Divine Vigor

[Sejs]

Can my BBEG blow through all his 4 turn attempts to have 4 x character level in temp hps?

Mike

Yes and no.

He cannot use all 4 of his turns in advance, because the temp HP do not stack (as they're from the same source).

He can, however, use divine vigor again once the temp hp from the first one go down.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Generally, temp hit points don't stack, same source or not.

That depends on how much stock one puts in the Main FAQ:
Do temporary hit points from two applications of the
same effect stack? What about from different effects? If I
have temporary hit points from multiple sources, how
should I apply damage?

Temporary hit points from two applications of the same
effect don’t stack; instead, the highest number of temporary hit
points applies in place of all others. Temporary hit points from
different sources stack, but you must keep track of them
separately.

For example, imagine a character who gained 15 temporary
hit points from an aid spell. After taking 8 points of damage,
she has 7 temporary hit points left from the spell. If another aid
spell were cast on the same character granting 12 temporary hit
points, this total would replace the other spell’s total, meaning
the character would now have 12 temporary hit points (rather
than 19). If the character then cast false life on herself, she
would add the full benefit of that spell to the temporary hit
points from the aid spell.

This also applies to temporary hit points gained from
energy drain and similar special abilities. Each successful
attack counts as one application of the effect (meaning that an
attack that bestows 2 or more negative levels still counts as
only one application of the effect). For example, a wight gains
5 temporary hit points each time it bestows a negative level
with its slam attack. If it bestows another negative level while it
has 2 temporary hit points remaining from the first attack, the
new temporary hit points would replace the old ones.

Temporary hit points are “first-in, first-out.” Damage
should be taken off the oldest temporary-hit-point-granting
effect first; when that effect is exhausted, apply damage to the
next oldest effect. For this reason, you must track each supply
of temporary hit points separately.

For what it's worth.

-Hyp.

 

[Wish]

The FAQ answer seems reasonable to me, though it pretty badly nerfs undead. For my own game, I'd give the same answer in general and then use my best judgement for a small handful of effects that ought to stack with themselves (like a wight's energy drain). That's a house rule though.

 

[Hypersmurf]

The FAQ answer seems reasonable to me...

Interestingly, it's effectively the opposite of the answer in the 3E Main FAQ, which said that THP from the same source stack, but from different sources overlap...

-Hyp.

 

[Legildur]

Interestingly, it's effectively the opposite of the answer in the 3E Main FAQ, which said that THP from the same source stack, but from different sources overlap...

Just another nail in the coffin for the FAQ.... <sigh> I wish they would fix it...... the FAQ that is.

 

[Stalker0]

Hmm now that I've seen this, is there a rule somewhere that says temp hp don't stack?

I was sure there was, but maybe that was just based on the same sources don't stack ruling, and not an actual rule that says temp hp doesn't stack.