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Are Hit Points Meat? (Redux): D&D Co-Creator Saw Hit Points Very Differently
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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8436801" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>Yeah, this is a really really really important thing that, frankly, I wish 5e had ported over from 4e, because it's <em>not like it's hard</em> and there's no way most 5e fans would know enough about 4e to know that it was ported.</p><p></p><p>That is, 4e characters <em>start</em> with seemingly very high HP, but <em>gain</em> HP seemingly very slowly. For anyone who doesn't know: In 4e, every class has a base HP value, to which you add your Constitution <em>score</em>--not modifier, the whole actual score--at first level. A Fighter, for example, gets 15+Constitution at 1st level. If their Con increases later, that gives them more HP, but they only add their Con score <em>once</em>. After that, it's just a static amount of HP per level (6 for Fighters), unless you spend other resources (mostly feats, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were PPs, EDs, or maybe even magic items/boons/etc. that could increase hit points).</p><p></p><p>This means that, yes, 1st level PCs look incredibly beefy....but it's not because they ARE beefy. It's because now <em>they can actually take two hits and decide to get out of dodge</em>. It's because they no longer have the issue where two hobgoblins ganging up on the Wizard means instant death, which the brand-new Wizard player could not possibly have known. It's because they have the ability to make a mistake or two and <em>correct</em> for it, rather than just ending up splattered on the floor.</p><p></p><p>That's an incredibly valuable thing, <em>especially</em> for bringing new blood into the hobby. The fact that such a thing can conflict with the (perfectly cromulent) desire for a "zero-to-hero" story, where classic fans WANT that risk of getting splattered for making one wrong move, is why D&D desperately needs a robust "zero levels"/"novice levels" system built into the PHB. That way, the default--which is where newbies are <em>going</em> to start--will be welcoming and effective for introducing them to the hobby, while the well-supported option to go for high lethality remains for those who want to opt <em>into</em> doing that.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 8436801, member: 6790260"] Yeah, this is a really really really important thing that, frankly, I wish 5e had ported over from 4e, because it's [I]not like it's hard[/I] and there's no way most 5e fans would know enough about 4e to know that it was ported. That is, 4e characters [I]start[/I] with seemingly very high HP, but [I]gain[/I] HP seemingly very slowly. For anyone who doesn't know: In 4e, every class has a base HP value, to which you add your Constitution [I]score[/I]--not modifier, the whole actual score--at first level. A Fighter, for example, gets 15+Constitution at 1st level. If their Con increases later, that gives them more HP, but they only add their Con score [I]once[/I]. After that, it's just a static amount of HP per level (6 for Fighters), unless you spend other resources (mostly feats, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were PPs, EDs, or maybe even magic items/boons/etc. that could increase hit points). This means that, yes, 1st level PCs look incredibly beefy....but it's not because they ARE beefy. It's because now [I]they can actually take two hits and decide to get out of dodge[/I]. It's because they no longer have the issue where two hobgoblins ganging up on the Wizard means instant death, which the brand-new Wizard player could not possibly have known. It's because they have the ability to make a mistake or two and [I]correct[/I] for it, rather than just ending up splattered on the floor. That's an incredibly valuable thing, [I]especially[/I] for bringing new blood into the hobby. The fact that such a thing can conflict with the (perfectly cromulent) desire for a "zero-to-hero" story, where classic fans WANT that risk of getting splattered for making one wrong move, is why D&D desperately needs a robust "zero levels"/"novice levels" system built into the PHB. That way, the default--which is where newbies are [I]going[/I] to start--will be welcoming and effective for introducing them to the hobby, while the well-supported option to go for high lethality remains for those who want to opt [I]into[/I] doing that. [/QUOTE]
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