Constitution is one of the six Ability Scores that define a character’s physical and mental attributes. In Dungeons and Dragons, Ability Scores for player character races generally range from 3-18 - the result of rolling 3d6. In Baldur’s Gate 3, your player character’s starting Ability Scores will range from 8-15 by default, with racial modifiers potentially boosting them up to 17. On their own, Ability Scores don’t directly influence anything, but the higher an Ability Score is, the higher its associated modifier will be, and different Ability Score modifiers cumulatively affect just about every aspect of the game, including Attack Rolls, Damage Rolls, Skill Checks, Saving Throws, spell potency, and many, many more core aspects of the game. This page will explain what the Constitution Ability Score does in Baldur’s Gate 3.

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Constitution increases the number of Hit Points you earn per level.

What Does Constitution Do In Baldur’s Gate 3¶

Stamina and physical endurance.

Affects your Hit Point maximum.

• Barbarian Armor Class: Barbarians add their Constitution modifier to their Armor Class.

• Saving Throws: You add your Constitution modifier to Constitution Saving Throws.

• Hit Points: The primary function of Constitution is to boost your Hit Points. You’ll add your Constitution Modifier to your Hit Point total every time you level up.

Constitution has always served to increase your Hit Points, and in older versions of Dungeons and Dragons it was… oddly balanced. Only warriors (Fighters, Paladins and Rangers) could add more than +2 Hit Points per level due to their Constitution modifier, and even then, only for the first nine character levels. Fortunately those days are behind us, and the math is much simpler nowadays. If your Constitution modifier is +1, you’ll gain +1 Hit Point per character level. If your Constitution modifier is +2, you’ll gain +2 Hit Points per character level, and so on. This bonus is retroactively applied. Since you couldn’t level up past 5th-level in the Early Access version of the game, this made Constitution somewhat lackluster for early builds, but the full game’s expanded level cap makes Constitution more appealing.

Otherwise, Constitution is a fairly lackluster Ability Score. It has no related skills, and aside from boosting your Constitution Saving Throw, only Barbarians will gain any other benefit from Constitution - they add their Constitution modifier to their Armor Class, potentially allowing them to dispense with Dexterity entirely… although there’s no harm in doubling up! Still, Hit Points are a nice enough survivability boost that makes dropping a few points into Constitution if you have any to spare. Most characters will be comfortable enough with 12 or 14 Constitution, with Barbarians perhaps more willing than others to boost it higher.