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Constitution, abbreviated as Con, is a character attribute in Planescape: Torment.
Effects[]
Constitution allows characters to have more hit points and regenerate hit points faster.
Higher Constitution bonuses are retroactive. That is, if The Nameless One's Constitution is increased, he will gain all the Bonus HPs as if he'd had that Constitution from the start of the game, though there is an inconsistency, you only get the bonus for 10-14 Con if you start the game with it, so if you want to maximise HP you need to start with 14 Con, though that isn't generally advised since you will lose out on some dialogue options in the first parts of the game by having lower mental stats.
Conversely, it does not help to increase Con before leveling up.
Hit Points per class level[]
The effect of a high Constitution on Hit Points depends on class only (to the contrary of Baldur's Gate, Constitution does not stop granting bonus HP after a specific class level).
Until 16 Con included, all classes benefit from the same HP bonuses. Starting from 17 Con, Fighters benefit from a higher HP bonus, whereas the bonus for other classes caps at +2.
Classes gain HP as follow:
- Mages: 1d4 + Con Bonus from levels 1-10, then 1+Con Bonus for each level thereafter.
- Thieves: 1d6 + Con Bonus from levels 1-10, then 2+Con Bonus for each level thereafter.
- Priests: 1d8 + Con Bonus from levels 1-9, then 2+Con Bonus for each level thereafter.
- Fighters: 1d10 + Con Bonus from levels 1-9, then 3+Con Bonus for each level thereafter.
Example: a Fighter with 18 constitution gains 1d10 (class) +4 (Con) HP each level from 1 to 9 and a fixed +3 (class) +4 (Con) each level afterwards; a Mage with 18 constitution gains 1d4 (class) +2 (Con) HP each level from 1 to 10 and a fixed +1 (class) +2 (Con) each level afterwards.
TNO and Hit Points[]
TNO only gains HP normally when progressing to a level he did not attain before. Otherwise, he only gains 1 HP, regardless of the class and his Constitution.
In addition, TNO always gains bonus HP from Constitution as if he was a Fighter, even if he's currently a Mage or a Thief.
Example: TNO's highest class is Mage 10. If he switches to Fighter and levels it up from 6 to 7, he will only gain 1 HP. If he switches from Thief and levels it up from 9 to 10, he will only gain 1 HP. If he levels up again as Thief from 10 to 11, he will gain HP as normal for a Thief (1d6+Con Bonus).
Note: it thus means that leveling up as a Fighter yields the most max HP (1d10), followed by Thief (1d6), then by Mage (1d4). If e.g. TNO levels up to 8 as a Mage first, he will earn up to 6 HP less than if he had been a Fighter.
Multi-Class and Hit Points[]
Multi-Classed characters (such as Dak'kon and Annah) see their level-up Hit Points divided by two.
For example, if Annah levels up to Thief 7 with 16 Con, she will gain (1d6+2)/2 HP. With maxed HP dice, she'd thus gain 3+1 = 4 HP. If she then levels up to Fighter 7 with 16 Con, she will gain (1d10+2)/2 HP - that is, 5+1 = 6 HP.
Regeneration[]
Starting from 20 Con, any character will start regenerating Hit Points. In the case of TNO, he regenerates Hit Points starting from 3 Con. Increasing Constitution past those thresholds will increase the regeneration rate.
There is also a difference in the way regeneration is expressed between TNO and his companions: TNO regenerates 1 HP every number of ticks (internal game time measurement equating 1/15 of a second) whereas his companions (should they reach 20 Con or higher) regenerate 1 HP every number of seconds[1].
Regardless, given the same Constitution score, TNO will always regenerate HP faster than one of his companions.
Summary[]
Constitution | HP Bonus[2]
(Non-Fighters) |
HP Bonus[2] (Fighters) |
Starting HP
(TNO)[1] |
Regeneration Rate
(TNO) |
Regeneration Rate
(Companions) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | -3 | 20 | 0 | 0 | |
2 | -2 | 0 | |||
3 | -2 | 1350 (90s) | |||
4 | -1 | 1275 (85s) | |||
5 | -1 | 1200 (80s) | |||
6 | -1 | 1125 (75s) | |||
7 | 0 | 1050 (70s) | |||
8 | 975 (65s) | ||||
9 | 900 (60s) | ||||
10 | 22 | 825 (55s) | |||
11 | 24 | 750 (50s) | |||
12 | 26 | 675 (45s) | |||
13 | 28 | 600 (40s) | |||
14 | 30 | 525 (35s) | |||
15 | 1 | 450 (30s) | |||
16 | 2 | 375 (25s) | |||
17 | 2 | 3 | 300 (20s) | ||
18 | 4 | 225 (15s) | |||
19 | 5 | 150 (10s) | |||
20 | 5 | 75 (5s) | 60 | ||
21 | 6 | 37 (2.47s) | 50 | ||
22 | 6 | 18 (1.2s) | 40 | ||
23 | 6 | 12 (0.8s) | 30 | ||
24 | 7 | 9 (0.6s) | 20 | ||
25 | 7 | 7 (0.47s) | 10 |
Managing Hit Points[]
In a game where there was no healing (almost hypothetical, but say, resting only), or where damage is very large compared to the Hit Point pool, then the HP pool would become of great importance. The pool is also more important in games where damage output of enemies is fast in relation to the time it takes to heal, which can be true of Torment, unless the Autopause functions are engaged. Call it cheesy, but you can't call it ineffective: no character will ever die in Torment if Autopause is set to engage when characters are at low health, the characters are healed to an HP level that is higher than the enemy is capable of damaging in a single hit, and characters still have healing items in their inventory or the inventory of another character close by
If a player chooses to use this function, then the game becomes less about reaction time, and more about preparation; specifically how to maximize damage output, reduce damage received, and maximize the efficiency of healing and the Copper commons costs of all these things. Constitution becomes of no consequence compared with Damage bonuses, THAC0 values, Armor Class, Resistances, Kiting and other forms of Crowd Control, Overkill, Concentration of Fire, or even money supply.
Permanent Gains[]
Aside from increasing Constitution with character points acquired at level up, The Nameless One has some opportunities throughout the game to increase his constitution permanently:
- +1 from the 12th level Fighter specialization
- +1 from the Tear of Salieru-Dei in the Drowned Nations Tomb. Only for Lawful Good characters.
- +1 from the Tear of Salieru-Dei at Vrischika's Curiosity Shoppe in the Clerk's Ward. Only for Lawful Good characters.
- +1 from the Paranoid Incarnation in the Fortress of Regrets
- +2 from the Ancient Scroll
That makes the maximum permanent gain to constitution possible +6, +5 without specializations and +3 without the Ancient Scroll.
Equipment Bonuses[]
Some tattoos grant a bonus to constitution while equipped:
Some accessories also grant a bonus to constitution:
- +3, Aegis of Torment