Hit Dice Part 2

We’re back, with Hit Dice Part 2 - with even more ways to use your Hit Dice then just healing. If you haven’t read the previous blog post about some additional ways to use your character’s hit dice inside and outside of combat, I encourage you to give that a gander before reading this one. Like the previous article each rule can be used on it’s own or in conjunction with the other rules depending on preference, but they all work well together. This rule-set imagines that Hit Dice are a limited pool of resources that represent your character’s physical fortitude. When you need to run that last mile, climb that last rung of the ladder, leap just one inch more you can expend some Hit Dice to help you succeed, although there will be a cost to your body, whether now or later

Recovering Spell Slots - In Combat:

You’re running out of spell slots and that Litch is getting awfully close to completely destroying your party, wouldn’t it be great to have another Disintegrate or Heal available to you? Well if you really want to push your luck those additional spell slots can now be recovered, with just a “little” expenditure of your own lifeforce.

Magical Ichor: As a bonus action you may expend Hit Dice to recover one spell slot of any level. The number of Hit Dice expended is dependent on the level of the spell slot and is shown in the table below. Once you have recovered the spell slot, roll the Hit Dice you expended and take force damage equal to the amount on the Dice. You can only use this ability during a Combat Encounter. 

Spell Slot Level: Hit Dice Expended
1st 1
2nd 2
3rd 3
4th 5
5th 7
6th 9
7th 11
8th 13
9th 15

Adding to Physical Checks and Saving Throws

The thief is about to disappear around the corner, and you need to take a risky jump to catch them. The cleric is about to fall off the side of the cliff, and their heavy armor is dragging you down with them. The bridge is falling apart underneath your feet and you need to dash recklessly to the other side. Your character might find themselves in any of these situations, and want to exert themselves that little bit extra to succeed, and now they can! 

Shouldn’t have skipped leg day: Whenever you make a Strength, Dexterity or Constitution ability check, you may expend 1 Hit Die after rolling the d20, but before finding out whether you succeed. Once you have declared you are expending a Hit Die, roll that Die and add the result to your ability check, then take double the amount of that result of force damage.

Dive for Cover: As a reaction to making a Strength, Dexterity or Constitution saving throw, you may expend 1 Hit Die after rolling the d20, but before finding out whether you succeed. Once you have declared you are expending a Hit Die, roll that Die and add the result to your ability check, then take double the amount of that result of force damage.

Recovering Once Per Long Rest Abilities

You’re a Tiefling, a Drow, a Gnome or perhaps some other ancestry that has powerful magic flowing through their blood. You can access that magic, but only sometimes and only once or twice per day. Wouldn’t it be nice if you sacrificed just a little of your life force to be able to access that magic again? 

Awaken the Blood: If you have an ancestral ability that refreshes on a long rest and that ability is depleted, you may expend 2 Hit Dice + the amount of times you have used Awaken the Blood between long rests and recover that ancestral ability. Once you have recovered the ability roll the Hit Dice you expended and take force damage equal to the amount on the Dice.

Some Housekeeping

What about mental attributes? You may have noticed that besides spellcasting, using Hit Dice for Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma ability checks, saving throws or other attributes are absent. This is intentional, as expending Hit Dice to fuel or recover abilities corresponds to your character pushing themselves physically to the limits. Many Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma checks happen spontaneously or don’t apply to this rule-set in a way that makes sense to me. However these rules can easily be adapted for the mental attributes if you wish. If you are going to do so, I recommend using the rules from “Adding to Physical Checks” as a baseline. 

Two Different types of Hit Dice? If you are using the Player’s Handbook rules on multiclassing it is entirely possible for a character to end up with two (or more!) different types of Hit Dice and different amounts of those Hit Dice. In such a case the player declares which type of Hit Dice they are using and expends those Hit Dice. The same rule applies when they are recovering Hit Dice, and they can split the amount of Hit Dice they are recovering between the different types they have. (E.g. I recovered 1d10 and 2d8s.) 

So you killed yourself with your own ability... Using these rules it is entirely possible a character knocks themselves unconscious through using these abilities. In such a case the ability resolves before the character is knocked unconscious (they make that final attack, or just dodge out of the way of that dragon’s breath). Otherwise normal rules for unconsciousness apply.

Wrap-up

That’s all I have for now in the way of new rules and new ideas, I hope you found them interesting or inspiring. Play with them if you think these rules are cool, and see what you think. I’ll be back soon with some more ideas about multiclassing. Till then

talis evolvere