Con drain, HPs=?

[RObiN-HoOD]

Assuming you have CON 16 (+3) and you're level 10 and let's say that this was your CON from level 1 and you have HP 60, if someone drains you in CON points, temporary or permanent, what's happening to your HPs? Do HPs decrease as soon as you have been drained?

Let's say that someone drains from you 6 points of CON, dropping from 16(+3) to 10(0), What's happening with your HPs, if you have 60 HPs?

 

[belligerent bard]

Your current hit points would drop in accordance to your "new" Con modifier. In the example you mentioned, your paladin would lose 30 hit points. His 10 levels (or hit dice) would no longer get the +3 bonus, but would now reflect a modifier of +0, so his maximum hit points would be 30 as long as his Con score is 10.

 

[Xahn'Tyr]

A more interesting question is what happens to damage. Say you are level 10 with 16 CON and 100 hit points. What happens if you have taken 25 points of damage and THEN lose 6 points of CON?

a) You maximum HP drops from 100 to 70, and you currently have 70 hit points.

or

b) Your maximum HP drops from 100 to 70 and you currenly have 45 hit points.

 

[Zhure]

belligerant bard is absolutely correct, with a caveat. You can't drop below 1 HP per level. If you rolled anywhere near average, that's probably not important, and isn't applicable in this example, since the new CON score doesn't impose a penalty.

For the second example

- 10 hit dice, 100 hit points, loses 30 hit points in damage, CON gets drained from 16 to 10 -

In that case, the base hit points becomes 70 and the 25 points of damage makes the character have 45 hit points remaining.

Greg

edit: corrected answer to match question

 

[dcollins]

The answer is (b). Consult the "Ability Score Loss" on DMG p. 72:

"At 7th level, Mialee has 22 hit points. Even if her Constitution score drops to 5 or below, she will have at least 7 hit points (less any damage she's taken)."