Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Lord_Malachi 03-06-08, 11:09 AM	I have a dwarven fighter who had a 19 constitution at 1st level (+4 bonus). He is now 4th level and I raised his constitution to 20 (+5 bonus). My DM claims that I do not get a retroactive hit point boost (he used the intelligence/skill points example), yet if for some reason my constitution were lowered (drained, etc.) I would retroactively lose hit points. This doesn't sound right to me. My reading of the PHB is that previous level skill points from intelligence are the only thing not effected by a stat increase. Am I right?
Jutter 03-06-08, 11:15 AM	You get retroactive hit points when you raise your constitution score. Your DM is... less right than you are :)
Tisi 03-06-08, 11:26 AM	I'm not 100% on this, since I don't see in the PHB any mention for Con (but I'm not looking that hard). You automatically gain more HP when you level up each time, though, so I can see why you would not be gaining more upon a stat increase. Does your fighter gain HP when you have Bear's Endurance cast on himself? It gives a +4 Con, but you don't get additional HP from it. EDIT: Jutter, can you tell me where that is in the PHB? This is something I'd like to read more into.
Seeker95 03-06-08, 11:42 AM	You do not get retroactive hit points. The ones you had a year ago are gone. The ones you healed are here. But your DM is wrong, regardless. Con explicitly affects your *current* and *current max* hit points. Part of that equation includes your *current* character level. Max hit points = [(hit dice rolls at each level) + (Con Mod)*(Character Level)] If your Con mod goes up, your current max hit points go up.
Zherog 03-06-08, 11:43 AM	Here's the easiest place to find it: When a character takes Constitution damage (such as from a wyvern’s poison) and his Con modifier changes, what happens to his hit points? Does it simply lower his maximum hp, or does it reduce his current hit points too? A character whose Constitution modifier changes adjusts both his current and full normal (maximum) hit point totals accordingly. Remember that your full normal hit point total can’t be less than 1 per level (since even a Con penalty can’t reduce your Hit Die roll to less than 1). An injured character who takes Constitution damage can be reduced to 0 or fewer hit points. The page number is likely to be different in the current version, but that's the only version I had handy at the moment.
Lord_Malachi 03-06-08, 11:45 AM	Tisi, p.9 PHB has the constitution description, p.10 PHB describes changing ability scores (and includes the bit about not getting retroactive skill points for an intelligence boost). Also, Bear's Endurance (p. 203 PHB) mentions that you gain hit points until the spell wears off at which time they are subtracted.
Prof. Pacali 03-06-08, 11:46 AM	I have a dwarven fighter who had a 19 constitution at 1st level (+4 bonus). He is now 4th level and I raised his constitution to 20 (+5 bonus). My DM claims that I do not get a retroactive hit point boost (he used the intelligence/skill points example), yet if for some reason my constitution were lowered (drained, etc.) I would retroactively lose hit points. This doesn't sound right to me. My reading of the PHB is that previous level skill points from intelligence are the only thing not effected by a stat increase. Am I right? Yes. Your DM is wrong - an increase in Con (even a temporary increase, such as from Barbarian Rage, a Bear's Endurance Spell or a +2 Amulet of Health) increases your HP.
Tisi 03-06-08, 11:52 AM	Ah! Thanks for the clarification! I was failing to make the distinction between temp HP and real HP gained for the short amount of time.
Lord_Malachi 03-06-08, 12:10 PM	So, just to clarify, when my Con goes up from 19 to 20 at 4th level I should receive my die roll (d10) +5 hp for advancing to 4th level. I should also receive an additional 3 hp retroactive for levels 1-3 because my new Con modifier is +5 instead of +4. Correct? By the way, thanks for the help everyone! Also, totally unrelated is this - last night I was surfing cable channels and came across the anti-D&D movie "Mazes and Monsters" starring Tom Hanks. I thought this was odd given the very recent death of Gary Gygax. Coinsidence? You be the judge...
Azezel 03-06-08, 12:45 PM	I should also receive an additional 3 hp retroactive for levels 1-3 because my new Con modifier is +5 instead of +4. Correct? Yes you should. That is correct. However, your DM is within his rights to say 'Not in my game, squire'. All we can do is tell you the RAW.
Zherog 03-06-08, 12:49 PM	By the way, thanks for the help everyone! Also, totally unrelated is this - last night I was surfing cable channels and came across the anti-D&D movie "Mazes and Monsters" starring Tom Hanks. I thought this was odd given the very recent death of Gary Gygax. Coinsidence? You be the judge... Maybe. It's also possible that the channel had it scheduled a month ago. *shrug*