The basic nonmagical healing mechanic: the perfect compromise?

[Transformer]

Now that we've actually seen the text, I must say, I'm pretty impressed with the basic mundane healing mechanic. It seems like an excellent compromise between 4e healing surges and older, less metagamey mechanics.

First, the rules clearly state that hit points are an abstraction, and suggest that you haven't taken a serious direct hit until you drop to 0 hp or less. Then they explain that you can patch yourself up with a nonmagical healing kit during short rests, with the number of times and amount healed based on your hit dice.

I think this is good for a few reasons. First, magical healing is not limited by these new hit-dice-healing-surges. Second, you can't heal nonmagically in combat (Second Wind). As for out of combat healing, it makes sense that it's limited by your hit dice: depending on how tough and experienced you are, you can only patch yourself up after a tough fight so many times before you really need a full night's sleep.

So in short, I think this new mechanic solves the verisimilitude and metagamey problem posed by healing surges, while keeping what's best about them. I agree that full hp recovery overnight sucks, but that could easily be removed without disrupting this new hit dice healing system. Anyone else as optimistic about this as I am?

 

[BryonD]

I don't think it comes close.

It *IS* an improvement from surges.
But it still fails to come close to be good enough.

Stating that HP are abstract is great.
Using that to justify anyone and everyone automatically regaining all HP after a long rest takes the ability to have ANY wound ever be satisfactorily described as something that would no longer have any mechanical effects after a long rest.
That is terrible.

Adding in the need for healing kits is a nice gesture. But long rest are still full heal, no reason why, and the degree of healing for short rests is too generous for my taste.

 

[sheadunne]

I don't think it comes close.

It *IS* an improvement from surges.
But it still fails to come close to be good enough.

Stating that HP are abstract is great.
Using that to justify anyone and everyone automatically regaining all HP after a long rest takes the ability to have ANY wound ever be satisfactorily described as something that would no longer have any mechanical effects after a long rest.
That is terrible.

Adding in the need for healing kits is a nice gesture. But long rest are still full heal, no reason why, and the degree of healing for short rests is too generous for my taste.

Agreed. I'd like to see con mod for long rest and 1 hd regained.

 

[Transformer]

Using that to justify anyone and everyone automatically regaining all HP after a long rest takes the ability to have ANY wound ever be satisfactorily described as something that would no longer have any mechanical effects after a long rest.
That is terrible.

Adding in the need for healing kits is a nice gesture. But long rest are still full heal, no reason why, and the degree of healing for short rests is too generous for my taste.

Like I said, I agree that full hp recovery over a long rest should be removed. I'm just praising the hit-dice-healing-surges implementation.

I suppose the amount of healing could be tweaked, but I think I'd basically be satisfied if they just made a long rest heal [1 hit die + con mod] hp and also restore all your hit dice, instead of fully healing all hp. You'd still be able to recover from most wounds and such in a matter of days, but IMO, D&D has never been able to handle long-term wounds terribly well; for that it would need dedicated wound rules. As long as long rests are only healing a few hp, and the rest of the healing requires actual bandages and first aid, I'm pretty happy.

 

[Savage Wombat]

I'd just as soon say that you don't get hit points back for rest, you just get hit dice. Full HD would probably imply that you get fully healed in two days, though, so I don't know if you'd want full recovery.

 

[Kunimatyu]

I'm a big fan of these new healing rules (except for full heal overnight, as other posters have noted).

They're less gamey than 4e healing surges and they're less silly than the Cure Light wand dance of 3e. Give the DM a dial to adjust how many Hit Dice return after a long rest and I think that's about perfect.

 

[Raith5]

I dont really care about the effects of an overnight rest on hp either way. I have normally hand waved the party to full health pre 4th ed because it is just a game and I want to get into it, rather than have the party camp etc.

I do think an in combat second wind mechanic is important - more the for the drama than anything but I also because I want to be able to play campaigns without clerics. So I am 'waiting for the modularity' on that one.

 

[synthapse]

I'm fine with the full heal after a long rest; I think it works well.

The reason? You have to be at at least one HP in order to rest.

Under the rules' stated position that you haven't taken a serious, direct hit until you fall to zero, any character with at least 1 HP is just sore, fatigued, scratched and bruised. Given that non-magical healing takes 2d6 hours to go from stabilized, 0 HP to 1 HP (even if you have full HD), I think it maintains a level of grit that is absent in 4E. Add in (possible) monster effects or nasty poisons-- maybe in a rules module-- to delay that 2d6 hours, and I think there's ample room for lingering effects of getting dropped in a fight.

 

[Kunimatyu]

I dont really care about the effects of an overnight rest on hp either way. I have normally hand waved the party to full health pre 4th ed because it is just a game and I want to get into it, rather than have the party camp etc.

I do think an in combat second wind mechanic is important - more the for the drama than anything but I also because I want to be able to play campaigns without clerics. So I am 'waiting for the modularity' on that one.

If you want to adventure without a Cleric, having a PC with the Healer background will give you in-combat healing (via powerful healing potions) and more efficient out-of-combat healing (via maxing Hit Dice HP recovery).

Honestly, in the playtest rules as written, I think the Healer theme provides more effective healing than the Cleric class as a whole, which is awesome for those of us who want to run games without divine healers.

 

[B.T.]

Although I was initially skeptical of the HD healing mechanic, I am completely enamored with it now. It's like healing surges that work. Personally, I'd probably house rule it that a long rest gives you back Constitution score in HP and restores your HD (which you must then use to heal yourself).