Kerrick
First Post
I've been batting this one around for awhile - a way to redo temporary hit points - and I think I've hit on a simple, elegant solution.
Any temporary hit points you gain go away at the rate of 1 per minute, starting the round after they are gained. All temporary hit point stack using this rule; if you already have some from one source and gain more from another, they simply add to the total, and you continue to lose 1/minute. You can have up to 150% of your maximum hit point total; any bonus hit points gained beyond this are lost.
For example: Herne the 9th level cleric casts aid on himself. He gains 1d8+9 hp (we'll say 15). Five minutes later, his friend Bob the 9th-level bard uses his music to inspire greatness. Herne has 10 bonus hit points now, but he gains another 2d10 from the bardic music (we'll say 8), for a total of 18. Assuming he doesn't gain any more bonus hit points, he'll lose all the bonus points he has now in 18 minutes.
Hit points gained from energy/ability drain (undead, or the energy drain spell) are gained as healing, up to your maximum hit points; any bonus hit points gained beyond that point are applied as temporary hit points and follow the same rule as noted above.
So, for example, a wraith drains 6 points of Con from a fighter, gaining 30 hp. The wraith is wounded slightly in the fight - it lost 15 hp - so the first 15 are applied as healing, and the next 15 are applied as bonus hit points, which go away at the rate of 1/minute.
The good points of this system: It's simple; all bonus hit points from all sources stack; you don't have to worry about the PC/creature suddenly dropping dead an hour later when all the hit points abruptly go away.
The bad points: It requires a little bit of bookkeeping (you have to tick off 1 hp/minute); bonus hit points don't last as long (though it could easily be extended to 1 hp/5 minutes, or even 10 minutes).
Any temporary hit points you gain go away at the rate of 1 per minute, starting the round after they are gained. All temporary hit point stack using this rule; if you already have some from one source and gain more from another, they simply add to the total, and you continue to lose 1/minute. You can have up to 150% of your maximum hit point total; any bonus hit points gained beyond this are lost.
For example: Herne the 9th level cleric casts aid on himself. He gains 1d8+9 hp (we'll say 15). Five minutes later, his friend Bob the 9th-level bard uses his music to inspire greatness. Herne has 10 bonus hit points now, but he gains another 2d10 from the bardic music (we'll say 8), for a total of 18. Assuming he doesn't gain any more bonus hit points, he'll lose all the bonus points he has now in 18 minutes.
Hit points gained from energy/ability drain (undead, or the energy drain spell) are gained as healing, up to your maximum hit points; any bonus hit points gained beyond that point are applied as temporary hit points and follow the same rule as noted above.
So, for example, a wraith drains 6 points of Con from a fighter, gaining 30 hp. The wraith is wounded slightly in the fight - it lost 15 hp - so the first 15 are applied as healing, and the next 15 are applied as bonus hit points, which go away at the rate of 1/minute.
The good points of this system: It's simple; all bonus hit points from all sources stack; you don't have to worry about the PC/creature suddenly dropping dead an hour later when all the hit points abruptly go away.
The bad points: It requires a little bit of bookkeeping (you have to tick off 1 hp/minute); bonus hit points don't last as long (though it could easily be extended to 1 hp/5 minutes, or even 10 minutes).
