hit dice and hit points

[TheLoneRanger1979]

Hey ya all! Just a quicky one.

Back in the day, some classes featured more hit dice then the others (like rogues and
rangers in example). In the case of the rangers, they even started with 2 hit dice at first
level. Did the constitution bonus apply to all the hit dice when calculating hit points or
only once per level? In other words, an 18 CON ranger, would start with 2X (1d8+4) or
2d8+4 hit points?

 

[Celebrim]

You mean monks and rangers. Rogues leveled up faster, but they never got two dice at one level.

I know that in my games, we didn't double dip on the CON bonus at first level. But I don't know if that was correct, and will have to look it up when I get home.

 

[ccs]

The bonus is per HD.

PHB, p.12, right hand column, 1st paragraph, 1st sentence under Notes regarding Constitution Table.

 

[TheLoneRanger1979]

You mean monks and rangers. Rogues leveled up faster, but they never got two dice at one level.

I know that in my games, we didn't double dip on the CON bonus at first level. But I don't know if that was correct, and will have to look it up when I get home.

Yep, my bad! I wrote the rogues because they got more hit dice overall, but forgot they still got one per level

The bonus is per HD.

PHB, p.12, right hand column, 1st paragraph, 1st sentence under Notes regarding Constitution Table.

Thanks mate! That is what i was looking for.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Ihe case of the rangers, they even started with 2 hit dice at first
level. Did the constitution bonus apply to all the hit dice when calculating hit points or
only once per level?

Each HD and only HD, not levels with no HD. And, if you weren't a fighter (Ranger was a Fighter sub-class, so it was), only up to the +2 CON bonus for a 16.

 

[TheLoneRanger1979]

Yeah, i read about the last part in the 2E handbook, i guess it's imported from 1E.

 

[Greenfield]

This came up a long time ago, when I played 1st. I used to run adventures for "unlimited level" characters. I always warned the players that I intended to "inflict the rules on them without mercy".

They came anyway.

One rule shock they encountered was when I reminded them that they didn't get hit dice for all 50+ levels of all five classes their characters had. And that meant that the CON bonus to hit points from their 24 or 25 CON score didn't give them thousands of hit points.

Getting introduced to the "Character with Two classes" rules, which were distinct from the "Multiclass character" rule, was also a shock.

I didn't even try to enforce the level limits by race.

 

[TheLoneRanger1979]

I think i actually like the HP "soft cap" of 1E and 2E. With basically infinite HP progression, late game tends to lag.

 

[Psikerlord#]

I think i actually like the HP "soft cap" of 1E and 2E. With basically infinite HP progression, late game tends to lag.

Absolutely. I think the hp dice cap at 9th or whenever it was worked better. 5e has too much damage/hit point inflation and undermines some of the good work bounded accuracy otherwise does.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Absolutely. I think the hp dice cap at 9th or whenever it was worked better.

It varied, most classes had between 8-11 HD, then static +1, 2, or 3 thereafter. A few classes, with hard-level caps (around 14-17) had 1 HD/level. Bard might have broken that, oddly enough.

5e has too much damage/hit point inflation and undermines some of the good work bounded accuracy otherwise does.

Really no different from 3.x/PF that way. But for wizards having d6's and rogues d8's that is.