The Weirdness of Old Stormbringer Hit Points

Hit Points are weird in old Stormbringer, and some of this weirdness continued on even to Elric! where HP don't equal the total they should have according to the rules.

Humans are calculated as equal to a base of CON, with plus 1 per SIZ higher than CON and minus one per SIZ lower. This is fiddly, but not too bad.

But monster HP are just... weird. A lot of them are CON + SIZ - 12. Why minus 12? For Baboons (CON and SIZ 3D6), this could easily give them negative HP.

I would prefer a simple solution, so either the Stormbringer method (CON base + or - 1 per SIZ greater or smaller) or the Elric! method (CON + SIZ/2). If we look at the first monster in the bestiary, Great Black Apes, we get the following.

Great Black Apes

CON 3D6+6 (average 17)
SIZ 2D6+12 (average 19)

Method 1 - So, if we use the Stormbringer method we get 17+2 or 19. This is fine with close numbers, but some monster CON and SIZ are hilariously far apart.

Method 2 - If instead we use Elric!, we get 17+19/2 or 18. Ho hum. Once again, easy for smallish numbers, but can get out of hand for Kyreen and such.

Method 3 - There is a third, lazy ass solution. And I'm all for being a lazy GM and reducing math or work so I can concentrate on story and having fun.

What if we just choose the highest of either CON or SIZ? Then the Ape's HP are 19, same as Method 1 without the math.

Now do the same for PCs and NPCs.

BOOM DONE