D&D 5E Tired of using CON modifier as a bonus to HP? Here's a simple alternative...
Jahydin
Hero
That's a good one too!
I've thought a lot about this too and reached some of the same conclusions you did. What finally pushed me to house rule it was actually trying to play as a low con arcane caster, a la Raistlin Majere. It turns out that most monsters won't 100-0 a level 1 character with 8 hp (which is about the lowest you typically see) but a level 2 character with 5 hp will probably be referencing the instant death rules during the surprise round.
Having a fixed formula of ability score : ability score modifier sounds great, but +4 dex or con are not equal to +4 str int wis or cha, and I'll come right out and say this, I don't think the designers considered that at all. I would much rather explore reducing the modifier for Dex and Con by 1 and 2 at all ability scores, but I feel that goes against a core mechanic that shouldn't be touched.
I did the same thing as you and stopped rolling for HP at all to balance HP scores while removing the reliance on CON. I still think CON is highly valuable - now solidly third behind $Mainstat and Dex, but still not a dump. CON still affects short rest healing, holding breath, exhaustion and concentration, and is a major save. That's still more valuable than non-mainstat STR, INT, and CHA, and arguably on par with Wisdom (major save and perception). It can be an ability score that you choose based on how it fits the character now instead of something mandatory.
But, I did give it a couple little somethings back to ease the sting, which I haven't tested yet:
At level 1, you add your CON score to your max HP. This lets combat be a little more interesting and dynamic at level 1 instead of always having to throw goblins at the newbies or risk a bloodbath.
When you are healed for a random amount, such as by a spell cast on you or by spending hit dice, you add your CON modifier to the amount healed. Yes, those high-con barbarians and fighters still benefit from their CON ability modifier.
When you heal someone for a random amount, such as by a spell or a healer's kit, you add your CON modifier to the amount healed. I thought for a while that this might make it too essential again for clerics, but really, we're talking about healing. A downed character brought back up will still get knocked down again in one hit, and a downed character is the only type of character that gets healed.
And yeah, the healing ones only apply to healing controlled by dice. I don't care if Healing Word does 1d4+3 or 1d4+7. I do care if Goodberry does 10 or 50. That's exactly why CON was so busted to begin with.
Having a fixed formula of ability score : ability score modifier sounds great, but +4 dex or con are not equal to +4 str int wis or cha, and I'll come right out and say this, I don't think the designers considered that at all. I would much rather explore reducing the modifier for Dex and Con by 1 and 2 at all ability scores, but I feel that goes against a core mechanic that shouldn't be touched.
I did the same thing as you and stopped rolling for HP at all to balance HP scores while removing the reliance on CON. I still think CON is highly valuable - now solidly third behind $Mainstat and Dex, but still not a dump. CON still affects short rest healing, holding breath, exhaustion and concentration, and is a major save. That's still more valuable than non-mainstat STR, INT, and CHA, and arguably on par with Wisdom (major save and perception). It can be an ability score that you choose based on how it fits the character now instead of something mandatory.
But, I did give it a couple little somethings back to ease the sting, which I haven't tested yet:
At level 1, you add your CON score to your max HP. This lets combat be a little more interesting and dynamic at level 1 instead of always having to throw goblins at the newbies or risk a bloodbath.
When you are healed for a random amount, such as by a spell cast on you or by spending hit dice, you add your CON modifier to the amount healed. Yes, those high-con barbarians and fighters still benefit from their CON ability modifier.
When you heal someone for a random amount, such as by a spell or a healer's kit, you add your CON modifier to the amount healed. I thought for a while that this might make it too essential again for clerics, but really, we're talking about healing. A downed character brought back up will still get knocked down again in one hit, and a downed character is the only type of character that gets healed.
And yeah, the healing ones only apply to healing controlled by dice. I don't care if Healing Word does 1d4+3 or 1d4+7. I do care if Goodberry does 10 or 50. That's exactly why CON was so busted to begin with.
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