Randomized Hit Points

[ComradeGnull]

So I've seen some discussion over the years of hit points, particularly as they relate to advancement.

There are several things not to love about the default 'gain a level, roll a die' method. It gives a single roll a lot of weight in the character's advancement, melee types are penalized by bad rolls a bit more than back rankers, a series of bad rolls can give you a significant handicap compared with your fellow PC's, etc.

I've seen a suggestion (apparently from EPT) to re-roll all hit dice at each level, and either take your old total or the new one. What about rolling more frequently than that- say at the start of every level, or every day? HP are supposed to be an abstract way of representing your luck and skill at turning lethal attacks into inconvenient ones, so why shouldn't your luck vary a bit from day to day or adventure to adventure?

Good features:
* Not stuck with any particular HP total for as long. Unlike the default method or the level up reroll, your sub-par score will only last a couple sessions or less.
* Encourages different types of play. A Rogue who gets a near-max score might switch from sniping in the bank rank to wading into melee. A Fighter with a lot score might fight more defensively for a bit, swapping a shield and one-hander for a two-handed weapon.
* Rolls are more frequent, so on the whole you probably spend more time at or around average HP.
* Matches the abstract nature of HP a little better, and provides some narrative hooks- a low roll for a day or an adventure might reflect fatigue, sickness, etc. You could even design diseases or poisons that target max HP rather than current HP, to reflect lingering weakness.

I'm suspecting someone has done this or something like it at some point- thoughts?

 

[Nagol]

I've seen the "roll every adventure/day" version a few times over the years.


An alternative I've thought of is "roll dice whenever you're hit". Basically, PCs have dice pools of hp. The character won't drop until that pool is exhausted. Every time the character takes damage, the player rolls a hit die out of the pool until the damage is countered. If daamge remains and the pool is exhausted, the character is down.


The hit dice are refreshed through healing -- either natural or magical -- effectively in reverse. The hit die is rolled and can be returned to the pool once sufficient healing is achieved to counter it.

The Con is extra dice rolls during combat.

The Pro is there is no deterministic certainty how much additional damage a character can absorb.

 

[Lanefan]

I'd rather roll one die when I gain a level, then forget about it until the next level. Simpler that way.

In other words, roll it and lock it in.

Lanefan

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I'd rather roll one die when I gain a level, then forget about it until the next level. Simpler that way.

In other words, roll it and lock it in.

Lanefan

Ain't broke, don't fix, ayup?

 

[Jhaelen]

I'd hate it, but then I don't like randomized hit points in the first place

After a bad roll i'd probably say "Uh, sorry guys, I don't feel so well today - how about we continue adventuring tomorrow?"

 

[Jupp]

We have this rule:

"Roll HP die when you level; 1 or 2 as a result = reroll"

We did fine with that so far and it is a nice mix between the two extremes (take what is on the die / full HP per new level).

 

[Nagol]

I'd hate it, but then I don't like randomized hit points in the first place

After a bad roll i'd probably say "Uh, sorry guys, I don't feel so well today - how about we continue adventuring tomorrow?"

Yeah, I've seen that come up -- typically with lower-level front-line characters rolling poorly and when the whole group "caught a cold" and decided to rest for a day since no one reached average rolls.

 

[Janx]

Ain't broke, don't fix, ayup?

Yup. If it ain't fixed, leave it be, it might get better or you'll learn to live with it.

 

[Umbran]

thoughts?

My thought is: too much bookkeeping.

It is simpler to say, "Roll a hit die, 1s and 2s reroll."
Or, "Roll a hit die, any result under your Con modifier becomes equal to your Con modifier."
Or, "Don't roll - take average of die, round up." (so, a fighter gets 6 HP every level from his die).

 

[was]

we use a roll or 50% when we level, whichever comes out higher