D&D 5E Does Rope Trick Heal?

[Mistwell]

Be my guest. Ask away.


But, again, would you let a cleric that learns rope trick and casts it to give the party a short rest have that spell benefit from Discipline of Life?

No because it is not a spell which itself "restores hit points to a creature". This is a limitation of the Disciple of Life ability, and not a definition of a healing type element of the game. For example, temporary hit points don't get a boost from Disciple of Life either, but I don't know anyone who doesn't think about granting temporary hit points as an element of healing in this game. Similarly, if you restore hit points to your animated object ally, that's an element of healing in the game as well...which does not itself restore hit points to a creature so does not get the benefit of the Disciple of Life ability. If your spellcaster makes a potion of healing, that potion also does not get the benefit of the Disciple of Life ability either - though it's rather similar to a goodberry.

 

[Treantmonklvl20]

The berries are part of the spell. It's similar to a spell with a really long casting time. Actions are not a limited resource by the way. You have them over and over and over without end.

Of course actions are a limited resource, unless you are in off-time, in which case neither actions nor HD are limited. In the process of adventuring though, both are limited.

 

[FrogReaver]

No because it is not a spell which itself "restores hit points to a creature".

For most of us that's the definition of a healing spell. (It's 52-6 now).

 

[thorgrit]

I'm surprised nobody's brought up Time Stop as a spell that can facilitate healing*. Cast it, chug a couple of healing potions, and you've restored hit points. Whether Time Stop "heals" or "is a (direct|indirect) healing spell" is not related to whether you have the potions to chug or are empty-handed.

(* though I wouldn't be surprised if it was brought up in whatever thread spawned this one)

 

[FrogReaver]

Of course actions are a limited resource, unless you are in off-time, in which case neither actions nor HD are limited. In the process of adventuring though, both are limited.

Actions are only limited in the context of combat. In the context of an adventuring day I think it's safe to say actions don't have a limit.

 

[Treantmonklvl20]

But, again, would you let a cleric that learns rope trick and casts it to give the party a short rest have that spell benefit from Discipline of Life?

I would allow neither Rope Trick nor Goodberry to gain the benefits of Discipline of Life, as both provide healing indirectly. I think the intention of Discipline of Life is for it to affect spells that heal directly.

If you were to use a Fabricate spell to replenish a Healing Kit, then use it with the Healer feat, I wouldn't let that benefit from Discipline of Life either, nor would I have it benefit a Healing Potion recovered with Drawmij's Instant Summons for the same reason I wouldn't allow it to work on goodberry.

 

[Gladius Legis]

I'm surprised nobody's brought up Time Stop as a spell that can facilitate healing*. Cast it, chug a couple of healing potions, and you've restored hit points. Whether Time Stop "heals" or "is a (direct|indirect) healing spell" is not related to whether you have the potions to chug or are empty-handed.

(* though I wouldn't be surprised if it was brought up in whatever thread spawned this one)

Because Time Stop is a waste of a 9th-level spell.

 

[Mistwell]

For most of us that's the definition of a healing spell. (It's 52-6 now).

Good for you I guess? I think from a rules design perspective, or as I mentioned earlier a sort of meta rules perspective, this is a healing spell. I'd expect people in-game to describe it like you describe it because it's sort of pulling back the curtain on the rules to talk about this spell in terms of it filling a healing niche, but I genuinely think it does just that. And that doesn't change if you or others view it different, does it?

 

[Maxperson]

Of course actions are a limited resource, unless you are in off-time, in which case neither actions nor HD are limited. In the process of adventuring though, both are limited.

I suppose you stop getting them when the PC dies of old age, so they are limited I guess. It's just not a practical limit. You get 14,400 actions a day, possibly more if you belong to a class that gives you extra ones.

 

[Mistwell]

Actions are only limited in the context of combat. In the context of an adventuring day I think it's safe to say actions don't have a limit.

But as he mentioned, then neither do Hit Dice. If you have 8 hours to spare between combats then you heal fully. All of this comes down to the context of combat (or at least the context of round-based time measurement). And in that context, actions are a limited resource. Often the most limited resource.