Rebalancing the Ability Scores: Constitution

[Xeviat]

Hi everyone. I'd like to rebalance the ability scores so that more choices become available to characters. A non-choice is almost as bad as a bad choice in my book.

I've never seen a player legitimately make a character with a low Con (sorry, there was one Druid of the Moon who had a 10 con). It's everyone's 2nd or 3rd best stat. It's a non-choice. Is there another way to handle Constituion, especially the HP, to make it less important?

I find myself looking back to 4E. There, con didn't add to your HP per level, it added to your healing surges per day. Functionally, both work out to increasing your daily HP total, but 4E's method spreads those HP out a little more. It also hides your HP, so you don't feel bad for having a lower Con score.

The baseline HP is a d8, or 5 hp per level. +1 con mod equals a roughly 20% increase in HP (slightly less due to the extra hp at 1st level). Healing surges were equal to 1/4 your HP. That's roughly equal. Currently, we have HD for recovery. They nearly equal your full hp total on average rolls, so they could be swapped out for 4 healing surges. Then, each class gets 4+con mod surges and boom, Con feels less important.

With this, you'd have a lower HP maximum, but you'd potentially end up with more HP throughout the day (especially for d10 and d12 classes). PCs would be inherently paced out.

Is there another way to balance Constitution? Or is it something you simply accept?

 

[CapnZapp]

Having a high Constitution is actually even better than at first blush.

If you're a fighter you want lots of hit points.

If you're a spellcaster you want hit points even more, plus you have a considerably easier time if you make those Concentration checks.

On top of this, the Con Save is the most common save (if you go by number of effects and monsters that use it).

 

[Xeviat]

I know, and I don't like that players don't feel like they have the option to have a low con. For me, Wizards go Int, Dex, Con in order of importance. Fighter is Str then Con, or Dex then Con. I'd never think about an 8 Con, even though I'd consider an 8 in any other stat.

 

[nomotog]

Take con away from HP, or maybe just have it give a flat HP boost? That might make it a little too weak though.

 

[Xeviat]

As I was saying, con mod to healing surges would be the same or better across the day, just lower in each individual encounter.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Con is balanced by the fact that nobody needs it for a primary.

If I was going to balance the game in regards to stats, I would make all characters calculate HP as though they had Con 14, and make every other Con ability (Barbarian AC, saves, etc) key from Strength instead.

 

[Quickleaf]

We have a monk/warlock in our game with 8 Constitution. It's very in-character. And at 3rd level he feels squishy in fights compared to the rest of his party with Constitution 12 to 16. Right now he lags behind other PCs by 6 to 12 hit points.

I was a little turned off by 5e's use of the +CON modifier to hit points each level after first. It creates a great disparity in HP between high and low CON PCs over 10-12 levels.

I liked 4e's approach of including it at 1st level only. Though perhaps that went a bit too far.

One thought is to apply CON modifier to hit points only at 1st level and at levels where you gain an Ability Score Improvement. This also has the happy side effect of buoying up the fighter (and to a lesser extent the rogue) with extra HP compared to other characters.

Then either give a flat bonus to hit points (+1 or +2) for all other levels, OR add a one-time bonus hit dice equal to CON modifier (ignoring negative values)...e.g. CON 16 would give you three extra hit dice.