How do you guys do Hps? And why?

[seasong]

A quickie. Used the spreadsheet* method.

4d6, reroll 1s: 13.0896

1d10, roll twice, take higher: 7.15
1d8, roll twice, take higher: 5.8125
1d6, roll twice, take higher: 4.472222222
1d4, roll twice, take higher: 3.125

1d10, reroll 1s: 6
1d8, reroll 1s: 5
1d6, reroll 1s: 4
1d4, reroll 1s: 3

* Known as cheater's math. Just put together a spreadsheet with every possible roll on it (d10: 1,1; 1,2; 1,3; etc.) and then find the average for all the results.

 

[Plane Sailing]

There was very good straight point buy system for attributes posted on the boards a little while back.

<snip>

(I can't remember who posted it, but I think it was Plane Sailing or seasong. )

.

A very good point buy system? That would be Seasong then!

 

[Chacal]

Max at first level.
Max at second level.
Reroll anytime you roll half or less.

Very generous....then again, the monsters are scaled up to match, so fair is fair.

-Skaros

Same here (except we roll for 2nd level).
I use 75% max hp for monsters I don't want to roll.

Chacal

 

[seasong]

Ability score point system: I put up a few of them here . I'm not sure I'd call them "very good", though - more just playing around .

Hit points: How many house ruled versions of this have I done? Too many! I don't like rolling for hit points. Partially this is because any time I've been a player, the group can count on me to soak up all the bad luck rolls for them. Partially it's just because hit points mean so much to the character; I'd rather roll ability scores than hit points, you know?

In general, I think maximum hit points is the way to go. Statistically, in terms of the damage monsters typically dish out at any given CR, the difference between 2.5 and 4 is not meaningful for the wizard/sorcerer (he dies in 1-2 blows either way), and it gives d8 and d10 classes a reasonable boost to survival.

Rogues and other d6 creatures lose out in comparison to the fighter, but 3.5 to 6 can spell the difference between biting it like a wizard/sorcerer or surviving an extra blow or two.

For monsters and NPCs, I would use 1/2 HD +1 for most, and max HD for the PC-equivalent, "special" monsters and NPCs. To represent a runt of the litter, I might go with 1/3 HD (rounded up).

Max HPs are just part and parcel to their heroic aspect.

 

[CRGreathouse]

I understand that the LG method (didn't know that's what LG used, but it seems like a useful shorthand) skews to lower die types, and the ~80% method skews to higher die types. What does "m=..." mean?

Is there a fixed HP method that doesn't skew things in anyone's favor, from a mathematical standpoint?

For the record, I've never played in LG -- it's just shorthand for me, too.

I prefer to describe the m than define it, but...

Take the percentage by which each HD is over or under the average and graph it. m is the least-square slope of that line.

Negative values of m mean that the smaller HD benefit more; positive values mean that larger HD benefit more. I use this along with more estoteric mathematical tests to decide how much it benefits different classes.

For example, the maximum method increases a d4 by 60% (that is, (4-2.5)/2.5 = .6). The d6 is increased 71.4%, 77.8% for the d8, 81.8% for the d10, and 84.6% for the d12. The least-square slope (steepness of the average line plotted to match these points) is .842. Taking the better of two rolls also benefits higher HD types, but the m is only .189, so it's not as large a factor as the maximum method.

Does that make any sense?

 

[haiiro]

Does that make any sense?

More than it did before, and almost enough for the tiny math-portion of my brain to wrap itself around. Thanks for the clarification.

seasong and Plane Sailing: thanks for settling whose point buy system I'll be using in my upcoming campaign.

At this point in the day (00:35 here), thinking about alternate HP systems just makes me tired. Off to bed with me.

 

[Deset Gled]

In the group I normally play with, we give all characters max hitpoints at every level. In addition to this, all enemies have maximum hitpoints as well.

I enjoy this setup, but it can screw around with a lot of things: the differences in dice becomes more pronounced, Con bonuses become less noticeable, etc. It is very helpful to me when I DM, because I often try to create lengthy battles. Most of the things that are changed will balance themselves out as long as the players are aware of them and strategize accordingly (and enjoy it, of course).

 

[Belbarrus]

For all those posters that keep saying that they want people to roll to maintain an "average", why not just GIVE the players the set number?! If you think that the game is balanced with hit points of 7 (d12), 6 (d10), 5 (d8), 4 (d4), 3 (d4), then instead of coming up with all these house rules for *rolling* hit points, just have the players take THOSE numbers each level. If you want them to roll randomly so they *could* achieve higher hps, then give them max. If you want them to roll randomly so they *could* roll below average, then why all the rules to bump up hps?

A static hit point per level system just makes more sense to me, whether it is maximum per die or average per die.

 

[wolff96]

I like the players to have high HP -- so I can challenge them more -- but they like the randomness of rolling dice.

So our solution is the d4 method:

Sor/Wiz: 1d4
Bard/Rog: 1d4 + 2
Monk/Cleric/Druid: 1d4 + 4
Fighter/Ranger/Pal: 1d4 + 6
Barbarian: 1d4 + 8

This skews the HP nicely high, but allows me to run combat at +1 or +2 above the recommended CR without too many fatalities.

 

[Norfleet]

I have a nice, elegant system that preserves both randomness, and minimizes the possibility that a few bad rolls in a row can leave a character permanently shafted.

It works as follows:
At every level-up, a character's hitpoints are completely rerolled.
If the new total exceeds the character's previous max HP, his new max HP becomes this total.

Otherwise, he gains 1 hp.

Therefore, if a character has a few really good rolls in a row, his hitpoints will probably not increase as rapidly in the next few levels, and he remains closer to the average. If a character's hitpoints roll really badly, the odds of getting a large gain to make up the difference next time increase.