D&D 5E Avoidance to replace HP?

[DND_Reborn]

So, in thinking about HP I had an idea for active Avoidance instead of HP. The idea is based on the the different elements that comprise HP (skill, luck, endurance, sixth-sense, etc.).

Here is the basic idea and I know it will need tons of work, so I am just tossing it out there right now.

You get Avoidance Points (AP) equal to the total of your ability modifiers plus 2 per level (1 for skill, 1 for luck) and d4 random luck points.

You use AP when you want to make a saving throw or avoid damage from an attack or spell, etc. Got hit by an orc? One AP and he misses. Fell 15 feet off a cliff? One AP and you roll with it, absorbing the damage. A fireball going off? One AP and you roll your save (succeed and you're ok, fail and you go down). Poison coursing through you? One AP and you manage to stave it off.

The APs come from:

• Luck (1 per level) + 1d4
• Skill (1 per level)
• Shrug (STR)
• Dodge (DEX)
• Resolve (CON)
• Predict (INT)
• Sixth-Sense (WIS)
• Will to Live (CHA)

Assuming a level 1 character has +5 or +6 ability modifiers total, they would get about 10 APs.

So, I know this system would not be D&D, but I am wondering if there is something here worth developing further. I am not certain how everything would work at all, it is just something to think on for now.

Thoughts?

 

[Garthanos]

I think I called them Hero Points in my head when i was thinking about something similar ... rates and conditions under which you recover AP ... is it something you get per adventure per milestone ... sure per day (but does it have to be) etc. Can you get them back the way 5e does its inspiration?

But yes I thought about adding something like them on RuneQuest to make it more heroic since the base line felt like it was shooting for too little of that.

 

[Esker]

Seems like the obvious issue is how to take into account differences in magnitude between sources of peril. Seems odd to use up one AP for both a kobold's dagger attack and an ancient dragon's breath weapon. Would it all just come down to different attack bonuses / save DCs? But even then, would there be a mechanism for more epic dangers to eat up more than one AP at a time? If not, it seems like if you award too many APs, characters become cockroaches.

I know, you said you know this system wouldn't be D&D, but... well, how to evaluate it then? What would the context be?

 

[The Crimson Binome]

It would vastly de-value healing magic and potions, since HP would no longer be your primary metric of staving off death. Within the narrative, I mean.

One of the huge problems with trying to define HP as being primarily non-physical is that it would require characters to acknowledge something that they can't see in order to interact with it. Why would anyone buy a healing potion, if they're perfectly healthy with 1hp left?

And that's what you'd have to deal with, if you switch to AP. You would need some way for a character to acknowledge that their ability to dodge fireballs is wearing out, with sufficient reliability that they'd be willing to spend pounds of gold in order to recover that.

 

[Yaarel]

It works better with the ability foursome.

• Strength-Constitution − endure
• Dexterity-Athletics − evade

• Intelligence-Perception − anticipate
• Charisma-Wisdom − feint

 

[Yaarel]

Why would anyone buy a healing potion, if they're perfectly healthy with 1hp left?

They wouldnt be ‘perfectly’ healthy at 1 hit point. Having become ‘bloodied’ at half-max hit points, they would be bruised and banged up − fatigued and vulnerable to a fatal attack.

So they do need bangages. And a healing potion would be nice to prevent the black eye, the next morning.

 

[DND_Reborn]

It works better with the ability foursome.

• Strength-Constitution − endure
• Dexterity-Athletics − evade

• Intelligence-Perception − anticipate
• Charisma-Wisdom − feint

LOL! You never give up, do you?

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Maybe just stick with HP but rename them Fate Points or Luck Points or Avoidance Points something? Seems like it achieves the same goal without requiring wacky rebalancing. Healing spells then work as divine or Arcane blessings above 0HP and an actual "hand of god" (or, er Bigby or whatever) below 0HP, but that makes no mechanical and little thematic difference.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Seems like the obvious issue is how to take into account differences in magnitude between sources of peril. Seems odd to use up one AP for both a kobold's dagger attack and an ancient dragon's breath weapon. Would it all just come down to different attack bonuses / save DCs? But even then, would there be a mechanism for more epic dangers to eat up more than one AP at a time? If not, it seems like if you award too many APs, characters become cockroaches.

I know, you said you know this system wouldn't be D&D, but... well, how to evaluate it then? What would the context be?

Well, since this is something I might want to use for D&D, my first thoughts would be that maybe you have to spend 1 AP per die of damage or something? A fireball for instance might require 8 AP, with a successful save making it half that? Or maybe only 1 on a made save? I really don't know. Like I said, it is just a concept I am throwing out and seeing what comes of it.

Maybe just stick with HP but rename them Fate Points or Luck Points or Avoidance Points something? Seems like it achieves the same goal without requiring wacky rebalancing. Healing spells then work as divine or Arcane blessings above 0HP and an actual "hand of god" (or, er Bigby or whatever) below 0HP, but that makes no mechanical and little thematic difference.

What's in a name? If it worked exactly like HP why would I bother changing it?

So, it isn't really HP, just based on the elements that make up HP. For example, a 3rd-level Fighter with CON 14 would likely have about 28 HP. But, assuming +6 ability modifiers total, at level 3, it would range from 13-16 AP, roughly half of what HP would be.

I was thinking for refreshing the pool of AP, separating luck and skill to refresh on a short rest, but the others refresh after a long rest.

 

[Garthanos]

I was thinking for refreshing the pool of AP, separating luck and skill to refresh on a short rest, but the others refresh after a long rest.

Thats the functional element i was inquiring about