Health (Derived Attribute)
Health is divided into several elements - Hit Dice, HP, VP and System Shock.
Hit Dice and HD
Hit-Dice refers to the dice used to determine the overall health of a character and, from it, their relative strength. Typically, when referred to in its abbreviated form of HD, it refers to the total amount of Levels or Hit-Dice the character has, regardless of how many Hit Points they currently possess. A 10 HD creature has, unless stated otherwise, 10 Hit-Dices that have a Hit-Dice Size of d8. This means they possess 10-80 HP by default.
If a character has both HD and Levels, as per Pseudoclass, the HD they gain from their Race or otherwise is considered their Base HD and only the highest is considered for purposes of HD; if a character has 7 Levels of Fighter but 10d4 HD, they would most likely use Fighter Levels for determining HP and Base HD for Saving Throws.
Hit Dice Size
This determines the size of the dice used when rolling Hit Dice to determine how many HP a character has. By default, it is 1d8 for 0th Level characters, Monsters and other characters without class levels.
If a character is described as 0th Level or has a HD below 1 (such as 1/4 HD or 1-1 HD), assume they have a d8 HD and then modify it accordingly.
A Hill Giant with 12-1 HD has 95 HP normally at maximum due to having a 1d8 HD Size. If their Hit Dice Size were 1d8+5, this would instead be 12 x 13 -1 HP, for a total of 155 HP.
A character may have multiple types of Hit-Dice. If this is due to a character having HD in addition to Level, their base HD determines HP until their Level is higher than this. Any Level beyond their HD grants HP accordingly.
Divided HD
If a character has divided HD, typically due to Multi-Classing, divide the results accordingly. A Level 10 Fighter/Level 12 Thief, for instance, has d10/2 and d6/2 HD size, meaning for every Fighter level they gain up to 5 HP and for every Thief level they gain up to 3 HP. As HP gain drops to 2 HP per level for Thieves after 10, this is halved to 1. With maximum HP, they would have 50 + 32 HP, for a total of 82 HP at most.
Saving Throw and thac0 Table
The total HD is used to determine thac0 and Saving Throws. If the character has a Class or Levels, use that. If a character has HD and Levels, use whichever grants the highest thac0 or save as given.
For example, a Mountain Giant Shaman is able to cast 3rd Level Priest Spells. This makes them considered as a Level 5-6 Priest, though this does not modify their HD as it is below their 15 HD.
Effective HD Modifiers
A modifier after this adjusts the total number of HP the character has. Every 3 additional HP received from Hit-Dice (but not other sources such as Toughness) increases the character's effective Level for Saves and THAC0 by 1. Inversely, for every -3 HP received, a character lowers their effective Level by 1 for these. Note this only applies to Total Hid-Dice; if a Hit-Dice's Size has a modifier to it, it has no effect on Saves or THAC0.
For example, a Hill Giant has 12-1 HD, meaning that, from Hit Dice, it has at most 12 x 8 -1 HP; 95 HP. If they had 12+6 HD, their maximum HP from HD would be 102 and they would Save and Attack as though they had 14 HD.
Characters with less than 1 HD are considered to have 0 HD for purposes of thac0 and Saves, unless they are multiclassed or have levels, in which case they can substitute HD for Class Level.
Hit-Dice from Level
After 10th level, Classes no longer gain any full Hit Dice as HP. Instead, they gain +3 if their HD Size is 10 or more, +2 if it is d6 to d8 and +1 if it is d4 or less.
Toughness
This is a modifier received from Constitution and it is applied to the Hit-Dice Size of the character, for their first 10 Levels - it continues to apply, however, to HD that is not received from Levels such as Monster HD. After 10th level, Classes no longer gain any additional bonus HP from Toughness. They still suffer the penalties of low Toughness, however.
Thus, a character with a d10 Hit-Dice and +3 Toughness gains d10+3 HP every level. If they were level 5, they would have 5d10 + 15 HP.
HP
HP stands for Hit Points or Health Points. These represent how close the character is to suffering lasting damage - when out of HP, the character is vulnerable and may not even be able to remain standing.
Current, Maximum and Temporary values are listed - when HP is referred to, assume Current HP is referred to. When a character takes damage, their Current HP is lowered. If more damage is dealt than the character has HP, apply the damage, reduce the character to 0 and then do any remaining to VP if available. Some forms of attacks do direct VP Damage or deal Insidious Damage, which damages HP and VP at the same time.
A character's HP cannot be raised above their Maximum HP. If something specifically describes itself as giving a character Temporary HP, it restores Current HP first and then increases Temporary HP.
Current HP is regained by Healing.
Determining Hit-Points
A character begins with a number of HP dependent on their Hit-Dice, Levels, Toughness and the Adventure Style. As discussed above, a character uses whichever gives effectively the highest HP from Base HD or Level.
Character rolls their Hit-Dice to determine HP for each HD they have. If the roll is lower than Minimum HP, use Minimum HP in its place. This is then modified this by Toughness, but it cannot be made less than 1 HP per HD.
Traditional Adventures - The highest bonus a character who does not have Warrior Levels can receive to their Hit-Dice is +2 from Toughness unless they have HD and/or Pseudoclass Levels. This does not alter Fatigue.
Heroic Adventures - Every character's first Level's HD is maximized. Minimum HP is doubled. No effect on Base HD.
Epic Adventures - Every character's Hit-Dice is always maximized.
A character uses the largest effective HP pool they have, so if a Level 0 character in a Heroic Adventure rolls 1d8 and gains 5 HP and becomes a Priest, their HP increases to 8 from the 1st Level's HD being maximized. If they became a Mage, the 4hp they would have is lower and so they stick with 5hp.
Hit Point Increases
A character gains their Hit-Dice Size per Level or additional HD gained. Characters gain fewer HP after Level 10; +3 if their HD Size is 10 or more, +2 if it is d6 to d8 and +1 if it is d4 or less.
Note, a character CANNOT decrease in HP from Leveling or taking a Class. If a 0th Level character takes a class with lower Hit Dice Size and this replaces their HD, their HP will not go down. Instead, they use their initial HP gained from Hit Dice. As such, a Level 1 Wizard with -1 Toughness does not have a maximum of 3 HP but a maximum of 7 (1d8-1). At Level 2, they would normally have 6, but in this case their HP remains the same. Only at Level 3, where their HP would equal 3d4-3, do they increase in HP to 9 (12 -3).
Temporary HP
A character may gain Temporary HP from various sources - usually magic. When a character receives damage, Temporary HP is lost before reducing Current HP.
Temporary HP remains until it is lost by damage or until it's duration has expired. If no duration is listed, Temporary HP lasts for 24 hours. Once the duration has expired, 1 point of Temporary HP is converted into Current HP per round. Temporary HP is also converted into Current HP at a rate of 1 point per 10 minutes of rest, regardless of duration.
If a character cannot increase their Current HP with Temporary HP as it has reached Maximum HP and Temporary HP's duration has expired, then 1 point of Temporary HP is lost per round.
HP 0 and Negative HP
When a character reaches 0 HP, they gain the Critical condition - in this state, all HP damage is also dealt to VP. As Insidious Damage does HP and VP damage, this means that it effectively does double damage. This condition is removed when the character's HP is above 0.
HP can be reduced below 0 but the only effect this has is to make it harder to remove the Critical condition from the character.
Traditional Adventures - Character is Dead at 0 HP, unless something prevents death or some effect has Destroyed them or caused them to be simply Gone.
Heroic Adventures - No change.
Epic Adventures - No change.
Consciousness at 0 HP
If a character hits 0 HP, they must make a skill check to remain conscious and active. This also happens if they take further damage.
The character may make a Hard Constitution Feat or Wisdom Feat check. Alternatively, the Character may make an Average Mental Resistance check instead. In any case, apply half the VP the character has lost in total as a penalty to this check. The effects depend on their level of success.
Succeed by >10 - Suffers no ill effects.
Fail by 5 or less - Character suffers from Dazed or Knocked Down until their HP is raised above 0. Typically the character is allowed to choose. If the character can't have Dazed and Knocked Down applied, increase the level of Stun. If already Paralyzed, they are Knocked Out.
Fail by 6-10 - Character suffers from Dazed and Knocked Down until their HP is raised above 0. If the character can't have Dazed and Knocked Down applied, increase the level of Stun. If already Paralyzed, they are Knocked Out.
Fail by >10 - Character suffers from Dazed and Knocked Down until their HP is raised above 0 and is Knocked Out. If the character can't have Dazed and Knocked Down applied, increase the level of Stun.
Any status (besides Knocked Out) suffered due to HP 0 cannot be removed until their HP is raised above 0. A character who has 0 HP can remove Knocked Out if roused by normal means. If a character regains consciousness, they must make a new check whenever they take damage or perform a strenuous action.
Bleeding at 0 HP
If a character hits 0 HP from an attack that does Crushing, Piercing or Slashing Damage, they must make a Hard Constitution Feat. This also happens if they are at 0 HP and take damage in this manner. The effects depend on their level of success.
Succeed - Suffers no ill effects.
Fail by 5 or less - Character suffers Minor Bleeding
Fail by 6-10 - Character suffers Major Bleeding
Fail by >10 Character suffers Severe Bleeding
VP
VP stands for Vitality Points. These represent how close the character is to dying. when out of VP, the character cannot survive.
Current, Maximum and Temporary values are listed - when VP is referred to, assume Current VP is referred to. When a character takes damage once HP is 0, their Current VP is lowered instead. Some forms of attacks do direct VP Damage or deal Insidious Damage, which damages HP and VP at the same time.
A character's VP cannot be raised above their Maximum VP. If something specifically describes itself as giving a character Temporary VP, it restores Current VP first and then increases Temporary VP.
Current VP is regained by Healing.
Traditional Adventures - Characters do not have Vitality or VP.
Heroic Adventures - No change.
Epic Adventures - No change.
Determining Vitality Points
VP is determined by the number of Base Hit-Dice or Levels (whichever is highest) + Hit Dice Size + Vitality (based on Constitution) by default. The maximum VP gain from Levels is 10.
For example, a Level 4 Fighter with a d10 Hit Dice and a Constitution of 17 has 4 + 10 + 17, for a total of 31 VP. Meanwhile a Level 10 Wizard with a d4 Hit Dice and a Constitution of 6 has 10 + 4 + 6, for a total of 20 VP.
VP Increases
A character gains 1 VP per Hit-Dice or Level they possess, whichever gives the greater value. Multiclass characters divide this between the number of classes they have. Dualclass characters use the highest Level they possess. The most a character can receive from Levels is 10.
Size Alterations
Size has an effect on the total number of VPs a character has.
| Size | VP Modifier |
| Tiny- | Half VPs for every Size Category below Tiny |
| Tiny | -1/2 |
| Small | +0% |
| Medium | +0% |
| Large | +25% |
| Huge | +100% |
| Gigantic | +250% |
| Colossal | +500% |
| Colossal+ | +250% for every Size Category above Colossal |
Temporary VP
A character may gain Temporary VP from various sources - usually magic. When a character receives VP damage, Temporary VP is lost before reducing Current VP.
Temporary VP remains until it is lost by damage or until it's duration has expired. If no duration is listed, Temporary VP lasts for 24 hours. Once the duration has expired, 1 point of Temporary VP is converted into Current VP per round. Temporary VP is also converted into Current VP at a rate of 1 point per 10 minutes of rest, regardless of duration.
If a character cannot increase their Current HP with Temporary VP as it has reached Maximum VP and Temporary VP's duration has expired, then 1 point of Temporary VP is lost per round.
VP 0
At VP 0, the character is almost always Dead - they may only not be if they have something that specifically prevents it. If they are not, they are considered Unconscious and cannot have this removed until they are above VP 0.
VP Below 0 and Destruction Threshold
VP can be reduced below 0, but this only makes a difference for purposes of destroying the body, resurrection and regeneration.
A character has a Destruction Threshold equal to their Maximum VP. It is usually not necessary to write this down, however, as the player can just read their Maximum VP to determine it. Once a character is reduced to their Destruction Threshold, the character makes a Fortitude Saving Throw vs. Death with a penalty equal to the VP below their Destruction Threshold.
On a failure, they are Destroyed. For example, the above Wizard would need to have -20 VP before they must make a save to see if their body is destroyed beyond recognition. A character cannot be made Gone unless a specific attack or situation states that it is the case.
A character may avoid Destruction if they possess a specific trait that prevents (or alters) it, such as Total Regeneration - though usually some other effect is experienced.
Total Regeneration
If a character possesses Total Regeneration, they do not become Dead at VP 0 unless they are dealt damage that reduces them to below 0 of a type that their Regeneration has an Exemption to or something else occurs to void their Regeneration. Regeneration is, however, no protection against being rendered simply Gone.
A character with Total Regeneration receives a bonus on Saves to resist Destruction equal to twice their Base Regeneration per round against attacks that are not considered an Exemption to their Regeneration.
A character with Total Regeneration does, however, suffer penalties to their Regeneration rate when other characters might Die or be Destroyed. If below 0 VP, the character suffers Stunted Regeneration slowing them to half their normal rate whilst if they are below their Destruction Threshold, they suffer Glacial Regeneration, increasing the time per regeneration by one step (1 round to 1 turn, 1 turn to 1 hour, 1 hour to 1 day, 1 day to 1 week and so forth).
System Shock
A character's System Shock is a percentage used to determine how able they are to endure serious shocks such as receiving massive damage, extreme fright or heart attacks.
Current System Shock and Maximum System Shock are listed - when System Shock is referred to, assume Current System Shock is referred to.
When a character is called to make a System Shock roll, they roll d100. If it is equal to or less than their System Shock, they succeed. If not, they are fail. A roll of 1 is always a success and a roll of 100 is always a failure. In either case, they reduce their current System Shock by 10 points. System Shock CAN be pushed below 0% but this only has an effect on how long it takes to recover it.
Failing a System Shock roll always always imposes the Shock (Status) condition - if no specific effects are listed, assume it does.
Current System Shock is regained by Healing.
Traditional Adventures - Character is Dead if they fail a System Shock roll, unless something prevents death. Maximum System Shock is always used - there is no Current System Shock and the value is not reduced by making the roll.
Heroic Adventures - No change.
Epic Adventures - No change.
