Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
I don't get the dislike of healing surges
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="tomBitonti" data-source="post: 5699066" data-attributes="member: 13107"><p>The issues regarding hit points is somewhat of a distraction from healing surges: D&D has always been rather conflicted in regards to HP and damage; weapon attacks can cause bleeding damage. 1ed fireballs could melt lead; what kind of fall of over 20' would not inflict actual serious physical injury?</p><p></p><p>On the other hand, hit points are described as not just "damage" or "injury" but as an ablation of stamina, luck, and divine favor.</p><p></p><p>My own take on healing surge issues is that healing surges are defined at the meta-level, not at the narrative level. The player or GM is required to create the narration. Contrast the very concrete act of drinking a healing potion from the more abstract act of spending a healing surge. While ultimately, the act of drinking a healing potion still has a vagueness, that is hidden within the abstraction of hit points. The act of using a healing surge has no such concrete tie.</p><p></p><p>There are some hints built into the classes, but, by the 4E philosophy, any actual descriptions are just a "skin", and can be reflavored freely. A character could be flavored as being chemically driven. Using a healing surge could actually be "taking a sip of the go juice".</p><p></p><p>I think what this translates into is a desire for the game designer to provide the narrative ties. An RPG is not just an abstract framework that is built to provide a balanced set of numbers. (In my view) an RPG also provides a set of concrete ties which outline the game narration in a compelling way. In this view, the abstract framework is the easier part of the game design. The hard (and valuable) part is the narrative tie. That is what drives creative and interesting stories.</p><p></p><p>TomB</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="tomBitonti, post: 5699066, member: 13107"] The issues regarding hit points is somewhat of a distraction from healing surges: D&D has always been rather conflicted in regards to HP and damage; weapon attacks can cause bleeding damage. 1ed fireballs could melt lead; what kind of fall of over 20' would not inflict actual serious physical injury? On the other hand, hit points are described as not just "damage" or "injury" but as an ablation of stamina, luck, and divine favor. My own take on healing surge issues is that healing surges are defined at the meta-level, not at the narrative level. The player or GM is required to create the narration. Contrast the very concrete act of drinking a healing potion from the more abstract act of spending a healing surge. While ultimately, the act of drinking a healing potion still has a vagueness, that is hidden within the abstraction of hit points. The act of using a healing surge has no such concrete tie. There are some hints built into the classes, but, by the 4E philosophy, any actual descriptions are just a "skin", and can be reflavored freely. A character could be flavored as being chemically driven. Using a healing surge could actually be "taking a sip of the go juice". I think what this translates into is a desire for the game designer to provide the narrative ties. An RPG is not just an abstract framework that is built to provide a balanced set of numbers. (In my view) an RPG also provides a set of concrete ties which outline the game narration in a compelling way. In this view, the abstract framework is the easier part of the game design. The hard (and valuable) part is the narrative tie. That is what drives creative and interesting stories. TomB [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
I don't get the dislike of healing surges
Top