D&D 5e HP Calculator

How Hit Points are Calculated in 5e

The formula for calculating Hit Points is actually quite generous at the beginning of a campaign.

At Level 1, you do not roll for health. You automatically receive the absolute maximum value of your class's Hit Die, plus your Constitution modifier. For example, a Level 1 Fighter (d10 Hit Die) with a +2 Constitution modifier starts with 12 HP.

For every level after 1st, you either roll your Hit Die and add your Constitution modifier, or you take the fixed "Average" value and add your modifier.

Average HP vs. Rolling for HP

When you level up, the Player's Handbook gives you two choices for increasing your health pool:

• Rolling: You roll your class's Hit Die. This is risky; a Barbarian could theoretically roll a 1, severely stunting their health growth.
• Taking the Average: You take the mathematically rounded-up average of the die. For a d10, the true average is 5.5, but D&D rounds it up to 6. This guarantees steady, reliable health growth.

Most modern tables, and all official Adventurers League organized play, highly encourage taking the Average HP to prevent characters from becoming unplayably weak due to bad dice rolls. Our calculator displays this number as the primary result.

Hit Dice by Class

Your Hit Die represents how inherently tough your class is. Melee combatants get larger dice, while spellcasters get smaller ones:

• d12 (12 HP): Barbarian
• d10 (10 HP): Fighter, Paladin, Ranger
• d8 (8 HP): Bard, Cleric, Druid, Monk, Rogue, Warlock
• d6 (6 HP): Sorcerer, Wizard

The Tough Feat and Constitution Modifiers

There are two primary ways to boost your HP outside of leveling up: increasing your Constitution score, or taking the Tough feat.

The Tough feat grants you an additional +2 HP for every level you have. If you take it at Level 4, you instantly gain 8 HP, and you will gain an extra 2 HP every time you level up thereafter.

Similarly, if you use an Ability Score Improvement (ASI) to increase your Constitution modifier (e.g., from +2 to +3), the game rewards you retroactively. You act as if you had that +3 modifier since Level 1, instantly gaining a chunk of health.