What's the best way to handle PC hit points/hit dice?

[D-rock]

I let them either roll, or take the average at each level. If they roll low so be it because I gave them the choice.

 

[Razz0putin]

I have players roll and if it's not what would be half of their hit die they get that. so a cleric that rolled a 2 will be considered as though they rolled a 4. I find this makes it to where they are never weak but they can be strong. I also use this system when making most npcs to challenge the group. I just don't understand the classic system randomness should be represented by battle not character creation.

 

[S'mon]

I use:

1. For PBEMs take average-high, same as Living Greyhawk.

2. For tabletop, take average-low or roll. If you roll low you can spend a Fate Point (fr Conan) to get average-high.

 

[PieAndDragon]

The player gets to roll one die, the DM another [representing training]. Whichever is higher, the PC gets as thier hit die roll for that level.
This gives slightly higher, but more consistent HP.

 

[LeapingShark]

Great post and explanation takyris, I agree with your view 100%.

I always use point buy for abilities. The only thing I don't like about point buy are all the perfectly rounded numbers you end up with. I miss the odds!

For HP, I declare either minimum die rolls, or use a fixed percentage of the die. For either method, it's usually 50%, 75%, or 100% of max (depending on the party level, the style of setting, or difficulty of the campaign).

 

[shilsen]

Mixture here, so I can't pick any of the given choices. Players roll hit dice for their PCs, but if the result is lower than half for the given hit die, they get the half score instead. So if the roll on 1d8 is 1, 2, or 3, the character gets 4. Makes somewhat stronger PCs and prevents situations such as where the mage rolls really well and ends up having more hp than the badly-rolling barbarian.

 

[Thanee]

Roll HD once, but gain a minimum of 1/2 the HD. That's IMHO the best method.

Bye
Thanee

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

Is it actually unacceptable for a lower HD class to have more hps than a higher HD class? With the game set up as is, the game designers seemed to accept that this is a good feature worth including.

Sure the wizard is unlikely to have more than a barbarian, especially as levels progress, but I'm not sure it is a good thing to categorically deny the wizard.

 

[Nifft]

Roll HD once, but gain a minimum of 1/2 the HD. That's IMHO the best method.

That's the method we use in my game, too. Impacts minimally on average, but significantly trims down on suffering in the worst cases.

-- N

 

[Aethelstan]

I have thi shouse rule for rolling hit points: ½ class Hit Die + halved class Hit Die rolled (d8 = 1d4, d6 = 1d3, etc) + Con modifier. Aka: the “get half, roll half” rule.