Herremann the Wise
First Post
The discussion of hit points came up in a thread somewhat recently regarding mechanics and flavour. At the time, I came up with a "solution to hit points" but have sat on it while I tinkered with my own system built around this. More recently, several threads have been de-railed as the issue of hit points became discussed. This thread is an attempt to discuss and "solve" the problem.
The Big Problem - So When is my PC Damaged?
The biggest issue with hit points is that across the history of D&D they have represented too many things:
• The ability to turn a serious blow into a less serious one.
• Luck, inner power, resolve
• Divine favor or magical factors
• The ability to stay on one's feet and keep going
• [Others: for example in a recent thread, the ability to resist intimidation]
and of course, let it not be forgotten
• Physical damage from wounds
This duality causes several anomalies when combined and interpreted as a single entity. Healing becomes more than just the healing of physical damage causing many inconsistencies. In turn, damage becomes difficult to interpret and absurd situations can develop. For some, this vagueness assists them in constructing a particular narrative. For others, it is just pure frustration.
The answer to all of this is to finally separate hit points into its two component parts: Hit Points and Combat Points.
Hit Points
Hit points represent the amount of physical damage a character can take before becoming incapacitated and then dead.
Hit points don't change much over the lifetime of a character. Hit points are slowly regained (healed in days) when lost.
Combat Points
Combat points represent how skilled a character is in combat, be it turning a deadly strike into a glancing blow or performing highly skilled acts of heroic ability; as well as possibly inner power, divine favor, luck or just the resolve to keep going.
Combat points will increase over the lifetime of a character as they become more skilled and/or have a deeper relationship with their deity or inner self. Combat points are quickly (5 minutes for half, or an hour for complete) restored in comparison to hit points.
Damage
When a character is "hit" in combat, this "damage" or threat as it were is taken off of combat points first, or if the defender has no combat points left, is taken from their hit points.
Criticals
Alternatively, a "critical hit" is considered a critical because it bypasses combat points and is directly taken off of a character's hit points.
However, combat points serve two prime functions:
• HP Buffer: as a buffer to the character's core hit points (there should be other buffers as well, including skills that reduce the chance of criticals, armor acting as damage reduction etc.)
and the missing piece of the puzzle...
• Combat Resource: Players may "spend" combat points to allow their character to perform special actions such as 4E powers, 3E feats or other abilities that would tax a character in combat. The aim of this is to address the issue that a character is as effective at full hit points as they are at 1 hit point. As combat points get whittled away, the ability to spend combat points and produce the big flashy effects is reduced. Do you risk performing that big power or do you wait and look for a better opportunity?
Other Factors
For this to work, there are several factors that need to be included to make it work:
• Hit Points: A character has only a certain number of these based on [Constitution score plus STR modifier; or Strength score plus CON modifier, whichever is better] plus a generic toughness factor. For PCs, this would hover between 10 and 25 hit points.
• Armor as DR: Wearing armor makes you easier to hit, but harder to damage. Armor reduces either the threat or damage taken - for example if 9 points was to be taken, an armor with DR 4 would reduce this to 5 points.
• Weapon Damage: Does not scale dramatically. No multiplier for criticals, no x3 or x7 damage for powers. Weapons deal a standardized amount of damage which is either effective (taken directly off of hit points) or not (taken off of combat points; or with a miss, no effect whatsoever).
• Death Threshold: A character dies (healing no longer works) if they go below their negative constitution score (modified by racial or ability factors). At 0 hit points or below, a character starts receiving injuries or wounds.
• Healing: Healing hit points takes time, whether assisting someone or healing naturally. Divine healing rituals take time but are effective. The aim however is to add a little realism here. Burn as many combat points as you can but protect your hit points. If you start getting physically hurt in a combat and things aren't looking good, it's time to start pulling out before you start getting really hurt. The bloodied condition (of half hit points) is a very good idea from 4E.
• Restoration of Combat Points: A five minute rest is enough to restore half your combat points. Rest for an hour and your back to your best and at full combat points. The aim here is that luck, resolve, divine favor quickly return, and fatigue becomes less of an issue. The need for a dedicated Cleric or Healer or Curing Wand is lessened.
• Alternative Interpretations for Combat Points: This system allows for combat points to be interpreted in a number of ways. Intimidation reduces combat points, inspiration in its many forms increases them. Fear attacks target combat points (rather than hit points) and so on. The idea of a second wind increasing combat points carries weight.
• Direct Hit Point Damage: One of the biggest anomalies with hit points is when damage is taken that skill or luck would have a hard time overcoming. Falling from 200 feet, diving unprotected into molten lava and the usual problems brought up come to mind. Such damage is applied directly to hit point totals. Such obstacles are truly deadly and to be avoided at all costs. Some characters might have abilties that might help in these circumstances but really, not many people can survive a fall from 200ft.
• Spending Combat Points on Powers: I think one of the issues people have with encounter powers (funnily enough more so than daily powers which were prominent in 3E) is that finding a mechanical reason for such a restriction is very difficult - a narrative reason is much easier. If these encounter powers had a combat point cost associated with them, then this might go someway to "logically" restricting them. Note though that the restriction here is different to 4E. 4E restricts the multiple use of certain powers (a very nice mechanic gamewise). This system does not restrict the multiple use of powers, just the number of times such powers could be used. By the way, at-will powers would obviously cost nothing.
• Daily Powers: These are a little more interesting in how you would restrict them. Cost alone is not enough, the use of an action point (or multiple action points for some dailies) or even specific combat situations would be the way to do it. Some dailies for example may only be used when at 0 combat points, when bloodied and so on. The aim here is to fight the downward ability spiral. You give the opportunity for a heroic comeback, rather than just a steady drop to a likely death.
Anyway, I thought I'd share this with you guys as my thoughts on the whole hit point debate. How would you seek to "fix" hit points? Do you agree with my ideas or find them silly?
Best Regards
Herremann the Wise
The Big Problem - So When is my PC Damaged?
The biggest issue with hit points is that across the history of D&D they have represented too many things:
• The ability to turn a serious blow into a less serious one.
• Luck, inner power, resolve
• Divine favor or magical factors
• The ability to stay on one's feet and keep going
• [Others: for example in a recent thread, the ability to resist intimidation]
and of course, let it not be forgotten
• Physical damage from wounds
This duality causes several anomalies when combined and interpreted as a single entity. Healing becomes more than just the healing of physical damage causing many inconsistencies. In turn, damage becomes difficult to interpret and absurd situations can develop. For some, this vagueness assists them in constructing a particular narrative. For others, it is just pure frustration.
The answer to all of this is to finally separate hit points into its two component parts: Hit Points and Combat Points.
Hit Points
Hit points represent the amount of physical damage a character can take before becoming incapacitated and then dead.
Hit points don't change much over the lifetime of a character. Hit points are slowly regained (healed in days) when lost.
Combat Points
Combat points represent how skilled a character is in combat, be it turning a deadly strike into a glancing blow or performing highly skilled acts of heroic ability; as well as possibly inner power, divine favor, luck or just the resolve to keep going.
Combat points will increase over the lifetime of a character as they become more skilled and/or have a deeper relationship with their deity or inner self. Combat points are quickly (5 minutes for half, or an hour for complete) restored in comparison to hit points.
Damage
When a character is "hit" in combat, this "damage" or threat as it were is taken off of combat points first, or if the defender has no combat points left, is taken from their hit points.
Criticals
Alternatively, a "critical hit" is considered a critical because it bypasses combat points and is directly taken off of a character's hit points.
However, combat points serve two prime functions:
• HP Buffer: as a buffer to the character's core hit points (there should be other buffers as well, including skills that reduce the chance of criticals, armor acting as damage reduction etc.)
and the missing piece of the puzzle...
• Combat Resource: Players may "spend" combat points to allow their character to perform special actions such as 4E powers, 3E feats or other abilities that would tax a character in combat. The aim of this is to address the issue that a character is as effective at full hit points as they are at 1 hit point. As combat points get whittled away, the ability to spend combat points and produce the big flashy effects is reduced. Do you risk performing that big power or do you wait and look for a better opportunity?
Other Factors
For this to work, there are several factors that need to be included to make it work:
• Hit Points: A character has only a certain number of these based on [Constitution score plus STR modifier; or Strength score plus CON modifier, whichever is better] plus a generic toughness factor. For PCs, this would hover between 10 and 25 hit points.
• Armor as DR: Wearing armor makes you easier to hit, but harder to damage. Armor reduces either the threat or damage taken - for example if 9 points was to be taken, an armor with DR 4 would reduce this to 5 points.
• Weapon Damage: Does not scale dramatically. No multiplier for criticals, no x3 or x7 damage for powers. Weapons deal a standardized amount of damage which is either effective (taken directly off of hit points) or not (taken off of combat points; or with a miss, no effect whatsoever).
• Death Threshold: A character dies (healing no longer works) if they go below their negative constitution score (modified by racial or ability factors). At 0 hit points or below, a character starts receiving injuries or wounds.
• Healing: Healing hit points takes time, whether assisting someone or healing naturally. Divine healing rituals take time but are effective. The aim however is to add a little realism here. Burn as many combat points as you can but protect your hit points. If you start getting physically hurt in a combat and things aren't looking good, it's time to start pulling out before you start getting really hurt. The bloodied condition (of half hit points) is a very good idea from 4E.
• Restoration of Combat Points: A five minute rest is enough to restore half your combat points. Rest for an hour and your back to your best and at full combat points. The aim here is that luck, resolve, divine favor quickly return, and fatigue becomes less of an issue. The need for a dedicated Cleric or Healer or Curing Wand is lessened.
• Alternative Interpretations for Combat Points: This system allows for combat points to be interpreted in a number of ways. Intimidation reduces combat points, inspiration in its many forms increases them. Fear attacks target combat points (rather than hit points) and so on. The idea of a second wind increasing combat points carries weight.
• Direct Hit Point Damage: One of the biggest anomalies with hit points is when damage is taken that skill or luck would have a hard time overcoming. Falling from 200 feet, diving unprotected into molten lava and the usual problems brought up come to mind. Such damage is applied directly to hit point totals. Such obstacles are truly deadly and to be avoided at all costs. Some characters might have abilties that might help in these circumstances but really, not many people can survive a fall from 200ft.
• Spending Combat Points on Powers: I think one of the issues people have with encounter powers (funnily enough more so than daily powers which were prominent in 3E) is that finding a mechanical reason for such a restriction is very difficult - a narrative reason is much easier. If these encounter powers had a combat point cost associated with them, then this might go someway to "logically" restricting them. Note though that the restriction here is different to 4E. 4E restricts the multiple use of certain powers (a very nice mechanic gamewise). This system does not restrict the multiple use of powers, just the number of times such powers could be used. By the way, at-will powers would obviously cost nothing.
• Daily Powers: These are a little more interesting in how you would restrict them. Cost alone is not enough, the use of an action point (or multiple action points for some dailies) or even specific combat situations would be the way to do it. Some dailies for example may only be used when at 0 combat points, when bloodied and so on. The aim here is to fight the downward ability spiral. You give the opportunity for a heroic comeback, rather than just a steady drop to a likely death.
Anyway, I thought I'd share this with you guys as my thoughts on the whole hit point debate. How would you seek to "fix" hit points? Do you agree with my ideas or find them silly?
Best Regards
Herremann the Wise
