Hit Dice Features and Strategies of Different Classes in Dungeons & Dragons 5e
What is a Hit Dice?
In D&D 5e, Hit Dice is an important resource for characters, mainly used to represent the character's ability to restore health. Its type (such as d6, d8, d10, etc.) and number are related to the character's class and level.
How to use Hit Dice?
During a short rest, a character can use Hit Dice to restore health. The way to use Hit Dice to restore health is to roll the dice, add the rolled points to the character's Constitution modifier, and get the number of health points restored. For example, a character with a Constitution modifier of +2 uses a d8 Hit Dice to restore health and rolls 7 points, then he can restore 7+ 2 = 9 health points.
Hit Dice Characteristics by Class
Mage
Hit Dice Features: The Mage's Hit Dice is d6, and 1 is obtained for each level. This reflects that mages focus on the study of magic power, and their physique is relatively weak, so they do not have an advantage in terms of health.
Usage strategy: Mages should use Hit Dice with caution. Due to their own fragility, they should try to rely on magic shields, displacement magic and other means to avoid damage in battle. When the health value drops to a low level, and it is expected that they will not be able to get timely treatment from teammates or they have no other means of recovery, they should consider using Hit Dice.
Priest
Hit Dice features: The priest's Hit Dice is d8, 1 per level. As the healer and spiritual leader of the team, the priest needs a certain degree of survivability. The d8 life dice gives it a moderate health value foundation and can continue to provide support for teammates in battle.
Usage strategy: Priests need to take into account both the team and themselves when using Hit Dice. In battle, give priority to using healing spells to take care of teammates. Only when their own health value is too low and may affect the subsequent treatment ability, they will use Hit Dice.
Warrior
Hit Dice features: The warrior's Hit Dice is d10, 1 per level. As a melee core, the warrior needs a strong health value to resist enemy attacks. The d10 life dice reflects its advantage in health value, which fits its combat positioning.
Usage strategy: The warrior can use Hit Dice more flexibly in battle. When the health value drops to a certain level and it is judged that it still needs to withstand enemy attacks in the future, it can use Hit Dice to restore health value in time to maintain combat endurance.
Bard
Hit Dice Features: The bard's Hit Dice is d8, 1 per level. The bard is good at various skills and auxiliary abilities. The d8 life dice allows them to focus on providing benefits to the team while having a certain survivability.
Usage strategy: The bard relies on flexible positioning and skills to assist teammates in battle, and try to avoid becoming the enemy's primary attack target. When the health value drops, it is preferred to use teammates' treatment or its own auxiliary skills to recover, such as ""Healing Word"". If it cannot be recovered by other means and the health value is too low to affect the auxiliary effect, use Hit Dice.
Druid
Hit Dice Features: Druids have d8 Hit Dice, 1 per level. Druids are good at natural spells and shapeshifting, and the d8 Hit Dice provides basic survival guarantees for them in different forms.
Usage strategy: Druids need to combine their own form transformation when using Hit Dice. When casting spells in human form, if the health value decreases, use natural spells such as ""heal wounds"" to heal yourself first. Use Hit Dice when spell resources are insufficient and health value is dangerous. After transforming into an animal form, decide whether to use Hit Dice based on the health value and combat needs of the form.
Rogue
Hit Dice Features: Rogues have d8 Hit Dice, 1 per level. Rogues rely on stealth, surprise attacks and agility to fight. The d8 Hit Dice allows them to have a certain degree of survival ability while giving full play to their flexible and changeable combat style.
Usage strategy: Rogues rely on mobility in combat, and when health value decreases, they will first leave the battle and find a safe place to recover. If your health is reduced by counterattack after a sneak attack, quickly sneak to a hidden place. If your health is low and cannot be recovered naturally, you can use Hit Dice. When facing a powerful enemy or in danger, if you cannot escape, use Hit Dice decisively to increase your chance of survival.
Barbarian
Hit Dice Features: Barbarians have d12 Hit Dice, 1 per level. Barbarians are known for their strong strength and tough physique. The d12 Hit Dice is the largest among all professions, which fully reflects their extremely high health limit and strong survivability.
Usage Strategy: Barbarians use Hit Dice relatively aggressively in battle. Due to their high health and strong recovery ability, when their health drops to a certain level, even if they expect to be attacked later, they can use Hit Dice to recover and continue to maintain a high output state.
How to get Hit Dice?
Character Upgrade
When a character is upgraded, he will automatically get the Hit Dice of the corresponding profession. For example, a warrior will get a d10 Hit Dice for each level he upgrades. This is the most basic way to obtain it. As the character grows in the adventure, the number of hit dice will gradually increase.
The number of hit dice is of great significance to the long-term survival and recovery ability of the character. For example, a level 5 fighter has 5 d10 hit dice, which means that he has more resources for health recovery than a level 1 fighter.
Warrior's sub-occupation ""Battle Master""
Some occupational sub-occupations can indirectly affect the use of hit dice or obtain additional recovery ability through their unique characteristics. For example, the ""precision attack"" strategy of the battle master can give the character a higher chance of hitting when attacking and reduce the possibility of being hurt, which means that the hit dice can be better reserved for more critical moments in battle.
Priest's sub-occupation ""Life Domain""
Life domain priests have special healing abilities. When using hit dice to restore health, you may get additional health recovery due to their occupational characteristics. For example, during a short rest, when a priest in the life domain uses the hit dice to restore health, he can gain extra health for himself and his teammates around him according to his level, which is equivalent to increasing the recovery effect of the hit dice in disguise.
Magic items
Some magic items can enhance the character's recovery ability, similar to providing additional hit dice effects. For example, there are magic rings that allow characters to restore a certain amount of health during a short rest, which is equivalent to giving the character more ""hit dice recovery amount"".
Spell effects
Some spells can help characters restore health and complement the role of hit dice. For example, the ""Healing Prayer"" spell allows priests to restore a large amount of health to teammates within range, which can reduce reliance on hit dice in combat.