D&D 4E total 4e noob needs some advice about healing

[JiffyPopTart]

Another thing to keep in mind that I didn't see mentioned already (I may have missed it).

Every class that has the role called "leader" has some way to let other characters use healing surges during combat in addition to their own personal Second Wind.

DS

 

[Tony Vargas]

Hello everyone,

I am thinking of starting 4e. Been playing since 2nd edition.
But this feels like totaly new game style.

Yep, 4e finally tackled some long-standing problems of D&D. It's pretty nifty, but takes some getting used to if you're an old-timer (like me, started in '80). Healing is one of the big differences.

I am kinda confused about healing in this system.
Everyone has healing surges that shows how many times you can be healed in a day ?

Everyone has healing surges, they represent sort of 'reserves' - you can think of then, much like hps, as representing life energy, health, determination, resolve, luck, divine favor, etc.

Everyone can use second wind ?

Once per encounter, yes.

You heal through power that are activating healing surges ?

The most common type of healing is a power that allows the target to spend a healing surge (and thus get back their surge value in hit points), often with additional hps restored, as well. There are less common powers that heal without expending a surge, they either restore very small amounts of hps (less than a surge), or are daily powers.

The upshot of the healing surge mechanic is that healing is no longer a resource that the Cleric must divert his spell powers to provide. A cleric gets the same number of powers as everyone else, and he can 'heal' twice/encounter, triggering allies' surges. Each character thus provides his own healing resources, the Cleric (and other Leaders, like the Warlord) are more fascilitators.

 

[DracoSuave]

4th edition combat's different than 2nd edition.

In second edition, at first level, your warrior starts with 10 or so hps, but most monsters you fight early on don't hit often, and when they do it's for a small amount, 1, 2 sometimes 3. Those 10 hps, along with the cleric's reserve of Cure Light Wounds, are supposed to last your adventuring day. Monsters at that level have 1/4 or 1/2 hit dice, meaning that you'll face kobolds with one hit point, two if they're extra tough, and the occasional goblin with three. Your warrior is probably killing everything in one blow.

A 4th edition fighter might have around 30 hit points to start... but he's getting hit for 10-20 hit points of damage. Monsters themselves start at 33 hit points, minimum, and will go up from there. Sure, you'll fight a few minions here and there, but most encounters have monsters that take multiple hits to kill. Instead, you probably have 11-14 healing surges that are to last you the entire adventuring day, each of which are worth 8 hps a piece. But because you get for so much harder, death is always a possibility, even if you have healing surges left.

Fourth edition's battles have a swingier hp curve... it goes down and up rapidly, and fights are a little tenser. There's no real mop-up fights, or 'simple' encounters like 2nd edition.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

There is one area compared to 3.x where fights are less tense.

The chance of a 1st-level fighter killing (or being killed) by an orc 1 on 1 is probably the same in both editions. However, in 3.x an orc could kill a fighter in one blow if it got a crit, and the fighter could probably kill a generic 5 or 6 hit point orc warrior in one blow, whereas in 4e that won't happen; both would need to hit each other a few times before one of them falls.

 

[DracoSuave]

There is one area compared to 3.x where fights are less tense.

The chance of a 1st-level fighter killing (or being killed) by an orc 1 on 1 is probably the same in both editions. However, in 3.x an orc could kill a fighter in one blow if it got a crit, and the fighter could probably kill a generic 5 or 6 hit point orc warrior in one blow, whereas in 4e that won't happen; both would need to hit each other a few times before one of them falls.

Apples and oranges.

A level 1 encounter in 3rd edition consists of a single level 1 orc, where as a level 1 encounter in 4th edition consists of five level 1 orcs. Five level one 4e orcs are more than capable of doing serious damage to a single character in one round, more so than one single level 1 3rd edition monster.

A better comparison would be a 1/4 level 3e kobold to a level 1 4e kobold.

 

[Neonchameleon]

Basically there are two measures of resiliance in 4e. Healing Surges indicate how much damage you can take in the episode (I find thinking of 4e as a big budget action series helps understand it). Hit points are how much damage you can take right now. So a boxer can be swaying on his feet but the break between rounds (a short rest) allows him to spend a couple of surges.

A Second Wind is spending a few seconds to shake off your ringing head and catch your breath, allowing you to turn a surge into the immediate hit points. Which is what most healing does.

The whole thing allows you to play someone like John McClain or Indiana Jones - beaten up and battered and endangered in every scene with something that seriously threatens them, but going until the end while being bandaged, bruised, and generally down a lot on surges.

 

[NewJeffCT]

When comparing it to 2E, think of it this way - if a PC has a healing surge available, it allows a leader to cast the equivalent of a cure spell on them. You can receive as many cure spells (healing surges) per day as you have available.

However, for some, it seems that in combat healing was very unusual/not allowed prior to 4E, so that could be a big difference to you if you played it that way as well.

 

[Kerranin]

Basically there are two measures of resiliance in 4e. Healing Surges indicate how much damage you can take in the episode (I find thinking of 4e as a big budget action series helps understand it). Hit points are how much damage you can take right now. So a boxer can be swaying on his feet but the break between rounds (a short rest) allows him to spend a couple of surges.

A Second Wind is spending a few seconds to shake off your ringing head and catch your breath, allowing you to turn a surge into the immediate hit points. Which is what most healing does.

The whole thing allows you to play someone like John McClain or Indiana Jones - beaten up and battered and endangered in every scene with something that seriously threatens them, but going until the end while being bandaged, bruised, and generally down a lot on surges.

I agree with this, but healing surges also represent your ability to endure - for instance, if you were running a long distance, you might have to expend surges to keep running. This is also shown by some diseases causing you to lose surge(s) while diseased.