| JRM |
This idea popped into my head while reading the sneak attack thread.
Consider two Large 8 HD constructs, one made of tissue paper, the other of wrought iron. Just going by the rules, both should have the same average Hit Points, as they both have the same hit dice and size bonus.
That doesn't seem right to me, so I think bonus HP should depend on how tough the Construct's material and design is. Now you could apply a bonus to HP depending on what a Construct's made of, say "hardness rating × size factor" so a Large Steel Construct could get something like 15 (steel) × 2 (Large) = 30 bonus HP and so forth but that's more fiddly and would need more work to restat 3E D&D Constructs, but it occurs to me that the Strength score of the construct is a good measure of how strongly put together it is, similar to how the Cha score may measure the strength of the 'soul-force' holding an Undead together. A high Str golem must be solidly put together to be able to apply that strength without damaging itself, so why not use Str as its HP bonus ability like Pathfinder Undead use Cha.
I'm thinking this bonus would not apply to Fortitude saves, unlike Undead Cha bonus, just HPs. I don't think the substance of a (non-living) Construct as counter-reacting to Fortitude attacks like the flesh of an Undead would.
The 'Living Construct' subtype would just use Con as normal, this rule would only apply to standard Constructs that lack a Constitution score.
Any thoughts?