for instance 4e may have been too realistic about disarms. In real life for instance a disarm is very difficult its easy and safer to deliver a single blow which takes somebody out of the fight than it is to disarm a competent enemy without injury HOWEVER that is against trope. In trope its almost always easier to make less harmful effects against an adversary, the my enemy is watching my sword so I can sneak in a punch bit for instance. A disarm in the movies might induce an enemy to dive for a weapon proning them it might do nothing more than cause them to draw one of their back up weapons and not be able to do opportunity attacks and the fictional characters are many times nearly as potent armed as not... But its far easier than in real life.

Realism is not the master of D&D.. and not just because MAGIC

 

[fjw70]

Just to be clear, I am fine with HD being used for healing. I just thought the damage avoidance was another cool way to handle them. The damage avoidance might be more fun though.

 

[MichaelSomething]

There are fantasy combat tropes involved here... realism isnt primarily the target.

It isn't for me either, but it is to a lot of people
I find the rule acceptable.

 

[Sadrik]

Too complex. I prefer my system. HP up to CON Score = meat; HP above CON score = luck plus fatigue. A short rest can restore HP above CON score in small chunks; HP meat damage require magical healing or extended (as in multi-day) rest.

This. Or some variation on this theme.

Perhaps Wounds and HP.

All creatures have 1 wound. PCs and "boss" monsters and NPC have wounds = to their CON score.

All HP recover after a long rest. Or you roll all your HD and get that many HP back. Wounds recover at 1 per night.

So you can be wounded, with full HP. You could even add in a restriction to your HP max or HD max based on wound points sustained.

This makes the PCs heroic but they also have another resource they are concerned about. It lowers the need of the cleric. This is my preferred mode of play.