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D&D 5E A New Way to HP
- Thread starter Ashkelon
- Start date
Sadrik
First Post
I am also in favor of using HD as DR. It is a good tactical approach.
It also could easily be added to a module that adds DR to the system.
The module could be all weapons do max damage, longsword does 8 damage +STR etc.
Armor you roll to reduce. So rather than rolling for damage you roll to reduce damage. Light armor might be a 1d4, medium a 1d6 and heavy a 1d8. Magic bonuses of course could add to that and adamantine might bump up the die type etc. Tack on the HD as DR too and you have a nice little tactical system there.
It also could easily be added to a module that adds DR to the system.
The module could be all weapons do max damage, longsword does 8 damage +STR etc.
Armor you roll to reduce. So rather than rolling for damage you roll to reduce damage. Light armor might be a 1d4, medium a 1d6 and heavy a 1d8. Magic bonuses of course could add to that and adamantine might bump up the die type etc. Tack on the HD as DR too and you have a nice little tactical system there.
For extra effort, allow multiple HD to be spent, but you only gain the benefit of the highest one.
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I have played around with a wargame inspired HD system vaguely like this. HD become your combat prowess, not just your durability.
In combat, you roll your HD and play RISK against foes you are engaged with. (each turn you engage, then evaluate -- everyone rolls their HD, and you sort highest to lowest).
Any HD that A is defeated (strictly less than) its opposing die, and B has the same even-odd parity as its opposing die is removed.
In addition, if you lose more of these contests than you win, some other game fiction happens -- the foe can retreat, get by you to attack an ally, or the like.
You can add weapons and armor to the game. Each can contribute a die. If your weapon die is eliminated, you are disarmed. Similarly for armor and shield. Possibly your armor/shield dice cannot cause foes dice to be eliminated, but can only "soak" hits, but that is tricky.
Spells, like a fireball, create a "one off" foe who attacks the targets in the area.
Now, this isn't all that on topic -- but the even/odd subsystem, and turn-based evaluation, could be useful.
Suppose everyone declares their action and then you evaluate. Then the many-goblin attack becomes one wad of damage which you can soak with HD.
If you go even/odd, maybe on each attack if your best HD roll beats the incoming damage it is not lost. So if you spend 1d10 HD to soak a 1d4 attack, and you beat it, you don't lose your HD. If it ties or beats you, you lose your HD.
Melee type characters (or non-spellcasters) could have a system whereby they get to keep any HD that rolls "same parity" as the damage they are soaking (which basically works out to "keep half of your HD you roll"), and you can make HD in general harder to recover. This would give said melee characters more staying power.
Armor and Shields could have HD instead of granting AC. Magical armor and shields might have more than 1 HD. Armor could have HD that is hard to eliminate (odd/even rule like melee PC HD), while shields would be easy to sunder/lose the HD. Magical armor/shields would repair themselves between battles. Non-magical shields you'd just have to draw a backup. Non-magicl armor that had been penetrated would be repairable, possibly.
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I have played around with a wargame inspired HD system vaguely like this. HD become your combat prowess, not just your durability.
In combat, you roll your HD and play RISK against foes you are engaged with. (each turn you engage, then evaluate -- everyone rolls their HD, and you sort highest to lowest).
Any HD that A is defeated (strictly less than) its opposing die, and B has the same even-odd parity as its opposing die is removed.
In addition, if you lose more of these contests than you win, some other game fiction happens -- the foe can retreat, get by you to attack an ally, or the like.
You can add weapons and armor to the game. Each can contribute a die. If your weapon die is eliminated, you are disarmed. Similarly for armor and shield. Possibly your armor/shield dice cannot cause foes dice to be eliminated, but can only "soak" hits, but that is tricky.
Spells, like a fireball, create a "one off" foe who attacks the targets in the area.
Now, this isn't all that on topic -- but the even/odd subsystem, and turn-based evaluation, could be useful.
Suppose everyone declares their action and then you evaluate. Then the many-goblin attack becomes one wad of damage which you can soak with HD.
If you go even/odd, maybe on each attack if your best HD roll beats the incoming damage it is not lost. So if you spend 1d10 HD to soak a 1d4 attack, and you beat it, you don't lose your HD. If it ties or beats you, you lose your HD.
Melee type characters (or non-spellcasters) could have a system whereby they get to keep any HD that rolls "same parity" as the damage they are soaking (which basically works out to "keep half of your HD you roll"), and you can make HD in general harder to recover. This would give said melee characters more staying power.
Armor and Shields could have HD instead of granting AC. Magical armor and shields might have more than 1 HD. Armor could have HD that is hard to eliminate (odd/even rule like melee PC HD), while shields would be easy to sunder/lose the HD. Magical armor/shields would repair themselves between battles. Non-magical shields you'd just have to draw a backup. Non-magicl armor that had been penetrated would be repairable, possibly.
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