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
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
The Healing Paradox
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="JamesonCourage" data-source="post: 5950445" data-attributes="member: 6668292"><p>Depends. Sometimes, it's good enough to heal and move on the next day. Other times, it might take two days worth of healing, and then another night's rest to regain spells (making it three days). Those two days can make a difference, from my experience, even if I prefer longer rest times (as is usually experienced in my RPG).</p><p></p><p>Well, I'd "quibble" that it wasn't my example. It was 10 days to get to a 13 day place, where healing time was longer, and the difference between day 10, 12, 13, and 14 was apparent (10 = able to investigate or set up an ambush; 12 = showing up during preparations; 13 = showing up at the last minute, hopefully in time; 14 = too late).</p><p></p><p>In this example, healing time makes a big difference in <em>how the story plays out</em>, which is a style I prefer much more than <em>making the story the most interesting it can be</em>. That might seem really odd, but I find that dynamic mechanics with many possible narrative paths make for really interesting stories, and as a sandbox-oriented GM, I personally prefer mechanics that fulfill this goal. To this end, potentially long heal times help more than overnight heal times, since the former can produce either overnight rests (little damage or resources used) or long healing times (great damage or most resources used).</p><p></p><p>Really, though, this seems like a tangent of your question that I answered: "what kind of story can't be told with the overnight rest mechanic?"</p><p></p><p>Well, you should probably know that, to me, "overnight rest" includes the use of magic. Because, as a pacing issue, it's effectively the same (as you're trying to point out to me, I think). That's why I prefer longer recovery time on spells (something my RPG also has). But, hey, I like grim and gritty <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p><p></p><p>As far as a story being hampered by overnight healing? Again, look at any story where even a single day would make a difference (again, pemerton's reference to Star Wars and Luke/Han rescuing Leia). In a game where heal time recovery plays a larger role, the story might <em>unfold</em> differently due to those mechanics. For example, say Obi-Wan is incapacitated by Alderaan exploding, and couldn't disarm the tractor beam. Even if Leia is rescued, they can't get away (well, they probably would, so they could be tracked, but it might be even <em>more</em> suspicious). And if they didn't get away, or go straight to the Rebel base, or whatever, it'd change the story.</p><p></p><p>If you're simply seeing if the story can remain the same as far as large brush strokes go? It can probably be pretty similar. Again, though, to a guy like me, who likes to see the story unfold based on the mechanics playing out naturally, longer healing times make a big difference. But this extends to other aspects, too (like hit charts, and the like), and don't necessarily represent what I think should be the default for D&D. As far as healing goes, I think it should default to "here is the dial, and here's what each setting might mean." But that's me. As always, play what you like <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JamesonCourage, post: 5950445, member: 6668292"] Depends. Sometimes, it's good enough to heal and move on the next day. Other times, it might take two days worth of healing, and then another night's rest to regain spells (making it three days). Those two days can make a difference, from my experience, even if I prefer longer rest times (as is usually experienced in my RPG). Well, I'd "quibble" that it wasn't my example. It was 10 days to get to a 13 day place, where healing time was longer, and the difference between day 10, 12, 13, and 14 was apparent (10 = able to investigate or set up an ambush; 12 = showing up during preparations; 13 = showing up at the last minute, hopefully in time; 14 = too late). In this example, healing time makes a big difference in [I]how the story plays out[/I], which is a style I prefer much more than [I]making the story the most interesting it can be[/I]. That might seem really odd, but I find that dynamic mechanics with many possible narrative paths make for really interesting stories, and as a sandbox-oriented GM, I personally prefer mechanics that fulfill this goal. To this end, potentially long heal times help more than overnight heal times, since the former can produce either overnight rests (little damage or resources used) or long healing times (great damage or most resources used). Really, though, this seems like a tangent of your question that I answered: "what kind of story can't be told with the overnight rest mechanic?" Well, you should probably know that, to me, "overnight rest" includes the use of magic. Because, as a pacing issue, it's effectively the same (as you're trying to point out to me, I think). That's why I prefer longer recovery time on spells (something my RPG also has). But, hey, I like grim and gritty :) As far as a story being hampered by overnight healing? Again, look at any story where even a single day would make a difference (again, pemerton's reference to Star Wars and Luke/Han rescuing Leia). In a game where heal time recovery plays a larger role, the story might [I]unfold[/I] differently due to those mechanics. For example, say Obi-Wan is incapacitated by Alderaan exploding, and couldn't disarm the tractor beam. Even if Leia is rescued, they can't get away (well, they probably would, so they could be tracked, but it might be even [I]more[/I] suspicious). And if they didn't get away, or go straight to the Rebel base, or whatever, it'd change the story. If you're simply seeing if the story can remain the same as far as large brush strokes go? It can probably be pretty similar. Again, though, to a guy like me, who likes to see the story unfold based on the mechanics playing out naturally, longer healing times make a big difference. But this extends to other aspects, too (like hit charts, and the like), and don't necessarily represent what I think should be the default for D&D. As far as healing goes, I think it should default to "here is the dial, and here's what each setting might mean." But that's me. As always, play what you like :) [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
The Healing Paradox
Top