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r/DnD•
Axoc

ELI5 Hit Dice in 5e

5th Edition

Please use as little (preferably none) abbreviation as possible when explaining this. I still don't know most of the abbreviated lingo.

I've tried reading all three of the base books (PHB, MM, DMG). In my past games we've done a version of 3.5e that was basically "if we don't understand that rule then it's not a rule" but now I want to actually learn as by the book as possible so that I can join other groups.

I don't understand anything about Hit Dice. I see all kinds of references to them in 3.5e and 5e, but I can't find a thorough explanation. What do they do? What are they used for? I thought I found a decent explanation online that explained it as...

During character creation you take one Hit Die (for your class a fighter it's a d10) and assume you get a perfect roll - a 10 - and add that to your constitution modifier. You use that Hit Die when healing during rests. Then, when you level up, you gain another Hit Die, and roll your Hit Die+constitution modifier again to determine health gained on level up.

Does this mean at level 2 you roll 2d10+con mod, level 3 3d10+con mod, etc? Doesn't that lead to ridiculously inflated HP? How do you "heal" with a Hit Die?

Bonus question: What does the abbreviation RAW that I keep seeing all over this sub stand for?

Posted Apr 13, 2016, 10:18 PM UTC

525
huyzorDM•

So to answer your question. When you're making the character at level 1 you take the hit die, which is determined by class, and take the highest number on it and add your constitution modifier to get your max health. For example a fighter with a constitution of 15 (+2 modifier) will have 12 (10 + 2 from the constitution modifier) hp at level one.

When that same character hits level 2, they will roll 1d10 + 2 (constitution modifier) and add that to their max health. Let's say they roll an 8, so their health goes up by a total of 10 to a max of 22.

The point of hit dice is to heal during a short rest (unless your DM is using gritty realism variant rule but that's a different matter). The amount of hit dice you have is the character level that you have. Level 3 will have 3 total hit dice to use during a short rest to recover health. So let's say the a fighter took 15 damage reducing their health to 7 hp, the group will take a short rest and then you roll 2d10 and get an 8 and a 5. You then recover 13 hp, bringing your hp to 20 total. Those hit die are then expended until a long rest.

I hope this helps clears it up even a little.

6
bubblebooy•

Note: you don't regain all of your hit die during a long rest

After a long rest the character also regains spent Hit Dice, up to a number of dice equal to half of the character’s total number of them. For example, if a character has eight Hit Dice, he or she can regain four spent Hit Dice upon finishing a long rest.

4
rocketwrench•

Does this mean that it would take 2 long rests to regain all of your hit die, no matter the player level?

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bubblebooy•

On odd lvls it would take 3 longs rests, if you used all of your hit die, since you round down. Except lvl 1 since you regain a minimum of 1 hit die per long rest.

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rocketwrench•

AH, so on odd levels, that 3rd rest is only to regain a single hit die though, right? Good to know, this rule always confused me.

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Danny_Montanny•

Don't forget to add your CON modifier to the HD rolls during your short rest. So in your example, the Fighter would regain 17 HP, not 13.

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huyzorDM•

Yep you are correct! Thanks for the correction :)

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AxocOP•

What's the gritty realism variant rule? Or is that something that would be homebrewed?

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Jaxom26DM•

There's options in the Dungeon Masters Guide to tweak the game. Before I use any optional rule, I consult the group to make sure they like and agree to the rule or if they feel we should just keep things the way they are.

The Gritty rule referenced changes a Short Rest to 8 hours and Long Rest changes to 7 Days. It states also that this is better for campaigns that emphasize intrigue, politics, and interactions among other Non Player Characters (NPC's), and in which combat is rare or something to be avoided rather than rushed into.

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huyzorDM•

I don't remember what it's called exactly, it's a variant rule stated in the DMG. I also don't remember it exactly but basically a short rest will be 8 hours long and a long rest will need a full week.

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AeoSCWarlock•

Hit Dice are just another class resource. You get one per level, and spend them as you mentioned, during short rests, to regain health. When you level up, you roll just one, of the class you're gaining the level in, and add your Constitution modifier for your added HP. So at level three, you have the option to roll 1-3 Hit Dice on a short rest, to recover, but you only have 3 total until you're next long rest. When you expend Hit Dice, you roll them and use the number rolled.

"RAW" stands for "Rules as Written", the game rules as printed in the official manuals. Sometimes, when the wording is a little vague or if there are no specific rules about a subject, you'll see "Rules as Interpreted"(RAI) instead.

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coldermossConjurer•

In 5th edition, Hit Dice are used for two things: determining your Maximum Hit Points, and for healing your Hit Points during short rests.

At level one, you take the maximum value of your Hit Die (that's singular) and add your Constitution modifier to it. The sum is your Maximum Hit Points. During a short rest, you can roll the Hit Die and add your Constitution modifier to the result and heal yourself by that amount. When you roll the Hit Die during a short rest, you don't regain it until after you finish a long rest.

Every time you level afterwards, you gain an additional Hit Die (still singular). When you level, you roll your new die, add your Constitution to the result, and add the sum to your previous Maximum Hit Points. In addition, you now have an additional Hit Die to heal yourself with during short rests.

RAW is short for Rules As-Written.

2
bubblebooy•

Note: you don't regain all of your hit die during a long rest

After a long rest the character also regains spent Hit Dice, up to a number of dice equal to half of the character’s total number of them. For example, if a character has eight Hit Dice, he or she can regain four spent Hit Dice upon finishing a long rest.

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coldermossConjurer•

Thank-you! I always forget that it's half.

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thewarehouse•

Honestly I don't know why they call the "healing" hit dice "hit dice" at all. It is needlessly confusing, as far as I'm concerned. "Spending your hit dice" sounds scary and huge, like you're giving away a level for a short term heal. It's a poorly named mechanic.

It might as well be called "rest healing counters" and you get one every level.

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originalginger213DM•

You roll a single hit die at level up to gain additional HP. This will give you a total of 1hd at level 1, 2hd at level 2, 3hd at level 3, etc. That's one die roll per level. I hope that is clear.

RAW, or sometimes RaW means rules as written, basically referring to the rules as presented in the books without additional interpretation.

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AxocOP•

This will give you a total of 1hd at level 1, 2hd at level 2, 3hd at level 3, etc.

Why does your total HD matter?

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originalginger213DM•

You can use them to heal during rests, so you need to know how many you have in your 'pool' as it were. Other than that, it matters most for the DM when setting up monsters. A monster might have 4d10 hit dice, so he rolls that to determine it's HP. There are a few rules here and there for feats and class features that use your total number of hit dice, which is usually equal to your level. There can be exceptions here and there, but they are almost always prestige class-specific. Mostly you don't have to worry about it, other than knowing that you roll only 1 hit die per level.

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coldermossConjurer•

In addition to determining your Maximum HP, you can spend Hit Dice during short rests to heal yourself. Your total HD is the number of Hit Dice you can use per long rest.

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huyzorDM•

The total HD matters because at level 10 you get 10 hit dice and possibly 80-100 total HP if you roll decently. In that case you can roll multiple hit dice to recover during a short rest to hope to regain your max health.

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originalginger213DM•

Example my character has a d10 hit die, and +2 con.

At character creation, I take the full die, add my con mod, and have 12 hp.

Level 2 I roll 1d10 and get 6. I add my con mod, for a total of 8, so I now have 20 hp.

At level 3 I repeat these steps, rolling a 4, add con. I now have 26 hp.

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Euphorbus11•

You have the option of picking a flat number when levelling instead of a hit die which is on average better and more consistent. I think a d6 becomes a 4 plus your modifier.

Hit dice for healing involve taking short rests, you can "spend" a number of hit dice each day to heal that much and they come back after a full rest. :) hope this helps

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[deleted]•

[deleted]

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bubblebooy•

you get all spent dice back at the end of a long rest.

After a long rest the character also regains spent Hit Dice, up to a number of dice equal to half of the character’s total number of them. For example, if a character has eight Hit Dice, he or she can regain four spent Hit Dice upon finishing a long rest.

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SaffellBotDM•

No one addressed the hit die for 3.5 that I've seen. In prior editions hit die were used specifically with monsters, and could be effectively though of as the monsters level.

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othniel2005DM•

also some spells specify a certain creatures with a certain range of hit dice

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