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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jester David" data-source="post: 6107830" data-attributes="member: 37579">Right...Orcs have always been a "challenge" monster for first level PCs. You *could* fight them but they're not the default and it's going to be a hard fight. A couple orcs were a challenge in 3e and the lowest level orcs in the 4e MM were level 3 (the sample encounter groups were level 4, 6, 9, and 10).This is changing more than just starting hp.But even if we do double or triple starting hp, this means one of three things:1) monster damage goes up at the same rate, so PCs die just as fast2) monster hitpoints go up at the same rate, so combats last longer (and PCs have the same chance of death)3) monster hp and damage do not change and PCs just become much harder to killThe question then is, why do you want PC hitpoints to increase? What's your motive? Likely, you want PCs to have better odds at surviving at low levels. Okay, this is irrelevant to the actual hp numbers, and is actually a factor of the hp/damage ratio. You could achieve the same results as doubling hp by halving monster damage. Much hardier PCs that can survive in combat longer is also a personal preference, and one not necessarily shared by the majority of players. So there becomes two options: higher hitpoints with many people reducing hp to fit their playstyle or lower hitpoints with many people increasing hp to fit their playstyle. Ostensibly, the two options are equal, but there are some subtle differences. First, it's easier to add power than take it away. This is just basic psychology: people are going to be more accepting if you're giving them something extra. It's just easier for players to have low hp as the base and add Hit Dice as an option.Second, there's the power balance. Level 1 monsters are the lowest of the low, because they can't have Level 0.5 or Level 1/3rd monsters (and they don't want to go back to the CR system for fear of negative feedback). So a level 1 monster is not equal to a level 1 PC. A level 1 monster is an unfair fight slanted to the PC. If hp start out low and you add and fights are too easy, it's a simple matter to choose tougher monsters or make use of options that make fights harder, such as hindering terrain or templates/levelling up monsters. If PC hitpoints start out higher then the Level 1 monsters likely have to be a tad more challenging and the game is balanced around that. So if you take away hitpoints and monsters are too hard, there's no way to adjust for it. You can't choose easier monsters because there are none. Lastly, there is the tradition factor. There are people who have been playing D&D longer than I've been alive (and I'm not young, being married with a kid) and hit dice and hitpoints have mostly been the same for that entire time. It worked back then, so there's no reason it can't work now.</blockquote>

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