HP, Armor and Surges by role?

[willows]

Has anyone done any analysis on this? I've been working up some class writeups that have gaps in these areas, 'cause, well, I've got two kids and it's awful hard to poke through seven books looking for patterns.

 

[Kaelkatar]

There seems to be four major expressions for hit points.

Low: 10+Con Starting HP, 4 HP per level, 6+Con Surges per day.
Medium: 12+Con Starting HP, 5 HP per level, 6 or 7+Con Surges per day.
High: 14 or 15+Con Starting HP, 6 HP per level, 8 9 or 10+Con Surges per day.
Very High: 17+Con Starting HP, 7 HP per level, 9+Con Surges per day.

Low is mostly used with controllers (Wizard, Psion, Invoker) but also with the Assassin (striker).

Medium is used the with majority of Strikers (Rogue, Ranger, Sorcerer, Monk, Warlock) all Leaders (Cleric, Artificer, Runepriest, Bard, Warlord, Shaman, Ardent), and some Controllers (Druid, Seeker).

High is used mostly for Defenders (Paladin, Fighter, Swordmage, Battlemind) as well as for some strikers (Barbarian, Avenger).

Very High is used only for the Warden (defender).

 

[Kaelkatar]

Additionally. AC's at level one suggesting an AC focused build that doesn't sacrifice hit. This also does not include any feats.


Defenders:
Warden: 19 AC (hide, heavy shield) (18 str/wis)
Swordmage: 20 AC (hide, warding) (20 int)
Fighter: 19 AC (plate, heavy shield)
Paladin: 20 AC (plate, heavy shield)
Battlemind: 19 AC (scale, heavy shield)

Strikers:
Rogue: 17 AC (leather) (20 dex)
Ranger: 18 AC (hide) (20 dex)
Warlock: 16 AC (leather) (18 int)
Barbarian: 18 AC (hide, agility) (18 dex)
Avenger: 17 AC (cloth, faith) (18 dex/int)
Sorcerer: 14 AC (cloth) (18 dex/str)
Assassin: 18 AC (leather, light shield) (20 dex)
Monk: 17 AC (cloth, unarmored) (20 dex)

Leaders:
Cleric: 16 AC (mail)
Warlord: 18 AC (scale, light shield)
Bard: 18 AC (hide, light shield) (18 int)
Shaman: 16 AC (leather) (18 int)
Ardent: 16 AC (mail)
Runepriest: 18 AC (scale, light shield)
Artificer: 17 AC (leather) (20 int)

Controllers:
Wizard: 16 AC (cloth, staff) (20 int)
Druid: 17 AC (hide) (18 int)
Invoker: 17 AC (hide) (18 int)
Psion: 15 AC (cloth) (20 int)
Seeker: 16 AC (leather) (18 dex)

 

[jeffh]

There seems to be four major expressions for hit points.

Low: 10+Con Starting HP, 4 HP per level, 6+Con Surges per day.
Medium: 12+Con Starting HP, 5 HP per level, 6 or 7+Con Surges per day.
High: 14 or 15+Con Starting HP, 6 HP per level, 8 9 or 10+Con Surges per day.
Very High: 17+Con Starting HP, 7 HP per level, 9+Con Surges per day.

Low is mostly used with controllers (Wizard, Psion, Invoker) but also with the Assassin (striker).

Medium is used the with majority of Strikers (Rogue, Ranger, Sorcerer, Monk, Warlock) all Leaders (Cleric, Artificer, Runepriest, Bard, Warlord, Shaman, Ardent), and some Controllers (Druid, Seeker).

High is used mostly for Defenders (Paladin, Fighter, Swordmage, Battlemind) as well as for some strikers (Barbarian, Avenger).

Very High is used only for the Warden (defender).

So 19 classes out of 25 fit this pattern:

Controller: Low
Striker, Leader: Medium
Defender: High

And of the six exceptions, four are accounted for by this rule (though it also arguably creates one new one):

Primal power source: Raise to the next higher category (use Very High if necessary). (May not apply to Leader classes.)


ACs:

Defenders should be able to hit 19 or 20 at first level with little trouble, others 16-18, a point or so less for controllers. The one major outlier here is the Sorcerer.

Overall, Strikers are the most diverse lot, and only partly because there's more of them, ranging from as squishy as controllers to almost as well-protected as defenders.