D&D 5E On the healing options in the 5e DMG

Emerikol · Nov 27, 2014

(Trying to be nice).

There is a lengthy discussion on the wotc boards about the healing options provided and there is a lot of debate about whether Wotc fulfilled their promises or they didn't.

I personally feel they are not going to meet the expectations they set based upon what I've seen mentioned so far.

So if anyone who possesses the DMG can comment on the actual healing options available I believe many of us would be very appreciative. This is the ultimate deal breaker for me so I am hoping what is in there is good.

If anyone wants to discuss what they feel would be acceptable healing options then feel free.

For me I need to be able to play without rapid non-magical healing. I want to play more in the tradition of 1e,2e, and 3e when it comes to healing. I don't mind the requirement that a group have a healing class. I do not want to non-magically recover hit points over night or during short rests.

Nebulous · Nov 27, 2014

Emerikol said:
(Trying to be nice).

There is a lengthy discussion on the wotc boards about the healing options provided and there is a lot of debate about whether Wotc fulfilled their promises or they didn't.

I personally feel they are not going to meet the expectations they set based upon what I've seen mentioned so far.

So if anyone who possesses the DMG can comment on the actual healing options available I believe many of us would be very appreciative. This is the ultimate deal breaker for me so I am hoping what is in there is good.

If anyone wants to discuss what they feel would be acceptable healing options then feel free.

For me I need to be able to play without rapid non-magical healing. I want to play more in the tradition of 1e,2e, and 3e when it comes to healing. I don't mind the requirement that a group have a healing class. I do not want to non-magically recover hit points over night or during short rests.

Yeah, that's cool. I don't have the DMG so I can't specifically comment, but i'm just curious: if the DMG does not specifically outline the healing mechanics you prefer, you would boycott the book completely? Sometimes people don't like to houserule something and would prefer and official "written in stone" approach, but this seems like a very simple workaround (like most rules in 5e). Why not just heal 1/4 of your hit points after every short or long rest? There's dozens of ways this could be approached to replicate gritty realism all the way to superhero Wolverine regeneration and all shades in-between.

Or, to remove rests at all, just say you need a cleric or magic potions. But then, i do know that some players will hang onto the rules as written and might not like the game tampered with.

From what i've read about the DMG, it's great, but it needs far less tables for random houses and more optional rules modules. For, example, healing.

GMforPowergamers · Nov 27, 2014

I don't have a DMG yet, but I hope there is some talk about consequences to working with rests...

I have 2 different idea's I really want to work on:

1) a game where a short rest is 6-10 hours and a long rest is 3-8 days to simulate much harder to heal.

2) a game where a short rest is however long it takes to catch your breath and take a swig of a wine skin, and adjust armor and long rests are 1-3hrs... truly super heroic

Authweight · Nov 27, 2014

GMforPowergamers said:
I don't have a DMG yet, but I hope there is some talk about consequences to working with rests...

I have 2 different idea's I really want to work on:

1) a game where a short rest is 6-10 hours and a long rest is 3-8 days to simulate much harder to heal.

2) a game where a short rest is however long it takes to catch your breath and take a swig of a wine skin, and adjust armor and long rests are 1-3hrs... truly super heroic

I've done your number 1 in 5e, and have done something similar in 4e and 13th age. It works really well.

CapnZapp · Nov 27, 2014

Emerikol said:
For me I need to be able to play without rapid non-magical healing. I want to play more in the tradition of 1e,2e, and 3e when it comes to healing. I don't mind the requirement that a group have a healing class. I do not want to non-magically recover hit points over night or during short rests.

Please don't be disappointed if this stuff isn't in the DMG.

They have already stated that conversion guides to previous editions won't fit the book, and will be provided for free on the web at a later date.

It seems to me this is what you want - not alternative rules in the spirit of 5E, but specifically options to move closer to another edition.

And this is the stuff the DMG won't have. Is all I'm saying

CapnZapp · Nov 27, 2014

GMforPowergamers said:
I don't have a DMG yet, but I hope there is some talk about consequences to working with rests...

I have 2 different idea's I really want to work on:

1) a game where a short rest is 6-10 hours and a long rest is 3-8 days to simulate much harder to heal.

2) a game where a short rest is however long it takes to catch your breath and take a swig of a wine skin, and adjust armor and long rests are 1-3hrs... truly super heroic

I want an option where a "long rest" is what you gain once you "turn the page" as it were, in the story.

That is, if you join a caravan trekking across a desert for a month, then you will not expect to be able to make a long rest until you reach the other side of the desert.

In this way, even if you only have a single encounter a day, and perhaps only once a week, the game will still work: you will still need to conserve resources (spells and so on), and you won't start each fight fully fit.

On the other hand, if you have one hour to clean out a nest of kobolds, the clock starts NOW, then it would be nice if short rests were 5 minutes apiece and a long rest 20 minutes (so you will make one, but only one, during the entire adventure).

TL;DR: Break the strong connection between "rest" and a given unit of time, and provide rules to put the scenario in control over how and when you rest.

Remathilis · Nov 27, 2014

Emerikol said:
For me I need to be able to play without rapid non-magical healing. I want to play more in the tradition of 1e,2e, and 3e when it comes to healing. I don't mind the requirement that a group have a healing class. I do not want to non-magically recover hit points over night or during short rests.

Having seen the preview of the "healing section" covered up in the alien tech preview and realizing its probably 3-4 paragraphs, I really don't expect a complicated set of rules vs. a set of general guidelines to adjusting the healing dial. So here is my Official Remathilis healing rules. (Note: not playtest, not responsible for TPKs).

Simulate 1e/Basic: PCs cannot burn HD during short rests. Long rests (8 hours) allow you to use HD. HD recover during "downtime" only. Fighter's second wind grants Temp HP.

Simulate 2e: PCs can use 1 HD per short rest. Long rests recover full hp, but last 2d4 days to recover. Fighter's second wind grants temp hp.

Simulate 3e: As 2e, but give the PCs enough Wands of Cure Light Wounds that it really doesn't matter anymore and then use 5e's healing RAW.

Simulate 4e: Short rests last 5 minutes. You recover full amount of HD every long rest, but you must use one to benefit from healing spells, magic items, potions, and class abilities.

Tada!

Nikosandros · Nov 27, 2014

The healing options are the following.

1) You can only expend HD during a short rest by consuming a healer's kit. IIRC, this was the case in several iterations of the playtest rules.

2) Healing surges. As an action, a character can use up to half his HD (you start by rolling one, see the result and keep rolling up to the maximum). A character recovers the surge after a short rest and all HD after a long rest. A "super-heroic" option is offered in which healing surges are a bonus action.

3) Slow natural healing. No HP are recovered after a long rest. Characters need to expend HD to recover HP.

Nikosandros · Nov 27, 2014

As I previously wrote, there are also options to change the resting rules.

1) Epic heroism. Short rests 5 minutes. Long rests 1 hour. Option to recover spell slots of 6th level and above only with 8 hours rest. I really wish they had included some discussion about the consequences on different classes for this option.

2) Gritty realism. Short rest 8 hours. Long rest 7 days.

Consona · Nov 27, 2014

If HP = combination of physical and mental durability, the will to live, and luck, then I would go so far that every class should have Second Wind ability, probably not as bonus action though. Major part of hit points is not wounds but fatigue from dodging and blocking, etc., so the rapid healing in 5e makes sense, imo.

And if you want slower healing then adjust the resting time as was suggested before.