D&D (2024) Hit Points: the change I would like to see

[Mirrorrorrim]

A friend of mine does hit points very differently from the way the PHB describes.

• Characters start with a number of hit points equal to their Constitution score.
• Every level-up, they gain hit points equal to their Constitution modifier.
• During a short rest, characters spend Hit Dice as usual to recover hit points.
• During a long rest, characters do not recover hit points. They only recover Hit Dice.

Her gaming group really likes it.

I've done something very similar for a survival-relevant game (I didn't change HP, but I changed that HD has to be spent to heal HP during a long rest). I don't like changing the cadence of a rests (like making a long rest a week), but by only using HD for healing (rather than healing to full every long rest) you do have a little more downtime built in to lick one's wounds.

 

[clearstream]

A friend of mine does hit points very differently from the way the PHB describes.

• Characters start with a number of hit points equal to their Constitution score.
• Every level-up, they gain hit points equal to their Constitution modifier.
• During a short rest, characters spend Hit Dice as usual to recover hit points.
• During a long rest, characters do not recover hit points. They only recover Hit Dice.

Her gaming group really likes it.

Do they do anything to give classes with part of their balance in their HP total an edge in that regard over those that do not. For example, does a high-CON wizard have more HP than a medium-CON barbarian?

 

[Gorck]

A friend of mine does hit points very differently from the way the PHB describes.

• Characters start with a number of hit points equal to their Constitution score.
• Every level-up, they gain hit points equal to their Constitution modifier.
• During a short rest, characters spend Hit Dice as usual to recover hit points.
• During a long rest, characters do not recover hit points. They only recover Hit Dice.

Her gaming group really likes it.

I was thinking of something similar, but simpler: borrow from 4e and, at first level, the player starts out with max HD and CON score (rather than CON modifier). They would continue to use their HD + CON modifier when they gain levels.

So, a 1st level Fighter with a 14 CON would start at 24 HP (instead of 12), but would still gain d10 + 2 per level (until their CON was raised to 16)

This would increase survivability at 1st level, where it's all too easy to have a TPK if things go wrong (like a Goblin or 2 critting at an inopportune moment).

 

[CleverNickName]

Do they do anything to give classes with part of their balance in their HP total an edge in that regard over those that do not. For example, does a high-CON wizard have more HP than a medium-CON barbarian?

I don't think so. The character's class doesn't give a character an edge in hit points. Some character classes heal faster than others by virtue of their larger Hit Dice, but that's where the advantage ends.

 

[Mistwell]

While would a simple understandable consistent mechanic which has never seen widespread issues be drastically changed to a more complicated formula?

 

[Stalker0]

The only system i could reasonably see entertained would be to cut off hit points at some “name level”. Aka at 9th level, your hitpoints become static, etc etc

This has history in the game from older editions, has the impact of removing high level hp bloat, and is simple.

 

[Pauln6]

I prefer characters start with one Hit Die from being level 1 in the class.

But every character also gets a Hit Die from their species. Generally:

Tiny: 1d4 Hit Die
Small: 1d6 Hit Die
Medium (Lightweight): 1d8 Hit Die
Medium (Heavyweight) (Powerful Build): 1d10 Hit Die
Large: 1d12 Hit Die

At higher levels, this special Hit Die wont matter. But at lower levels it is flavorful.

We've played the 2HD version at level 1 from the start of 5e. It makes level 1 a lot more fun and gets buried in your hp as you level.

 

[Bacon Bits]

I would probably just adapt the 4e rule for first level hit points: Max hit die plus Con score.

 

[Clint_L]

I'm aware. Echoing King Theoden's words, I will continue to call it 6e nonetheless.

This is confusing. Is your proposal for OneD&D, e.g. coming out next year, or for a hypothetical 6th edition?

If the former, it's a nonsensical proposal. If the latter, it seems to be in the wrong forum, but it's an interesting idea. Could be an optional rule that would make high level encounters harder. You should playtest it and get back to us with the results.

 

[Uni-the-Unicorn!]

"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." - Gandhi

Draw up a 1-page pdf for us. Come up with a snazzy name for your module. Put it on...DM Guild?

I'm sort of expecting WotC to lean into more hit points, and more maths, since that will encourage people to use the nifty apps they'll be producing/reproducing for 6e.


Thus making it an excellent contender for the fully-compatible 6e.

There is a whole other thread for edition discussion. Can we stop polluting all threads please