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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shiroiken" data-source="post: 8490179" data-attributes="member: 6775477">A quick history lesson, since legacy answers a lot of questions. Hit Dice were a term used back in miniature wargaming, and when fantasy rules from it became the combat mechanic for early OD&D, it came along. HD was used to determine your attack ability and HP, as each representing the average number of hits it would take to kill you ("hit" dice). Originally everything used 1d6 (sometimes modified by a -1 or +1), and they were not directly equal to level. Fighting Men gained them quickly, while the magic user gained them slowly. While the name HD remained, the concept has been completely forgotten over the editions (it might even have been modified by one of the OD&D supplements).<ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">The Barbarian was introduced in AD&D 1E supplement Unearthed Arcana. Before this point, the range of HD was based on the class: fighters with 1d10, clerics with 1d8, thieves with 1d6, and magic users with 1d4. The monk and ranger were different, and while I don't remember the monk, the Ranger started with 2d8 and had a 1d8 after that. The Barbarian broke this mold, and I assumed this was to make up for the fact that they'd be lower level forever (xp per level was based on class, with barbarian being three times higher than fighters). This legacy was continued in 3E and 5E (I don't remember 2E or 4E)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Once HD (and everything else) was moved away from just being d6, monsters normally used 1d8 as the standard. The meant from a design perspective thieves were physically weaker and magic users significantly weaker than the "average" creature of their HD. This idea still technically holds, but with only Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizards weaker than medium creatures, while the martial classes are all better, with the Barbarian much better. To move everything to size would make small races harder to play, and completely unbalance the classes. It could be done, but most of the classes would need to be rebalanced to reflect this.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">As size takes "meat" into consideration, so would Constitution. Having a higher Con would mean you had better meat, making you tougher. Secondly, and probably more importantly, Con also represents your ability to endure. Whatever the impact of HP, your character suffers some physical or mental impact from damage, and having more Con means you can endure the pain/loss of wind/anguish better.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">There's no reason why not, but there's no official material that does so yet.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol">Almost no creature has a class level, so they all have more than their level.</li> </ol></blockquote>

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