D&D 5E Can Wither and Bloom heal someone who is downed?

[DND_Reborn]

Personally, I think the game needs more interaction with hit dice so I quite like this.

I agree with this, but for myself I am not a fan of the spending hit dice to empower healing magic mechanic. shrug

 

[ECMO3]

Why does the spell even require spending a hit die for the healing? Why not just make it a d6 or d8 + spellcasting ability modifier?

Because it is a wizard healing spell and it is necromancy.

 

[Stoutstien]

I don't mind it actually. I've always thought most healing should be based on HD size to give them more importance.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Because it is a wizard healing spell and it is necromancy.

And your logic behind that is....what exactly?

 

[Plaguescarred]

I also don't think CON mod should be added since it's not done at the end of a short rest.

Short Rest: A character can spend one or more Hit Dice at the end of a short rest, up to the character’s maximum number of Hit Dice, which is equal to the character’s level. For each Hit Die spent in this way, the player rolls the die and adds the character’s Constitution modifier to it

 

[Lyxen]

And your logic behind that is....what exactly?

I agree, while the fact that it's necromancy and that it works on a kind of "life stealing" paradigm makes it appropriate for a wizard school, it does not explain why the damage is fixed in terms of dices and the healing proportional to the victim's "life force" / HD.

 

[Lyxen]

I also don't think CON mod should be added since it's not done at the end of a short rest.

This is a good point, I would add that it's clear from the description that the CON modifier is replaced by the caster's spellcasting ability modifier: "...roll one of its unspent Hit Dice and regain a number of hit points equal to the roll plus your spellcasting ability modifier."

When you add the fact that the definition of the Hit Dice is "Hit Dice (short for Hit Point Dice)" it shows that you clearly just roll the dice, whether you add something to it depends on the circumstances.

 

[LordEntrails]

Because it is a wizard healing spell and it is necromancy.

Anybody else notice that this seems like it could be an entry into defiling magic? Hmmm, makes me think.

 

[Mannahnin]

I agree that it appears that the way it works is for the spellcasting ability modifier of the caster to apply, not the Con mod of the recipient, which is added in Short Rests.

Why does the spell even require spending a hit die for the healing? Why not just make it a d6 or d8 + spellcasting ability modifier?

Because it is a wizard healing spell and it is necromancy.

And your logic behind that is....what exactly?

I'd wager niche protection and thematics.

Historically, D&D doesn't normally let Wizards heal at all, and on the infrequent occasions when they get a spell that's an exception, it's always more limited and less powerful than Clerical healing.

To have it use up Hit Dice is a limiter, a point of inferiority to divine healing, and I suspect is intended to be evocative of the kind of magic being done. Rather than channeling divine power to restore the mortal form, the wizard uses arcane manipulation to draw on the body's OWN reserves of strength, healing an injury but at the cost of stamina/future recuperative ability, at least in the short term.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I'd wager niche protection and thematics.

Probably.

But IMO it would make more sense that the healing be based on the number of creatures taking damage. Then it would be more like a life siphoning thing (necormatic).

So maybe the amount healed could be 2 hp for each creature that failed its save, plus 1 hp for each creature that made it. This would represent the idea that 1 point of damage per die (effectively) was being transferred to the creature being healed. shrug

To have it use up Hit Dice is a limiter, a point of inferiority to divine healing, and I suspect is intended to be evocative of the kind of magic being done. Rather than channeling divine power to restore the mortal form, the wizard uses arcane manipulation to draw on the body's OWN reserves of strength, healing an injury but at the cost of stamina/future recuperative ability, at least in the short term.

That is a better argument as well. Personally, I am thrilled with the idea (until I change my mind LOL), but at least it is a plausible explanation.