Fixed HP (almost)

[fabio milito pagliara]

reading the conan rpg one thought struck me:

wouldn't have been more fitting to have almost fixed hp?

something like

HP= STR+Cosbonus+SizeBonus(say 10 for human)
around 25-30 hp for adventurers, 35-40 for warrior type, 20 for average human

and increasing only when STR and Cos get increased

has anyone tried this?

 

[Voltumna]

we just use max hps for heroes

 

[Odovacar's Ghost]

Once you reach 10th level, your HPs get fixed to a small amount. Can't remember at this time.

 

[sbarrie]

reading the conan rpg one thought struck me:

wouldn't have been more fitting to have almost fixed hp?

While I've seen good fixed-HP systems, and I've seen D&D games become ridiculous due to high HPs, Conan doesn't need this. The low critical damage threshold (20) ensures that even high level PCs can drop early in a combat.

I have one player who complained that he has over 90 HPs, but never gets to use them! (Although I fixed that later the same night)

 

[sanseveria]

I make the players roll after level 1, and they keep what they get. I included a new house rule that a character, after rolling his HP may choose to use a fate point for an additional roll, but the second roll must be taken. It helps avoid the characters rolling a 1. It has worked quite well for us so far.

SS

 

[sbarrie]

Actually, after the second level I give a minimum of half the die's max. So a d10 gives a minimum of 5 (plus Con bonus). I've seen the reroll method produce two ones disturbingly often.

But again, at higher levels HPs don't come into play as much as they do in D&D.

 

[argo]

1) The massive damage mechanic already handles the "grity" nature of the hyborian age quite nicely I think. Any charactr could go down at any time with a failed massive damage check: even King Conan (remember, a natural 1 is an auto-fail on saving throws). And with the increased weapon damage dice massive damage saves are not all that uncommon.

2) I think that the Hit Point mechanic is actually perfectly suited to a Conan game. Remember, Conan is a game of pulpy swords 'n sorcery fantasy; characters here are supposed to struggle to survive a fight to the death but then bravely turn around and scale tower walls, ride accross broad steppes, trek through a thick jungle and get in another fight all over again and all before the end of a story. HP with its binary status of "fully functional or fully dead" does a splendid job of handling those sorts of antics. If you fixed HP at such an extremly low ammount as you suggest then your PC's would only have the endurance for about one fight per session. Not good for pulp fantasy.

Hope that helps.

 

[fabio milito pagliara]

The low critical damage threshold (20) ensures that even high level PCs can drop early in a combat.

ops, I am just plunging in and I had missed this ^__^;;;;

indeed is quite harsh and appropriate

thanks!

 

[fabio milito pagliara]

Actually, after the second level I give a minimum of half the die's max. So a d10 gives a minimum of 5 (plus Con bonus). I've seen the reroll method produce two ones disturbingly often.

another gimmick to don't get too low result is to give max hp for the first 2 or 3 level and then each level roll all the dice and keep the new resul only if better than the previous (I would keep rolling even after 10 level in the chance to get a better result)