Average Hitpoints too high?

[Weissrolf]

Was the algorithm for average hitpoints changed?

I mean to remember that in the past for a D8 you would get something like:

Level 1: 8
Level 2: 4
Level 3: 5
Level 4: 4
Level 5: 5

and so on. So since the average of a D8 is 4.5 Hero Labs would alternative between rounding up and rounding down. But now all characters get the rounded up result?

NPCs from the Strange Aeons encounter library seem to be calculated properly, so I guess this is a bug!?

[Mathias]

Yes, the algorithm changed from 3.5 to Pathfinder, but only for PCs. NPCs still use the alternating rounding you've listed above, PCs always round up.

[Weissrolf]

Could you please point me to where this is outlined in Pathfinder? Thank you.

[Weissrolf]

It seems that the rounding up is a Pathfinder Society house-rule? I still did not find anything in the usual Pathfinder channels and PDF files yet.

[Krothos]

Yes, the rounding mentioned by Mathias is a Pathfinder Society rule to allow balanced play between multiple players, GMs, sessions, and locations. It makes it easier for everyone to know exactly how many hit points a PC should have.

The standard rule for non-Pathfinder Society PCs (i.e. at home games) is max at 1st level, then roll the hit points normally, generating a random amount each level. However, there is table variation between standard, max hit points, Pathfinder Society average (mentioned above), reroll any "1", minimum half, etc., because how a particular GM want to run this type of game.

If you're the GM for a home game running with your friends, do what you feel is best. If you're not sure, using the Pathfinder Society standard is a good starting place. You can always change it later.

[Weissrolf]

The thing is, Hero Lab seems to have changed its behavior for average hit points. At least in my memory it alternated between lower and higher value before in order to use the unrounded average. If I want to use this I have to manually enter the values in HL now.

I wanted to make sure that this change is on purpose. Assuming that my memory even serves me right. Still makes me wonder, because other Pathfinder Society options are marked as such in the upper part of character options while the HP average is way down in the general "HP options".

[Krothos]

As Mathias stated earlier, Hero Lab is calculating average PC hit points correctly. The program uses the PFS standard when using the average hit point option, though not sure when specifically it was implemented (might have been when Pathfinder was released). If you want to use the old 3.5 standard, then disable the "average hit point" option in Configuration and manually add the hit points each level.

[Weissrolf]

I am only using Hero Lab since 2015 and remember to have seen the alternating rounding just a few months ago. This was the first time that I even learned about the alternating solution to handle .5 averages. So you may understand my confusion when I just noticed that it behaves different from what I remember. Even more so when there are no rules about rounding up the average in Pathfinder and NPC are all rounded to their true average.

Now I know that Hero Lab handles this the PFS way, even though the option is *not* listed under the PFS section (but general HP section). One could argue that putting a PFS option under a non PFS section is not the least confusing way to handle things.

[Toblakai]

Is the .5 extra HP per level game breaking for your world? If not just live with it and avoid the pain of adjusting the HP's.

[Weissrolf]

It is half a Toughness trait, so it's not nothing. So it's at least a question of how much it devalues other sources of hit points other than leveling.