still.
a wand with a million billion cure charges in it wrecks my believability less than some guy off on his own springing back to full after FIVE MINUTES REST with no magic at all.
It's so ridiculous that it's not even worth debating. As far as making curative potions, I think that's a way better mechanic. Everyone should try to pick up some brewing skill, if they want to boil some herbs and drop some pixie dust in it at just the right moment and temperature (pixie dust or X magical ingredient would be rare enough or need a survival check or knowledge to find or extract and harvest from mythical beasts). Orcs might make their healing potions from the tears of halflings mixed with elf blood, humans might use extract of beholder eyes or whatever. Suddenly, without super easy / cheap wands, you have a reason to barricade the door from orcs barging in while you spend 1/2 hour and try to brew up a fresh batch of cure potions. Maybe they don't last more than a few hours before the potency is lost, who knows.
There are a million bajillion ways I can think of to make curative magic work given the need to avoid the 15 minute work day and cheese at the same time, and still mix in some skill checks required and foraging or cutting out the glands from that dragon over there. Why not? Make the PCs work for it, or fast forward that part when you rest, but the amount of healing could be held back by limited access to magical reagents, so it's still in the hands of the DM, and the PCs would have to go kill that nasty beast back there to make potions out of its goo before heading further down the dungeon.
One thing I did love in 4e was minor action healing. Though it's really sad they seem to be removing the standard>move>minor hierarchy. I'd love to play a cleric with worthwhile healing but still the ability to attack. Just like how an offhand attack could be a minor action (1/round max) for rangers, a cleric would have his standard to fight and his minor to touch his ally and "halleluliah" him a bit. There are really a lot of good things about 4e, but let's learn from that edition's mistakes and make something that works mechanically while keeping suspension of disbelief in check.
"The best part is...it's learning"--Archer, Re: Fisto Roboto
a wand with a million billion cure charges in it wrecks my believability less than some guy off on his own springing back to full after FIVE MINUTES REST with no magic at all.
It's so ridiculous that it's not even worth debating. As far as making curative potions, I think that's a way better mechanic. Everyone should try to pick up some brewing skill, if they want to boil some herbs and drop some pixie dust in it at just the right moment and temperature (pixie dust or X magical ingredient would be rare enough or need a survival check or knowledge to find or extract and harvest from mythical beasts). Orcs might make their healing potions from the tears of halflings mixed with elf blood, humans might use extract of beholder eyes or whatever. Suddenly, without super easy / cheap wands, you have a reason to barricade the door from orcs barging in while you spend 1/2 hour and try to brew up a fresh batch of cure potions. Maybe they don't last more than a few hours before the potency is lost, who knows.
There are a million bajillion ways I can think of to make curative magic work given the need to avoid the 15 minute work day and cheese at the same time, and still mix in some skill checks required and foraging or cutting out the glands from that dragon over there. Why not? Make the PCs work for it, or fast forward that part when you rest, but the amount of healing could be held back by limited access to magical reagents, so it's still in the hands of the DM, and the PCs would have to go kill that nasty beast back there to make potions out of its goo before heading further down the dungeon.
One thing I did love in 4e was minor action healing. Though it's really sad they seem to be removing the standard>move>minor hierarchy. I'd love to play a cleric with worthwhile healing but still the ability to attack. Just like how an offhand attack could be a minor action (1/round max) for rangers, a cleric would have his standard to fight and his minor to touch his ally and "halleluliah" him a bit. There are really a lot of good things about 4e, but let's learn from that edition's mistakes and make something that works mechanically while keeping suspension of disbelief in check.
"The best part is...it's learning"--Archer, Re: Fisto Roboto