Okay I'm just gonna say this first: This is not a serious thread. This is a joke that I want your opinions/reactions on. There are no serious implications here. Okay? Okay. Here goes:
Whenever you gain a level in a class, your maximum hit points increases by your hit dice + your CON modifier. Ergo, if you have a negative constitution modifier, and you have a low hit dice or unlucky roll, is it possible to lose health when you level up?
Could you simply die outright by gaining a level and going into negative health?
Here's an example:
Level 1 Wizard. Hit dice = 1d6. Constitution modifier = -5. Starting health = 1. Wizard reaches level 2. Adds 1d6 - 5 to max health. Rolls a 3 on the hit dice. Adds constitution modifier (-5) to reach -2. Adds -2 health to max health. New health = -1. Dies outright.
Per the PHB: Each time you gain a level, you gain 1 additional Hit Die. Roll that Hit Die, add your Constitution modifier to the roll, and add the total (minimum of 1) to your hit point maximum.
Minimum 1. So no, you can’t lose hp when you level.
This was the subject of a Twitter conversation with Jeremy Crawford several years ago and his solution was just to take the average instead of rolling and risking a reduction in maximum hit points. Later on, an errata to the PHB codified (minimum 1) as the official policy on hit point rolls for level advancement.
If you have an older copy of the PHB, this errata might not be indicated.
You don't roll for health at level 1 though it just gives you 6 plus your Con. While I suppose it could be likely to lose hp when you level up, the odds of starting with 0 or negative hp are looooow considering you'd need at least a negative 6 Con mod.
Level 1 Wizard. Hit dice = 1d6. Constitution modifier = -5. Starting health = 1. Wizard reaches level 2. Adds 1d6 - 5 to max health. Rolls a 3 on the hit dice. Adds constitution modifier (-5) to reach -2. Adds -2 health to max health. New health = -1. Dies outright.
Unless you are rolling d20 for each of your stats, then it is impossible to have a -5 CON modifier (since your lowest stat when rolling 3d6 is 3, giving a modifier of -4; but with standard array the minimum stat is 8, modifier -1, possibly reduced by a racial penalty if you're using them to to 6 [-2]).
Could you simply die outright by gaining a level and going into negative health?
Well, since you said that you aren't overly serious about this question... Yes, a character could potentially die from the loss of hit points as they gain new levels, although you'd have to take a few factors into account:
First and foremost, they'd have to have a fairly poor constitution to account for the loss of hit points at each level. As others pointed out, the character really cannot have anything worse than a score of 3, which would mean that three 1's were rolled on the dice. Poor soul was probably fated to die from the start if that was the case. Score might be low (or lower) if the race has a penalty on Constitution, but 5E seems to rarely go that route.
Second, you'd have to be rolling and rolling poorly for each level to actually be getting less than zero (0) new hit points with each level. With a -3 Constitution modifier, even a wizard would still gain 1 hit point each level if you took the average 4hp gain. So once again, the fates have already decided that this character isn't meant to wander this world for long if the d6 rolls keep coming out as 1's and 2's...
Third, you'd have to ignore the PHB errata that clarified that characters always gain a minimum of one (1) hit point with each level. With the errata, our -3 Constitution modifier wizard, who (despite being incredible Intelligent?) decides to roll for hit points and only gets a 1 or 2 on the die, would still get one hit point... Which seems fair because their luck really stinks and they need all the help they can get at this point.
Now, if all the above points are factored in, then that character could potentially gain negative hit points at each new level over so many levels until they suddenly get to the point when they have no hit points remaining. Guess the stain of dealing with the adventuring life was just too much for their poor heart... Instead of being a 6th-level wizard, they just decided to call it quits and see if the afterlife has anything better to offer to them.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Okay I'm just gonna say this first: This is not a serious thread. This is a joke that I want your opinions/reactions on. There are no serious implications here. Okay? Okay. Here goes:
Whenever you gain a level in a class, your maximum hit points increases by your hit dice + your CON modifier. Ergo, if you have a negative constitution modifier, and you have a low hit dice or unlucky roll, is it possible to lose health when you level up?
Could you simply die outright by gaining a level and going into negative health?
Here's an example:
Level 1 Wizard. Hit dice = 1d6. Constitution modifier = -5. Starting health = 1. Wizard reaches level 2. Adds 1d6 - 5 to max health. Rolls a 3 on the hit dice. Adds constitution modifier (-5) to reach -2. Adds -2 health to max health. New health = -1. Dies outright.
Per the PHB: Each time you gain a level, you gain 1 additional Hit Die. Roll that Hit Die, add your Constitution modifier to the roll, and add the total (minimum of 1) to your hit point maximum.
Minimum 1. So no, you can’t lose hp when you level.
This was the subject of a Twitter conversation with Jeremy Crawford several years ago and his solution was just to take the average instead of rolling and risking a reduction in maximum hit points. Later on, an errata to the PHB codified (minimum 1) as the official policy on hit point rolls for level advancement.
If you have an older copy of the PHB, this errata might not be indicated.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
You don't roll for health at level 1 though it just gives you 6 plus your Con. While I suppose it could be likely to lose hp when you level up, the odds of starting with 0 or negative hp are looooow considering you'd need at least a negative 6 Con mod.
Unless you are rolling d20 for each of your stats, then it is impossible to have a -5 CON modifier (since your lowest stat when rolling 3d6 is 3, giving a modifier of -4; but with standard array the minimum stat is 8, modifier -1, possibly reduced by a racial penalty if you're using them to to 6 [-2]).
Well, since you said that you aren't overly serious about this question... Yes, a character could potentially die from the loss of hit points as they gain new levels, although you'd have to take a few factors into account:
Now, if all the above points are factored in, then that character could potentially gain negative hit points at each new level over so many levels until they suddenly get to the point when they have no hit points remaining. Guess the stain of dealing with the adventuring life was just too much for their poor heart... Instead of being a 6th-level wizard, they just decided to call it quits and see if the afterlife has anything better to offer to them.