Rolling HP Variant

[Nifft]

My players hate rolling 1's for HP. It's kinda sad to go up a level, roll your big d10, and end up with a 1. Mathematically, intellectually, we realize that it's going to average out, but it still hurts to see that 1.

So, what I've done is to shift all die rolls up to at least 1/2 the HD. So, if a Wizard rolled a 1, he'd really get 2 HP. Likewise, a Fighter would get at least 5 HP per level.

On average, this boosts HP/level by a small amount:
d4: +.25
d6: +.5
d8: +.75
d10: +1.0
d12: +1.25

However, psychologically it seems to lead to happier players.

So, I open this method up for your perusal, comments and (hopefully) brazen theft.

-- N

 

[Viktyr Gehrig]

I just have characters automatically take the rounded-down average on their hit dice. Your system looks good, though.

 

[ThoughtBubble]

That's the method I used a couple campaigns back. Yes, it generally led to happier players.

 

[AeroDm]

I considered allowing 1/2 HD rounded up as an option against rolling, but decided against it for a reason I no longer recall. As a player I roll horribly so I like variants. I had a monk that rolled a 1 and a 2 on his HD (died before 4th level) and we allow a reroll of all 1s. Of course, I am sure others have seen worse.

 

[Cyberzombie]

I just use the top half of the die. A wizard is going to get 3 or 4 hp. A fighter gets 6-10 hit points. We still roll the die, but reroll until something in the hp range shows up. This can take a while, let me tell you. I've seen as many as ten rolls. But it beats having crappy hp.

 

[DaveStebbins]

So, what I've done is to shift all die rolls up to at least 1/2 the HD. So, if a Wizard rolled a 1, he'd really get 2 HP. Likewise, a Fighter would get at least 5 HP per level.

I've used this method before and it's my personal favorite. People get the chance to roll high without the poor rolls costing them too much. Of course, I also use that method for NPCs and monsters too.

 

[Liminal Syzygy]

I used a similar system but didn't like the effect of boosting the average that much when weighted over 10-15 levels.

So I instead implemented a "safety net" system. You roll for your hp as standard, but the lowest possible TOTAL hp is calculated by 10+5+5+5+5 for example for a 5th level fighter. That keeps players from falling too far into below average hp, but also doesn't adjust it upwards so significantly.

 

[AeroDm]

I used a similar system but didn't like the effect of boosting the average that much when weighted over 10-15 levels.

So I instead implemented a "safety net" system. You roll for your hp as standard, but the lowest possible TOTAL hp is calculated by 10+5+5+5+5 for example for a 5th level fighter. That keeps players from falling too far into below average hp, but also doesn't adjust it upwards so significantly.

So if a 2nd level fighter rolls a 3 he is then 2 hp below the 'safety net' and plays as though he had 15 hp (assuming no con). If at 3rd level he rolls a 10 do you treat him as having 25 or 23 hp total? In essence, are people _given_ the HP when they are below or are they just loaned out?

 

[Calico_Jack73]

I use one of two methods to help out my players.

1) After the player rolls they can ask the DM to re-roll it for them but they must take the DM's roll even if it is lower. It's not bad for the player when they roll a 1 but most of them think it over if they roll a 4.

2) I use a "Hero Point" system where each player gets 2 points to allocate to other players for good roleplaying. Among the things the players can use their "Hero Points" for is a reroll their hit dice when they level up. They can reroll as many times as they want but each reroll costs one hero point.

 

[bluto68]

What I do is real simple and my players like it.

If the player doesn't like their HP roll, they can roll the next smaller die. D12 to D10 to D8, etc...

They can do this as many time as they wish...