Stamina (Alternate Hit Points) in Pathfinder 2nd Edition

The Stamina Variant Rules in Pathfinder 2nd edition.

For more information see:

WANT TO SKIP AHEAD?
00:00 Introduction
00:09 Stamina System Overview
02:04 Losing Stamina and Hit Points
03:41 Calculating Stamina Points
04:57 Resolve Points
05:53 Healing Stamina Points
08:25 Other Considerations
10:50 Encouraging Words Feat
12:26 Steel Your Resolve Feat
12:51 Close

Want to help support the channel?
Get your name listed at the end of my videos by joining my Patreon :

Thank me with a cup of coffee!

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Follow me on social media:
Twitter: @How_Its_Played_ (include the last underscore)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#Pathfinder2e #Pathfinder #RPG

[mban]

Excellent topic.
When Gygax and friends converted Chainmail TT wargame into D&D. Gygax discussed HP as encompassing heath, stamina, skill, luck, etc that contributes to the cut, block, thrust, parry, riposte, etc of combat.
PF2e's stamina rule can represent more than exhaustion level. It can represent self confidence and luck as well.

[Bloodymuffin]

Excellent video as always man! Slight correction with resolve points, however! The ability for players to use their resolve points to stabilize is, itself, an optional rule. You can run the stamina rule system with resolve points only being to heal and hero points being able to still stabilize.

[AlastorsNight]

When I start running a PF2e game I am probably going to use this as I love it in Starfinder. I think it is the best answer for how to handle short rests in a dungeon/exploration game as it encourages people to push forward with out that constant bickering about needing to rest due to HP concerns.

[Keovar]

I agree that there should be a distinction between damage that represents fatigue and that which represents wounds, but I think it should be simpler, so we don’t need to reference or memorize a chart. If this were in a CRPG or a VTT was handling the referencing and math, then the system as published is fine.
Maybe your ancestral HP and CON mod HP represent actual physical injury, or ‘wounds’ and the HP you gain from class levels represents your capacity for physical exertion, or ‘stamina’.

[Siltoneous]

I like the variant, and my players are much happier with this way of handling damage. If only because they typically run without a healer, and that meant in the past that Medicine (and it's feats, skill bonuses, ect) become multiple PC 'Must-Haves'. Plus, now we can have other classes (like Bards, Int. Fighters, etc..) help with the healing (if stamina only). Lastly, I let the PC's choose to apply Con boost to one or the other. We also boost Rally similar to Nonat1s suggestion; DC raised with level, Success gets all Stamina back, and a Crit result negates the RP cost.

[PlaneswalkerTARDIS]

Each world in my games runs on different rules, and the Shadowfell uses this particular one. It's loosely inspired by RWBY, as the plane is so antithetical to life that your very soul must shield your flesh, and the few times people have visited the plane, they've enjoyed this change in pace.

Also, this is basically the default for Starfinder. If you like using this rule, you may want to give it a try!

[meatybtz]

Primarily I see the Stamina rules as overly favoring Con as a "critical" attribute. It does add role play. But over all it's greatest strength requires some slight re-thinking of some classes. Classic "healer" classes heal HP, however, Rallying type rules should be applied to certain classes like paladin and various fighter archetypes. Even more Priest should also gain a rally ability (raising your spirits as it were), and Alchemists should be "stamina healers". This makes the much odd-ball Alchemist a more interesting add with droughts to boost or recover stamina quickly. Rally can give temporary stamina "boosts" that allow characters to "rise above" the situation but they disappear like 'bonus hitpoints" normal rules, which means you can "fall" to zero (exhausted) state after being rallied for one last go. From a narrative perspective this is good, if adding slightly to complexity.
PF2 and SF are not the only ones to do this with many games having dual-pool design, like the differentiation between subduel and mortal damage in older Shadowrun editions (Have not looked at newer editions so I dont know if that is still there).
Old Palladium system had SDC and HP, with SDC being like stamina, easily recovered and representing scrapes and bruises of heroic characters as well as their "endurance to adversity", while HP was serious injury. This was expanded in various rules sets from Palladium such as the Ninjas and Super-spys and Modern Combat Rules (which made combat extremely deadly and complex, getting shot was extremely serious injury with all kinds of penalties, like really getting shot, was crazy).

[ProbablyEzra]

For minor fall damage, an easy way to justify damage going to stamina is that you use your energy to land better, such as rolling into it or potentially using magic to lessen the impact. You might still split the damage, especially for moderate fall damage, by saying 'you land as well as possible, but can't avoid still being scratched up.'

An entirely separate note, allowing stamina to be regained via normal healing methods is a really nice way to not screw over your healing characters, or alternatively giving healing characters alternative abilities to regenerate stamina. Personally, I find just narrating normal hp as to encompass stamina, luck, skill, and every other aspect that would help you avoid being hurt to be as good a solution unless you have specific reasons to prefer using the RAW(with potential alterations) stamina system.

[NormalesEinhorn]

I wish I had the stamina to put out so many rules videos

[ZeroRoyale]

This is how Starfinder does things by default. This might be useful for converting those players to Pathfinder 2e

[drakewarrior]

Thank you for the video! This probably still not fixes how easy Lay on hands and Treat wounds are. But very interesting nonetheless.

[rasleyforde]

Hey Dave! I'm glad that you made this video, because I really want to use Stamina in my games, but I'm really scared of the restricted in combat healing will result in my players TPK. How it's been for your? Do you have any advice for that?


An non related question. Do you think the Hallowed Necromancer archetype has a typo in it's requirements? Expert as level 2 seems a bit weird, or do you think this is intentional? How would you rule it in your table?

[Tuskbumper]

So it's armor from divinity original sin 2, but you're limited on how many times you can recover it and it scales with your level rather than the items you have equipped

[KalaamNozalys]

I have some doubts about Rally being a fixed DC 15, this very quickly makes it trivial to recover stamina in 1 minute of rest

[navajasrs]

I think the Rally action is used by some character at least once in every episode of The Rings of Power: The problem being that no one to whom they're proselytizing, except the viewers, has usually lost any Stamina, and they roll Critical Failure every single time.

[besteger]

How has this changed your upper level play?
In the 12-15 lvl range, it was common for our party’s Rogue to take more than 75% 😊of his total HP from a single attacker’s turn.
Maybe apply the extra damage from crits to HP, thereby allowing magical healing to apply?
Perhaps alchemy restores Stamina?

[robertmahiques]

Would you be able to make a video on Proficiency Without Level? I'm thinking about running an open world style campaign and being able to design a lot of adventure without worrying when the party encounters it is appealing.

[Arcanyum]

Basically, the starfinder stamina system

[LazloArcadia]

PF2E stamina rules are underwhelming. The Strain and Injury system described on the Paizo forums (PF1E) did a much better job of this. The Wound and Vigor system, although more cumbersome to implement, was also better.

[RNJesusVtuber]

So how should we run non-lethal damage with stamina?