A common complaint i have heard is about the swinginess of rolling hit points. For example, it is easily possible to have two identicle 10th level fighters with a difference of over 20 hit points because of this. A couple of possible fixes we have come up with are;
1. Each class gets a set number of hit points per level
2. Whenever hit points are rolled the minimum value you can get is half the total value (ie 3 on a d6 and 6 on a d12)
3. Reducing the dice rolled and giving them a set bonus per level (ie 1d4+2, 1d6+2, 1d8+2, etc.)
4. Giving each class a class bonus plus 1d4 hit points per level (ie 1d4+2, 1d4+4, 1d4+6, 1d4+8)
Of these my favorite is probably the second one as it's the simplest and doesn't alter the probability of the dice rolls but means a player won't get screwed over by bad rolling.
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2. Whenever hit points are rolled the minimum value you can get is half the total value (ie 3 on a d6 and 6 on a d12)3. Reducing the dice rolled and giving them a set bonus per level (ie 1d4+2, 1d6+2, 1d8+2, etc.)
4. Giving each class a class bonus plus 1d4 hit points per level (ie 1d4+2, 1d4+4, 1d4+6, 1d4+8)
I like all three of these ideas, as they bridge the gap that may always exist between the lucky roller with a big CON adjustment, and the unlucky roller with the bad CON adjustment.
The random factor is bigger, the bigger the HD is, and by adding a certain amount of fixed bonus, that randomness is reduced somewhat. By evening out the differences (while still adding a random factor) it makes it also easier to use existing modules that have to set the bar at a certain level.
Just to add a little more information about the various systems, the average Hit points per level for each would be;
TRADITIONAL:
1d6 - Average: 3.5, Minimum: 1 (Per Level)
1d8 - Average: 4.5, Minimum: 1 (Per Level)
1d10 - Average: 5.5, Minimum: 1 (Per Level)
MINIMUM HALF:
1d6 - Average: 3.5, Minimum: 3 (Per Level)
1d8 - Average: 4.5, Minimum: 4 (Per Level)
1d10 - Average: 5.5, Minimum: 5 (Per Level)
SET BONUS:
1d4+2 - Average: 4.5, Minimum: 3 (Per Level)
1d6+2 - Average: 5.5, Minimum: 3 (Per Level)
1d8+2 - Average: 6.5, Minimum: 3 (Per Level)
CLASS BONUS:
1d4+2 - Average: 4.5, Minimum: 3 (Per Level)
1d4+4 - Average: 6.5, Minimum: 5 (Per Level)
1d4+6 - Average: 8.5, Minimum: 7 (Per Level)
Of these three the Set Bonus option is probably my least favorite. It pushes up the average hit points per level but still gives larger hit dice characters a chance of being screwed with it's low minimum hit points.
I do like the Class Bonus system but using it will lead to much higher hit point characters on average with the average hit points and minimum hit points getting much larger as the hit dice increase.
I still think that the Minimum Half system is my favorite as it feels the most elegant and keeps the stats the same as they were.
I would love to hear some more thoughts on this.
On the other hand, I LIKE the idea two fighters could have widely differing hit points. It sets the characters apart. Joe may be a damn good fighter, but he'll never be as tough as Bob.
The problem is when Joe and Bob are both player characters in the same party.
I recently had a friend who felt really gibbed when his character (the party meatshield) rolled 17 on 5d10 for Hitpoints (this did increase to over 30 though after adding Con and stuff) and the GM didn't allow him to re-roll his hit points. The big problem with the current system is often players can be left feeling highly disadvantaged with their character just because a handful of dice rolls didn't go as well for them as the other players.