Hit Dice in DnD 5e: A Complete Guide (Updated May 2024)

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When it comes to Dungeons & Dragons fifth edition, understanding the basic rules of the game leads to a more fun and fast paced playing experience. One key mechanic that’s important to grasp is Hit Dice, which govern your character’s overall health and impact your ability to survive combat, exploration and encounters.

For many new (and even experienced) DnD 5e players, however, Hit Dice can also be a little confusing. That’s why we’ve put together to this guide which covers everything you need to understand this unique game mechanic, including what they’re for, how they work and which classes they’re associated with. So grab your character sheet and get ready to roll as we dig into… the complete guide to DnD 5e hit dice.

Table of Contents

• What are hit dice?
• How do hit dice work?
  • New Characters
  • Levelling Up
  • Short Rests
  • Special Abilities
• Hit dice vs hit points
• Hit dice by DnD 5e class
• How many hit dice per level?
• How do you recover hit dice?
• How do hit dice work with multiclassing?

What are hit dice in DnD 5e?

Simply put, Hit Dice represent your character’s potential for health and resilience. Each of the 13 official DnD 5e classes has a specific type of Hit Dice, determining the number of hit points (HP) your character gains when you level up or rest.

Hit Dice use the standard DnD dice set and range from a D6 to a D12 (depending on your character’s class). They aren’t impacted by your abilities, race, background or other factors, and as your character progresses, at each level you gain an additional Hit Dice. For example, a Level 6 character would have 6 Hit Dice.

It’s important to note that the concept of Hit Dice is used as both a reference number that you keep track of on your character sheet, as well as an actual physical dice you may be called upon to roll during certain situations.

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How do hit dice work in DnD 5e?

In DnD 5e there are four situations when you’ll need to use Hit Dice.

1.) When Making a New Character

When you first begin filling out your DnD 5e character sheet, your starting hit points are determined by your Hit Dice. At first level, however, you don’t have to roll anything. Instead, determine what the maximum roll of your Hit Dice would be and then add your Constitution modifier to it. For example, if you’re a Fighter your Hit Dice is 1d10. Your starting Hit Points would therefore by 10 + your Constitution modifier.

2.) When Levelling Up

Starting at Level 2, when you level up, you have two options for using your class Hit Dice:

a.) Roll your Hit Dice: You then add your Constitution modifier to the result. This total number is then added to your maximum total hit points. For example, if you become a Level 2 Fighter, you would roll 1d10, add your Constitution modifier and then add this total result to your maximum number of hit points (aka the number of hit points you would have if you’re at full health).

or

b.) Take the Hit Dice average: With this option, you take the average number for the Hit Dice (which you can find in the “Average” column in the Hit Dice by Class table below). For example, if you become a Level 2 Fighter you would add 6 (the average of 1d10) to your Constitution Modifier and add this result to your maximum number of hit points.

IMPORTANT NOTE: With either option, the minimum number you can get is 1, even if you have a negative update. For example if you roll a 1 on your Hit Dice and you have a -1 Constitution Modifier you would still get 1 new Hit Point (even though the total of your roll and modifier is 0).

3.) When Taking a Short Rest

During a short rest, you can choose to “spend” one or more of your hit dice, rolling the dice and adding your Constitution modifier. The total of these rolls is the number of hit points you regain (up to your maximum number of hit points). Notably, the number of total Hit Dice you can roll is equal to your level. For example, a Level 6 character can roll a maximum of 6 Hit Dice during a short rest.

Notably, there are certain abilities in the game that can add additional hit points during a short rest. For example, the Bard’s Song of Rest lets your regain an extra 1D6 hit points when you spend one or more hit dice during a short rest.

Once you’ve used a Hit Dice during a Short Rest it isn’t recovered until you have a Long Rest (see How Do You Recover Hit Dice below). If, however, your character is unconscious but not in immediate danger of dying (aka at 0 hit points but you don’t need to make death saving throws) you can use any available Hit Dice after one hour of rest.

4.) When Using Special Abilities

In DnD 5e, there are also certain special abilities and spells that may impact your Hit Dice rolls. For example, the Dwarven Fortitude feat allows Dwarves in combat to heal themselves by spending one Hit Dice and using the Dodge action. Similarly, the Aberrant Dragonmark feat allows characters to spend and roll a Hit Dice when casting a 1st level spell. If the number is even, the character gets that many temporary hit points. If the number is odd, another creature with 30 feet takes that amount of force damage.

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Hit dice vs hit points

Hit Dice and Hit Points are closely related but also serve different purposes. It’s important to understand the distinction between the two mechanics when creating and playing your character.

• Hit Points (HP) represent your character’s current overall health. Damage reduces hit points, and reaching zero hit points can lead to unconsciousness or even death.
• Hit Dice are a “pool” from which you draw to restore hit points during rests. This pool is partially replenished after a long rest (see How Do You Recover Hit Dice below).

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DnD 5e hit dice by class

In DnD 5e, each class is associated with a unique hit die that determines the amount of hit points you gain with each level up, as well as how many hit points you can potentially recover during a short rest (see Using Hit Dice During a Short Rest above). The table below shows the specific Hit Dice associated with each class.

Please note we have also included an “Average” column. This refers to the optional rule where – instead of rolling – you can take the average number of hit points when levelling up. For example, if you become a Level 2 Artificer, instead of rolling a 1d8, you would add 5 Hit Points (plus your Constitution modifier) to your maximum hit point total (see Hit Dice When Levelling Up above for more information).

Class	Hit Dice	Average
Artificer	d8	5
Barbarian	d12	7
Bard	d8	5
Cleric	d8	5
Druid	d8	5
Fighter	d10	6
Monk	d8	5
Paladin	d10	6
Ranger	d10	6
Rogue	d8	5
Sorcerer	d6	4
Warlock	d8	5
Wizard	d6	4

How many hit dice do you get per level?

In DnD 5e, your character gains 1 new Hit Dice every time you level up, with your maximum number of Hit Dice being equal to your level. This means a Level 1 character would have 1 Hit Dice, while a Level 6 character would have 6 Hit Dice and so. As there are only 20 possible character levels in DnD 5e, the maximum number of Hit Dice any character could ever have is 20.

It’s important to note that unlike other character attributes (such as ability scores and proficiencies), Hit Dice can never be altered. For example, there’s no official magical items or spells that can permanently (or even temporarily) increase or decrease your total number of Hit Dice.

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How do you recover hit dice in DnD 5e?

In D&D 5e, taking a long rest is the primary way to recover Hit Dice. When you have a long rest, you regain half of your total hit dice (rounded down). For example, if you’re a 7th level character with 7 hit dice, you would regain 3 of them after a long rest.

It’s important to note that the minimum hit dice you can regain is always 1. You can also can’t have more than one long rest in a 24-hour hour period and you must have at least 1 hit point and the start of your rest to gain its benefits.

How do hit dice work with multiclassing?

When multiclassing in DnD 5e, you must track Hit Dice separately for each class you’ve taken. For example, if you’re a Level 5 Wizard and a Level 4 Fighter, you would have five d6 Hit Dice (for the Wizard) and four d10 Hit Dice (for the Fighter).

This allows you to mix and match your Hit Dice and decide how you want to use them during a short rest or when using certain abilities. During a long rest your Hit Dice are pooled together and you can decide which ones to get back. The same rule applies in that you get half of your hit dice back (rounded down). For example, if you’re a Level 5 Wizard and Level 4 fighter you would have a total of 9 hit dice (meaning you could get four back after a long rest). You could take all four as d10s (from the Fighter class) rather than getting back any of the d6s associated with your Wizard class.

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