How much would this house rule break the game?

[Camelot]

All characters and monsters can use the higher of their Constitution or Wisdom for hit points and healing surges, and can use the higher of their Dexterity or Intelligence for initiative.

 

[Mentat55]

Not a whole lot. There are already feats and a background that do similar things. It will certainly let players allocate their ability scores more effectively, and obviously favors only classes that use Intelligence or Wisdom. Classes that use neither potentially get zero benefit out of this change, so there is that.

 

[the Jester]

What are you trying to accomplish with this change? Why are you making it? Is this one of those things where the low-con character is complaining that he makes a bad defender because of his surges, when he chose to play a low-con character?

I doubt whether it will break much, but I see no need for it.

 

[Camelot]

My Goal: [sblock]Make hit points even more metaphorical than they are now. A creature can take "damage" when an opponent, for example, makes a successful Intimidate check against it. The way a creature is reduced to 0 hit points determines the way its opponents win. Using a sword means the creature falls unconscious. Using diplomacy means the creature gives in to your demands.[/sblock]

What Does This Change: [sblock]If hit points are going to represent this, it doesn't make sense that they should be based solely on Con, or if encounters could be completely social, why initiative should be based only on Dex. If you have a high Wis, you not only can hold your own in negotiations, but you have a stronger will to live than just a tough guy. If you have high Int, you know what to say when, in addition to being mentally ready for battle.[/sblock]

What Won't Achieve My Goal: [sblock]I could just make another set of "hit points" for social etc. situations, but then it gets weird when you've gone through a huge long battle, gotten the enemy soldier down to 1 hit point, but you don't want to kill him, so you have to convince him to give up, and you've got to go through all those hit points again. The two types of hit points should be in one pool, since being weakened in one sense also weakens you in others (being physically beat makes your will bend, being talked down makes you hesitate in a fight so one hit can kill you, etc.). However, you can't just add your Wis mod, because that upsets game balance already in place. It would have to replace the Con mod. Same with initiative; trade mods so that it's roughly the same.[/sblock]

The Possible Problem: [sblock]Every creature will have, on average, a higher hit point value and initiative; this is because you can choose the higher stat. Initiative shouldn't be a problem, since it's a comparison. Hit points could prove iffy, but hopefully the additional options that can decrease those hit points will offset the slight increase for some PCs and monsters.[/sblock]

 

[hipnotode]

PHB1 P186

Intimidate: Standard action in combat or part of a
skill challenge.
✦ Opposed Check: Intimidate vs. Will (see the table
for modifiers to your targets defense). If you cant
speak a language your target understands, you take a
–5 penalty to your check. If you attempt to intimidate
multiple enemies at once, make a separate
Intimidate check against each enemy's Will defense.
Each target must be able to see and hear you.
✦ Success: You force a bloodied target to surrender,
get a target to reveal secrets against its will, or cow a
target into taking some other action.
✦ Failure: If you attempted to intimidate the target
during combat, you can't try again against that target
during this encounter.
✦ Target Becomes Hostile: Using Intimidate usually
makes a target hostile toward you, even if you don't
succeed on the check.

there is already a kind of mechanic in place for this, maybe implementing a 5(?) success limit, where maybe a success is +1 and a failure is -1, or am i missing the point?