D&D 5E How much do you value your Con score?

[UngeheuerLich]

Depends on the game. If it is combat heavy and optimized, and the GM plays very tactically, 14 ir at least 12. In a game more about roleplaying I could imagine playing some character with con as low as 8. Coming from ADnD I am pretty used to wizards with low amounts of hp. With con 8 you have 5+3 per level which is more than enough if you play carefully.

 

[AngryTiger]

I always put second highest stat to Con right after attack/casting stat. Unless i'm playing a paladin, then i value Charisma as equal to Con. Usually 14 is bare minimum for Con.

 

[n0nym]

My players and I used to value it very high... Too high. I've never made (or seen) a character with less than 14.

I hated that, so I changed how it worked. Now players add their Constitution score to their hit points once and for all and get 1+ Con modifier hit dice every Long Rest instead of 1HD / Level.

This way, players don't view it as mandatory anymore (the difference between Con 8 and Con 18 is only 10hp, no big deal), but frontline characters still value it (they get to heal more often and don't need to buy potions to do so).

So far it works pretty well.

 

[Rya.Reisender]

Depends on your class and your DM really. Like if creatures would just keep on attacking the tank as long as he's closest, then the ranged attackers don't really need much CON because they won't be attacked in the first place. But if the DM often makes creatures attack the weakest one first and make them ignore the fact that the tank will get opportunity attacks, then all classes need good CON.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

I mostly DM lately, but the most fun I've had with Con was playing the (IIRC) Con 6 Sorcerer NPC with only 10 HP at 4th level. The reason it was fun was that it was challenging: I had to rely on means other than HP buffers to stay alive.

The psychology for playing NPCs is more like that of PCs in a one-shot than long-term PCs though.

 

[CapnZapp]

Since your power and level is mainly gauged by the number of hit points you have, the difference between a CON 10 and a CON 15 at 10th level isn't funny.

One Rogue sports 53 hp, the other 73 hp.

Everything else is basically the same. I know which one I want in my team.

And before you start saying the weaker Rogue gets a better Dex or Wis or whatever, shush it. The only difference is that one sucks at strengthy stuff (+0) and the other sucks at strengthy stuff (-1). Oh wait, that's no difference at all! But one's got a mediocre stat elsewhere (+1) while the other sucks (+0).

Oh wait, that still makes no difference!

PS. This isn't a dig at the roleplayers. This is a dig against official prebuilt characters with less than a +2 Con modifier. You basically gain one full level for every point of CON modifier (at 10th level). No other bonus can beat that.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

My fighter has a 10 - my wizard has a 16.

 

[Satyrn]

Con was my secondary priority, behind Strength, on my War Cleric.

 

[CTurbo]

Depends on the game. If it is combat heavy and optimized, and the GM plays very tactically, 14 ir at least 12. In a game more about roleplaying I could imagine playing some character with con as low as 8. Coming from ADnD I am pretty used to wizards with low amounts of hp. With con 8 you have 5+3 per level which is more than enough if you play carefully.

Wouldn't a wizard with 8 in Con have 1d6-1 HP per level? So 5 HP at level one, and only gain 3 Hp for every level after that unless you role for it in which 5 is the max per level? Sounds terrible.

I appreciate the responses. I love hearing all the different opinions.

I think the next time I roll up a character, I'm going to put my highest stat in Con and play as a Genasi just for fun. We always rolls for stats so it shouldn't be problem to start with 18-20 in Con at level one

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Since your power and level is mainly gauged by the number of hit points you have, the difference between a CON 10 and a CON 15 at 10th level isn't funny.

One Rogue sports 53 hp, the other 73 hp.

Everything else is basically the same. I know which one I want in my team.

If HP really are the be-all and end-all of power, why is Divine Smite so popular with paladin players? Every 3rd level spell slot you blow on a 4d8 smite is the same as losing 70 HP (Aura of Vitality). That's for a pure, unoptimized, out-of-the-box 9th level Paladin. In an optimized case you can be healing as many as 2000 HP per long rest by 10th level.

High Con is useful. It's not essential, and in some cases it can even be redundant.

For a Rogue, it would be worth putting a high rolled stat in Con; it probably wouldn't be worth boosting Con with an ASI that could have gone instead to a feat like Skulker or Lucky.