As promised, we’re exploring Stamina as a dynamic alternative to HP.
Stamina
- Instead of HP, you have Stamina.
- When you take damage, you can choose to spend any amount of Stamina to negate an equal amount of damage.
- Any remaining damage is subtracted from your CON score*. If your CON is 0, you die.
Burning Stamina
In addition to negating damage, you can also burn stamina to:
- Do Something Extra. Carry extra weight, take a bonus action, perform a stunt.
- Gain Advantage. Before you make a roll, you can burn Stamina to add an equal amount to the die roll.
- Mitigate Failure. When you fail a roll— but before any damage is rolled— you can burn Stamina to add an equal amount to the failed die roll. If you succeed, there is a cost.
Recovering Stamina & Constitution
Stamina is your energy level and restores quickly:
- Short Rest: +d6 Stamina
- Eat Ration: +d6 Stamina
- Long Rest: +d6 CON / day
- Magic: As specified (Cure Wounds, etc.)
Calculating Stamina
This can vary based on the style of play, but as a baseline: Stamina = 1 HD (max) + Level.
For example: You, a level 2 Fighter (HD = d8), have 10 stamina (2+8). You take 5 damage. You burn 4 stamina, reducing the damage to 1. The 1 damage is subtracted from your CON score (14) bringing it down to 13.
Examples of Play
Negate Damage
GM: The deer tracks head down into the ravine. It’s very steep and slippery.
PC: Well, the village needs food. I’ll go after it.
GM: You can barely get any traction. Make a DEX Saving Throw.
PC: (rolls) Failed.
GM: The earth gives way and you tumble into the ravine! Take (rolls d6) 2 damage.
PC: I’m going to spend 2 stamina to negate the damage.
GM: You exert yourself, grabbing a root at the last minute. No damage lost, but -2 stamina.
PC: I’m already worn out. Can I see where the deer trail goes?
Gain Advantage
GM: Yes, it cuts north up the ravine.
PC: I follow the trail.
GM: You follow the deer tracks for 15 minutes. Then you see it— it’s grazing on the edge of a small pond.
PC: I draw my bow. I don’t want to miss this shot, so I’m going to spend 4 stamina and add it to the roll.
GM: Make an Attack roll.
PC: (rolls) 14, plus 4. 18.
GM: Definitely a hit. What’s the damage?
Do Something Extra
PC: (rolls) 6!
GM: The deer crumples, dead.
PC: Great. I go to the carcass and start field-dressing it.
GM: There’s a ton of meat— more than you can easily carry.
PC: Can I spend stamina to carry extra?
GM: Sure. Let’s say you can spend 1 stamina per hour to carry each unit of meat beyond your carry capacity.
PC: Sounds good. But I’m almost out of stamina. I’m going to rest here before I head back.
Recover Stamina
GM: You sit down and catch your breath. Roll a d6.
PC: (rolls) A 4.
GM: You gain 4 stamina. Since you rested, let’s see if there’s a random encounter (rolls). Something smells the carcass... a wild dog leaps from the underbrush!
Take Damage
PC: No way, this is my kill. I draw my bow.
GM: It’s going to act first (rolls to Attack). It hits. 5 damage.
PC: I’ll take the damage. I need my stamina to get this meat back to camp.
GM: OK. -5 to CON. Your turn.
Mitigate Failure
PC: I fire an arrow (rolls). 11.
GM: Not enough. A miss.
PC: Was I close?
GM: Yes.
PC: I’ll burn stamina to make it a hit.
GM: OK, -2 stamina. Roll for damage.
PC: 5!
GM: The dog goes down. But there’s a cost— you hear howls in the forest!
PC: I load up the meat and run for camp!
Final Thoughts
The design options felt boundless here, so I focused on a D&D-compatible solution. But in the future, I’d love to explore a rules-lite version that doesn’t have to account for all the D&D bric-a-brac (Armor Class, modifiers, Difficulty Class... you know).
If you’d like to see a sleek indie game that uses stamina as its core mechanic, check out Fred Bednarski’s Endure RPG (PWYW on Itch).
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*For a deadlier option— especially at lower levels, when PCs are significantly more beefy that vanilla B/X— every time you take damage to CON, make a CON saving throw using the new, lower score. If you roll below or equal, you succeed; if you roll above, you die. (Stolen from Into the Odd / Electric Bastionland.)
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