# Hit Points Variant Rules The system of Hit points in D&D is one of the failings of the system, for several reasons. First, hit points are too often misinterpreted as a character's literal lifeblood, and losing hit points is often described as suffering a physical wound, even when this makes little sense, especially given that the PHB describes a character as "visibly bloodied" only when they reach 1/2 their max HP. An improved interpretation is that HP represents a character's stamina and ability to keep fighting, and that a loss of HP can be caused by a shallow cut or an over-reaching parry. However, this interpretation still fails to account for the way a real fighter might become worn down and tired after multiple wounds, and can make it difficult for the DM to narrate an intense battle in which a mix of minor and grievous wounds are dealt to adversaries and players alike. Furthermore, the system of a player falling unconscious at 0hp, then having nothing to do for the rest of the battle except roll death saves is simply a bit boring. The following system seeks to correct these issues, and while it introduces a few extra rolls and stats to keep track of, it still uses mechanisms that are described in the Players Handbook, and hopefully adds some additional excitement, new tactics, and some realism to combat. ## The Basics ### Variant HP Calculate your character's hit points as usual, and then divide by 2. This is your new "Variant HP" max. When you are reduced to 0 hp or lower, but not killed outright, you are considered "bloodied." If the provoking attack would drop you to negative your variant HP, you immediately fall unconscious, and begin taking death saving throws as usual. Otherwise, you remain conscious and can keep taking actions as usual. ### Fighting at 0 HP While at 0 hp, when an attack hits you, roll the damage as usual, and use the damage to calculate a DC as if concentrating on a spell (DC = 10 or 1/2 damage taken). Make a constitution saving throw using this DC: on a success, you take 1 point of exhaustion; on a failure, you take 1 failed death save. A critical hit counts for 2 failed death saves or 2 points of exhaustion. You may still continue taking actions as usual until you collapse from exhaustion or die from 3 failed death saves. \columnbreak ## The Narrative These variant hit points represent your character's ability to fight competently, warding off attacks and avoiding serious harm. Damage taken to this pool of hit points can be narrated as minor cuts, scrapes and bruises, stretched muscles as your character twists to narrowly avoid a sword thrust, or sore arms after your shield deflects a particularly heavy blow. From a role-playing perspective, reaching 0 hp means these minor scrapes and exertions have begun to take their toll on you, and you are tired, to the point that you might not be able to fend off damaging attacks as readily. Attacks that land against you when you are at 0 hit points represent dangerous threats in your tired state. Succeeding on the Con save means you barely escaped the brunt of strike, and it cost you to do so. Failing the save represents being hit full-force, and the failed death saves represent significant wounds taken during a fight, such as a wide bleeding gash from your opponent's axe, fractured ribs from the swipe of a dragon's tail, or a faltering heart beat after being struck by a lich's lightning bolt. The adrenaline of battle allows you to ignore the crippling effects of these wounds in the short term, but you will need either magical healing or a long period of recovery for them to heal. ## The Complexities ### Magical Damage When you are at 0 hp, magical attacks work the same as melee or ranged attacks with regard to adding failed death saves or points of exhaustion. Saving throws against magical spells like fireball work differently. If you fail the saving throw, make the constitution save against the resulting damage as usual. If you succeed the saving throw, make the save against the reduced damage, taking a point of exhaustion if you fail, and taking no effect if you succeed. ### Magical Healing When you are at 0 hp, and have failed death saves or points of exhaustion, magical healing can be used either to restore hp, or to remove exhaustion or failed death saves. 2 levels of a healing spell can be spent to remove 1 level of exhaustion, and 3 levels can be spent to remove 1 failed death save. Higher level spells can be split to produce different effects. For example, a 6th level Cure Wounds can be used to remove 1 failed death save (3 levels) restore 1 level of exhaustion (2 levels) and then restore hp as if it were a 1st level spell (3+2+1=6). A paladin's Lay on Hands ability can be used similarly, with 5 hp equaling 1 spell level. Other non-spell abilities restore Variant HP, but do not affect levels of exhaustion or failed death saves. \pagebreak ### Non-magical recovery After a discussion with the players DM can decide whether to hold their characters to a more realistic model of recovery or not. For more realism, characters recover levels of exhaustion as in the Player's Handbook, one per long rest or Restoration spell, and can treat failed death saves as equivalent to exhaustion levels for this purpose. For a faster-paced game, or a game in which characters heal more rapidly, allow characters to recover 1 failed death save and 1 level of exhaustion per short rest, and restore all hp, exhaustion and saves per long rest. ## Special Spells ### Sleep Spells that rely on a target's hit points, such as Power Word Kill or Sleep, can be calculates as follows: If the target still has variant HP above 0, add the variant HP to the max HP and use the result for the purposes of the spell. (I.E. a character with 10 current and 15 max variant HP has 10 + 15 = 25 hp for the purposes of a Sleep spell.) If the target has 0 hp, each remaining death save counts for 1/3 the max HP, rounded up. (I.E. for a character at 0 hp with a max of 30, each death save is worth 30 / 3 = 10 hp. If the character has 1 failed death save, they have 2 remaining, so they have 2 x 10 = 20 hp for the purposes of a Sleep spell). ### Disintegrate Disintegrate no longer kills a target after it reduces it to 0 hp. This effect only occurs if the target reaches the negative of their max Variant HP. However, since it is a powerful spell, the DM may decide that a target reduced to 0hp but not killed by disintegrate takes 1 automatic failed death save. ### Spare the Dying Spare the dying can still be used to stop an unconscious target from rolling death saves. However, since this is now a more rare occurrence, I propose an additional effect. Spare the Dying can instead be used to convert 1 failed death save into 1 level of exhaustion, or vice versa. \columnbreak ## Enemies Tracking exhaustion levels on NPCs would be exhausting for the DM. I recommend the following for simplicity. The DM will stratify enemies into minion, common, or nemesis (weak/medium/strong) categories. * Minion enemies do not use this variant HP rule. They have their normal amount of hp and die when they reach 0. These enemies should be weak enough that they are not much of a threat, and that calculating disadvantage from exhaustion is simply not going to make a difference in the battle. * Common enemies have 3 death saves, and when at 0 hp, they roll constitution save against the damage as usual. Rather than calculate exhaustion, a failed save results in a failed death save, and a success results in nothing. A failed death save also adds 1 point of exhaustion to these enemeies. This way, the DM only needs to track one number, but can incorporate disadvantage on rolls to mimic exhaustion. * Nemesis enemies are major, plot-relevant NPCs or titanic foes against whom the players must struggle, and defeating them should be a momentous event in the campaign. They should be one-of-a-kind, such as a dragon, or the war-leader of a bandit army. Treat these NPCs as players, using all the rules as above. #### Suggestions for non-living adversaries Undead creatures and magical constructs do not feel exhaustion, and they do not bleed. When they fight, they accumulate damage until they are too battered and broken to function. Calculate the HP for these creatures as if they were Minions, regardless of their strength. Alternatively, use the Common or Nemesis enemy rules and describe failed death saves and exhaustion as literal pieces of the creature breaking, such as shattering a lich's gemstone eye or breaking the arm off a clockwork golem.