New take on D&D 5e HitPoints
Aug. 19th, 2020 12:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lala_saraHitPoints are traditionally confusing in D&D. Officially they represent your stamina despite 1) constitution already does the whole work on stamina and 2) in roleplaying every DM and player see damage hits cause as actual damage to the body and not to character's stamina. Until they remember that oh yeah, you actually can't keep fighting with actual wounds, so official representation is right, it is stamina, but 1) what healing magic actually do then - is it then just a stimulant and 2) you can't actually believe that all that damage does so little so everyone forget about the official explanation when they roleplay... and it goes in circles. For those who is tired like me from this silliness but doesn't want to change the actual system, I present to you the alternative explanation of the system.
I call it autohealing. Imagine that pool of hitpoints is not your actual health or stamina but the number of healing magic that can heal your health to the full that is used automatically to heal if you suffer "the hit". It's not that hard to imagine circumstances how it's possible in a world with magic. Magic is everywhere, so it is not far-fetched to imagine that every living organism in the world with magic can naturally store magic for insurance like that. It is replenished when you rest? That's because magic is everywhere, and you absorb it. So now the mechanism stays the same but explanation and roleplaying align. You roleplay real damage but autoheal heals it. The more you hit the more you are tired - that's how official explanation fits - you become tired because healing doesn't mean hits didn't hurt. But you are neither die from weariness suddenly not having actually wounded, like in official explanation; nor playing Black "Just a Scratch" Knight when you somehow can fight even on the last hitpoint despite description of a brutal damage (do you notice how when DM describes the damage players deal is ALWAYS real despite their opponents having absolutely the same system like player characters? They rarely remember official explanation in those cases). You are being hit by real damage, and you still are getting tired from pain. When this natural autoheal ends and is not replenished by healing spells or potions you then hit and don't heal, and you can't fight with a wound. But I would change the rules here to roll constitution save every round to stay conscious. Though I guess it's already covered up by some racial traits - coming back with one hitpoint. The instadeath then is explained itself - if you hit in one hit more than your have left of your autoheal AND plus your max hitpoints that means your actual health, you die. When you're on 0 hitpoint it just means you have a wound and dying. The only non-consistency here would be healing after that by healing spell or potion as in all fairness it should heal first the wound and then replenish the autoheal pool. But you don't want to count two hitpoint pools, so *shrug*. I think the most silly is this issue, however you explain hitpoints. So I would count. Only long rest would be better explained as it will replenish autoheal pool, it will autoheal, then replenish again. But I still don't know how to justify "after 0 you don't need healing" like you don't have anything after 0. It doesn't make sense in either explanation.
I call it autohealing. Imagine that pool of hitpoints is not your actual health or stamina but the number of healing magic that can heal your health to the full that is used automatically to heal if you suffer "the hit". It's not that hard to imagine circumstances how it's possible in a world with magic. Magic is everywhere, so it is not far-fetched to imagine that every living organism in the world with magic can naturally store magic for insurance like that. It is replenished when you rest? That's because magic is everywhere, and you absorb it. So now the mechanism stays the same but explanation and roleplaying align. You roleplay real damage but autoheal heals it. The more you hit the more you are tired - that's how official explanation fits - you become tired because healing doesn't mean hits didn't hurt. But you are neither die from weariness suddenly not having actually wounded, like in official explanation; nor playing Black "Just a Scratch" Knight when you somehow can fight even on the last hitpoint despite description of a brutal damage (do you notice how when DM describes the damage players deal is ALWAYS real despite their opponents having absolutely the same system like player characters? They rarely remember official explanation in those cases). You are being hit by real damage, and you still are getting tired from pain. When this natural autoheal ends and is not replenished by healing spells or potions you then hit and don't heal, and you can't fight with a wound. But I would change the rules here to roll constitution save every round to stay conscious. Though I guess it's already covered up by some racial traits - coming back with one hitpoint. The instadeath then is explained itself - if you hit in one hit more than your have left of your autoheal AND plus your max hitpoints that means your actual health, you die. When you're on 0 hitpoint it just means you have a wound and dying. The only non-consistency here would be healing after that by healing spell or potion as in all fairness it should heal first the wound and then replenish the autoheal pool. But you don't want to count two hitpoint pools, so *shrug*. I think the most silly is this issue, however you explain hitpoints. So I would count. Only long rest would be better explained as it will replenish autoheal pool, it will autoheal, then replenish again. But I still don't know how to justify "after 0 you don't need healing" like you don't have anything after 0. It doesn't make sense in either explanation.
