Character Hit Points
Character Hit Points (p.34) 
| Hit points in Oath-Bound are retained as the primary measure of combat survivability, but the fictional framing is tighter than the PHB’s deliberate vagueness, and several mechanics are changed. |
Hit points measure combat competency as it scales with experience — the accumulation of reflexes, endurance, situational awareness, and the hard-won ability to turn what would kill a novice into a wound that a veteran walks away from. They are not a measure of how hard a character is to kill in general. They are a measure of how hard a character is to kill in a fight.
The distinction matters because Oath-Bound includes a non-combat harm model that operates on a different track entirely. A high-level Martial Actor with 120 hit points is extraordinarily difficult to bring down in combat. They are not immune to poison, fire, falling, drowning, or a blade in the back from someone they trusted. Hit points do not protect against harm that bypasses the combat encounter. The non-combat harm model is qualitative — outcomes are determined by the GM based on the nature of the harm, the circumstances, and the character’s relevant competencies. It is a judgment, not a parallel damage table.
The practical consequence is that no character, at any level of development, can completely stop worrying about their own mortality. Combat survivability scales. Mortality does not.
Hit Dice by Actor Type
Hit dice are assigned by Actor Type rather than PHB class, but the mapping is direct:
| Actor Type | Hit Die |
|---|---|
Martial Actor |
d10 |
Divine Actor |
d8 |
Gray Actor |
d6 |
Arcane Actor |
d4 |
Roll the appropriate die at each level and accumulate. There is no cap on hit dice at higher levels. The vanilla AD&D rule that replaces hit dice with a flat addition beyond a certain level is not used.
Constitution and Hit Points
Constitution bonuses to hit points are not used in Oath-Bound. Hit points measure combat competency — experience, skill, and developed resilience under pressure. They are not a function of physical robustness. Constitution remains relevant to other determinations, including system shock and the non-combat harm model, but it does not modify hit point accumulation.