Hit points: High side, average, straight roll, what?

[Count Arioch the 28t]

Automatic max HPs for PCs and villains with levels of PC classes.

Random encounters, summoned monsters, NPC classed monster, and lesser encounters take average rolls. BBEG always has max HP.

About the evokers being weak, even if I didn't have max HP, if I just had average HP, they would seem weaker than they did in earlier editions. The reason being is that HP has got up a lot, while damage from spells has gone down.

Back in 2E, fireball capped at 20d6. HP capped around 9th level, you stopped rolling dice for HP after that.

When a 20th level wizard was doing an average of 70 points of damage, and the average 20th level fighter had 65 hp, there was a significant risk. Sure, you would make the save unless you rolled a 1, but even if you made the save, that's over half your HP right there. (Even if you had a constitution bonus, it would only apply to the first 9 levels. After 9th level, you got 3 HP per level, I think, it's been a while since I played 2E)

Compared to killing 20th level characters in two spells if he made the save, and one spell if he didn't, direct damage IS a lot weaker now.

A troll in 2E had around 20 hp or so. Now, an average troll has 63 hp. That's triple what he had last edition. And to top it off, magic has a lower cap, it's now 10d6 for 3rd level evocation spells.

Compared to 2E, direct damage in 3E is signifigantly weaker, and doesn't change whether or not you allow half HP, max HP, average HP, roll it normally, or give everything 1 + con mode per level.

 

[Bendris Noulg]

Using a Wounds & Vitality variant, Vitality is determined as:

Max for 1st Hit Die.
Rolled with Average Minimum for Hit Dice 2 through 5.
As rolled for Hit Dice 6+.

 

[Thanee]

We do max at 1st and 2nd (we usually start at 2nd level) and then roll at 3rd and thereafter, but if you like you can let the DM reroll, but you have to keep the new result, so this is only to have a chance to turn away a bad roll.

Something I'd also consider, roll and if it isn't above half the hit die, take that instead.

Bye
Thanee

 

[randomling]

My little 1st-level characters haven't levelled yet (they got max HP at 1st). I'm not sure yet what method I'll use, but I'm leaning towards straight roll. I do have one player (hello S'mon!) who will probably want to take average, though.

 

[Agamon]

Right now, I'm just using the plain old roll every level after first. But last campaign, I used the average, and the one before that, every hit die was rerolled every level; if it was higher, you took that, if it was lower, it was your old total + 1.

 

[StalkingBlue]

Traditionally I've been with the 'max hp at 1st level, roll thereafter' crowd.

In my Midnight game I gave PCs max hp at 1st and 2nd levels. For levels 3rd and higher they get a choice: either take DMG-average (i.e. average, rounded down) or roll and live with the result.

 

[Impeesa]

We use a pretty generous method: The usual max at 1st. Best of four rolls at 2nd. Best of three at 3rd. Best of two at 4th. Straight rolls thereafter. At every level, if your best roll (or single roll) ends up below half max, round up to half max.

--Impeesa--

 

[scott-fs]

Edit: "Roll high-side" would be rerolling until you get one of the higher numbers on a die -- 3 & 4 on a d4, 4-6 on a d6, 5-8 on a d8, 6-10 on a d10, and 7-12 on a d12.

I'm wondering why you wouldn't just roll the following:

d4: 1d2+2
d6: 1d3+3
d8: 1d4+4
d10: 1d5+5
d12: 1d6+6

I had a player who had this weird luck with dice that using a particular rolling method, allowed him to get incredibly high scores.

When rolling stats, he would usually roll a couple ones, some 4s, 5s or 6s. 1s in this method are all rerolled. These rerolls commonly came up as 5s or 6s...

I'm wondering why I just didn't use 3d5+3 for stats instead.

I've never heard of rolling "highside" (of course I have never really checked out any of the specific d20/D&D forums, so that may be the reason I've never heard of it).

In my games, I use Player Choice: Normal rolls, or the average result.