Increasing HP Within Levels

[CanadienneBacon]

The recent article "Abstract HP" got me to wondering. 4E aside, I'd like to know what flaws might be inherent in the following system. I'm asking not because I'm looking to poke holes in any one gaming system; rather, I'm asking because I'm seriously considering having players gain HP more gradually than a big shot in the arm of points at the start of a new level.

The idea I'm considering goes something like this. Matilda is a cleric. As a cleric, she uses a d8 for her HD. She is a 3rd-level PC, so she already has 3d8 HP. We'll assume a +1 Con modifier and rolls of 4 and 5 to represent HP gained for 2nd and 3rd level. As a 3rd-level cleric, Matilda should therefore have a grand total of 20 HP.

Say Matilda just barely attained 3rd level and that, for argument's sake, she has 3090 XP. For Matilda, 4th level is just about 3000 XP away at 6000 XP. Someone check my math here! Am I on the right track?!

Now, as a DM who's curious about metting out HP during 3rd level vice doling them out all at once at 4th level, how would I best go about doing that? What's the alorithm that makes the most sense? Matilda's got nearly 3000 XP to earn before her next level and--big assumption here--if she's going to be taking another level in cleric, she'd be getting another 1d8+1 in HP at 4th level. What if I want to start giving her this XP now during 3rd level rather than wait? How many HP and how often would I give it out?

If one divides 3000 by 8 (representing the 8 possible numbers on a d8), one gets...ah sweet math...one HP per every 375 XP. So at 3375 XP, Matilda would get 1 HP, bringing her to a grand total of 21. At 6000 XP, Matilda would get the last of her 8 HP...

NO! Wait! Wrong math! Matilda doesn't necessarily get 8 on her roll, does she? OK. Say we somehow know in advance that Matilda will roll a 4 on her next 1d8 roll for HP at 4th level. That puts her getting 1 HP every 750 XP. So at 3750 XP, she'll go from having a grand total of 20 HP to having 21 HP. By the time Matilda gets to 6000 XP, she should have 25 XP---+1 for Con inclusive.

Right off the bat, I foresee two issues with such a system. The first issue I see is that we can't necessarily predict what ole Tilly will take as her next class. I mean, that snazzy new PrC calls for sneak attack dice, so she might go all Rogue on us! The second issue I see is that unless the player gives the DM a bunch of pre-rolls on paper, it's hard to know what number will pop up on the die when it's time to roll for HD.

You guys are a smart lot. What other problems have I not foreseen? Got any fixes for 'em off the top of your head? Think this idea is viable or not?

 

[CanadienneBacon]

Just occured to me--I'd bet dollars to donuts that some other game system out there already does something similar (and probably does it a lot better).

If anyone's got a link they're willing to schill, I'd be happy to read! Or even just name-drop your favorite system that handles HP differently and I'll google it.

 

[Pseudopsyche]

The first issue I see is that we can't necessarily predict what ole Tilly will take as her next class. I mean, that snazzy new PrC calls for sneak attack dice, so she might go all Rogue on us!

Why not ask her? IME, most players know in what class they will take their next level. If everyone simply works out their new levels ahead of time, you can gradually dole out the incremental benefits as you see fit. Besides interpolating the PC's hp between her current amount and her already rolled future amount, you can have the PC roleplay experimentation with her upcoming metamagic feat or with her new sneak attack, as appropriate.

 

[Herzog]

how about dealing out hp gradually for the level you have already gained?

Since that would mean you would start out with 0 hp for first level, and on the whole hp of characters is too low for their actual level, let's introduce a little second option here.

1. You start out with 1dx of your first level class, instead of starting with max hp.
2. You throw a second dx of your first level class. This amount of hp will be dealt out gradually over the xp range from 1st to 2nd lvl. (rolling 5 would mean 1 hp for every 200xp)
3. When you gain a lvl beyond first, you roll a dx appropiate for the class of that lvl.
This amount of hp will be dalt out gradually over the xp range of that lvl (rolling 5 would mean 1 hp for every 400 xp)

Herzog

 

[Voadam]

Buy the Numbers (a d20 pdf) allows point buy of D&D features for xp, no levels at all I believe. It would have a formula for hp and xp.

I think it can work fine by spreading out the hp, if you really want to go that gradation route. A simple method would be to give flat amounts per HD instead of rolling or declare that players must choose their next level ahead of time and then pre-roll.

If they don't pre-choose their class then base it off of a d4 HD and give them the rest of their hp when they hit the level.