How many hits should a 1st level Fighter be able to take?

[delericho]

Shouldn't that be:

1st level fighter with 14 constitution.

vs 1 HD Goblin (simple weapon, no STR mod): 4
vs 1 HD Elf (martial weapon, no STR mod): 3
vs 1 HD Bugbear (simple weapon, STR mod) : 3
vs 1 HD Orc (martial weapon, STR mod): 2

1st level wizard with 14 constitution.

vs 1 HD Goblin (simple weapon, no STR mod): 3
vs 1 HD Elf (martial weapon, no STR mod): 2
vs 1 HD Bugbear (simple weapon, STR mod) : 2
vs 1 HD Orc (martial weapon, STR mod): 1

?

 

[Chris_Nightwing]

The way I see it, Wizards should go down after two average hits (or one lucky hit) - I prefer them not made of glass. Since classes tougher than a Wizard should probably take three average hits to down, a Fighter should take four average hits to down.

 

[Hassassin]

The % of being hit is of course tied to this.

For example, a 1st level fighter could have around a 1/3 chance of getting hit by a typical foe of that level and go down after four average hits. A 10th level fighter would be hit more often, 1/2 or so, but those would be lesser hits and he'd be able to take maybe 6 - again from typical foe of that level. (Numbers from thin air, would have to balance with other considerations like any increase in # of attacks.)

That way fighters grow more consistent, and the progression feels less like running in place.

 

[Teataine]

IMHO
I'd say pretty much all the classes should be able to take one hit "for free". I wouldn't mind a game where one hit can take you down either, but for all intents and purposes "one hit for free" should work well for a standard level 1 D&D game.

After that first hit...
if you're a wizard-type, the next hit is likely to kill you, get the hell out.
if you're a fighter-type, you can take two more with confidence before you need to bail.
if you're one of the other dudes, you can probably take another one but a third is likely fatal.

So, let's say the average foe deals 5 dmg on average.

The wizard should have ~7hp
The cleric, rogue etc. should have ~12hp
The fighter should have ~17

(And don't inflate much beyond that. High level characters and monsters should still be floating around 70 hp.)


My favourite however would be that all those classes would have between 3 and 8 hp and when you hit 0 hp you don't die or fall unconscious but damage starts chipping away at your Constitution (which is harder to recover). So a hp that works as a buffer before you take "actual wounds". It's not easy to die but there's a real incentive to get away from the fight once you hit 0.

 

[Minigiant]

I prefer characters to be moderately durable. The Average Hits before falling over for the Average character should be 3. Three strikes and you're out. Works for baseball, works for D&D. Even in football, most coaches only let you try 3 times before punting. Tougher classes get to go for fourth down conversion. Weak teams throw a pick six on their third down. Yanks/Giants.

 

[Khaalis]

I'm curious to know if you arrived at your desired number of hits received or your desired HP scheme first. I.E. did you say HP should be calculated this way and then derive the number of hits the fighter would be able to take or did you say a fighter should be able to take X number of hits and use that to arrive at your HP scheme?

Kind of both. I thought it out both ways before making the decision.
1) Personally I like Static HP+CON Mod per Level.
2) I'd personally like to see Fighters at 12+CON Mod/Level. (Because I think that as the main warrior/soldier of the game best HP should be part of their shtick.) However, 10+Con Mod still also fits my answer.
3) Your average attack for a 1HD/Lv1 creature is usually 1d6 or 1d6+1 (thus ~ ave. 4)

If a fighter gets static HP and has a +2 Con Mod they have either (12 or 14 hp) at an average of 4 damage, that should be an average of 3 hits.

However, if you want to look at it purely from a "must be able to survive X maximum damage attacks" aspect, then that would would mean to survive 3 hits would require having over 21hp to survive.

 

[Stoat]

I'd prefer it if every first level character could survive at least one hit from any heroic tier monster. That way, a group of PC's could encounter an terrible foe, realize their mistake, and attempt a retreat without automatically losing a member.

In general, I think a fighter should be able to take 3-4 hits from an equal level opponent before reaching 0 hit points. At 0 hits, I prefer a mechanic along the lines of 4E's death saves to determine whether or not the PC dies.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Assume an average fighter (not any outlier that exceptionally good or poor) at full health.

With this in mind, around 1.5

 

[Klaus]

I went with 5 (actually, 4 to 6, but I voted 5).

The iconic melee weapon is the longsword (d8, average damage 4.5). I think the fighter should be able to take a couple of hits before being in serious trouble, and shouldn't be dropped with a single lucky blow. Of course, a greataxe should be able to drop a fighter in less hits (say, 3).

 

[Kobold Avenger]

Pathfinder did it and Arcana Evolved sort of did it, and it would be that Wizards should get d6 hit points per level. In fact d6 HD for classes should be the new d4, and maybe the classes that had d6 HD like Rogues and Bards should get d8, but that's another thing.