HP and the Hit dice, to random, or not to random

[rorek55]

I have played several campaigns and ran a few of my own.

the most hilarious part in one with randomized hp (bar con mod)was when the groups sorc. had about as much hp as the groups fighter. (was about 20 less at level 9 or 10, can't quite recall)

when I run games, I use max hp, for PCs, NPCs and monsters, I noticed it "does" lengthen fights, allows everyone to participate and keeps deaths due to lucky crits lower, (really, a PC dying to a lucky NPC crit is just lame, PC death is fine, but to that? its almost like drowning to death)

I wanted to get other peoples thoughts on the HP system, and whether or not you run full hp.

from my view this makes HD matter more. It lengthens fights, (allowing that rogue to actually GET a full attack) and emphasizes the difference between a barbarians HD and a wizards.

[Akerlof]

I like half rounded up. A sorcerer has d6 hit die, so 1+6/2=3.5 which rounds to 4, giving them 4+Con a level. That keeps bad rolls from murdering a character. It can make the difference between characters seem smaller, though, since a Fighter only gets 2 more HP/level than a Sorcerer where he could potentially end up with 9 more than the sorcerer on a level if you roll. But it protects from the Fighter ending up with 5 fewer than the Sorcerer as well.

Max HP at first level, or even the first 2-3 levels is a good idea, too, since HP pools are so low that a high damage roll can KO a PC or even lead to a TPK. It allows you to actually use enemies with two handed weapons.

[N. Jolly]

I honestly just max HP, it makes the difference between the HD that much more wide, and gives more value to a higher hit die. I know what it's like to roll a 1 on an HP roll, and it sucks that my character is gimped due to one bad roll like that.

[Zhayne]

I use the average HP rule; max at 1st, half-round-down at even levels, half-round-up at odd levels. I don't believe any aspect of character creation or advancement should be randomized.

[Drannor Hawksley]

I play with max first hit die, and reroll 1s for everything after. I have seriously considered just using max hit die though, as it seems that classes with a higher hit die shouldn't just gain that benefit if they're lucky.

[Imbicatus]

When you roll HP, you either wind up with Barbarians with the same hp as wizards, or you wind up with characters who "luckily" always roll within two points of max hp.

Having a set amount per level means less bookkeeping, makes negative levels easier to deal with, and stops wizards and commoners from having more hp than fighters and barbarians.

As for the actual amount you give per level, it depends on the style of game you are running, how big the party is, and how much healing the PCs have available. Half rounded up is good for a well balanced party, and Max is good for a small party.

[MC Templar]

My groups have evolved through a few different options.

We were serving two criteria for HD rules
1- don't make the GM do more work modifying every monster's stat block
2- protect the PCs against the possibility of a few abysmal HD rolls rendering a character unplayable (at least one player was actively trying to get his frontliner character killed so he could replace it after bad HP rolls at 2nd and 3rd lvl, which was creating story issues.

* In 3.5 Eberron we liberally used action pts for HD rolls
* We tested an auto re-roll system based on HD
(D6 rerolls 1s, D8 1-2, D10 1-3, D12 1-4)
* We settled on was minimum hps was half hit die, you get 1 roll and lowest it can be is half (D4=2, D6=3, D8=4, D10=5, D12=6)

The last one allowed the roll to matter, good rolls to be beneficial, and bad rolls to not be crippling. It provides a safety net for a player and still makes a Barbarian rolling a 12 feel like he accomplished something useful.

That is what we are presently using, as it met our criteria.

[catdragon]

I use greed rolls.

Before i explain that, at 1st level the characters always get max hps.

At 2nd and high levels, the player rolls. If he doesn't like what he rolls, he can roll again. But of the 2nd die roll is less than or equal to the first roll, that's it. No more rolls and that is what the character gains at that level. So theoretically the character can roll his character's hit die over and over until he hits max hp.

However, the odds are against him.

And that, my friends, is why i call it greed rolls.

[Deadmanwalking]

I do the same thing as PFS, with half-rounded up (4 per level for Wizards, 7 for Barbarians, etc.). Seems solid, and I hate rolling dice to determine how good my character is. I don't mind rolling to see how well he does, but rolling for HP has always seemed to me to be the same kind of thing as rolling a d6 each for what level you are, not as severe, of course, but the same kinda thing.

[Johnico]

In my current campaign, I have it so that the player rolls once, and if it's less than half their hit die they roll again, keeping the better of the two. Allows for, but greatly diminishes the odds of, low HP rolls.

When we get closer to finishing this campaign, I'm gonna ask them how the group would feel switching to static HP gains at each level. Not sure what formula I'd wanna use. I'm thinking either 1/2 HD +1, or .75 HD round up. So d6 would be 5, d8 would be 6, d10 would be 8, and d12 would be 9, with the latter.

[bfobar]

I use the PFS method. I've seen really interesting characters terminally gimped by rolling 1s for hp 3 levels in a row.

I am considering the max HP method for everything though since optimized builds can do a ton of damage these days.

[Touc]

Hit points can change how a gamer plays a character. A fighter worried about being "one-shotted" might invest more heavily in defensive gear rather than throwing caution to the wind with a two-handed build. A caster with low hit points might be more aware of having mirror images ready at all times. Random hit points can lead to a more random style of play, which has its pros and cons. Bad if you are "building" a particular style of character, good if you are willing to handle a challenge of a lower hp character (though this is lessened if you allow retraining of hit points).

For levels beyond 1st, I use a reroll/minimum system. You get one reroll on a low roll and are guaranteed the highest reroll number as below no matter what the 2nd roll is.

d6 = reroll 1.
d8 = 1,2.
d10 = 1,2,3
d12 = 1,2,3,4

[Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan]

I have used a competitive rolling method of GM rolling against the player. This ensures that the rolls are done in front of the GM, but it is done to the advantage of the PC.

Max HP at first level per RAW.

At subsequent levels, GM and Player each roll. The character is given the higher of the two rolls, and in the event of a tie, the PC is given max HP.

This provides the following averages:

d6 = 4.9 HP per level

d8 = 6.25 HP per level

d10 = 7.6 HP per level

d12 = 8.9 HP per level

This doesn't cheapen the difference between a d6 and a d12, but it doesn't completely ruin the randomness of HPs either.

[Vorpal Laugh]

When I first started playing pathfinder we used roll and if less than half then you get half the max. Now, new GMs, but same group, we do keep rolling till you get half or better. Max hp at 1st always.