[RPG] Do you gain current HP when you level up

character-advancementcharacter-levelsdnd-5ehit-points

Let's say your hero is at max HP and he/she is levelling up.

PHB p. 15, "Beyond first Level" says about HP increase when levelling up:

add the total to your hit point maximum

Will she/he need healing afterwards? In other words, does "add to your hit point maximum" imply that your current HP doesn't change at this moment?

Best Answer

The player will need healing, as his/her current HP doesn't change

The PHB (pg. 196), among other places, draws a clear distinction between characters' current HP and their maximum HP:

A creature’s current hit points (usually just called hit points) can be any number from the creature’s hit point maximum down to 0.

The passage on leveling up only refers to hit point maximum, and not current hit points, which means that characters are not healed upon leveling up.

If they are at max HP before leveling up, they are no longer at max HP afterward. For example, if a character has 20/20 HP, after leveling up they might have 20/26 HP, and would require healing to get to 26/26 HP.