Healing Potions seem woeful

[Silverblade The Ench]

The way healign potions are laid out seems very poor, there was a previous post on this, but I can't find it (sorry! no search)

it's like 50gp lv5 item for 10 hp, then lvl 15 for 25 hp and bonus save for 1,000 gp....and then it goes crazy in cost/level from there up!

Answers kind of obvious, to avoid too many items cluttering up the game: "Potion of healing, potion of bit more healing, potion of yet another bit more healing"...lol
just make ALL healing potions do the listed hit point heal, AND trigger a healing surge. Scales nicely, saves complications.

I seriously think that's some kind of oversight or mistake, to have it use up a surge, but only give 10 hp back. If a surge is spent, it should have effect, plus the magic of the potion. Otherwise, someone with just the Heal skill can trigger a surge for free, and cure more hit points when you get around lvl 5 and above!

 

[Colawley]

I agree with you Silverblade. I think healing potions weren't very well thought out at all. I mean 50gp for 10hp plus you must spend a surge is ridiculous. Considering most PCs at that level are going to have surge values of around 6-8 anyway it's not that much of a gain. Personally, I think they should have set it up to were it gives you hit points as if you had spent a surge plus an additional amount. I mean the potion is considered lvl 5 and if you want to look at it Clerics have a lvl 6 Utility that can heal for 2xsurge value and doesn't cost a surge.

 

[Boarstorm]

That's kind-of the point, I think.

Before level 5, it's more advantageous to use the potion. After level 5 or whatever, you start using healing potion Mk II, instead of the original. Keeps the cost/benefit ratio about right.

Not to say that you can't keep some of the older ones for an emergency -- 10 hps still gets you on your feet if you've been knocked below 0 hp.

 

[Zurai]

First house rule: Healing Potions do not cost a healing surge.

 

[Victim]

You can only spend so many surges normally in the course of a fight. Each character gets a second wind. The cleric or warlord has a pair (or three, at high levels) of words to use. Healing potions are a way to spend additional surges without using other limited abilities, since tough encounters can exhaust all your per fight healing resources and force you tap into stuff like potions.

If healing potions included the base surge value, high level characters could buy hundreds of the 50 gp lesser healing potions and still get high level amounts of healing from them.

 

[Obryn]

It seems wonky, but I'm going to try it out as-written first.

Yes, 10 hp for 1 surge sounds weak - but then again, usually you can only trigger 1 surge/combat.

-O

 

[Zurai]

There are LOTS of ways to use healing surges in fights. Any leader has them at every single power tier, and Paladins and Fighters also get quite a few of them; Paladins can even share them with other characters.

 

[Gargazon]

First house rule: Healing Potions do not cost a healing surge.

Which seems like a great house rule til you realise your PCs can buy a hundred of them and use a minor action every round to heal.

Seriously, I like that a healing potion costs a healing surge - it prevents consumable abuse.

 

[Incenjucar]

The idea is to not make potions a standard tactic, but a "OH #*@&@ the Terrasque just bit Jim! in half!" kind of thing.

 

[Rykion]

Seems okay to me. You use a healing potion when you're in combat after having used your second wind and have no cleric/warlord to heal you. It's a fast 10 hp you won't be getting any other way. If it doesn't use a surge, it throws the daily resource mechanics off. That may or may not be a big deal.