Pathfinder 2e HP by Class

Hit Points in Pathfinder 2e

In Pathfinder Second Edition, your Hit Points come from three places stacked together. Ancestry HP is handed out once, at level 1. Class HP repeats every level, and on top of that you add your Constitution modifier at each level too. So at level 1 you've got HP = ancestry + class + CON. Every level after that, you tack on another class + CON to whatever you already had.

Ancestry HP usually sits between 6 (Goblin, Leshy) and 10 (Dwarf, Orc), and class HP per level runs from 6 (Wizard, Sorcerer) up to 12 (Barbarian). PF2 leans on tight math and its three-action economy, and one result is that characters hold up much better than they would at the same level in D&D 5e. Take a level 5 Fighter with CON +3: they land around 73 HP, where the 5e equivalent would be closer to 44. That extra cushion isn't an accident. The lower lethality is baked into how the system builds encounters.

Applications

Backgrounds throw in ability boosts that can push your CON up, and archetypes from the Advanced Player's Guide (Bastion or Juggernaut, for instance) come with feats that hand you flat HP bonuses or healing on a rest. Reach for this calculator when you level up, when you're rebuilding a character under the 2023 Player Core (the Pathfinder 2e Remastered rules), or when you need to convert an NPC pulled from a third-party source.

FAQ

Is the Core Rulebook still valid? Mechanically, the original 2019 Paizo Core Rulebook still works fine. That said, the 2023 Player Core is what people point to now, and it folds in a bunch of errata.

Does Toughness still add HP? It does. The Toughness general feat adds your level to your maximum HP and drops the Dying value you need to hit before you die, which earns its keep on anyone holding the front line.

What if my CON changes? Say you boost Constitution partway through with an Ability Boost. Go back and apply the new modifier to every level you have, and your HP jumps up right away.