D&D General Hit Points are a great mechanic

[Horwath]

What version of exploding dice?

The one I've seen is that if you roll max on any damage die, you roll again and repeat. My barbarian with a two-handed sword (2d6 damage) and savage attacker (reroll <edit stupid autocomplete> damage 1/round and use either one) would love it. That paladin with a great axe (1d12) would only see a minor improvement.

one solution:
rework all damage dice to d6

One handed weapons: 2d6
2Handed weapons: 3d6
light weapons: 1d6

additional weapon traits can increase or decrease damage by point or two.
IE: Heavy weapon: +1 damage
martial weapon: +1 damage
finesse weapon: -1 damage
thrown weapon(40/120): -1 damage
2H reach weapon: -2 damage
1H reach weapon: -3 damage
ranged weapon(80/320): -2 damage
ranged weapon(150/600): -3 damage
Loading weapon: +1 damage
Loading weapon(bonus action): +2 damage
Loading weapons(Action): +3 damage

with only d6's, every damage die has 16,67% chance to "explode".

 

[Micah Sweet]

I like both systems for different reasons, but what I prefer is systems that incorporate both. I like the diversity of a hit point/stamina pool that depletes rapidly in combat and refreshes rapidly with rest, along a system of wounds that are inflicted sporadically but cause longer consequences.

My favourite example is The One Ring rpg; hits cause loss of Endurance, but 1 in 6 rolls also cause a piercing blow, forcing an armor save to avoid a wound.

Yeah, I really want to lift the abstraction veil enough for injuries to result when you hit zero, at the very least.

 

[AlViking]

one solution:
rework all damage dice to d6

One handed weapons: 2d6
2Handed weapons: 3d6
light weapons: 1d6

additional weapon traits can increase or decrease damage by point or two.
IE: Heavy weapon: +1 damage
martial weapon: +1 damage
finesse weapon: -1 damage
thrown weapon(40/120): -1 damage
2H reach weapon: -2 damage
1H reach weapon: -3 damage
ranged weapon(80/320): -2 damage
ranged weapon(150/600): -3 damage
Loading weapon: +1 damage
Loading weapon(bonus action): +2 damage
Loading weapons(Action): +3 damage

with only d6's, every damage die has 16,67% chance to "explode".

That's a lot of work just to get exploding dice. I just don't see the juice being worth the squeeze.

 

[kermit4karate]

Without figuring out the exact math every round my barbarian would be adding close to 4 points of damage. The thing is though that my barbarian already does quite a bit of damage and this particular build would benefit more than most others (unless you apply it to sneak attack damage which could get pretty bonkers).

But either it's giving a boost to some builds over others or giving such a minimal boost that it doesn't matter and it's just adding extra rolls for no real reason. I've played with various versions of crits over the years I've never really hit one that stands out as any better.

Help me out -- how does it add an extra 4 points of damage per round for your barbarian? For a character with a single attack per round rolling one d12 for damage, it would only add an average of 6 points of damage 8.3% of the time (player rolls a 12 for damage, followed by a 6 on the 2nd d12 roll).

I figure there's something about your barbarian I don't know, but let me know if you want.

One thing this type of mechanic does IMO is add an element of unpredictability to every damage roll, so it squashes what I feel is an issue with players sloughing off or discounting the risk of doing things because they know the potential damage from it.

Like, if they know they'll survive a 30-foot fall if they fail their roll trying to jump across a ravine because the official damage shouldn't be fatal, they'll blissfully hop across like it doesn't matter.

Well, if they knew they might have to keep rolling damage dice from the fall if they rolled a couple max damage dice, suddenly they aren't so "sure" they'll survive the fall anymore. They become a little nervous about it, as they should. Sure, they probably will survive. Almost definitely will survive. But they aren't 100% sure about it anymore.

I think that unpredictability adds a little more risk into seemingly safe actions that the default damage rules pretty much eliminate from the game.

 

[Composer99]

Hit points are the worst game mechanic except for all the other mechanics that have been tried from time to time.

 

[kermit4karate]

Hit points are the worst game mechanic except for all the other mechanics that have been tried from time to time.

Dear Mr./Ms. Fisherman, I refuse to take your delicious-looking bait today.

 

[Horwath]

Yeah, I really want to lift the abstraction veil enough for injuries to result when you hit zero, at the very least.

when you drop to 0 HP, you get exhaustion level.
if critical hit drops you to 0 HP you take 2 exhaustion levels.
when you fail a death save, you take 1 exhaustion level.

these exhaustion levels are removed when you are healed above 50% of max HP.

 

[AlViking]

Help me out -- how does it add an extra 4 points of damage per round for your barbarian? For a character with a single attack per round rolling one d12 for damage, it would only add an average of 6 points of damage 8.3% of the time (player rolls a 12 for damage, followed by a 6 on the 2nd d12 roll).

I figure there's something about your barbarian I don't know, but let me know if you want.

One thing this type of mechanic does IMO is add an element of unpredictability to every damage roll, so it squashes what I feel is an issue with players sloughing off or discounting the risk of doing things because they know the potential damage from it.

Like, if they know they'll survive a 30-foot fall if they fail their roll trying to jump across a ravine because the official damage shouldn't be fatal, they'll blissfully hop across like it doesn't matter.

Well, if they knew they might have to keep rolling damage dice from the fall if they rolled a couple max damage dice, suddenly they aren't so "sure" they'll survive the fall anymore. They become a little nervous about it, as they should. Sure, they probably will survive. Almost definitely will survive. But they aren't 100% sure about it anymore.

I think that unpredictability adds a little more risk into seemingly safe actions that the default damage rules pretty much eliminate from the game.

My barbarian is using a great sword so 2d6, attacks twice so 4d6, savage attacker grants rerolls on the damage 1/round (attacker chooses which one to use). So that's at least 6d6 per turn that I'm rolling. Getting a 6 is not guaranteed every round but on average you will get at least one.

But the point is, either it adds a reasonable amount of damage but more for some than others or its just an extra complication that doesn't add much. I just don't see how either one makes it a great option.

I'll never tell anyone what to do but this wouldn't be for me.

 

[Micah Sweet]

when you drop to 0 HP, you get exhaustion level.
if critical hit drops you to 0 HP you take 2 exhaustion levels.
when you fail a death save, you take 1 exhaustion level.

these exhaustion levels are removed when you are healed above 50% of max HP.

That's ok, I guess, but any source of very common healing makes them go away instantly, so it's extremely unlikely to ever be an impediment or even noticed. If it doesn't make a difference, then there's no point to it. Also, specific injuries are a lot more interesting than generic "exhaustion".

 

[kermit4karate]

My barbarian is using a great sword so 2d6, attacks twice so 4d6, savage attacker grants rerolls on the damage 1/round (attacker chooses which one to use). So that's at least 6d6 per turn that I'm rolling. Getting a 6 is not guaranteed every round but on average you will get at least one.

But the point is, either it adds a reasonable amount of damage but more for some than others or its just an extra complication that doesn't add much. I just don't see how either one makes it a great option.

I'll never tell anyone what to do but this wouldn't be for me.

Understood now. Got it.

Wow, that barbarian is a stud. I mean...not every character is that barbarian, but I hear you.