Proposed Damage / Healing System

[DEFCON 1]

For D&D i think I would just prefer they go back to traditional hp and healing.

I'd be fine with this so long as the Bard, Druid, Shaman, and Artificer were all healing classes alongside the Cleric. I'm ambivalent about the Warlord, because if they made his non-magical regains in the core game Temp HP or something, that's fine by me (because I can always houserule in that his healing is the same as any other's in my own game if I wanted).

But so long as they return to the point where the Cleric is the ONLY class that can serve as a competent healer, then this will never gain traction I think. Many people just don't want the Cleric or the "healer" pigeon-holed in that fashion.

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

I ran a house rule once where 0 hit points meant death, and each character had a massive damage threshold equal to their constitution.

Fail the massive damage save, and you got a condition dependent on the damage type, which could mean unconcious or bleeding, but included others for the energy types. It worked pretty well.

 

[Bedrockgames]

But so long as they return to the point where the Cleric is the ONLY class that can serve as a competent healer, then this will never gain traction I think. Many people just don't want the Cleric or the "healer" pigeon-holed in that fashion.

this may be, but there is an equal number of people (probably greater) who prefer the pre-4E healing and cleric as healer. I think they should include healing surges as an optional people can add into the game, but leave the core system so the non4e crowd will climb aboard.

 

[Dice4Hire]

I see no chance for this being part of 5E. It is too different from any previous edition.

It might make a good houserule, though it is too complicated for me to want to use at my table. Hit points have their problems, but they are relatively simple to play and I really do not get as hung up on non-magical or non-divine 'healing' as some others do.

 

[KarinsDad]

For D&D i think I would just prefer they go back to traditional hp and healing.

I would too, but I don't think it is going to happen. Now that they have opened Pandora's Box in 4E of non-traditional healing, I think that only a compromise will be possible of getting most people on board. The compromise I proposed here will probably not be it, but 4E is so far from traditional healing that I don't see how the original type healing will live in our post-4E world and pull in many of those players.

Granted, they could pull in some elements (like healing 25%), but self healing is tough.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I would too, but I don't think it is going to happen. Now that they have opened Pandora's Box in 4E of non-traditional healing, I think that only a compromise will be possible of getting most people on board. The compromise I proposed here will probably not be it, but 4E is so far from traditional healing that I don't see how the original type healing will live in our post-4E world and pull in many of those players.

Granted, they could pull in some elements (like healing 25%), but self healing is tough.

Honestly I dont think you can reconcile the two sides with a compromise mechanic. The only way I can see this working is if they retain botg but make healing surges optional.

 

[KarinsDad]

I think it's better to have the wounds based on the PC's maximum hit points rather than a straight number for scaling reasons. 10 hit points means something entirely different to a level 1 PC as it does to a level 20.

True, it does.

But at 20th level, PCs have access to a LOT of resources that they did not have a 1st level. Damage Resistance. Higher CON. Magic Items.

At 20th level, PCs are fighting Dragons the sizes of small buildings. But, PCs are still human (or elven or whatever).

Doesn't it make sense that a Dragon the size of a small building should hit the Fighter at 20th level and crack some ribs on solid hits more often than the Kobold did at first level?

The difference is that this Fighter has some Damage Resistant armor. This Fighter has Potions in his pouch for just such an occasion. This Fighter just needs to survive the fight and his team can brew some herbs. This Fighter has a boon from the High Priest in the city. This Fighter had a CON boost cast on him and is healthier (i.e. more CON) than he was at 1st level.

The first level Fighter doesn't have any of these "Go to the Well" abilities. He might have a Healer in the party.


So, I think that if you scale it with hit points, it stops working because of the vast plethora of abilities that PCs acquire.

If it equates to CON, then certain threats are equally threatening to everyone with the same CON from a sheer wound damage perspective, but higher level PCs can handle the bigger threats more because of their abilities, not just because they are "bags of hit points".


As for adding up or subtracting down, it doesn't matter too much. With normal hit points in various editions of D&D, I've seen players do both (and I've done both myself).

 

[harlokin]

I would too, but I don't think it is going to happen. Now that they have opened Pandora's Box in 4E of non-traditional healing, I think that only a compromise will be possible of getting most people on board. The compromise I proposed here will probably not be it, but 4E is so far from traditional healing that I don't see how the original type healing will live in our post-4E world and pull in many of those players.

Granted, they could pull in some elements (like healing 25%), but self healing is tough.

I am a big fan of most of 4e healing, but I think your proposal is a very good compromise.

Sadly, I don't think there will be much room for innovation in the new edition, regression seems the prevailing mood. I expect a return to faux-gritty damage, where magical healing bringing you from death's door to full health with the wave of a hand, or weeks of bed rest are your only choices.

 

[KarinsDad]

It might make a good houserule, though it is too complicated for me to want to use at my table.

Complicated? Interesting. This was the last word I would associate with what I proposed. One of the major features of the proposal is that it is not complicated. It's practically the original hit point system with one minor addition.

In a given day, the Fighter takes:

4
8
14 (1 wound point)
7
6
17 (1 wound point)
8
11 (1 wound point)
9
6
22 (2 wound points)
5
9
8
9

In Champions parlance, the PC took a bunch of STUN damage (and automatically healed it up during each short rest), but took BODY damage 4 times for 5 points.


One of the nice things that I think works for this system is when the PCs are not fighting uber foes. The low level PCs can fight in 40 combats in a given day as long as the vast majority of the opponents average 8 or 9 points of damage or less with only an occasional number 10 or higher. Even at higher level, the PCs can do a lot more encounters per day as long as the wound damage is low enough for the Healers to handle it (based on how much wound damage Healers can manage). Easier encounters at any level just don't slow the PCs up, only tougher encounters might.

The healing and damage portion of the 15 minute workday mostly disappears unless the PCs are fighting tougher foes.

Granted, Vancian magic or something else might bring back the 15 minute workday, but it won't be damage and healing unless the foes are pretty darn tough.

 

[Ahnehnois]

It's not a terrible idea. I think there needs to be a way for small damage to turn into wound (to represent what happens if that halfling rogue with low base damage stabs you in the eye). There needs to be a set of injurious consequences for having wound damage. Healing options need to be detailed and options rendered. Hit points need to be renamed.

But all said and done, this kind of concept is a good way to improve tactics and verisimilitude while retaining a possibility for amazing feats of perseverance and without adding too much complexity.