Why are hit points generated randomly?

[Ry]

I sometimes forget people still randomly generate hitpoints. I've been using variations on average-roll-rounded-down for 4 years now, going strong. I highly recommend it.

 

[Ry]

... laid low by the curse of the double-post ...

 

[Plane Sailing]

The first hp rolling variant I ever came across was in Empire of the Petal Throne in about 1977 or so.

Each level you rolled all your HD again (including the new one), if your total was higher than before, you got it, otherwise you stayed at the previous level.

The upside of this is that a poor roll at one level doesn't penalise you for the life of the character, and excellent rolls don't give you a boost for ever either - it meant that everyone tended towards the average for their level, but still had the excitement of rolling.

In my current games I use 'roll, minimum of half die size', the other DM uses 'player rolls, they choose to keep it or go with the DMs roll (which they take however low it is)'.

Cheers

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

HP inflation's always been a problem with D&D.

Right from the start, monsters rarely had an average of 4.5 hp per d8; there was constant hp-creep in an upwards direction, which mirrored the player characters' tendency to have more than 4.5 hp per d8. Even in the very earliest published modules, the assumptions were more like 6hp per d8 or higher, and in the later 1e days, 7hp per d8 was almost standard.

This has led to the assumption that having lots of hp is somehow being "fair" on the player characters. Actually what it really does is twofold:

1. Makes fights longer (not a good thing imo); and
2. Makes rolled healing spells less effective than intended, so you need more clerics.

I suggest going back to 4.5hp per d8 for players and monsters, it speeds things up and reduces the reliance on clerics.

Making that a fixed amount rather than rolled should work fine.

 

[Psion]

There's also a bit of slippery-slope of rules development to consider. Assume, for the moment, that hit points by level are fixed per class. Well, might as well do that for monsters, too, right?

I pretty much use the listed hp in the book for monsters, which is average.

hen, there will be the pressure to make damage a fixed thing as well

Eh. I don't buy that. There are many games that don't have a stitch of random chargen that is full on random in play. I'm not seeing the concepts as linked and see no "slippery slope" existing.

 

[WayneLigon]

I've gone to the 75% variant because it makes things much, much easier to deal with when someone loses a level or decides early in the campaign to rebuild their character.

 

[diaglo]

it is a sacred cow.

what it represents is training in combat.

they aren't health points (except for the Con part).

they are based on what you learned at that given level. some people learn better than others. but there is always further training (gaining another level)

 

[Klaus]

Adapt the Iron Heroes system this way:

d4 -> 2 + 1d2
d6 -> 3 + 1d3
d8 -> 2 + 1d6 for Clerics, 4 + 1d4 for Druids, 5 + 1d3 for Monks and Rangers
d10 -> 4 + 1d6 for Paladins, 6 + 1d4 for Fighters
d12 -> 6 + 1d6 for Knights, 8 + 1d4 for Barbarians

If you go this way, you'll have another way of differentiating between classes that have the same HD.

 

[Klaus]

it is a sacred cow.

what it represents is training in combat.

they aren't health points (except for the Con part).

they are based on what you learned at that given level. some people learn better than others. but there is always further training (gaining another level)

Unless it's racial HD. THEN it's how tough you are.

 

[diaglo]

Unless it's racial HD. THEN it's how tough you are.

actually it is not how tough you are. it is how much you avoid taking a harmful injury.
Con is how tough you are.

edit: a 6hp guy looks the same as a 1hp guy uninjured with the same Con