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General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
How Does Temporary Hit Points Stack?
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<blockquote data-quote="KarinsDad" data-source="post: 1916205" data-attributes="member: 2011"><p>Although it is true that the overall result CAN be as you describe, the results do not have to be.</p><p></p><p></p><p>If they do not stack, look at the damage taken each round:</p><p></p><p>Round 1: 2 PP in Vigor for 10 temporary hits.</p><p></p><p>Round 2: 3 PP in Vigor for 15 temporary hits.</p><p></p><p>Round 3: Aid spell for 7 temporary hits.</p><p></p><p>Round 4: Gets hit for 9 points. The 15 point Vigor gets hit for 9 and is down to 6. The 10 point Vigor takes over.</p><p></p><p>Total damage 0:</p><p></p><p>Round 5: Gets hit for 14 points. The 10 point Vigor stops 10. Takes 4 points of real damage. The 10 point Vigor is gone. The 7 point Aid takes over.</p><p></p><p>Total damage 4:</p><p></p><p>Round 6: Gets hit for 20 points. The 7 point Aid stops 7. Takes 13 more points of real damage. The temporary hit point portion of the Aid spell is gone, the rest of the Aid spell still works. The 6 point Vigor takes over (with regard to temporary hit points).</p><p></p><p>Total damage 17:</p><p></p><p>Round 7: Gets hit for 8 points. The 6 point Vigor stops 6. Takes 2 more points of real damage. All of the temporary points are gone.</p><p></p><p>Total damage 19:</p><p></p><p></p><p>If they do not stack, look at the damage taken each round:</p><p></p><p>Temporary stacked hit points: 32</p><p></p><p>Round 4: Gets hit for 9 points. The 32 points gets hit for 9 and is down to 23.</p><p></p><p>Total damage 0:</p><p></p><p>Round 5: Gets hit for 14 points. The 23 points gets hit for 14 and is down to 9.</p><p></p><p>Total damage 0:</p><p></p><p>Round 6: Gets hit for 20 points. The 9 points gets hit for 20 and is gone.</p><p></p><p>Total damage 11:</p><p></p><p>Round 7: Gets hit for 8 points.</p><p></p><p>Total damage 19:</p><p></p><p></p><p>If the combat extends only to round 5 and they do not stack, you take 4 points of damage as opposed to if they do stack and you take 0 points of damage.</p><p></p><p>If the combat extends only to round 6 and they do not stack, you take 17 points of damage as opposed to if they do stack and you take 11 points of damage.</p><p></p><p>So, stacking can often be superior to non-stacking.</p><p></p><p></p><p>The only two cases where they work out exactly the same are:</p><p></p><p>1) If you never take more damage in a single shot than your current effective temporarily hit point total.</p><p></p><p>2) You run out of temporary hit points.</p><p></p><p></p><p>The combat above would have been much more different if instead of taking 9 points of damage in round 4, the character took 60 points of damage (say a Maximized Cone of Cold where he failed the save). In that case, the stacked version would result in 28 points of damage and the non-stacked version would result in 45 points of damage.</p><p></p><p>If the 10 point Vigor was not up in this example, the non-stacked version would result in 55 points of damage and a save for massive damage as well. The stacked version would have resulted in 38 points of damage and no save for massive damage.</p><p></p><p></p><p>There is a difference between stacked and non-stacked, even if the final results can sometimes be the same.</p><p></p><p></p><p>But, illustrate to me how you interpret the sentence:</p><p></p><p>"Same Effect More than Once in Different Strengths: In cases when two or more identical spells are operating in the same area or on the same target, but at different strengths, only the best one applies."</p><p></p><p>with your "only the best EVER works and even when it is no longer the best, it still works" way.</p><p></p><p>In round 4 above, once the 15 point Vigor gets hit down to 6 points, it is no longer the BEST power and hence should no longer be in effect. In the case of temporarily hit points, the effective strength of the spells (powers) diminish over time, unlike most other spell effects.</p><p></p><p>Remember, by the rules, these other spells (powers) ARE still active. They are not dispelled by any interpretation of the rules. They are just not in use at the moment.</p><p></p><p>"One Effect Makes Another Irrelevant: Sometimes, one spell can render a later spell irrelevant. Both spells are still active, but one has rendered the other useless in some fashion."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="KarinsDad, post: 1916205, member: 2011"] Although it is true that the overall result CAN be as you describe, the results do not have to be. If they do not stack, look at the damage taken each round: Round 1: 2 PP in Vigor for 10 temporary hits. Round 2: 3 PP in Vigor for 15 temporary hits. Round 3: Aid spell for 7 temporary hits. Round 4: Gets hit for 9 points. The 15 point Vigor gets hit for 9 and is down to 6. The 10 point Vigor takes over. Total damage 0: Round 5: Gets hit for 14 points. The 10 point Vigor stops 10. Takes 4 points of real damage. The 10 point Vigor is gone. The 7 point Aid takes over. Total damage 4: Round 6: Gets hit for 20 points. The 7 point Aid stops 7. Takes 13 more points of real damage. The temporary hit point portion of the Aid spell is gone, the rest of the Aid spell still works. The 6 point Vigor takes over (with regard to temporary hit points). Total damage 17: Round 7: Gets hit for 8 points. The 6 point Vigor stops 6. Takes 2 more points of real damage. All of the temporary points are gone. Total damage 19: If they do not stack, look at the damage taken each round: Temporary stacked hit points: 32 Round 4: Gets hit for 9 points. The 32 points gets hit for 9 and is down to 23. Total damage 0: Round 5: Gets hit for 14 points. The 23 points gets hit for 14 and is down to 9. Total damage 0: Round 6: Gets hit for 20 points. The 9 points gets hit for 20 and is gone. Total damage 11: Round 7: Gets hit for 8 points. Total damage 19: If the combat extends only to round 5 and they do not stack, you take 4 points of damage as opposed to if they do stack and you take 0 points of damage. If the combat extends only to round 6 and they do not stack, you take 17 points of damage as opposed to if they do stack and you take 11 points of damage. So, stacking can often be superior to non-stacking. The only two cases where they work out exactly the same are: 1) If you never take more damage in a single shot than your current effective temporarily hit point total. 2) You run out of temporary hit points. The combat above would have been much more different if instead of taking 9 points of damage in round 4, the character took 60 points of damage (say a Maximized Cone of Cold where he failed the save). In that case, the stacked version would result in 28 points of damage and the non-stacked version would result in 45 points of damage. If the 10 point Vigor was not up in this example, the non-stacked version would result in 55 points of damage and a save for massive damage as well. The stacked version would have resulted in 38 points of damage and no save for massive damage. There is a difference between stacked and non-stacked, even if the final results can sometimes be the same. But, illustrate to me how you interpret the sentence: "Same Effect More than Once in Different Strengths: In cases when two or more identical spells are operating in the same area or on the same target, but at different strengths, only the best one applies." with your "only the best EVER works and even when it is no longer the best, it still works" way. In round 4 above, once the 15 point Vigor gets hit down to 6 points, it is no longer the BEST power and hence should no longer be in effect. In the case of temporarily hit points, the effective strength of the spells (powers) diminish over time, unlike most other spell effects. Remember, by the rules, these other spells (powers) ARE still active. They are not dispelled by any interpretation of the rules. They are just not in use at the moment. "One Effect Makes Another Irrelevant: Sometimes, one spell can render a later spell irrelevant. Both spells are still active, but one has rendered the other useless in some fashion." [/QUOTE]
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How Does Temporary Hit Points Stack?
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