Ability Modifiers and Using Encounter Powers Out of Combat

[tylermalan]

I've got two questions that are unrelated.

1) When something says to "add your ability modifier", is it referring to your ability modifier ONLY, or your ability modifier plus half your level?

*How this question came to mind*

I was using the demo character builder and looking at the Bard, and it says that if he sings his song of rest during a short rest, anyone who hears it and spends healing surges at the end get to add his Charisma modifier to the amount that each healing surge heals.

2) Is there anything restricting a healer's ability to use their "Healing Word"-type encounter abilities during an extended rest? It seems like you could just take 10 short rests in a row with the Cleric Healing Wording everybody, sort-of doubling the amount of healing surges that everyone has.

 

[Ottergame]

I've got two questions that are unrelated.

1) When something says to "add your ability modifier", is it referring to your ability modifier ONLY, or your ability modifier plus half your level?

*How this question came to mind*

I was using the demo character builder and looking at the Bard, and it says that if he sings his song of rest during a short rest, anyone who hears it and spends healing surges at the end get to add his Charisma modifier to the amount that each healing surge heals.

2) Is there anything restricting a healer's ability to use their "Healing Word"-type encounter abilities during an extended rest? It seems like you could just take 10 short rests in a row with the Cleric Healing Wording everybody, sort-of doubling the amount of healing surges that everyone has.

1) You just add the modifier. The half level thing only comes into play on checks, and whatever explicitly states that half the character level gets added in.

2) You can use encounter powers outside of encounters. The book explicitly uses Healing Word as an example. There's no limit to the number of powers you can use outside of combat, as long as you have the 5 minutes to rest between uses when you expend them.

 

[FireLance]

1) Usually, ability modifier means just the ability modifier. As a rule of thumb, the half level modifier usually only comes into play for when you are rolling a d20 (e.g. attack rolls, skill checks, and ability checks), or when determining a value opposed by a d20 roll (e.g. AC and other defenses).

2) There are no restrictions in the rules, although some DMs do not like the idea of the party waiting around for the cleric or other Leader-type character to regain and use their healing abilities to restore their hit points for various reasons ranging from the significant increase in hit points regained per healing surge, to disliking the flavor of the party taking such long rests (do note that the term "extended rest" actually refers to a 6-hour long rest which, among other things, allows a character to regain all hit points and healing surges). Such DMs may impose house rules that limit the number of times a Leader may use healing abilities between encounters, or may impose time limits so that the party has less time to rest between encounters.

 

[MrBeens]

See also this thread discussing the issue
http://www.enworld.org/forum/d-d-4th-edition-rules/250344-healing-between-encounters.html

 

[Kordeth]

I've got two questions that are unrelated.

1) When something says to "add your ability modifier", is it referring to your ability modifier ONLY, or your ability modifier plus half your level?

Your ability modifier never includes half your level. When you roll an ability check, you roll 1d20 + 1/2 your level + your ability modifier, which some people confuse as meaning your ability modifier is the ability bonus plus half your level, but they're two separate parts of the equation.

As a rule of thumb, unless you're rolling a d20, you never add 1/2 your level to things.

 

[tylermalan]

Thanks a lot, I'll check out the thread linked.