D&D 5E The Problem with Constitution

[Ganders]

Here's how to make it so an 8 in Con isn't fatal: Give each character 3 hit dice at every level. Yes, this nearly triples their hit points. But also roll triple the dice on every damage source: swords, spells, everything. Since the Con mod isn't tripled, it won't hurt so much to have an 8.

If that's too much trouble, you could just have a game where everyone must put 10 in Con. Then they're all equal(ish) and you simply have to design the monsters and encounters to suit their slightly lower hit point totals.

As for making it something people want to max (to 20)... really the only way to do that is to make it the primary attribute for a class. Or make something really important (like to-hit, spell DC, Persuasion skill, or Paladin aura) key off of it, which is basically a way of saying the same thing. People realy don't max anything that's not a primary attribute. The main issue here is that Con is already pretty important... it really isn't fair or practical to make it a primary attribute unless you remove or severely limit its effect on hit points. Which is fine... there's no law that says Con must affect hit points.

But I wouldn't bother with all that. It's easier to just eliminate it altogether. Just let everything that used to be a Con save become a Str save. Done. And D&D remains surprisingly well-balanced with only the five abilities.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

Can we address the problem of too many people being too eager to find problems where there isn't an actual problem?

 

[Mouseferatu]

Oof. I mean, I hope you guys develop a system of "fatigue points" that you enjoy, but for me, I'm delighted that's not a core part of the game. I really don't even like point-based magic systems in RPGs, and I hate the idea of needing to track that stuff as a martial character.

 

[FrogReaver]

Can we address the problem of too many people being too eager to find problems where there isn't an actual problem?

If we are going to go down that path I'd much rather address the problem of too many acting like 5e has no problems when almost all of us have at least a few things we would change about it if we could.

 

[Volund]

I've played with quite a few players that built PC's that had Con in the 10-12 range. I think they're crazy; 14 is my minimum, but that still leaves room to be good at two other stats and OK at a fourth using point buy. A 14 Con doesn't inhibit varied builds if you pick the right race.

I don't think D&D is an "all options are viable" kind of game. In 5e, regardless of what your PC uses as a primary stat to be good at their profession, their ability to survive hazards will largely depend on Dex, Con and Wis. That's been true since 1e. It's just one of those quirks of D&D; once you get past your primary stat, you want a good Con score. High Con could be even more impactful in 1e, when, for example, a magic user with a 16 con would have almost double the hp of one with a 14. In 5e, if you dump two out of these three "survival" stats, especially if one is Con, your character will most likely have a lot of bad stuff happen to it.

Even if you detached hp bonuses from Con, low Con characters would get still get hammered by all the monsters that can poison, petrify, paralyze, drain hp, or cause disease and by all the spells that have con saves. You can't diminish the importance of Con without diminishing its significance throughout a broad swath of the rules, and at that point you're revising the whole system.

It doesn't bother me that a PC that dumped Con would have a much harder time surviving. There are a lot of bad things that happen to low Wis PC's too, so much so that for me Wis is almost as mandatory as Con. Low Wis PC's get scared, charmed, slowed, confused, or otherwise mentally shut down by a lot of spells and effects, go insane, get lost, and stumble into traps or past secret doors.

A side effect of making low-Con PC's more viable would probably be more high-Dex PC's. We have enough threads complaining about them already.

 

[Shiroiken]

I don't think you need to redo the monsters. Who cares how many HD a monster has? It's almost a useless statistic. Their HP is typically all that matters.

Because they use the same rules to get their HP that the characters use. High Con monsters, like giants and dragons, get quite a bit of HP per HD they have. Low Con monsters, like Kobolds, actually lose HP per HD they have. If you change the rules for the player characters, this should impact how many HP monsters have as well.

 

[WhosDaDungeonMaster]

But I wouldn't bother with all that. It's easier to just eliminate it altogether. Just let everything that used to be a Con save become a Str save. Done. And D&D remains surprisingly well-balanced with only the five abilities.

I thought about that, too. It probably wouldn't hurt things much... But it would require quite a bit of thought.

 

[Bitbrain]

Constitution is an entirely passive ability score. It's a stat everyone wants as high as they can get it, and no build can shrug and say, eh this isn't important for my character. Having an average or a low constitution gives your character a drawback that cannot be minimized or overcame, like the other stats.

The Constitution scores at my game are as follows:

Elf Druid = 12
Human Fighter = 12
Human Rogue = 10
Mul (homebrew race) Bard = 10

They do just fine and are now at 6th level. The only one who has a problem with having set his own Constitution so low at PC creation is the Druid, but he has since realized his mistake and is considering taking Resilient (Con) when he reaches 8th level.

 

[Krachek]

Yes I have only seen con score between 12-14.

It is not a problem.
Adventuring is an harsh profession. Better have a good shape.
If you want to play a sick and pale character be sure to play in high political and intrigue setup.
But the classic setup of dnd is more about crawling in sewers, sleeping in the middle of a storm, or freezing in a curse crypt.
Having a good constitution seem obvious.

If you want better secondary stat give more points to customize ability score. Try 29 or 31.
Or roll stat in order. That can give chalenging character for experienced players.

 

[Rya.Reisender]

Honestly, in my games, I do two things:
1. Make all kinds of skills useful by providing various opportunities to use them.
2. Allow players to somewhat control "aggro" by positioning and provocations.

Now if I look at my games:
- It is true that all my player have a CON of 12 or higher
- It is also true that our Warlock always stays back and shoots Eldritch Blasts at enemies and he always sits at max HP plus temp HP, so he basically didn't benefit from his higher MaxHP even once

My group actually discussed recently on how our Warlock has so much HP + TempHP sources, but he still can't tank because he hardly has any spells that are useful in melee combat.

On the other hand CON is still very interesting for spellcasters because of concentration.

There are probably non-caster builds that can do without CON even better. Like a rogue concentrating on hiding and ranged attacks. Some rogues can be hidden 90% of the time, so they will hardly receive damage either.