What are hit dice in DND 5e?

Hit dice are a key part of D&D 5e. They help determine how much health your character has and how well they recover from injuries and fatigue.

In this guide, we'll explain what hit dice are, how they work, and how to use hit dice to keep your character ready for the next quest. We'll also cover how many hit dice you get based on your class and how they work with multiclassing.

What are hit dice in D&D?

In D&D, hit dice represent your character's potential for health and recovery. You roll these dice to determine how many hit points your character starts with and gains as they level up. Hit dice are also used during short rests to recover lost hit points.

What is the difference between hit dice and hit points?

Hit dice and hit points are related but have different purposes. Hit points (HP) show your character's overall health and endurance. Hit dice are a resource that characters use to figure out how many hit points they get at each level, and to recover hit points during short rests.

Hit dice by class in D&D 5e

In DND 5e, the hit dice you get depend on the class you choose. Each class has its own hit die, which affects how many hit points you gain with each level up and your character's overall durability.

Source: D&D 5e Player’s Handbook

If you aren't sure what the above table means, check out our guide that explains the types of dice in D&D.

How do hit dice work in 5e?

In 5e, you use hit dice on three occasions: when you first create your character to determine hit points, when you level up to add more hit points, and during short rests if you need to heal.

1. Character creation: When you first create your character, you roll your class's specified hit die and add your Constitution modifier. This determines your starting hit points.
2. Levelling up: When you level up, you roll your class's hit die and add your Constitution modifier. This total is added to your current hit points to form your new hit points.
3. Short rests: During a short rest, you can use one or more of your hit dice, rolling them and adding your Constitution modifier to each roll. The total of these rolls is how many hit points you regain. You have a pool of hit dice, and you can use as many as you have available during short rests. You roll one hit die at a time, and after resolving that roll, you can decide to spend another hit die if you need to recover more hit points.

How many hit dice can you use per short rest?

You can use one or more hit dice at the end of a short rest, up to the maximum number of hit dice your character has. This maximum number is the same as your character's level. So, if you're a 5th-level character, you have up to 5 hit dice to use during short rests to regain hit points.

How do hit dice recover in 5e?

At the end of a long rest, your character regains all lost hit points and recovers hit dice, up to a number equal to half of your character's total hit dice.

For example, if you're a 5th-level character with 5 hit dice and you’ve used some during the day, after a long rest, you regain 2 hit dice. You regain 2 hit dice and not 3 because, in D&D 5e, you always round down, even if the fraction is one-half or greater.

How many hit dice do you get per level?

You gain 1 hit die for each character level. So, at level 1, you have 1 hit die, and at level 2, you have 2 hit dice, and so on. Each time you level up, you gain 1 additional hit die that you can use to recover hit points during short rests.

As there are only 20 levels, the maximum number of hit dice you can get is 20.

Mechanics that affect hit dice use

Certain class abilities, feats, spells, and magic items can affect the use of hit dice in D&D 5e. These are some of the mechanics included in the official rules that influence how hit dice are used:

• Bard’s Song of Rest: Starting at 2nd level, a Bard can use this ability to regain an extra 1d6 when they use one or more hit dice at the end of a short rest. These extra hit points increase to 1d8 at 9th level, 1d10 at 13th level, and 1d12 at 17th.
• Dwarven Fortitude feat: Dwarves with this feat can spend one hit die when taking the Dodge action in combat to heal themselves.
• Durable feat: This feat not only adds 1 to your Constitution score, but it also changes the minimum amount you can heal from spending a hit die. Instead of 1, the lowest amount of hit points you can regain is equal to twice your Constitution modifier (with a minimum of 2). This makes your hit dice usage more consistent and guarantees more regeneration.
• Aberrant Dragonmark feat: Characters with this feat can spend one hit die when they cast a 1^st level spell through the dragonmark. If an even number is rolled, the character gains a number of temporary hit points equal to the number rolled. However, if an odd number is rolled, another creature within 30ft takes force damage equal to the number rolled.
• Living Armour: This cursed armour requires fresh blood to sustain its magic potential. After finishing a long rest, the wearer must feed half of their remaining hit dice to the armour (rounding up) or suffer one level of exhaustion.

Roll your hit dice in style

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FAQs about hit dice in DND 5e

What happens if you run out of hit dice?

If you run out of hit dice, you'll need to be cautious. Your options for healing become limited, and you may have to rely on other methods like healing spells, potions, or abilities. It's also a good idea to try to escape dangerous situations and take a long rest when possible.

Can an unconscious character use hit dice to get up?

In D&D 5e, if your character has dropped to 0 hit points but has stabilised (meaning you’re not making death saving throws), you can use your hit dice to regain hit points after one hour of rest, as long as you have hit dice available. If you don’t have any hit dice left, a stable unconscious creature heals to 1 hit point after 1d4 hours as explained by Jeremy Crawford.

What is the formula for hit dice?

The formula for hit dice is the total of what you roll with your hit die plus your Constitution modifier. Roll one hit die at a time to determine how much it heals you. After each roll, you can choose whether to spend another hit die, depending on whether you need more hit points.

How do hit dice work with multiclassing?

In D&D 5e, when you multiclass, you track your hit dice separately for each class you've levelled up in. For example, if you have 5 levels in Ranger and 5 levels in Rogue, you will have 5d10 hit dice from your Ranger levels and 5d8 hit dice from your Rogue levels. You can then choose which hit dice to use when you take a short rest.

Do you gain hit dice from multiclassing?

If you have multiclassed, you add together the hit dice from all your classes to form your pool of hit dice. If your classes give you different types of hit dice, keep track of them separately.

For example, if you have 5 levels in Paladin and 5 levels in Fighter, both classes use d10 for hit dice, so you have a pool of 10d10. If you have 5 levels in Rogue and 5 levels in Ranger, the Rogue gives you 5d8, while the Ranger gives you 5d10.

How do hit dice work for monsters?

While there aren't clear rules about hit dice for monsters, the community interpretation is that monsters do have hit dice and can use them in the same way as a character.

If a monster survives a fight and has the chance to take a short rest, you might choose to roll hit dice to see how much it heals, in case it encounters the party and fights again later that day. The hit dice a monster gets depends on its size.