HPs gained per level

[Gnimish88]

Most of the campaigns I have played in the last couple years used the Living Greyhawk option for hit point advancement, which is, (class hit die)/2 before making any applicable CON adjustments. This system seems biased in favor of wizards and sorcerers, as the following shows:

Hit Die HP gained % of Max.
d4 3 75%
d6 4 66%
d8 5 63%
d10 6 60%
d12 7 58%

I am not sure what the primary motivation in this system was, though it seems likely that a certain minimum HP threshold was the goal. That said, it does seem like it would be more fair if all classes got the approximately same ratio of HPs per level. I realize the math would be a little more cumbersome for d6 and d10 hit dice, but surely not THAT bad, and one could always put together a table for it.

Any thoughts on why it wouldn't be better? Has anyone seen it done differently in any of their games?

 

[the Jester]

This system gives you average hp, rounded up. The other choice- the only two choices that give everyone equal hp as a percentage of their total- are 1/2 max (2 for wizards, 5 for fighters) or max.

Roll some dice, is my advice.

 

[James McMurray]

In the campaign I run, I let people roll hit points, but the lowest they can ever get is average (for total hit points, not per roll).

Exodus (an epic arena handily located in my sig) uses the above method, because crappy rolls shouldn't make a good character fall over if their foe spits on them.

The other two DMs I play under use a "yours or mine" rolling method. You roll your hit points, and if you aren't satisfied, the DM rolls. You're stuck with what the DM rolls though.

All of the above methods work, and help to keep people from getting really bad rolls and ending up with a character who is fun to play until combat comes along.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Any thoughts on why it wouldn't be better? Has anyone seen it done differently in any of their games?

It depends on how you want to look at it really... you could say that under that system wizards can only have 1pt better than the minimum they could roll, clerics get 3pts better than the minimum, barbarians get 5pts better than the minimum they could roll.

Thus the higher HD guys are getting bigger benefits because they are getting further away from the minimum which they could have rolled.

We've always used plain rolled in the past, but I've just shifted it in my campaign to rolled with a minimum of die size/2.

 

[Norfleet]

How about this one:
Every time you level, your hitpoints are rerolled: If your new total exceeds your old total, you get that as your new current hitpoints. If your old total is greater than or equal to your new total, you keep your old total, and gain 1 HP.

It keeps the little randomness that keeps everyone from becoming clones, but eliminates the "permanently screwed" effect, where if you roll poorly once, your character is, in effect, permanently screwed because the damage done by a single poor hitpoint roll is permanent and irreparable.

It also tends to force gravitation towards the average without being overly heavy-handed about it, since someone who rolls above average often will eventually be looking at 1 hp gains, and people who roll poorly will eventually be compensated in full.

I've used this system for many years, and Wizards & Warriors, a computer game, also used this system, with good effect: If it can kill any desire to do the save/reload for hitpoints, it's gotta be a good thing.

 

[Gnimish88]

How about this one:
Every time you level, your hitpoints are rerolled: If your new total exceeds your old total, you get that as your new current hitpoints. If your old total is greater than or equal to your new total, you keep your old total, and gain 1 HP.

QUOTE]

I like the sound of that one, I think I will have to suggest it the next time I am in a campaign that starts up.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

How about this one:
Every time you level, your hitpoints are rerolled: If your new total exceeds your old total, you get that as your new current hitpoints. If your old total is greater than or equal to your new total, you keep your old total, and gain 1 HP.

This is a very good house rule; it works well in practice. (Our current hit point house rule, which I think is a little too much, is an "optional reroll, must accept second result." I'm all in favor of increased PC survival, but this one has produced some monstrous HP totals in fighters and barbarians.)

Regarding the original post ...

Living Greyhawk's HP rules definitely favor the smaller hit dice. However, that's not really a bad thing. Monte Cook has written that he'd argued against including the d4 hit die in 3E, but that it was kept out of tradition, and partially with the implicit understanding that spells like endurance would help spell-worms compensate. Now that 3.5E has radically changed endurance, it's a good thing that Living Greyhawk has been favoring the little guys all along.


Jeff

 

[Eolin]

our system ...

roll the die. If you think it sucks, you can reroll, on a small increment die. Start with that d12, then goto your d10 ... I had a barbarian get down to a d8, which sucked. I think he got 5 points on that roll.

It works for us. anybody like it?

 

[Piratecat]

That's interesting, Eolin. How does it affect average hit points over time?

I have a "reroll once" rule: once over the life of the character, you can reroll a hit die. People typically use it the first time they roll a 1.

 

[Davelozzi]

We use the 'your roll or mine' method that James McMurray outlined above, except that I roll it it at the same time as the player, just behind a screen. Although I think that Eolin's method sounds pretty cool too.

How about this one:
Every time you level, your hitpoints are rerolled: If your new total exceeds your old total, you get that as your new current hitpoints. If your old total is greater than or equal to your new total, you keep your old total, and gain 1 HP.

So you reroll your entire hp each level? The thing that I wouldn't like about that system is that it would allow for huge jumps. For example a 7th level fighter had average rolls his whole life, discounting constitution he'd have about 39-39 hp. All of a sudden on achieving 8th level he gets great rolls and it could shoot right up as high as 70-80. Have you seen this kind of thing happen much, even if it wasn't quite as dramatic?