Constitution:


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Players Handbook
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AD&&D

Constitution is a term which encompasses the character’s

physique, fitness, health, and resistance. Since constitution affects the
character‘s HD and chances of surviving such great system shocks as
being changed by magic spell || resurrected from the dead, it is of
considerable importance to all classes. Constitution scores of above a
certain number are necessary for becoming certain sub-classes of
characters. Effects of constitution are given on the table below.
It is of utmost importance to understand that a character’s initial
constitution score is also the maximum number of times the character can
be raised from the dead/resurrected, and that each such revivification
reduces the character’s constitution score by 1. Although a character’s
constitution can be restored to its former score, or even raised above this
number, by magical means, this in no way alters the initial score
limitation, nor does such magical change in constitution restore to the
character additional chances for revivification. Thus, if a character has an
initial constitution of 15, he or she can never be brought back to life by a
raise dead or [resurrection] spell more often than 15 times.
Note that a rod of resurrection is considered the same as a spell of the same sort.
The 16th death is final and irrevocable without use of some other magical means such as a wish.


DMG: This character ability rating is a general heading under which folk the character's physique,
health,
resistance,
and fitness.
An individual who catches cold if exposed to a slight draft has a constitution of 5 or less in all probability.
Rasputin had an 18 constitution!

CONSTITUTION TABLE
Ability Score General Information Hit Point Adjustment Hold Breath
(1/3 in rounds)		 Adjustments to Severity and Occurence Die Rolls (Disease) System Shock Survival Resurrection Survival Poison Save Regeneration
2 - - - +2 <30%> <35%> <-1?> <natural healing=1/2?>
3 - -2 1 +1 35% 40% -
4 - -1 <> +1 40% 45% - -
5 Here or lower the character can only be an illusionist -1 - +1 45% 50% - -
6 Minimum constitution for an elf or half-elf character -1 - - 50% 55% - -
7 Minimum constitution for a fighter character 0 - - 55% 60% - -
8 Minimum constitution for a gnome character 0 - - 60% 65% - -
9 Minimum constitution for a paladin character 0 - - 65% 70% - -
10 Minimum constitution for a halfling character 0 - -1 70% 75% - -
11 Min. constitution for a monk character
<Min. CON for an anti-paladin>		 0 - -1 75% 80% - -
12 Minimum constitution for a dwarf character 0 - -1 80% 85% - -
13 Minimum constitution for a half-orc character 0 - -2 85% 90% - -
14 Minimum constitution for a ranger character 0 - -2 88% 92% - -
15 - +1 - -2 91% 94% - -
16 - +2 - -3 95% 96% - -
17 - +2(+3)* - -3 97% 98% - -
18 - +2(+4)* - -4 99% 100% - -
19 - +5** (no 1s rolled) - - ^ ^ +1 -
20 - +5** (no 1s rolled) - - ^ ^ +1 1 point / 6 turns
21 - +6** (no 1s or 2s) - - ^ ^ +2 1 point / 5 turns
22 - +6** (no 1s or 2s) - - ^ ^ +2 1 point / 4 turns
23 - +6** (no 1s, 2s, or 3s) - - ^ ^ +3 1 point / 3 turns
24 - +7** (no 1s, 2s, or 3s) - - ^ ^ +3 1 point / 2 turns
25 - +7** (no 1s, 2s, or 3s) - - ^ ^ +4 1 point / 1 turn

ADJUSTMENTS TO OCCURRENCE AND SEVERITY DIE ROLLS*
 
+2 constitution under 3
+1 constitution 3-5
+1 chronic disease or disorder
+1 severe parasitic infestation
+1 under 25% of normal hit point total
-1 constitution 10-12
-2 constitution 13-15
-3 constitution 16-17
-4 constitution 18

*Bonus applies only to fighters, all other classes may be given a maximum hit point bonus adjustment of +2.

** The additions to each hit die are for fighter, paladins and rangers only;
all beings without one of these classes can receive nomore than 2 bonus
point per die.
The notation "no 1s rolled" indicates that any 1s rolled when hit
points are being figured should be counted as 2s. At 21 and 22 constitution,
1s and 2s are counted as 3s, and so on.

Notes regarding Constitution Table

Hit Point Adjustment indicates the subtraction from or addition to each hit
die for a character. (Hit dice are explained fully under the appropriate
heading.) Note that subtraction can never reduce any hit die below 1, i.e.
if a die is rolled and a 1 comes up, or if a 2 is rolled and the penalty due to
constitution is -2, the die is read as 1 (hit point) regardless of subtractions.
Note also that the only class of characters which is entitled to bonuses
above +2 per hit die is fighters (including the fighter sub-classes paladins
and rangers ). Thus, even though a cleric, magic-user, or thief has a
constitution of 17 or 18, the additional hit points for each hit die due to
superior constitution is +2.

Q: Do constitution bonuses for monks, rangers, and first-level
half-ogre characters (who all start with two hit dice) apply to
both hit dice as well as all hit dice earned after first level?

A: Yes.
(76.64)

Q: Which classes get a constitution
bonus higher than +2 per hit die?
A: To be absolutely clear: fighters (including
rangers and barbarians) and cavaliers
(including paladins).
(144.6)

Q: Do characters still get constitution
bonuses to their hit points after
reaching “name” level?
A: No. Once the character stops gaining
new hit dice, he also stops gaining constitution
bonuses.
(144.7)

Q: When a character is raised or resurrected
and loses a point of constitution,
does he also lose bonus hit
points? For example, would a 13thlevel
paladin with an 18 constitution
lose 13 hp after being raised?
A: Yes, a character who loses a point of
constitution loses all the bonus hit points
that went with it. Note that the paladin in
your example would have stopped gaining
bonus hit points for constitution at level 9,
so he would lose 9 hp. Some campaigns,
rather than subtracting previously
acquired hit points for the constitution
loss, allow the PC to retain his old hit
points but restrict new hit-point bonuses
for constitution to the amount appropriate
for the new constitution. For example, an
8th-level magic-user with a 16 constitution
dies, is brought back to life, and loses a
point of constitution. His hit points are
unchanged, but when he earns his next
level, he gets only a + 1 bonus for his 15
constitution.
(144.7)

Q. Do constitution bonuses apply after a
character reaches 'name level' in a
particular class? (Advanced)
A. Once a character has ceased to gain
HD when progressing in level the
CON bonus (or penalty) ceases
to be applied. The bonus specifically
applies to HD, not to HP.
(Imagine #2)


Color by Tim Galioto

System Shock Survival states the percentage chance the character has of
surviving the following forms of magical attacks (or simple application of
the magic): aging, petrification (including flesh to stone spell), polymorph any object, polymorph others.
Example: The wicked necromancer polymorphs (others) his hireling into a giant roc, with the rather foolish
agreement of the changee; the hireling must make a saving throw based
on his consitution score using the table above. Assuming he survives, a
further saving throw would hove to be made if he was again polymorphed
or dispelled back to original form. The saving throw must be equal to or
less than the percentage shown.
 

Question: Can a character that failed to make his system shock roll while being resurrected still be brought back via a wish?

Answer: Yes.
 

ADQ: Magickal aging requires a system
shock survival check. Does this include
the effects of haste, wishing, gates, and
the like?
ADA: We recommend yes, that any unnatural
aging should cause a potentially deadly
shock. However, the debate still rages, as
yet unresolved. DMs who feel this to be too
severe may modify the result of failure to be
coma, lasting 1 day per year of aging, with
a 10% chance per day (not cumulative) of
death from the shock.
(Polyhedron #25)

Quote:
Originally Posted by mistere29
Somwhere in the DMG is a chart that has age modifers for demi-humans.
The gist of it is that magical aging assumes a human life span. I
f a race lives twice as long as humans, for example, then all aging effects are doubled.

Plus there is always the system shock roll.


Considering the lifespan gor humans subsumed in the game, even an adjusted loss of longevity for use of speed potion is minimal.
As for use of system shock, I never employed that foe the consumption of potions.
In a magical milieu, only a misbrewed potion would be likely to have ill effects on the one quaffing it

Cheers,
Gary

Resurrection Survival shows the percentage chance the character has of
being successfully raised from the dead or resurrected by a cleric. The
score of the percentile dice must be equal to or less than the number
shown on the table, or the character fails to be revivified and is completely
and totally dead forever. Remember that a character can never be raised
from the dead/resurrected a total number of times in excess of the
character’s initial constitution score.


 

* Rangers & Monks get double C bonus at L1 - prespos

UNOFFICIAL
 

Dragon #107a, Defining: A person?s constitution is a measure of
his or her overall health, endurance, and
vigor. Someone with a high constitution will
have fewer colds and headaches, and will
probably live to an older age. Most diseases
are deterred by a good constitution, although
many -- including the highly virulent
viruses, cancer, and nervous system
disorders -- are not. The three most obvious
assets of a good constitution are a
strong heart, healthy lungs, and a good
muscle tone. The heart is the body?s primary
means of limiting people?s activity:
when the heart is too tired to continue, the
person gets tired and will generally be unable
to continue. Although when we cannot
continue running or climbing we usually
say that we?re out of breath, the fact is that
the heart has simply stepped its demands for
oxygen so far up that the lungs cannot
supply it and the muscles. The body is
exhausted, and the runner or climber can
only sit and wait. This is a safety mechanism.
One sports doctor has said that it is
impossible to overstrain the heart, since the
heart controls the amount of strain it will
allow the body to put upon it. Through
diligent hard work, it is probably possible
for an athlete to damage his or her heart by
jogging on and refusing to heed the body?s
danger signals. This, however, is something
no athlete would choose to do.

When muscles are exerted, they begin to
build up fatigue poisons, mostly lactic acid,
in their tissues. Probably everyone is familiar
with having stiff, sore muscles after a
workout; this is because the fatigue poisons
require time to be metabolized. This pain
and stiffness is also a sign that the muscles
have been stressed, that they are healing,
and that the exercise is having its intended
effect. Exercises to build up stamina and
endurance are different from exercises to
build up strength, however. lb build up
strength, exercise periods should be short
and periodic: twenty push-ups followed by a
short break, then repeat. To build up constitution,
exercise should be continuous, but
at a lower level of activity. Long walks, or
jogging, are ideal for building up constitution.
The important thing is to have the
heart beating at a steady, high rate, and the
blood flowing through the major veins and
arteries.

Here; too, there is a sex difference.
Women tend to have better constitution
than men, if all other factors are equal. This
is not something that can be observed in the
general population, for it is still true that
young girls do not learn to exercise to the
degree that young boys do. In America,
women and men are approximately equal in
constitution, but the natural advantage is
on the side of the women.


Dragon #107b, Improving: Jeff says that ?someone with a high constitution
. . . will probably live to an older
age.? Interesting, but most player characters
die of something other than old age, or
else are retired from adventuring by the
time their age itself becomes a threat to
their survival. Nevertheless, it doesn?t
disrupt anything else if you want to reward
someone with high constitution by giving
him more longevity. You can apply a bonus

or penalty to the dice roll on the Maximum Character Age Table (DMG, p. 15), or you
can add or subtract a certain number from
the randomly generated maximum age.

If females have .a "natural advantage" in
constitution, why isn?t this reflected in the
rules for maximum ability scores? The
advantage seems to be a small one, too
small to quantify in a system that uses
increments of a full point. It would be a
misrepresentation of the difference to either
limit males to 17 or allow females to attain
19, yet these are the only two ways we have
of dealing with the issue by tinkering with
the ability score itself. One more equitable
way to compensate females might be to alter
the table of Adjustments to Occurrence and Severity Die Rolls (DMG, p. 14).
If the hardiest women are hardier than the hardiest
men in your campaign, then you might
rule that a female with 18 constitution gets a
-5 modifier instead of -4. You can say
that if a female magic-user casts a permanency
spell, she will not suffer the loss of a
point of constitution, regardless of whether
the spell was cast on a living thing or not.
In these and other ways, a female?s natural
advantage in constitution can be worked
into the game without undermining the
foundation of the rules or getting in the way
of playability.