Why I Think Rolling For Hit Points is a Bad Thing

[NotAYakk]

So, I played around a bit.

And if you reroll all of your HD each level, the curve gets even tighter. Ie, whenever you gain a level, gain a new HD. Now roll all of your HD and add your constitution score. You may choose to keep your old HP, or use this new roll.

This is somewhat self regulating, in that a lower than average HP total will tend to be erased by a higher roll later.

For con bonus: any HD that rolls under your con bonus can be rerolled until it is higher than your con bonus. Wizards with 18 con may choose to roll forever, thus suspending the game until the DM gives in and lets them have a bandersnatch familiar.

 

[Sunseeker]

I strongly disagree.

If every character of X class gained the same number of hit points every level, it would be boring--characters of the same class, theme, and background would look depressingly the same. Rolled HP gives us yet another means of differentiating one character from another.

Yes, character A sucks more than character B.

If people care about differentiating their characters, they'll do so with different creative conceptions, different races, different armor, different weapons, they'll play their characters differently.

If two people choose the same race, class, theme, background, armor, weapons, and play the same way, then 10 hp or 8 hp is not going to make them seriously different. They're still going to both be dwarven fighters in heavy armor with a long sword and shield.

 

[CAFRedblade]

I like rolling hp. Yes it sucks to roll low, but that means that even if I were to recreate this exact character in everything else, the hp differential between the two forces me to rethink the character tactically/strategically (and not just in combat).

I'll play both characters differently simply based on HP.
This can influence types of armour/weapons I choose to equip, to
the character style of play.
The fighter with 100hp will most likely outlast the fighter with only 75hp, if I played them the exact same way. But playing the 75hp fighter the exact same way as the 100hp fighter would be a disservice to that character, unless I'm playing a reckless fool ( or similar concept), which can be fun.
These are the challenges that give rise to drama, tension, and make the actions and sacrifices of characters memorable.

Now I respect that some want more stability in their characters around the play table, and I'm sure Wizards will implement a half HD per level or similar hit point option in the final game, but they have to go with a default, and I'd prefer random rolling, with the sidebar to point to additional options.

 

[Stalker0]

So you have to ask- is randomization of these character elements really adding anything that... can't be replaced with some other mechanism?

.

I completely agree. For example, take the old toughness feat (the 4e edition one was a lot more popular but same idea).

You get a set bonus to hitpoints. Now your fighter is tougher than the other fighter, but its a set bonus so we don't have to worry about variability.

 

[rjdafoe]

There is nothing stopping you from just assigning the middle number of the hit die if your so desire in your game. This will break nothing, and leave those of us that like having the roll to do so without breaking anything.

 

[Lord Zack]

I for one hope that the fact that some people don't like rolling for hit points doesn't mean the possibility of rolling for hit points is eliminated in the rules.

 

[keterys]

My main objection to choosing between random and half-HD is that half-HD is a lower average than rolled mathematically. Which just encourages people to roll.

And I'm pretty convinced that rolled stats and hit points trend well above average, for D&D players.

And not because they're "just lucky". There's rerolls, fudging, cheating, and simple survival of the fittest (two L2 fighters walk into the dungeon - one has 34 hp, the other has 18hp... guess which one walks out?)

 

[Lanefan]

So you have to ask- is randomization of these character elements really adding anything that 1) justifies the cost

Yes. It's called realism. Some people are simply tougher and more resilient than others.

and 2) can't be replaced with some other mechanism?

Such as what, when the oh-so-extremely-simple mechanism of a single die roll per level is already in place?

Lan-"and save-or-die is - or should be - still the great equalizer"-efan

 

[Walking Dad]

Yes. It's called realism. Some people are simply tougher and more resilient than others. Such as what, when the oh-so-extremely-simple mechanism of a single die roll per level is already in place?

Lan-"and save-or-die is - or should be - still the great equalizer"-efan

It is simply unfair. Reducing my fun if rolling is the only option.
Will you also roll the attack bonus, because some are better able to hit others? You know, realism.

 

[Skyscraper]

With hit points, this is not at all the case. Hit points are generated using only one die, so there is no bell cuve. A fighter is just as likely to roll a 1 as is he to roll a 10. This makes the variation between poorly rolled characters and well-rolled characters potentially extreme. One 20th level fighter could literally have 180 fewer hit points than his comrade. Sure, it's very unlikely for one character to roll 20 1's and the other 20 10's, but even half that margin, 90 hit points, is an enormous difference in character survivability and power.

Ironically, the classes that need hit points the most, such as fighters and barbarians and other classes that are expected to be in melee and take the most punishment, have the widest variation in hit points due to using larger hit dice.

Actually, the entire point you made about the bell curve applying to ability scores, applies to hit points as you level up.

I also agree with another poster who mentions that everyone having the same HPs is boring. I like seeing characters with important HP variations.

Where I do agree with you is that I'd like to avoid seeing a fighers with 1 starting HP, while another gets 10. However, for the playtest PCs it seems like the designers gave a fixed initial value of HPs and then give an additional value (average hit die value). This average will probably be replaced by a rolled value. We'll see if this is kept in the final version, but this would indeed mitigate problems you seem to have with HP variations.

Personally, on that last point, I hope that there is more variation in character starting HPs - in fact in HPs throughout the levels. To me, it's fun to see characters with significantly lowers HPs than others (say, 50% less), in particular having low-HP wizards for example.