Basic Fantasy RPG Forums

Do the Hit Points for a character remain the same as those that were rolled at character creation? Or does the maximum Hit Points for a character increase when their level increases? If not then is there any way for a character's hit points to be increased?

A character's hit points increase each time they advance a class level.

So, for example, when creating a first level cleric, you roll one d6 for your starting hit points. Let's say you rolled a 4. Your first level cleric now has 4 hit points. When your cleric advances to second level, you roll another d6 and add the result to your existing hit points to determine your new total. Let's say you rolled a 3 this time. Adding them together gives your second level cleric a total of 7 hit points. Repeat this process each time you gain a level.

Do note that when you get to tenth level, you stop rolling for hit points. Instead you just assign the number shown. For a cleric, they will gain but a single hit point upon attaining tenth level. Each level after that, they will again gain a single hit point.

Also, don't forget that if you have a good Constitution, you will get extra hit points for your first nine levels. (The Constitution modifier on adds to a die roll, so it doesn't apply to the fix hit points gained at tenth level and beyond.)

Thank you for explaining all that to me! I get it now.

I will add that, while not by the book, it's always been a very common and popular house rule to re-roll all the HD when a character levels up and to take the higher value. In practice this gives the character a very small survivability boost.

I'm not sure I understand.

Let's say I start with 6HP, the maximum.
At the second level I would roll 2 die and if I roll 6 or less my maximum HP does not go up?
I don't think I would like that.

Maximum hit points is maximum the PC has gained through starting experience levels and additional experience levels gained (and any special consideration such as the game ref having a magic gem that increases it by 1, 2, 3, or whatever when it is crushed to dust). If your PC starts with 6 at 1st level and advances to 2nd level and you roll a 2 then the MAXIMUM is now 8. If the character reaches 3rd and the roll is 5, the maximum is now 13. Groups vary but given how people forget things, it is a good idea to track damage, temporary hit points gained through magic, or such through a different stat such as CURRENT HIT POINTS.

I hope this isn't too derailing to the topic, but someone mentioned a house rule. One house rule that a past DM would use to give the player a better chance at getting more hit points was the following. Upon gaining the next level, both the player and the DM rolls the appropriate die for the additional hit points. The DM rolls his in secret while the player rolls his out in the open. The player then has the choice of going with his/her roll or taking the one the DM rolled.

If they both rolled a d8 and the player rolled a 5, he/she would have to decide to keep the result or gamble that the DM rolled higher in secret. Sometimes the choice was obvious (I rolled a 2, I'm taking your roll) and sometimes it was not. It added a little something to the game plus it made the characters a little bit more heroic as they gained levels.

Seven wrote: ↑Sat Dec 26, 2020 9:22 amI'm not sure I understand.

Let's say I start with 6HP, the maximum.
At the second level I would roll 2 die and if I roll 6 or less my maximum HP does not go up?
I don't think I would like that.

It's not as common a house rule as Tazer suggests; I've never actually seen it done, for example. And yeah, it would suck. It becomes more likely as you gain levels, since once you get a good roll you might not be so lucky for several levels.

Solomoriah wrote: ↑Thu Dec 31, 2020 11:23 am

Seven wrote: ↑Sat Dec 26, 2020 9:22 amI'm not sure I understand.

Let's say I start with 6HP, the maximum.
At the second level I would roll 2 die and if I roll 6 or less my maximum HP does not go up?
I don't think I would like that.

It's not as common a house rule as Tazer suggests; I've never actually seen it done, for example. And yeah, it would suck. It becomes more likely as you gain levels, since once you get a good roll you might not be so lucky for several levels.

Seconded... never seen this in use.
That said, I would never deprive someone of at least adding the minimum 1 +con bonus.

I've seen it in some games but never as a Houserule for "mayor" OSR games
You roll your new HD and if its lower you increase your HP by 1. Hackmaster 5ed gives you a new HD at odd levels and a new reroll at even levels if my memory serves me well.

I would add a new roll to the existing HP and then roll and compare.