Author Topic: 3.5 Rebuild Poll Part 25: Roll for HP or Not?  (Read 2232 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

bhu

  • Organ Grinder
  • *****
  • Posts: 6783
  • Convincing the rich whale fat enemas are healthy
3.5 Rebuild Poll Part 25: Roll for HP or Not?
« on: November 05, 2009, 08:55:23 AM »
If you were rebuilding 3.5, how would you handle how many HP Pc's get?
« Last Edit: November 18, 2009, 05:59:12 AM by bhu »

RobbyPants

  • Organ Grinder
  • *****
  • Posts: 7139
Re: 3.5 Rebuild Poll Part 25
« Reply #1 on: November 05, 2009, 09:30:41 AM »
I like randomly rolling for HP, but I can see where it's a problem.  All of the people I've played with want to roll for HP too.  The method I like is a hybrid approach:

Before the player rolls their hit die, they have a choice at accepting the average result, or they roll the die.  Once they roll the die, they have to stick with that result.  So, for people who don't want the risk of low HP, they don't have to roll.

Also, I've often used variants on rolling (such as getting the average result if you roll lower), so if I were using a hybrid method, I'd have to recalculate the average result.
My balancing 3.5 compendium
Elemental mage test game

Quotes
[spoiler]
Quote from: Cafiend
It is a shame stupidity isn't painful.
Quote from: StormKnight
Totally true.  Historians believe that most past civilizations would have endured for centuries longer if they had successfully determined Batman's alignment.
Quote from: Grand Theft Otto
Why are so many posts on the board the equivalent of " Dear Dr. Crotch, I keep punching myself in the crotch, and my groin hurts... what should I do? How can I make my groin stop hurting?"
Quote from: CryoSilver
I suggest carving "Don't be a dick" into him with a knife.  A dull, rusty knife.  A dull, rusty, bent, flaming knife.
Quote from: Seerow
Fluffy: It's over Steve! I've got the high ground!
Steve: You underestimate my power!
Fluffy: Don't try it, Steve!
Steve: *charges*
Fluffy: *three critical strikes*
Steve: ****
Quote from: claypigeons
I don't even stat out commoners. Commoner = corpse that just isn't a zombie. Yet.
Quote from: CryoSilver
When I think "Old Testament Boots of Peace" I think of a paladin curb-stomping an orc and screaming "Your death brings peace to this land!"
Quote from: Orville_Oaksong
Buy a small country. Or Pelor. Both are good investments.
[/spoiler]

j0lt

  • Hong Kong
  • ****
  • Posts: 1317
  • Browncoat
Re: 3.5 Rebuild Poll Part 25
« Reply #2 on: November 05, 2009, 10:49:01 AM »
My Saga GM uses both rolled and average.  Since there are only two players, he gets us to roll, but if we roll below average we just get average.  That way all HD are average or better.
PbP Games
The Artifact (prologue) as Dr. Henry Loder, Mayan archaeologist


RobbyPants

  • Organ Grinder
  • *****
  • Posts: 7139
Re: 3.5 Rebuild Poll Part 25
« Reply #3 on: November 05, 2009, 11:05:55 AM »
My Saga GM uses both rolled and average.  Since there are only two players, he gets us to roll, but if we roll below average we just get average.  That way all HD are average or better.
That's what I've been doing lately, and the players seem to like it.  They get the thrill of a good roll without getting hosed on a bad roll.
My balancing 3.5 compendium
Elemental mage test game

Quotes
[spoiler]
Quote from: Cafiend
It is a shame stupidity isn't painful.
Quote from: StormKnight
Totally true.  Historians believe that most past civilizations would have endured for centuries longer if they had successfully determined Batman's alignment.
Quote from: Grand Theft Otto
Why are so many posts on the board the equivalent of " Dear Dr. Crotch, I keep punching myself in the crotch, and my groin hurts... what should I do? How can I make my groin stop hurting?"
Quote from: CryoSilver
I suggest carving "Don't be a dick" into him with a knife.  A dull, rusty knife.  A dull, rusty, bent, flaming knife.
Quote from: Seerow
Fluffy: It's over Steve! I've got the high ground!
Steve: You underestimate my power!
Fluffy: Don't try it, Steve!
Steve: *charges*
Fluffy: *three critical strikes*
Steve: ****
Quote from: claypigeons
I don't even stat out commoners. Commoner = corpse that just isn't a zombie. Yet.
Quote from: CryoSilver
When I think "Old Testament Boots of Peace" I think of a paladin curb-stomping an orc and screaming "Your death brings peace to this land!"
Quote from: Orville_Oaksong
Buy a small country. Or Pelor. Both are good investments.
[/spoiler]

Midnight_v

  • Organ Grinder
  • *****
  • Posts: 2660
  • Dulce et decorum est pro alea mori.
Re: 3.5 Rebuild Poll Part 25
« Reply #4 on: November 05, 2009, 11:06:59 AM »
Balance says Static bonus. I like the method of 1hd then half of that +.5 every level. +con.
I would like to just outright the ability to cheat as much as possible.

I'm suprised people still roll each level. How shitty for a warblad to get to level 2 and gain 1 hd from his die.
Monsters won't advacne like that. Pc's can't either really. . .
\\\"Disentegrate.\\\" \\\"Gust of wind.\\\" \\\"Now Can we PLEASE resume saving the world?\\\"

veekie

  • Organ Grinder
  • *****
  • Posts: 9034
  • WARNING: Homing Miko
Re: 3.5 Rebuild Poll Part 25
« Reply #5 on: November 05, 2009, 11:41:52 AM »
Balance says static, but heart says rolled here. I'll go with balance and see how the crowd calls.
The mind transcends the body.
It's also a little cold because of that.
Please get it a blanket.

I wish I could read your mind,
I can barely read mine.

"Skynet begins to learn at a geometric rate. It becomes self-aware at 2:14 a.m. Eastern time, August 29th. At 2:15, it begins rolling up characters."

[spoiler]
"Just what do you think the moon up in the sky is? Everyone sees that big, round shiny thing and thinks there must be something round up there, right? That's just silly. The truth is much more awesome than that. You can almost never see the real Moon, and its appearance is death to humans. You can only see the Moon when it's reflected in things. And the things it reflects in, like water or glass, can all be broken, right? Since the moon you see in the sky is just being reflected in the heavens, if you tear open the heavens it's easy to break it~"
-Ibuki Suika, on overkill

To sumbolaion diakoneto moi, basilisk ouranionon.
Epigenentheto, apoleia keraune hos timeis pteirei.
Hekatonkatis kai khiliakis astrapsato.
Khiliarkhou Astrape!
[/spoiler]

There is no higher price than 'free'.

"I won't die. I've been ordered not to die."

tallan

  • Ring-Tailed Lemur
  • **
  • Posts: 67
    • Email
Re: 3.5 Rebuild Poll Part 25
« Reply #6 on: November 05, 2009, 11:56:21 AM »
How my dm usually does it is max at first and each level we reroll our hp, keeping our previous total if the new result is lower than it. This seems to work fairly well. Static is simpler, but less personal.
Deep in the tomb of indelible gloom, an angel waits to die.
High on the peak, where only fools seek, a dragon tried to get high.
To which one we go, well f*ck if I know, the point is to question why.

Bauglir

  • Man in Gorilla Suit
  • *****
  • Posts: 2346
  • TriOptimum
Re: 3.5 Rebuild Poll Part 25
« Reply #7 on: November 05, 2009, 12:48:38 PM »
I've gotta go for static. Rolling does have a nice thrill aspect, but I don't think any part of character creation should be determined by chance, period. I'm interested in a system where people can play the characters they want, rather than what the dice say, and not getting shafted by HP rolls is part of that. Even in a "roll or take average" system, you still can get shafted relative to other party members.
So you end up stuck in an endless loop, unable to act, forever.

In retrospect, much like Keanu Reeves.

dman11235

  • Grape ape
  • *****
  • Posts: 1544
    • Email
Re: 3.5 Rebuild Poll Part 25
« Reply #8 on: November 05, 2009, 05:18:47 PM »
ONe of a number of methods provided to customize build play for anyone who wants it.  Give the options of roll, static, roll/static taking the best, roll twice take the better, take the lower, take the average, etc.  They all have benefits.
Of course, assuming HP is what it was in 3.5.
My sig's Handy Haversack: Need help?  Want to see what I've done?  Want to see what others have done well?  Check it out.

DaveoftheRave

  • Barbary Macaque at the Rock of Gibraltar
  • ***
  • Posts: 167
Re: 3.5 Rebuild Poll Part 25
« Reply #9 on: November 05, 2009, 08:19:55 PM »
How my dm usually does it is max at first and each level we reroll our hp, keeping our previous total if the new result is lower than it. This seems to work fairly well. Static is simpler, but less personal.

That is a neat system.

Pteryx

  • Ring-Tailed Lemur
  • **
  • Posts: 80
Re: 3.5 Rebuild Poll Part 25
« Reply #10 on: November 05, 2009, 09:46:07 PM »
I personally feel that some of what made damage-dealing so low in value in 3.x as opposed to earlier editions was that HP gain no longer changes at higher levels/HD -- as though capping spell damage output didn't do enough on its own, and as though melee damage-dealing actually scaled appreciably.  Perhaps halve the HP you'd otherwise gain (Con mod included) after the tenth Hit Die?

As for the bottom, were I rethinking things seriously, I'd probably build around the assumption that 1 Hit Die is the purview of young noncombatants as far as humanoids go.  A 1 HD member of a PC class should be an apprentice, still playing with cantrips or getting used to medium armor in preparation for moving around in heavy -- in short, level 0.  -- Pteryx

dman11235

  • Grape ape
  • *****
  • Posts: 1544
    • Email
Re: 3.5 Rebuild Poll Part 25
« Reply #11 on: November 06, 2009, 01:21:21 AM »
Naw, I think that was just a problem of improper scaling on the part of spells.  HP amount wasn't the problem, the problem was what HP did and what things that didn't target HP could do.  By changing the scaling things would, obviously, change.
My sig's Handy Haversack: Need help?  Want to see what I've done?  Want to see what others have done well?  Check it out.

saintx

  • Ring-Tailed Lemur
  • **
  • Posts: 23
  • during a zombie attack, please follow me
    • myspace
Re: 3.5 Rebuild Poll Part 25
« Reply #12 on: November 12, 2009, 03:38:47 PM »
the local games ive played in have used two variants...
the first is that at each level, roll twice and take the higher.
the other we call vegas style:
roll the die. if you dont like the result, roll again but your max is one less. repeat as desired.
so, a barb reaching 2nd lv rolls a 5 and decides to reroll. now he rolls a 12 but 11 is his new cap. so he gets 11.