Hit dice used in ways other than to bolster hit points

[Ash Mantle]

So, was randomly thinking of this (and also trying not to procrastinate), what if you could use your hit dice in ways other than just expending them to bolster your hit points?

Say you want to scramble up a cliff face and you're barely hanging on to the cliff edge, you could expend a hit dice to give yourself advantage. Or use them in other ways in other, but like situations to gain advantage in Str, Dex or Con skills.
Or even you could use the hit dice as an exertion or stamina system to bolster your physical attacks, giving them advantage? or giving you maneuver-lite attacks a la the battlemaster?

But you would still need to balance this resource as you still need to keep any uses of the hit dice to expend them to bolster your hit points.

What do you think?

 

[bedir than]

I think there are some fun things to do with the hit dice mechanic as well. If I was to design the sorcerer from scratch it would be a constitution based magic-user that could use hit dice 2 fuel spell points

 

[MechaPilot]

I allow HD to be used for other things. In my homebrew setting of Tenesia, members of the fighter class get the following special ability.

Fighter
Your intensive physical training allows you to tap into reserves of strength and endurance to accomplish seemingly impossible tasks.

Extreme Effort
You can push your body to its limits to achieve great physical feats. However, this extreme effort causes significant strain on your body represented by spending one or more Hit Dice. With this ability you may do the following:

• Roll one Hit Die. The result is added to your speed for a number of rounds equal to 1 + your Constitution modifier (minimum of one round).

• Roll one Hit Die. The result is added to the distance you can jump with a running start. When jumping without a running start increase the distance by an amount equal to half the result of your Hit Die roll (rounding down). When jumping vertically your leap is increased by an amount equal to one-fifth of your Hit Die roll (rounding down). If the results are not sufficient to clear the desired jumping height or distance, you can spend more dice until your cumulative results, allow you to jump the desired height or distance.

• Roll one Hit Die. Divide the result in half (rounding down) and apply it to a Strength check made to lift, push, pull or break an object, a Strength (Athletics) check to maintain or escape a grapple, or to a Strength contest (such as arm wrestling).

• Roll one Hit Die. The die result is the number of hours you can push yourself to go without rest without suffering from exhaustion. You can spend additional dice if needed to go the desired amount of time without rest or exhaustion.

• Roll one Hit Die. Divide the result in half (rounding down). This is the number of hours you can push yourself beyond the usual 8-hour travel time without needing to make a Constitution saving throw per the Forced March rules. Hit Dice spent this way don’t recover until you take a long rest in a day where you traveled for 8 hours or less.

• Spend one Hit Die to count eating half rations as eating full rations for the day. Hit Dice spent this way don’t return until you take a long rest on a day when you’ve actually eaten full rations.

• Roll one Hit Die. Add the result to your Constitution saving throw to avoid exhaustion for drinking only a half ration of water that day. Hit Dice spent this way don’t return until you take a long rest on a day when you’ve actually drank a full ration of water.

 

[Ash Mantle]

I think there are some fun things to do with the hit dice mechanic as well. If I was to design the sorcerer from scratch it would be a constitution based magic-user that could use hit dice 2 fuel spell points

Oh man, that'd be freaking sweet as! You could go nova as you could just keep cycling your hit dice into spell points to cast more spells.

Also, you could even use your hit dice as a draconic sorcerer to give yourself draconic physical traits, like the breath weapon or the claws, in a way how they initially designed the draconic sorcerer.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I love to use HD as ressource when PC fail at something and HP doest cut it but exhaustion feels too harsh. Like if the party is climbing a mountain during a storm, requiring Athletics checks; if the PC completely fails the checks (5 or more), they take the usual falling damage, but if he fails by 1 or 2 I'll let him stay on course, but smashed against the rock by the winds, he'll lose an HD.

I've also in mind to let the PC spend HD to gain the same amount of THP after a short/long rest.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

So, was randomly thinking of this (and also trying not to procrastinate), what if you could use your hit dice in ways other than just expending them to bolster your hit points?

Say you want to scramble up a cliff face and you're barely hanging on to the cliff edge, you could expend a hit dice to give yourself advantage. Or use them in other ways in other, but like situations to gain advantage in Str, Dex or Con skills.
Or even you could use the hit dice as an exertion or stamina system to bolster your physical attacks, giving them advantage? or giving you maneuver-lite attacks a la the battlemaster?

But you would still need to balance this resource as you still need to keep any uses of the hit dice to expend them to bolster your hit points.

What do you think?

I would be extremely leery of anything like this, based on the role that hit dice currently play in the game.

As it stands, hit dice give you a second chance, in case something goes horribly wrong. In the off-chance that you get in over your head, and take massive amounts of damage, your hit dice are there to prevent the game from coming to a screeching halt as the party is forced to call it quits because you can't risk another fight. No matter how badly you mess up, as long as you can take a short rest, you'll be back on your feet. Hit dice don't do anything else, can't be used for anything other than your own personal recovery, and don't rely on anyone else to make them work. Even if the cleric critically mis-manages their spell slots, you'll still be fine after a short rest.

Giving a player the opportunity to gamble away their safety net, whenever they feel like it, means you're much more likely to wind up with one character that has low HP and can't risk moving forward.

Not to mention, since enemies also have Hit Dice, their efforts will counter your efforts such that everyone rolls more dice and end up right back where you started. It adds a lot of complexity, without really changing anything (except sabotaging the safety net).

 

[The Crimson Binome]

I think there are some fun things to do with the hit dice mechanic as well. If I was to design the sorcerer from scratch it would be a constitution based magic-user that could use hit dice 2 fuel spell points

That brings back bad memories of the cleric in late 3.5, after they introduced divine meta-magic. By allowing you to convert a tertiary resource into improving a primary resource, it essentially let you punch way above your level, while removing the tertiary resource as a game element. With their power to tap into hit dice, sorcerers would become the over-powered spellcaster that, incidentally, can't heal itself.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

So, was randomly thinking of this (and also trying not to procrastinate), what if you could use your hit dice in ways other than just expending them to bolster your hit points?

Say you want to scramble up a cliff face and you're barely hanging on to the cliff edge, you could expend a hit dice to give yourself advantage. Or use them in other ways in other, but like situations to gain advantage in Str, Dex or Con skills.
Or even you could use the hit dice as an exertion or stamina system to bolster your physical attacks, giving them advantage? or giving you maneuver-lite attacks a la the battlemaster?

But you would still need to balance this resource as you still need to keep any uses of the hit dice to expend them to bolster your hit points.

What do you think?

I had a special ability I gave a PC a few campaigns back (it was actually 2 playing brother and sister and both were multi classed) spend a HD as a reaction to failing a physical skill (Str dex or COn) check, and roll the die and add it as a bonus to the roll, OR in response to failing a mental save (Int, Wis or Cha) spend it and roll add HALF the roll min 1 to the save... it played out interesting... it worked even better since one of them had d6's d10's and a d12 as HD, while the brother had D8s and D10s both...so they had to choose witch to spend.

 

[aco175]

I made a healing potion that allows you to use a hit die. I can see certain situations where they hit dice can be used outside of rest. It may lead to more 5 minute workdays if everyone burns the dice to boost powers.

 

[Jester David]

I can see it being used to bolster saves against disease or exhaustion.
I’d be hesitant to have it do anything else as the purpose is to extend the adventuring day and pack in more encounters. Tying it to other effects just threatens to encourage it to be used for novas, shortening the adventuring day.