D&D General Hit Point alternate to + CON mod?

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

How about it being class dependent? Each class gets two ability score modifiers that they add together to their base HP (divided by two, or you choose which one at specific levels). Something like the following could work, IMO:

• Artificers add Constitution and Intelligence.
• Barbarians add Strength and Constitution.
• Bards add Charisma and Dexterity.
• Clerics add Wisdom and Charisma/Constitution.
• Druids add Wisdom and Intelligence/Constitution.
• Fighters add Strength/Dexterity and Constitution.
• Monks add Wisdom and Dexterity.
• Paladins add Constitution/Charisma and Strength.
• Rangers add Strength/Dexterity and Wisdom.
• Rogues add Dexterity and Intelligence/Wisdom/Charisma.
• Sorcerers add Constitution and Charisma.
• Warlocks add Charisma and Dexterity.
• Wizards add Intelligence and Wisdom/Dexterity.

That would make it so your class determines what hit points actually mean for you. While a Barbarian's hit points literally mean how many hits they can take while still being conscious, for a Warlock it is your luck and energy.

What do you think about this? Could this concept work?

 

[Shiroiken]

The only issue I have with using Con modifier for HP is that it automatically makes Con everyone's 3rd highest ability. In general I liked the idea of using Con Score for level 1 (plus 1 standard HD), but in 5E it dramatically reduces the danger of lower levels, which I disapprove of. I could see using half the score with the standard HD, but it's still iffy.

One suggestion I saw, but could never convince any player to use, is to use the Con modifier as advantage/disadvantage for rolling HP. Basically you have to roll for HP every level beyond the first, and you roll a number of dice equal to your modifier (positive or negative) plus 1. If you have a positive modifier, you take the highest result. If you have a negative, you take the lowest result. Over the course of time, this will more or less average out to approximately the current values with one major exception: you can't ever get higher than your HD maximum, so a 1d6 HD character can't use a 16+ Con to get 7+ HP per level. Since the impact is not as direct, I suspect that while VERY few players will ever take a negative Con, having less than a +2 modifier will be more palatable.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

The only issue I have with using Con modifier for HP is that it automatically makes Con everyone's 3rd highest ability.

While that is less than ideal, removing Con modifier from HP would make it everyone's 6th highest ability. (Possibly tied for 5th, with Intelligence or Charisma). The balancing factor for Con as stat is that, while nobody needs it as their highest score, nobody can safely dump it either. If you want to let some people dump it with zero consequences, then there should also be a class which needs it as their primary stat, or else it doesn't have a reason to exist.

 

[Sorcerers Apprentice]

Casters would still need CON for concentration saves, while martial classes could mostly get away with dumping CON. MAD classes like monks and paladins would be easier to build if CON was unnescessary, so I'd expect to see more of them in play with this kind of rule.

 

[jsaving]

Well, MAD classes are balanced in part around the devs knowing you won't be able to max your key stats. So while I agree that making CON unnecessary helps MAD classes more than others, I'm not sure that should be considered an argument in favor of doing it.

 

[MarkB]

Do what they're doing in a lot of the UA articles, and use the character's Proficiency modifier instead.

To keep Constitution relevant, use it instead of Strength for any form of Athletics check that involves sustained activity - any Climb check that takes more than a single round, swimming for more than a couple of minutes, etc.

 

[aco175]

I would favor Con maybe more from tradition, but can see where you are going with this and could add another modifier based on your class as long as you lower the class dice you roll. Say you have a thief and dodging is part of HP so you get Con and Dex modifier for HP, but you only get 1d4 for HP that you roll. Fighters may get 1d6 or maybe 1d8. It would bring HP overall closer to average I would think.

 

[dave2008]

How about it being class dependent? Each class gets two ability score modifiers that they add together to their base HP (divided by two, or you choose which one at specific levels). Something like the following could work, IMO:

• Artificers add Constitution and Intelligence.
• Barbarians add Strength and Constitution.
• Bards add Charisma and Dexterity.
• Clerics add Wisdom and Charisma/Constitution.
• Druids add Wisdom and Intelligence/Constitution.
• Fighters add Strength/Dexterity and Constitution.
• Monks add Wisdom and Dexterity.
• Paladins add Constitution/Charisma and Strength.
• Rangers add Strength/Dexterity and Wisdom.
• Rogues add Dexterity and Intelligence/Wisdom/Charisma.
• Sorcerers add Constitution and Charisma.
• Warlocks add Charisma and Dexterity.
• Wizards add Intelligence and Wisdom/Dexterity.

That would make it so your class determines what hit points actually mean for you. While a Barbarian's hit points literally mean how many hits they can take while still being conscious, for a Warlock it is your luck and energy.

What do you think about this? Could this concept work?

I like it, probably inflates HP a bit for some classes but I like the flavor.

 

[dave2008]

While that is less than ideal, removing Con modifier from HP would make it everyone's 6th highest ability. (Possibly tied for 5th, with Intelligence or Charisma). The balancing factor for Con as stat is that, while nobody needs it as their highest score, nobody can safely dump it either. If you want to let some people dump it with zero consequences, then there should also be a class which needs it as their primary stat, or else it doesn't have a reason to exist.

Ideally all the abilities are better balanced so that as a baseline you don't want to dump any of them. However, your class would inform which stats are augmented and/or that you want to augment.

 

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

To keep Constitution relevant, use it instead of Strength for any form of Athletics check that involves sustained activity - any Climb check that takes more than a single round, swimming for more than a couple of minutes, etc.

I'm assuming possible changes would come in a 5.5e/6e, so while they're hopefully (but probably not) doing these changes, they can just create a new skill called Endurance, which is Constitution based. That would be used for swimming, holding up weights for a long time (the amount you can hold is based off of Strength, but the amount of time you can is based off of Constitution), and other strenuous activities that require duration-based physical tolerance.