D&D 4E What do you like about 4e healing?

[SeRiAlExPeRiMeNtS]

All of the above, I really like how the pcs star each combat with full hps.

 

[Szatany]

Healers should be able to heal once per combat. Healing every turn is, to me, very unrealistic and unfun. (yes, even with magic - you don't see that in any fantasy movie or book).

 

[ferratus]

I'd like to see healer-bot removed from the game entirely. Getting healing from another player character is not core to the D&D experience.

I don't know about that. My wife really enjoyed playing our 4e pacifist healer. She said, "I don't care if it is healing or damage, I just want to roll high numbers!"

 

[Gilladian]

I checked "nonmagical healing" but what I meant by that is probably very different from the poll's meaning, now that I think about it.

I don't like "shout the person back to health". I DO like "go find this herb in the forest and make a skill check to apply it to his wounds and heal him."

Otherwise, I don't like 4e healing. I want HP to be hard to replace. I think healing is too easy in 3e as well. Definitely prefer it to be an out-of-combat activity on the whole.

 

[Hassassin]

I like 1, but don't like 2, 3 or 4.

5 and 6 I don't care about, as long as non-magical healing is minor and/or slow.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I think scaling the Healing to HP is the one thing that i liked (because it is a bit more realistic) but I really disliked the other things.

 

[SensoryThought]

I like many aspects of 4e healing particularly scaling with total hp pool and giving many classes some mechanic for limited self healing. I hope these stay in 5e.

Like others have said, I find the capacity of non-magical healing, especially the spending of multiple healing surges during back to back short rests, and the warlord mechanic of healing physical wounds via non-magical inspiration just 'feels wrong'. Mechanically it works, but it feels inelegant.

As I have posted previously in another thread, I like the idea from other systems of separating vitality/fatigue/temporary hps from wounds/real hps. I have been thinking about house ruling that with your bloodied value representing when you start taking real injuries unless you get critically hit or something.

 

[Wormwood]

I love 4e healing.

My group is currently 10th-level and they don't have a healer of any kind---nor do they feel the need to carry a ton of healing potions, etc.

I'd really hate to go back to the days of, "come on guys, one of you has to play a cleric."

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Yes, I'm deliberately wording the question positively.

4e healing is probably one of the more controversial aspects of that edition, but I am of the (perhaps unrealistic) view that even those who don't really like 4e might like some aspects of the system, although they tend to get buried under the overall sense of dissatisfaction.

So, this is a quick poll to determine which are the more positive aspects of 4e "healing" which should show up in 5e in one form or the other.

See below for a more detailed description of the poll options.

1. Healing scales with base hit points: Healing spells and abilities restore some proportion of the target's base hit points and are thus equally effective regardless of whether they are used on a 1st-level wizard or a 15th-level fighter.

2. Soft cap on hit points healed per day: There are limits to how often any one PC can benefit from normal healing spells and abilities in a day. It is possible to exceed this cap, but such spells and abilities are rare.

3. Healers need not sacrifice attacks: Healing spells and abilities cost a minor action, or can be used in conjunction with an attack.

4. Common rest cycle for hit points, spells and abilities: Whatever rest period is required for a character to completely regain his other spells and abilities is also sufficient for him to completely regain his hit points.

5. Non-magical hit point recovery: Non-magical means of hit point recovery exist, and are about on par with magical healing.

6. All PCs can restore their own hit points: All PCs have some way to restore their own hit points, whether magical or mundane.

If there are any aspects that you think I've missed, please detail them in a separate post. Conversely, if you specifically dislike any of these aspects, please feel free to state your reasons why, and if you're feeling particularly generous, what can be done to make them more palatable for you (e.g. a separate vitality/vigor pool distinct from real hit points).

I look forward to reading your contributions.

I think the only things they didn't do well was:

• Picking the name "Healing Surge" for the limited, innate healing resource.
• The "death and dying" mechanic coupled non-magical healing creates a "Schroedinger's Cat" mechanic.

I think the system was otherwise really well done and solved plenty flavor and mechanical problems with healing. Which is pretty much exactly your list, Firelance.

Except maybe one thing: I would have been fine with less healing going on overall. Make the effect less common, but maybe with more impact. I think it would have been good if "Leader" classes would focus more on the buffing part and less on the healing parts.

 

[Ahnehnois]

None of the above.

I'd like to go for the positive framing, but I couldn't find anything here that I could support either. There doesn't seem to be a poll option for us.