Eleanor Finch
In Dungeons & Dragons, a character's Constitution score is a measure of their health, stamina, and vital force. It determines how many times a character can get hit and their ability to push themselves beyond their normal limits. Constitution is one of the six primary ability scores in the game and is one of three physical scores, along with Strength and Dexterity. While Constitution does not directly add bonuses to a character's ability to hit someone or increase damage, it does increase a character's hit points (HP) and HP recovery. Players can increase their Constitution score by using Half-Feats like Tavern Brawler, Chef, and Durable, or exclusive feats like Orcish Fury, Infernal Constitution, and Dwarven Fortitude.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Constitution score | Measures health, stamina, and vital force |
| Constitution checks | Uncommon, no skills apply |
| Constitution modifier | Contributes to hit points |
| Hit points | Increase with Constitution score |
| Constitution saves | Common and vital to character success |
| HP recovery | Increases with Constitution |
| Constitution abilities | Contribute to class and species abilities |
| Constitution bonus | Depends on Constitution score |
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What You'll Learn
Constitution score and health
Constitution (CON) is a measure of a character's health, stamina, and vital force. It represents how tough a character is and their ability to endure pain, take damage, and resist the effects of poison, disease, and other maladies. It also determines how long a character can hold their breath, how far they can travel without rest, and how long they can go without sleep.
A character's Constitution score directly affects their health and vitality, including their hit points (HP) and HP recovery. Every two points in Constitution stat after 10 (+0) increases the bonus by +1. For example, a Fighter with a Constitution of 16 (bonus of +3) has 13 hit points at level 1. The less sturdy your class is, the bigger the difference a bonus will make.
There are several ways to increase your Constitution score and gain additional hit points. One way is to choose "Half-Feats" like Tavern Brawler, Chef, and Durable, which not only increase Constitution but also provide additional benefits. Exclusive feats like Orcish Fury, Infernal Constitution, and Dwarven Fortitude offer unique advantages based on your character's species.
Another way to improve your Constitution is by choosing feats that allow you to increase your Constitution score by +1. These feats often have supportive roles, such as allowing you to prepare food during short rests that can grant additional hit points to allies who consume them.
Additionally, you can choose feats that improve both your Constitution and Strength. For example, you can gain the ability to move five feet after hitting an enemy with a bludgeoning weapon, although this can only be done once per turn, and the creature cannot be more than two sizes bigger than you.
Constitution is one of the most important ability scores in the game, despite the lack of skills associated with it in the Fifth Edition. It is crucial for a character's success, as it determines their HP, HP recovery, and their ability to withstand damage and push beyond their normal limits.
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Hit points and recovery
When creating a character, you roll your chosen class's specified hit die and add your Constitution modifier to determine your starting hit points. Increasing your Constitution score can give you extra hit points regardless of your class, enhancing your survivability. You can increase your Constitution score by selecting specific feats, such as Half-Feats like Tavern Brawler, Chef, and Durable, or exclusive feats like Orcish Fury, Infernal Constitution, and Dwarven Fortitude.
During gameplay, you can recover hit points through short and long rests. A short rest typically lasts for at least one hour, during which a character tends to their wounds, eats, drinks, or reads. During a short rest, you can use one or more of your hit dice, rolling them and adding your Constitution modifier to each roll. This allows you to regain hit points.
A long rest is a period of extended downtime, lasting at least eight hours, where a character sleeps or engages in light activities. At the end of a long rest, your character recovers all lost hit points and regains spent hit dice up to half of their total. It's important to note that you can't benefit from more than one long rest in a 24-hour period.
Additionally, you can use downtime between adventures to recover from debilitating injuries, diseases, or poisons. After three days of recuperation, you can make a DC 15 Constitution saving throw, granting you advantages on saving throws against diseases or poisons.
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Feats and abilities
In D&D 5e, players can increase their Constitution score by utilising specific feats that offer boosts to this specific ability. These feats often provide additional benefits beyond simply increasing Constitution, making them attractive options for players seeking to enhance their character's resilience and overall effectiveness in combat.
One such feat is the "Tough" feat, which grants additional health as the player levels up. This feat is particularly beneficial for those seeking to maximise their health pool and durability in combat. Another feat, known as "War Caster," offers advantages to concentration saves and the ability to cast spells as a reaction, providing a potent combination of defensive and offensive capabilities.
There are also "Half-Feats" that increase Constitution while granting additional benefits. Examples include Tavern Brawler, Chef, and Durable. Tavern Brawler enhances a character's melee combat capabilities, Chef provides proficiency in cooking utensils and the ability to prepare healing food during short and long rests, and Durable increases Constitution and provides additional benefits when rolling for hit points each level.
Exclusive feats like Orcish Fury, Infernal Constitution, and Dwarven Fortitude offer unique advantages based on a character's species. For instance, Orcish Fury may enhance a character's rage or damage output, while Dwarven Fortitude could provide bonuses to durability or resistance to certain types of damage.
Additionally, feats like Resilient offer a +1 bonus to Constitution and grant proficiency in Constitution saves. This feat ensures that a character becomes more resistant to Constitution-based effects and can better withstand the impact of spells or abilities that target their fortitude.
Lastly, some feats interact with Constitution in unique ways. For example, the Dragonmark feat utilises Constitution as a spellcasting modifier, making it beneficial for tanks or characters focusing on physical abilities. This feat also provides temporary hit points and includes narrative flaws and secondary features that can grant additional benefits or impose costs on the character.
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Constitution checks
Constitution (Con) represents a character's health, stamina, and vital force. Constitution checks are uncommon, and no skills apply to them because the endurance this ability represents is largely passive. A Constitution check can model your attempt to push beyond normal limits.
The GM might call for a Constitution check when you try to accomplish tasks that require pushing beyond normal limits, such as grasping a very hot metal object without flinching or dropping it. Another example is when you have to swim from an offshore island to the mainland; your GM might call for a Constitution check to see if you have the stamina to make it that far. In this case, your GM might allow you to apply your proficiency in Athletics and ask for a Constitution (Athletics) check. So if you’re proficient in Athletics, you apply your proficiency bonus to the Constitution check just as you would normally do for a Strength (Athletics) check.
Your Constitution modifier contributes to your hit points. Typically, you add your Constitution modifier to each Hit Die you roll for your hit points. If your Constitution modifier changes, your hit point maximum changes as well, as though you had the new modifier from 1st level. For example, if you raise your Constitution score when you reach 4th level and your Constitution modifier increases from +1 to +2, you adjust your hit point maximum as though the modifier had always been +2. So you add 3 hit points for your first three levels, and then roll your hit points for 4th level using your new modifier. Or, if you're 7th level and some effect lowers your Constitution score, reducing your Constitution modifier by 1, your hit point maximum is reduced by 7.
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Constitution saves
In D&D 5e, a saving throw is a d20 roll that helps your character resist something dangerous, such as a spell, magical effect, trap, poison, disease, or certain enemy attacks. A Constitution saving throw, or "Con save", is a type of saving throw that's made using your Constitution bonus. It typically refers to your character's ability to resist physical pain, fatigue, or other physical effects. Con saves are fairly common and are considered one of the most important types of saving throws in the game because the effects of failing one can be debilitating.
Constitution measures health, stamina, and vital force. Constitution checks are uncommon, and no skills directly apply to Constitution checks because the endurance this ability represents is passive rather than involving a specific effort on the part of a character or monster. However, a Constitution check can model your character's attempt to push beyond normal limits. For example, the GM might call for a Constitution check when your character attempts to swim from an offshore island to the mainland to see if they have the stamina to make it that far. In this case, the GM might allow you to apply your proficiency in Athletics and ask for a Constitution (Athletics) check. So if your character is proficient in Athletics, you would apply your proficiency bonus to the Constitution check just as you would normally do for a Strength (Athletics) check.
There are several feats that can help casters make Constitution saving throws, such as Resilient: Constitution, Lucky, and War Caster. Note that War Caster only helps with Con saves to maintain concentration, not all Con saving throws. Additionally, boosting your Constitution score can give your character extra hit points regardless of their class, increasing their survivability. Consider "Half-Feats" like Tavern Brawler, Chef, and Durable to not only increase Constitution but also gain additional benefits. Exclusive feats like Orcish Fury, Infernal Constitution, and Dwarven Fortitude offer unique advantages based on your character's species.
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Frequently asked questions
Constitution (CON) is a measure of a character's health, stamina, and vital force, as well as their ability to push themselves beyond their normal limits.
Constitution is one of the most important ability scores in the game. Constitution saves are common and vital to a character's success. In addition to saving throws, Constitution increases a character's Hit Points (HP) and HP recovery.
You can increase your CON score later in the game if you find yourself spending most of the battles face down. Per standard rules (PHB page 177), the bonus to HP will get added retroactively.
