OD&D [BECMI/BX] Natural healing?

[Ancalagon]

For those who want to play BX, BECMI etc but are tired by the very slow healing, I highly recommend using the GLOG healing rules. It's a system that can run BX adventures "as is", and the healing rules works well.

Basically once a day you can have a lunch that heals 1d6+level. Overnight rest heals all lost HP (if you are not in the negatives that is), and requires food, warmth and safety.

 

[zarionofarabel]

I would use it as stated in the rulebook. Old School featured long rest times. The massive boost in healing rates was alot of the reason I abandoned D&D after Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition. The third edition made combat almost risk free.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

How do you handle natural healing in your games? Do you use a house rule?

"Healing
Natural: For each full day of complete rest, a character or monster recovers 1d3 hit points. If the rest is interrupted, the character or monster will not heal that day."

Yup, pretty much 1d3/day. HOWEVER...I have modifiers based on "stuff". Let me see if I can find my notes and copy/paste...

Condition for that day -=-=-=-=- HP recovered
More than mild activity (combat, fleeing, working forge, etc.) +0 / day
Mild activity (walking downstairs [say, 40' tops] , eating, talking) -=-=-=-=- +1 / day
Mild activity + first aid -=-=-=-=- +2 / day
Complete rest (lay in bed, cared for by someone) -=-=-=-=- +2 / day
Mild activity + nature lore + first aid -=-=-=-=- +3 / day
Complete rest + first aid -=-=-=-=- +3 / day
Complete rest + nature lore+ first aid -=-=-=-=- +4 / day

On top of that you can get bonuses or penalties based on the QUALITY of the food, medicine, location, bed/sheets, etc. For example, trying to sleep on the floor in a dungeon in your armor...good luck! Probably gonna be LUCKY to heal 1/day. But, clean, daily sponge bath, feather bed w/springs, clean blankets and sheets, clean bandages changed as needed, quality food, all in a hospital maintained by actual doctors, ...probably double (e.g., 3 + 4 x 2 = 14hp/day).

I'll also toss in various "whimsy flavour" things if the PC goes looking and get's into RP'ing actual concern and action to help a wounded friend. In other words, a little girl might say "Excuse me, m'lady...you friend is really hurt bad! My mommy always gives me blue-berry-mushroom soup and I get better in no time!". Then the PC can talk to the little girls mother and maybe get some little special help... "Yes, you just need some fresh blueberries and some Whisp-Tears...little mushrooms with a pale blue top with pale yellow splotches and a dark underside. They grow on the slopes of the Grey Mountains, just where the trees start to thin. Hiding under large rocks. Go look there...but be wary of the wild Bandersnatch's that hunt there! Especially this time of year...". If the PC finds the ingredients and succeeds in a Cooking skill check, add a bonus (if they fail, maybe only add +1).

Healing "naturally" is cool. It is one of those things that many newer DM's just overlook as "well, just a few heal spells and everyone is good...why bother with natural stuff?". They are missing out bigly! Well reasoned natural healing rules really help sell the believability of a fantasy world to me and my players.

^_^

Paul L. Ming

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

Back in the day, we regained a number of hit points equivalent to our level every day.