I'm putting the finishing touches on the latest draft of the character classes for Secrets of sha-Arthan. In doing so, I'm finding myself befuddled by the clearest way to present certain bits of rules information. A good case in point is the presentation of accumulated hit dice by level.
At 1st level, all classes begin with a number of hit points equal to their Vigor (VIG) score. At 2nd level, all classes receive an additional number of hit points equal to the results of a random roll. Additional random rolls are made at every even level thereafter (4th, 6th, etc.), while no new hit points are gained at odd levels. What's the best way to present this?
Here's Option 1:
Here, I only include an entry under HD (Hit Dice) when the character adds something to his total. However, this might make the chart less useful for generating NPCs at odd levels, since the referee will need to look to the line below for the number of dice to add to the Vigor total. It's a small thing, admittedly, but it could be an issue.
Option 2 tries to be more clear:
My worry, though, is that, by including an entry on every line, it might be possible to misinterpret each one as additive to all its predecessors.
Option 3:
This option potentially still has the same potential problem as Option 1, but it avoids those of 2, or at least I hope it does. That's the real difficulty here: I've been staring at this stuff so long and thinking about it so much that I sometimes see problems where there aren't any while simultaneously missing those that might be staring me in the face.
Ultimately, I simply want a presentation that's clear, easy to understand, and useful. I'd appreciate any thoughts on the best way to achieve this.
As long as you provide some explanatory text (as rules usually do) then option #1 is most clear. Options #2 and #3 raise the question, "Do I add my vigor again?" Option #2 is also just too dense whereas the white space within #1 makes it more memorable.
ReplyDeleteAssuming the rules include an explanation of the chart that is at least equivalent to your second paragraph in this post, then I think any of the three options would work just fine.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I suspect that most people would find option 1 the easiest to understand. From a personal aesthetics point of view, I find option 2 to be the busiest and least pleasing to the eye. I also suspect it is the most likely to be misunderstood by people that skip or only lightly skim any explanatory rules.
I actually like the look of option 3 the best, but do think it would be slightly more likely to be misunderstood than option 1.
I went with Option 1 in my rule set (Adventures in the Green, an OD&D retro clone I hope to publish in June). It is clear for players what happens when they level up and GMs making NPCs is the edge case. Plus, if the GM cannot figure that out, maaaaybe they should be playing a simpler game?
ReplyDeleteOne point of confusion: at 3rd level characters add +1d6 to their HPs. at 5th level do they add another d6 or do they roll 2d6 to replace the +d6 they got at 3rd? If the latter, is the possibility of losing hit points a design feature?
ReplyDeleteThe way it's supposed to work is that a character starts with his VIG score in HP at level 1, gains 1d6 hp at level 2, and an additional 1d6 every even numbered level thereafter (4, 6, 8, and 10), for a total of VIG + 5d6 at 10th level.
DeleteThe same thing has me confused as well. For example: at level 4, do you roll 2d6 and then add that to your VIG in total (effectively starting the HP calculation anew) ? Or do you roll 1d6, and then add those results to your previously rolled 1d6(+VIG) (that you rolled at level 2) ?
DeleteEDIT: Sorry, I meant at 2nd, 4th, 6th levels. The question remains the same, though.
ReplyDeleteThe 2nd option is the clearest. Add a sentence to the text clarifying how HP increase with level if you like.
ReplyDeleteThis is confusing. It looks like we're getting 1d6 Hit Dice every other level.
ReplyDeleteAlso, we've been trained for decades to get extra HP at every level. This will be disappointing.
How about +1d3 HP every level?
I think Option 1 would be clearest if you changed the column title to HP or Add HP.
ReplyDeleteI think part of the confusion is your "+xd6" notation vs "xd6". The convention is "xd6" (or in earlier editions, the slightly wordy "Accumulated x-sided Hit Dice by Level" column). The Attack Bonus column is a bonus, so "+x" makes sense, but the hit points are a total.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I find option 5 (2+3) to be the most complete: VIG+xd6 on every line, but decrease the font size of VIG or superscript it below the first line, or write it "xd6+VIG". Otherwise, option 2. It matches industry formatting standards, and anyone confused by it is also going to be confused by the attack bonus IMO (So 4th level is (0+1+2+2=+5?) and there gets to a point where you have to assume people will figure it out.
Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. Please keep them coming. Even if I do not use them, they are all helpful to me in determining where confusion might lie to eyes other than my own.
ReplyDeleteIt is awkward for two reasons,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, you are not distinguishing between HPS and HD.
I would just place a single digit in the column: 0 1 1 2 2 etc, and state that HPS result from Vigour added to rolled HD.
Secondly, you should not repeat d6 in each cell. If HD is always d6 then leave it out altogether. If you have varying dice then put "HD (d6)" at the head of the column.
Yes the column should be 'HP' not 'HD'.
DeletePersonally I'd use 'HD' for the column.
Level 1: VIG
Level 3: +1d6
Level 5: +1d6
Level 7: +1d6
etc
That makes it clear to players & GMs how to generate a PC. If you want a table for NPC stats, put it somewhere else, not in the PC generation rules.
I agree with this approach except that I'd label the column header "HP". Also, according to James, the 1d6 of HP is added on the even levels. In all, I think this format makes it quite clear that you start with VIG and then add 1d6 HP at every even level.
DeleteNote that you have 10,00 instead of 10,000 at level 4.
ReplyDeletedo you have room for two separate tables? one for leveling up and the other for creating a character of a given level? I sometimes find that I'm trying to cram too much information in one graph or block of text and it's helpful to consider whether that graph or block will be used for reference in distinct contexts, and if so, whether separate graphs for those contexts would be better
ReplyDelete+0d6
ReplyDeleteOption 3 is by far the least potentially misleading IMO.
ReplyDeleteFor me, a well-written HD column would be the first example removing VIG and "+". This marks the total number of Hit dice you add to your VIG to gain your HP. In other editions of D&D there is no "+CON" in any column.
ReplyDeleteWith this design you also notice at a glance that HDs are increased every two levels, but if you still think it makes it difficult to create odd level NPCs, use the second column without VIG and "+".
Agreeing with others above. If every PC starts with VIG in HP, you don't need to include it in the table. If every PC uses d6 for HD, you don't need to include the die notation in the table. That means that the column could be named, e.g., "Total HD", and the entries would be: 0, 1, 1, 2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 4, 5.
ReplyDeleteYou could try option 1 but merge the cells so that you remove the blank cells.
ReplyDeleteI would put something like "gain 1-6 HP" in the relevant cells.
ReplyDeleteI like "Option 2". Every row specify a "state" and is independent from the other rows. And that's true for the other fields (level, xp required, attack bonus). Unless you specify otherwise (like "traits acquired"). As someone above pointed out, I'd label the column "HP" too. Alternatively you might label it "HP Gained", and go:
ReplyDeleteVIG
+1d6
+0
+1d6
...
If you change "HD" to "Hit Points," I think Option 3 is the clearest.
ReplyDelete