Hit dice used in ways other than to bolster hit points

[5ekyu]

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 feel HD are a huge fail yo reach potential in 5e.

They could have been the highly useful resource that gives you longer term consequences.

I wish every class was built on adding one additional use for HD and each sub-class another.

In my game of 18 months, I did the following...
HD can be spent by the recipient to increase healing on them. Just add the HD and Con bonus to the amount gained.

Removed the easy access to healing potions and items *but* added "recovery items that let you spend HD - do the basic purchasable item was "drink and spend HD" keeping the character as a cap on that stuff.

Repeating in new game plus intending to introduce more items, boons etc that allow more spending of HD for more class related abilities.

Spell Orb: Spell pattern embedded into the stone for a specific spell. Spend appropriate slot, casting time and HD to cast the spell even if not known or prepared. Cost 1 HD if it's on your class list but 1 HD per spell level if not.

Iron Will Warband: When you fail a Wis save vs any frighten or charm, burn a reaction and 2 HD for a re-save.*

*Other varieties of these for different sub-types of different saves.

But, while I expect these items will get a ways toward making HD a strong facet in play, they wont really get the full Monty one ewould get from classes built with this in mind.

 

[Mistwell]

I have a vague recollection some stuff like this was tried during the official playtest?

 

[Dausuul]

The main problem I have with such mechanics is that hit dice are supposed to extend the adventuring day, by giving the party a limited ability to recover after a tough encounter. Adding combat abilities that burn hit dice flips that around: Now they're another "nova" ability, encouraging the party to blast everything at a single fight and then start looking for a place to camp. Preventing the 5-minute workday is enough work as it is. I don't need to give the PCs even more incentives.

I do think there is room for abilities that burn hit dice, but they should be used outside of combat, and ideally they should serve the same function of encouraging the party to press on after a fight. For example, this might be a nifty warlock invocation:

Offering of Victory. After defeating an enemy with CR equal to or greater than your level, you can make a blood offering to your patron. This requires a ritual that takes 10 minutes to perform, and you must begin it within 1 minute after defeating the enemy.

Upon completing the ritual, you expend one hit die. Roll the hit die and add your Charisma bonus. Once during the next hour, you can add the result of this roll to one attack roll, ability check, or saving throw made by a creature you can see. You can decide to add the bonus after the die is rolled, but before seeing the result.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

I think HD is a pretty interesting design space that hasn't been tapped much. I'd love to see a revision of that system including uses other than just healing.

It would require a lot of work but id consider the following....
1. Attaching HD to most magical healing so that different levels of spells/potions allow instant use of HD.

2. Adjusting some enervation effects to losing HD instead of max HP.

3. Giving each race and class an alternate HD usage to help balance a bit more.

4. No free healing on sleep. Got to spend HD which do not come back that same night.

I think the best side effect would be adding a bit more danger back in when the party takes the "doesn't feel right" long rest in the middle of the dungeon and wakes up at 100% a day after all being almost killed.

DS

 

[Bawylie]

For grittier campaigns, you can use them as your Vitality mechanic. Essentially they become the “true” HP.

When you suffer a critical hit from an enemy, roll a hit die and add your constitution modifier. If the result is less than the damage dealt by the attack, you lose the hit die. If the result is greater than the damage dealt by the attack, you merely lose HP. If you have zero hit dice remaining you are in mortal peril and will instantly die if your HP are reduced to zero (no death saves) or on the next critical hit.

You can use them as a pacing mechanic for exhaustion or poison. Just have them gradually deplete until they reach zero and you become incapacitated. Maybe lose 1 an hour or something like that.

You can use them for level drain damage by undead instead of monkeying with the Total/Max HP.

You could use them to recharge stuff that normally recharges on a short rest. Perhaps once per day.

If you wanted to rethink combat entirely, they might be a pool of potential damage reduction. Maybe a warlord type could pop a reaction that would allow an ally to reduce incoming damage by the amount rolled on a hit die? Heck, maybe they can be spent to deal damage?

A cleric might roll their hit die pool as turn damage versus the CR of a number of undead. For instance a 3rd level cleric could turn 3d8+wis CR, none of which should exceed CR 3. So maybe they’d get 15 turn damage on the roll and be able to turn a total of 15 CR undead, but the CR 4 undead and higher are unfazed. Or maybe just hit die damage worth? Something to it.

Could be used to determine ki pools and lay on hands pools and sorcery or psi point pools.

 

[DQDesign]

For some useful examples on how to use hit dice to fuel powers and abilities, you could check the Cubicle7 5e LotR rpg, Adventures in Middle Earth:

https://www.rpgnow.com/m/product/192261

 

[Hawk Diesel]

[MENTION=11010]Ash Mantle[/MENTION] Check out the Nerdarchy YouTube channel. They have a whole series of videos dedicated to creating special abilities for each class that use Hit Die.

 

[Satyrn]

I have created poisons and given monsters necrotic attacks that drain hit dice. I haven't used them much yet, like each had seen play once, so I don't know yet how well they meet my goal of making this feel like long term damage that isn't immediately dangerous.

 

[Viking Bastard]

We did stuff like this some in our 4e campaign, used surges for a lot of stuff. Mostly as an exhaustion stand-in. Fail a save, fail a skill challenge, lose a surge, kind of thing. I also remember a set of magic items that were fuelled by life energy, in the form of surges. The details have become hazy.

We haven't gone down that route in 5e, though. Short reason is because I haven't felt the need. The long reason is because that in 4e surges felt much more like the main pacing mechanic, and PCs always seemed to have so many of them. This responsibility is more distributed in 5e.

One thing I kept from 4e though, was the lowest tier of healing potions using HD. The cheapest simply allows you to use a HD, the next one gives you double the HP per use, and all the ones that give you extra HP dislodged from HD jump up a price bracket.

 

[smbakeresq]

All over for me, all Healing is Hit dice. Potion of healing, your hit die + Medicine modifier of creator. Cure wounds is your hit die, etc. Healer kit is medicine skill of user + your hit die + levels.

Rest in dungeon? Ok sure but you need to spend and extra hit die to heal.