Alternate HP Method

[tricktroller]

Hey Folks of the playground!

I am running a game currently that is a string of modules form 1st to 20th level, but after that I plan to run a new game, and I want to try out some alternate rules.

I plan to make the game Tier 3. No wizards or clerics allowed, Druids will be allowed but there will be changes, the greatest of which is that they will probably not be playable by the PC's.

However one of the things that I have always hated is the Hit point system. SO here are my proposed changes.

Hit points are rolled as a d1/2 Hit +1/2 hit so 1d4 = 1d2+2 1d6 = 1d3+3 and so on and so forth. This way everyone gets at least "average."

Then you take half your hit points rounded up and that is an "Energy Pool" then you take half your hit points rounded down and that is your actual Hit points.

The Energy Pool heals at a rate of 2 Hp per minute outside of Combat. This pool is effectively becoming tired from getting hit, bruised etc, but not actual damage to the character. Once the pool has been depleted you start to lose actual hit points. This function exactly the same way as hit points do currently and if you go below -10 you still die.

There are two nonmagical ways of healing that can be done one for each set of hit points.

Once per day any character can gain a "second wind," you roll half your hit die rounded up and gain that many Energy points back.

Alternatively you can receive a heal check out of combat. At DC 15 you heal 2 points and you heal an additional 2 per 3 points over 15. So 4 at 18, 6 at 22, 8 at 24, 10 at 26 etc etc. You can never use a heal check to bring someone higher than half their hit points.

This way you could worry less about in combat heals but still have to be conscious about your hp total while allowing your healers sufficient time to get back to you.

So what do you guys think? I will post other changes I have in mind as I write them down.

[Fouredged Sword]

Have you taken a peak at the vitality point system from the SRD? A lot of good concepts there. It is a little different that your system, and pairs well with the armor as DR and class AC bonus systems, also from the SRD.

You get your Con score of HP, and what would be your old HP as vitality points. Critical hits deal damage directly to HP, and are never multiplied. Run out of HP, and you have to start making fortitude saves or die.

It makes a big fighter with a high fortitude save rather hard to actually kill. Wizards learn to fear critical hits.

[tricktroller]

No I hadn't heard of that but it seems pretty spiffy. I just feel like that could spell anyone's doom really easily especially at higher levels. I mean a dragon critting you isn't a big deal, but I dragon critting you when you have 3 actual HP?

Or do you mean you get your con mod at every level?

*EDIT* Oh con SCORE? Wow that would be awesome as a dwarf.

[Fouredged Sword]

I kinda like it myself. Never played it at high levels, but at low levels it makes healing a little harder (cure light wounds heals 1 point of HP damage at level 1) but most characters are sitting on 10-20 HP, not 4-12 so it isn't so swingy during combat.

And I think we made toughness apply to HP, not VP, so it was actually fairly useful as a low level feat.

[tricktroller]

That could get messy fast. I gotta say I like mine a little better from that point of view, doesn't give you quite as many hitpoints over the levels and I want this to be a relatively low powered game but I want the PCs to still feel like heroes!


One way I want to do that is only PCs have this HP mechanic. They are granted their boundless energy by fate which helps them to reach their destiny!

[lsfreak]

You might be interesting is this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showpost.php?p=8511125&postcount=11), which has a modified wound system. Personally I'd stick with a -1 at half vitality and -2 at zero and ignore the body part damage, just because of personal preferences, but otherwise it's probably my favorite method of doing hit points (though given I don't play much, it's more feeling than experience talking).

[tricktroller]

Nah I don't really like that method either. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, I think that would just complicate things a lot. The only real complication with my system is that you have to keep track of time on healing up your wounds.

Which as the DM is good because it forces me to keep better track of time and my players will now keep better track of any long duration buffs they might have.

[Fouredged Sword]

My thought is that you should compare the new rule to the touch of healing feat. Free healing up to half HP is something WOTC added mid to late in the development cycle in several places, and is accessible as a feat in some of them.

[Fax Celestis]

That could get messy fast. I gotta say I like mine a little better from that point of view, doesn't give you quite as many hitpoints over the levels and I want this to be a relatively low powered game but I want the PCs to still feel like heroes!


One way I want to do that is only PCs have this HP mechanic. They are granted their boundless energy by fate which helps them to reach their destiny!

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/vitalityAndWoundPoints.htm

[tricktroller]

But that is something I am wanting to do differently, I don't think it should require that the player get a feat to fix the issue with the system.

I know there isn't actually an issue with the current system I just want to try something different.

[Slipperychicken]

Pathfinder has some Called Shot variant rules (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/other-rules/called-shots) which might be applied to 3.5.

Also, being bruised (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruise) is "actual damage": It's basically internal bleeding, and a severe bruise may lie atop more serious injuries like bone fractures and such.

[veti]

If you're going to call them "energy points", then it makes sense that you might lose them in situations other than combat as well. For instance, running. And "going without sleep/food/water" for more than about 16 hours should reduce or remove your ability to regenerate energy points, or worse.

And once you start down that slippery slope... there are game systems where you use 'energy points', or something similar, to cast spells or make attacks.

Just something to think about.

[tricktroller]

@ Veti, That isn't how they work. I already explained that your boundless energy is provided to you by fate because you are heroes. I'm using the word Energy, to explain why heroes are able to overcome ridiculous odds and spit in the face of powerful evil creatures. Only heroes in my world will get Energy points form fate and it isn't something you can fake.

So they won;t be used for anything other than taking damage.

@ Slipperychicken , I understand how a bruise works in real life, what I meant is the bruising of bone and other tissues are less life threatening than say being run through by a rapier. These are minor wounds, nicks, small cuts, bruises, that you can slough off through the energy provided to you by fate.

[Maginomicon]

Personally, I feel HP is a form of bodily "luck" that you shave off every time you're hit. It's a measure of how much punishment your body can shrug off before you're wounded or knocked unconscious.

Thus, I use the Death and Dying variant (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/deathAndDying.htm). What's important to note is that when in the disabled state, failing a "new lethal damage" save results in death. Personally, I also house-rule that when in the dying state, new lethal damage increases the save vs death DC by +2 for every 10 damage dealt to you in the last round.

[tricktroller]

Yeah I sort of died to that variant a few weeks ago lol. Its interesting but I'm not quite sure I'm a fan.

[Maginomicon]

Yeah I sort of died to that variant a few weeks ago lol. Its interesting but I'm not quite sure I'm a fan.

Yeah it can be pretty lethal pretty fast. Personally I also use the Bell Curve Rolls variant (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/bellCurveRolls.htm) which takes a lot of the edge off a number of otherwise-random events. I recall a playtest I did where creatures just... would not... die. They'd stay in the disabled state repeatedly. Later I realized I was doing it wrong. If you're disabled, no matter what you're going to be either dead or dying if you take any more lethal damage. What it does though is give you a "oh **** I just got owned" chance to take the fight seriously.

[tricktroller]

yeah I think I like this system better we tried a similar system to it, but it became that because we had so few HP and so much renewable "HP" we just ran through stuff and never had a problem with encounters.