D&D 5E Make Constitution great again

[JacktheRabbit]

Constitution, it gives you hit points as well as saving throws against disease, poison, and other con based items.

But really, it is THE dump stat and has been basically forever. A friend of mine proved this years ago by creating a character with 10s in every stat and a 25 in Constitution. It basically meant he got up and walked away 30 minutes after he got his butt handed to him, not what would happen if you had all 10s and any other stat as your lone 25. But even then a high con was better than it is today. In 1E going over 19 (yes it was way harder to do back then) gave you natural regeneration and increased the minimum you could roll when rolling for hitpoints.

So how do we make it more wanted?

One idea I have is that the higher your con, the healthier you are, the more fit you are. So you can convert your bonus action to a standard action one per turn per long rest for each bonus point of constitution you have. You are just healthy and strong enough to push yourself that extra little bit when you must.

I would love to also add a skill or two under Constitution but adding something like Swimming just means you are taking away from Strength which is the #2 dump stat these days.

Opinions?

 

[Wiseblood]

I don't view constitution as a dump stat. In fact it is in the top 50 pecent of abilities.

 

[Stalker0]

I consider con almost every classes second best stat.

It's not weak at all

 

[Satyrn]

I feel like, over the last few days here, I've seen Constitution, Strength, Intelligence and Charisma all called a dump stat.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

I feel like, over the last few days here, I've seen Constitution, Strength, Intelligence and Charisma all called a dump stat.

Strength, can be easily replaced by high dex which also improves armor class and initiative.

Intelligence, only matters to wizards unless your DM runs a campaign that heavily hammers on the knowledge skills.

Charisma, no way, there are three classes that use it as their spellcasting stat and just about every single charisma based skill is excellent.

I guess I shouldnt say Con is dump stat. I guess I should say it is a unskilled stat it is everyones #3 stat for assigning stats unless your a strength based fighter, in which case it is #2.

So almost no one will throw their 8 into constitution, but throw a 10 in there and the ease of healing will make it easy to never notice unless your DM really hammers on the party and limits their ability to rest.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Satyrn]

So, the next time I play my sword and board fighter using point buy I should go:

Str 8, Dex 15, Con 10, Int 8, Wis 15, Cha 15.

Good to know. I'm gonna kick so much butt with a longsword!

 

[Blue]

Con is usually the 2nd or 3rd best in any setup - definitely in the top half.

It's never been a dump stat. It's an very important supporting stat. Have a 25 and all 10s is meaningless for showing it as a dump stat - it just shows it isn't a primary ability score.

 

[cbwjm]

Is this a serious thread? I can't always tell when reading something on the internet. I tend to rate constitution as 2nd-4th most important stat depending on what kind of character I'm making. At the very least, I prefer to have it no less than 10. I don't always need a bonus but I really don't want to have hit point penalty.

 

[Prism]

In addition to hit points, Con is also used the determine how long a character can hold their breath, go without food, water or sleep or how long they can dash during a chase.

Hit points are obviously the main benefit but we do a fair bit of running away and chasing during our games