Hit points: High side, average, straight roll, what?

[Ogre Mage]

Our method:

Straight Roll

OR

d4 = d4
d6 = d4+1
d8 = d4+2
d10 = d4+3
d12 = d4+4

The alternate method allows for some randomness, but considerably less than with the straight roll.

 

[diaglo]

roll them for every level. from 1st on up

 

[Nifft]

Roll the die, and if you're below 1/2 max, take 1/2 max.

(Thus, on a d4, HP values are 2, 2, 3, 4.)

On average, it only adds .0625 * sides of die (so +.25 hp/level for d4, +1.25 hp/level for d12). And, it makes players who roll poorly happy.

-- N

 

[Darklone]

Old Ones method: Player rolls, DM rolls hidden. Players says which roll he takes.

Funnily till level 7 I always rolled better than my PCs... the last three levels I always rolled as bad as they did or worse.

 

[Zappo]

I despise randomness in character creation; we use 25 point buy and half-max HP (max at first level, then half max, eg 1d8 becomes 4). That's what the DMG suggests, and it works perfectly. On average, you lose 1 HP every two levels when compared to rolling, but the certainty that you cannot be screwed makes up for it.

 

[Faerl'Elghinn]

I've considered the following method, but have yet to test it: All classes roll a base d4 for hit dice, adding a modifier based on class HD as follows: Wiz/Sor 1d4, Bard/Rogue d4+2, Cleric/Druid d4 +4, etc... I suppose it's better for higher-diced characters than average +1/2 die, but might be a decent method. I came to up with this idea after rolling a 1 for hp with my Bar1/Sor4 when taking a 2nd Barbarian level for sorely needed hit points (it made sense anyway, as my 18 str made me the default "tank", so that's where I'd spent most of my time.) I argued with a friend (fellow player, sometimes DM) that it was ridiculous for a barbarian to even have a chance of rolling lower hit points than a wizard. She refused to even consider the idea. This was coming from the player who complained incessantly about having chosen Dex as a high score for her monk instead of Con, to the point that the DM eventually allowed her to switch them. My argument is that if my character isn't likely to survive, why would I even want to play? Mediocrity is not something with which I enjoy spending much of my time, especially not time devoted to fun.

 

[Ryltar]

roll them for every level. from 1st on up

Same here, though I also tend to give low-con PCs at least 1 HP when they level up.

 

[Gort]

I played a paladin alongside a fighter that rolled 1s and 2s on his hitpoints for six levels consecutively.

In my game, we use 25 point buy, and we take the real average. (d4=2.5, d6=3.5 etc)

Hitpoints are too important to leave to a random roll, and giving players max hits unbalances the game. So, average for me.

 

[diaglo]

Same here, though I also tend to give low-con PCs at least 1 HP when they level up.

right. that is in the rules too. for my edition (OD&D) on up.

 

[Zappo]

Same here, though I also tend to give low-con PCs at least 1 HP when they level up.

You mean that there's people who don't do this? What if I have a -2 Con and roll a 1, do I actually go down?