Yeah, that's way far off from what I'm at too (level 11). 8 hps is pretty decent, but not if that's like level 30 or something.
Of course, part of my problem is also just lack of gear/strategy too I think. The missions where I should be able to shine with having higher hps I still have issues. I don't even see where I could successfully kite around if I had better movement in some of these, so it is basically just a beat down, and I still lose. I mean, I suppose ditching the mage and taking 3 dwarven warriors, or 2 and a cleric, would be even better in those cases, but I'm not going to level up 3 of every class/race just to have options in each adventure.
Also, I've found that better (rarer) items don't necessarily thrill me either. Half the time they have a shitty disadvantage, or the damage is more situational. I'm taking a lot more of the lunging/dancing stuff now to give myself more movement options, but they do a lot less damage. A nice 8 or 10 pt. hack is really nice once in awhile, as opposed to these piddly 2-4 point ones I've got now. It almost makes me think I could have more success equipping a bunch of common items, at least for weapons anyway.