How to Track HP and Temp HP in D&D 5e

Hit points are the number every table checks most often, and the one most likely to get scribbled over and erased on a paper sheet. The tracking itself is simple once two ideas are clear: current HP is a live value that moves up and down against a fixed maximum, and temporary HP is a separate thing that behaves nothing like regular healing.

Current HP versus maximum

Your hit point maximum is set by your class, level, and Constitution. Current HP starts equal to that maximum and drops as you take damage. Healing raises current HP back up, but it stops at your maximum. You never bank extra healing above the cap.

The one place people lose track is at the bottom of the range. When current HP reaches 0, you do not go negative. You fall unconscious and begin death saving throws instead.

How temporary HP actually works

Temporary HP is a shield in front of your real hit points, and it follows three rules that surprise new players:

• It does not stack. Gain temp HP while you already have some, and you pick the higher amount. You do not add them.
• It is not healing. Temp HP does not restore current HP and does not raise your maximum. A character at full HP can still gain temp HP on top.
• It takes damage first. Incoming damage drains temp HP before it reaches current HP. Once the buffer is spent, any leftover damage hits your current HP.

Because temp HP is a distinct pool, tracking it in the same box as current HP is where mistakes creep in. Keep it visually separate.

The tracking loop

Every round, the same short cycle repeats:

1. Take damage: subtract from temp HP first, then current HP.
2. Take healing: add to current HP, never past your maximum.
3. Gain temp HP: replace your current temp HP if the new amount is higher.
4. Hit 0 current HP: switch to death saving throws.

Tracking HP without the eraser

Adventure Codex gives current HP, maximum, and temporary HP their own fields, so the buffer never gets confused with your real total. Damage flows through temp HP automatically, healing respects your cap, and the moment you reach 0 the tracker moves you into death saves with the full 5e rules built in. The whole HP tracker is free forever, on web, iOS, and Android.