Humans & Hit Dice

Hit Dice are a curious artifact of early D&D that is somewhat confused. Hit Dice influence Hit Points as well as a myriad of other vital statistics.

Big creatures tend to have more Hit Dice than small creatures, as we can see in the presentation of bears: the smallest black bear with fewer HD to the largest "cave" bear with the most. So too it is with wolves (normal and dire), big cats, giant spiders, and, of course, dragons.

However, Hit Dice are not all about size. Player characters acquire Hit Dice as they adventure, which brings us to the true purpose of Hit Dice: a representation of power. Characters with more Hit Dice have higher to-hit scores, better saving throws, and more Hit Points than characters with fewer Hit Dice.

This is why normal humans do not have a full Hit Die, but instead 1-4 Hit Points while experienced humans (acolytes, traders, bandits, etc.) have 1 HD, and veterans may have up to 3 HD.

Worldbuilding This Out

How do I handle this in terms of worldbuilding? I use a simple scale:

• Peasants, which include women, children, and the elderly have 1/2 HD.

• Soldiers, which include men-at-arms and town guards, have 1 HD.

• Veterans and seasoned soldiers have 2 HD.

• Captains and grizzled veterans have 3 HD.

• Lords and champions have 4 HD.

• Heroes found in myths and legends have 5 HD.

Lords do not represent every nobleman (most of whom will have 1 HD, assuming they have some formal battle training), but instead they represent great men of renown who have ascended beyond mere mortality and infused with a spark of the divine as meriting of their deeds. In The Fellowship of the Rings, Strider would be considered a Captain, and at the end of the Return of the King, he has become a Lord. Conan starts with a meager 1 HD (probably 1+1, considering his plot armor) but rises to 4 HD as an elder King Conan.

Heroes are a step beyond this, and they are almost always found roving the wilderness.

Practically, no human rises above 3 HD. To give an idea of demographics:

Of a fighting force, for each captain, there are five veterans, and for each veteran, there are five soldiers. Thus, a typical detachment of 5 soldiers has but 1 veteran, and a company of 25 soldiers, veteran, 5 veterans lead them, and 1 captain heads the lot. In rare cases (1-in-20) when a detachment is encountered, a captain joins them upon the battlefield.

Note that these statistics also work well for a town or village's population of fighting-age men.

Use At The Table (5e)

I hate to make this about 5e because 5e doesn't actually care about worldbuilding or verisimilitude or what Hit Dice represent, but it's The Current Edition, so here's an easy way to implement this at your table:

• Hit Points: 10 x HD.

• AC and Save DCs: 10 + HD.

• Attacks: 3 + HD; 2 x HD as bonus damage on-hit (1/round).

• Saving Throws: 2 + HD.

This does not align with any particular CR. Compared to player characters, these will be relatively feeble.