Potential Hit Dice Solution

[kmal2t]

I saw another thread about HD and this idea occurred to me. It may have been suggested already, but it could alleviate some of the grumbling about being easily schwacked and it doesn't "break" the existing system.

1st Level (as normal): Max HD + Con + bonuses
2nd Level: Roll for HD with a minimum of 1/2 Max i.e. if your HD is a d8 you roll for HP with a minimum of 4 (so if you roll a 2 its now a 4)..+Con + bonuses yadda yadda
3rd Level: Same as second level but 1/2-1 so the d8 would be minimum 3
4th Level: 1/2-2
After this you should be more than fine in staying alive. Combine this with the ability to choose getting a +1 HP for favored class and I think its workable.

Sound feasible?

[MrSin]

Many people who don't roll already use the avarage rounded up though...

[kmal2t]

There is no real "average" in rolling a dice, but I know what you mean.

Alternatively you could just change the dice for the first few levels.

d6 = 3d2 (coin)
d8 = d2+1, d2+1,d2
d10 = 3d3+1 (just assign a d6 like usual i.e. 1,2 = 1; 3,4 = 2; 5,6 = 3)
d12 = 3d4

May seem complicated but i really isn't.

[DrDew]

Use d4s if you want characters to have good HP but still want some randomness.

HD 1d6 = 1d4+2
HD 1d8 = 1d4+4
HD 1d10 = 1d4+6
HD 1d12 = 1d4+8

[kmal2t]

that makes

d6: 2-6
d8: 4-8
d10: 6-10
d12: 8-12

d8 and d10 seem good but giving min of 2 for d6 seems too low (should be at least 3) and 8 is too high for d12 should be like 6 or 7

Seems more balanced to do: d6 is d3+3 and d12 is d6+6

[Sellsword2587]

DrDew wrote:

Use d4s if you want characters to have good HP but still want some randomness.

HD 1d6 = 1d4+2
HD 1d8 = 1d4+4
HD 1d10 = 1d4+6
HD 1d12 = 1d4+8

A more accurate solution would be:

HD d6 = 1d4+2 (min 3, avg 4.5, max 6)
HD d8 = 2d4 (min 2, avg 5, max 8)
HD d10 = 2d4+2 (min 4, avg 7, max 10)
HD d12 = 3d4 (min 3, avg 7.5, max 12)

As compared to the typical averages:

d6 = 3.5
d8 = 4.5
d10 = 5.5
d12 = 6.5

Though I don't see why you can't just say that when rolling for HP, you take the average for that die (rounded up), or better.

[Hendelbolaf]

I usually allow for them to roll and either take that number or half +1 whichever is better. That means that the unlucky barbarian does not get 1 point on a bad roll at 2nd 2 on another bad roll at 3rd while the wizard rolls a 6 and a 5 respectively.

Barbarian:
1st: 12 + bonus
2nd: at least 7 + bonus
3rd: at least 7 + bonus
etc

Wizard
1st: 6 + bonus
2nd: at least 4 + bonus
3rd: at least 4 + bonus
etc

That usually makes the players happy because they have an up side without much down side.

[Parka]

DrDrew wrote:

Use d4s if you want characters to have good HP but still want some randomness.

HD 1d6 = 1d4+2
HD 1d8 = 1d4+4
HD 1d10 = 1d4+6
HD 1d12 = 1d4+8

kmal2t wrote:

that makes

d6: 2-6
d8: 4-8
d10: 6-10
d12: 8-12

d8 and d10 seem good but giving min of 2 for d6 seems too low (should be at least 3) and 8 is too high for d12 should be like 6 or 7

Seems more balanced to do: d6 is d3+3 and d12 is d6+6

It seems like you're adding 0 as an option on the 1d4, making the minimums too low. You can't get a result less than 3 with DrDrew's methods.

[David knott 242]

What problem are you trying to fix? If the problem is the ridiculous variability of random die rolls for hit points, why not eliminate the rolls entirely? There is no good reason other than tradition to roll a hit die upon gaining a level -- and that option is already well established in PFS and other organized play rules. It is a pity that the core rules insist on saying that you should roll the hit dice beyond 1st level and mention no alternatives as they do with generating ability scores.