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Hi guys, me and some friends are looking to create characters this weekend but we are having a bit of trouble with the HP rules. I understand at first level you get max Hp + Con. Bonus.
We are confused about how you figure HP for other levels...So let's say a level 3 fighter has 3d10. Does he roll ALL 3 dice or just one? or does he get the max of 1d10+Con. Bonus again?
Thanks
-Sasha
If you start at level 1, you get full HD + con at first level. Then each subsequent level you get HD(rolled) plus con.
If you start at say level 3 you get 2HD rolled + 1 full HD + 3*con.
For instance, a level 3 fighter with a 14con would get. 10(full hd)+2d10(rolled)+6(3*+2 con). Plus any additions for things like toughness or favored class bonuses.
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There are several ways to do it. You're right that a character at first level should get his max hit points, so a fighter with 14 con should have 13:
10hd +2 con +1 favoured class bonus
At second level there's the option to have everyone roll for their hit points, which means the fighter would roll a d10, the rogue and monk would roll a d8, and the wizard would only get to roll a d6. If that's too much randomness for you, PFS has characters increase by a set amount each level based on their hit dice: a barbarian would get 7hp +con, a fighter 6, a rogue 5, and a wizard 4.
The final option is to take their second and higher hit dice and give them an average. A third level fighter with 14 con would get 13 at first level, and then 8 at second and 9 at third, going back to 8 at fourth. (All numbers include con and favoured class bonus)
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Everytime you gain a level, you roll your hit dice. You add any relevant bonuses to this, such as from Favored Class bonus (ignore that if you are using the Beginner's Box), Toughness feat (after level 4), and Constitution modifier.
So, ignoring the favored class bonus, a level 1 fighter will have 10 HP plus his Constitution modifier. That's his max HP.
At 2nd level, he will roll 1d10 and add any bonuses, and he will then add that value to his maximum HP.
At 3rd level, he will again roll 1d10 and add any bonuses, and add that to his previous total.
The fighter in question would gain max HP at 1st level plus CON bonus (10 + CON) and then 1d10 hp plus CON bonus every level thereafter.
A 3rd level fighter would have 10 + CON plus 2d10 + 2*CON
We do full hd + con score at first level, for all further levels average (as PFS) + con mod.
Or roll and keep what you get + con mod if you're feeling lucky.
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Another thing to keep in mind is the favored class bonus. If your favored class is fighter, every level you can choose to gain either a hit point or a skill point.
So let's say you choose to gain a hit point for your favored class bonus.
At first level, the fighter gets max hp+con bonus+1 from favored class.
At every level after that, the fighter gains an additional 1d10+con bonus+1 more if he chooses a hit point for his favored class bonus.
So a level 1 fighter with 14 con who takes a hp for his favored class gets
10 [max hp from 1d10]+2[con]+1[favored class]=13 hp.
When this fighter levels up to 2, assuming he takes a hp for his favored class bonus again he has
13 [from level 1]+1d10+2[con]+1[favored class]=16+1d10 hp.
When he levels up to 3, if he takes a hp for his favored class bonus again, he adds 1d10+2+1 to his hp from level 2, so he has 19+2d10 hp.
Edit:Wow, there are a lot of ninjas in here.
I make them roll each level after the first but allow rerolls if the die lands at <= 20% max. So d6 rerolls on a 1, d8 and d10 on a 1 or 2, d12 on a 1-3. It makes players less devastated and keeps things a bit interesting.
Okay that make sense. Also, I want to make sure I read this right, isn't their a rule about every time you put a skill point into a class skill get an HP? or that the favored class you are talking about? As you can, lot's of talk on this.
That's a misinterpretation of the favored class bonus. Whenever you take a level in your favored class, you may gain a bonus hp or a bonus skill point. If you use the options in the APG, you may gain something else instead, based on specific race and class combinations. It's one option or another, exclusively.
I make them roll each level after the first but allow rerolls if the die lands at <= 20% max. So d6 rerolls on a 1, d8 and d10 on a 1 or 2, d12 on a 1-3. It makes players less devastated and keeps things a bit interesting.
I use a house rule called the "DM Roll".
If a character is unsatisfied with their hit point roll they can call for a DM roll in which I roll their hit points and they have to stick with that even if it is worse.
There are 3 house rules that I've played with. One is as HalifaxDM said, take a reroll but you have to take it.
My Thursday DM lets you reroll as many times as you like, but on one lower die size each time. Vicious, because you only screw yourself.
When I DM, my alternate is just either rolling or taking the average, round up at even levels and down at odd levels.
I just give everybody max HP at all levels. Nobody likes to have incongruously frail characters simply because of a die roll. This way the fighter never ends up weaker than the wizard- he gets 4 extra HP per level.
Now, on the other hand, I give all of my monsters max HP too...
First level; maximum hp (for player classes, at least. Eidolons, familiars and the like start rolling for their HD from the first die. Yes, I know that a familiar has half its master's HP. I still have the players roll for these HP; as they can be higher that way at very low levels).
For every advancement roll, I let my players choose:
1) Roll your die. The result cannot be lower than half the HD max. (So, a fighter would roll 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7 ,8 , 9 or 10)
2) Roll your die (any result counts). If dissatisfied, roll again and stick with the second result.
Please tell me which option you use prior to rolling the die.
Mathematically, option 2 grants slighty better hit points (6.75 vs 6.5), while option 1 is the safer bet. (Yes, both options are house rules)
I play with a houserule: roll 2 dice take the best. When I'm GM i'll also beef up the monsters in the same way - or perhaps a monster will just get one more attack even if the tecnically have taken more Hit points. (It's a GM trick and as long as you don't tell the players it just makes the fight a bit more channeling).
I make them roll each level after the first but allow rerolls if the die lands at <= 20% max. So d6 rerolls on a 1, d8 and d10 on a 1 or 2, d12 on a 1-3. It makes players less devastated and keeps things a bit interesting.I use a house rule called the "DM Roll".
If a character is unsatisfied with their hit point roll they can call for a DM roll in which I roll their hit points and they have to stick with that even if it is worse.
I let them choose a straight roll with no rerolls or the average die roll each level, one or the other (not both). If you chose the straight roll, you can switch to the average at any point, but once you make the switch you can't go back.
my players tack full HD for first and second and 1/2 for all other levels i find this works best for me (pluses con and other stuff after )
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Maximum of the die at level 1 (+ CON bonus and Toughness and/or Favored Class hp bonus if applicable).
Roll the die every level after that (+ CON bonus and Toughness and/or Favored Class hp bonus if applicable).
But, since this is the rules forum, here's the rule copied from the PRD:
Hit Points (hp): Hit points are an abstraction signifying how robust and healthy a creature is at the current moment. To determine a creature's hit points, roll the dice indicated by its Hit Dice. A creature gains maximum hit points if its first Hit Die roll is for a character class level. Creatures whose first Hit Die comes from an NPC class or from his race roll their first Hit Die normally. Wounds subtract hit points, while healing (both natural and magical) restores hit points. Some abilities and spells grant temporary hit points that disappear after a specific duration. When a creature's hit points drop below 0, it becomes unconscious. When a creature's hit points reach a negative total equal to its Constitution score, it dies.
In reading this rule, I can see how it does need clarified further. It says "A creature gains maximum hit points if its first Hit Die roll is for a character class level." The next sentence specifies that "creatures whose first Hit Die comes from an NPC class or from his race roll their first Hit Die normally." Unfortunately the prior sentence by itself would indicate that a creature merely gains maximum hit points for all levels if its first Hit Die roll is for a character class level. This sentence needs to be clarified so it's more apparent that it is referring to only receiving maximum hit points for the level 1 Hit Die, not all Hit Dice.
In my games, at 1st level characters get their maximum HD plus their Constitution score. At each subsequent level, they get half of the maximum plus their Constitution modifier. (Minimum 1.)
I don't use the standard class system, so I don't use the standard Favored Class rules.
I currently use max HD for all levels. I am considering moving to average, however. I'm also thinking of using the Conan d20 rule of static HP after 10th level. d4-6= 1 HP, d8=2 HP, d10-12=3 HP.
Let me know how that works out, please. I used to use max hit points for all levels & max the monsters out as well, but going the average route has worked out well with no need of re-calculations for mobs.
I don't have my Conan d20 books handy at the moment, so I have to ask: flat hit points as indicated or flat hit points + Con modifier? Kinda reminds me of 1st Ed AD&D if no Con modifier is used.
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my players tack full HD for first and second and 1/2 for all other levels i find this works best for me (pluses con and other stuff after )I like that idea of giving full HD on second level as well. I may consider that as a homebrew rule.
It works pretty well give lower level pc a little more play before they run in to trouble
In my group we usually go with:
1st level you get double maximum HP + con modifier.
All other levels, both GM and player roll the HD, player decides which to take.
The first level HP is a variant starting HP rule from the Beta test that we liked and decided to keep.
When I'm GMing, the rule is: Max HP at first level, each subsequent level you only get one roll, but you can step your hit die up and down. So a d8 hit die class could roll 1d8, 1d6+1, 1d4+2, 1d2+3, or in the other direction, 1d10-1, 1d12-2, 1d16-4, 1d20-6, (and 1d30-11 if someone has a d30 with them that day). The negative numbers can reduce your total hit points, so if you roll a 1 on your 1d30, you lose 10 hit points from your total rather than gaining any. Con mod gets added to the roll normally (and if your mod is negative, it's subtracted from the roll and floored at 1 hp before applying the + or - from die size). A barbarian's extremes would be 1d2+5 or 1d20-4.
Since the averages are all the same, it will produce the same results over time as just normal hp rolling, but it allows each person to adjust their risk as they choose.
My group also uses the "average of the dice roll plus 1" when leveling up. This has proven to be both fair and provided us with heroes that are hardy enough.
When I run the game the players can choose between rolling their HP or 'living HP' which is selecting half max HP +1. They have to choose before the roll. About 3/4 of my players selected the 'living HP' the rest rolled. You get to choose at each level. Sometimes people felt lucky sometimes not so much. 'Living HP' is because that is how living Greyhawk did HP.
My old GM used to use reroll anything less than half max. It made for very high HP scores.
Just looked it up, it's flat HP per level, no Con mod.
May have to give that a shot, myself, down the road.