D&D 5E Hit Dice and How To Get More From Them

[Garthanos]

Honestly, I’m tempted to boost in combat healing by just allowing you to spend 1 HD when you receive healing, to gain 1HD (averaged) extra healing, and leave HD gain on a long rest alone.

I think that idea needs to scale... 1 per tier.

 

[Garthanos]

My synopisis about what I see:

• The value of recovering both offense ( atleast short rest ones) and defense (hp) is to keep things from being sloggy offensively its better than just recovering defense for everyone involved.
• The value of spending HD in the middle of fights is so you can support somewhat bigger fights.(fun for shorter work day crowd usually)
• The primary value of allowing spending HD or HP out of combat is so you can if they are doing other hard things to still potentially challenge the heros with smaller fights.
• The value of allowing spend HD or HP (spend up to a hd worth of hps) to exert for skillful / non-combat activities is to compensate high hp characters like fighters and barbarians ... hey they try harder.

 

[Garthanos]

A ritual that is in a sense better than surgeless healing converting cash into both offensive and defensive recovery in mid paragon...

I am fine with money based recovery of hit points if it also recovers offensive resources. Or perhaps there are two ... potion of life and elixir of energy

 

[Garthanos]

It costs a hit due and hit points? No thanks.

I think no I think he described the action as roll a hd and it cost a hd minus mod of hit points if you gained a lot of benefit (based on the die roll) you lost a lot of hit points reduced by your skill.
Perhaps he will explain further...

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I think that idea needs to scale... 1 per tier.

Maybe, but the spells themselves already scale.

 

[Teemu]

Honestly, I’m tempted to boost in combat healing by just allowing you to spend 1 HD when you receive healing, to gain 1HD (averaged) extra healing, and leave HD gain on a long rest alone.

My gut feeling is that this would simply make the already wonky encounter building rules even wonkier since you'd be improving PC survivability.

If the primary design purpose of the 4e healing surges was to put a limiter on the recovery of daily hit points, then I'd approach the house rules from that viewpoint. In 5e the simple potion of healing can, at higher levels, work like the 3.x cure light wounds/lesser vigor wand. So, maybe start by requiring the potion of healing to require expending HD? The potion is common and in the standard equipment list, which makes it available for easy purchase (by default at least). It'd be somewhat reasonable to nerf it, although I could see lowest level parties hurting from this.

If you use spells to heal, you're using up daily resources, which is kind of the same deal as spending surges in 4e, another daily resource.

Another possible change could be done to the healing word spell, which is by far the most common in-combat healing spell, and obviously the successor to the minor action leader powers of 4e. Maybe the spell could simply allow you to spend HD as if you'd finished a short rest, adding the caster's spellcasting ability modifier on top? And upcasting it would then add 1d4 extra per spell slot level.

 

[Garthanos]

My gut feeling is that this would simply make the already wonky encounter building rules even wonkier since you'd be improving PC survivability.

The only impact is indeed to make survivability in bigger fights greater. Multiple short fights which already may trigger that take a rest between are not really altered It allows you to have bigger fights without things getting too out of control ie swingy. (For those of use who prefer larger fights I think that is a goal)

Second Wind : I had another idea on the 5e version called Healing Surges and that was to only allow second wind if if the fight exceeded 4 rounds...but decided it was just being fiddly.

 

[Garthanos]

Maybe, but the spells themselves already scale.

Your spend 1 HD means progressively less and less without scaling it is a meaningless impact free tthing when people have 15 HD. A healing surge scaled ie was always 1/4 of your hit points. ok actually it actually meant healing was required less because (healer bonus healing scaled too.) but it also meant they also felt like they got better at it.

Ie Healer ability was getting better and better = just like the 5e spell scaling.

And ofcourse HD are still coming out of what you could rest and regain afterwards you are not getting more healing just spending it more flexibly it makes bigger fights less deadly if you only want that effect in low tier then sure do not scale it.

Expect attribute bonus from the cleric in most cases on top of this as well

 

[Garthanos]

• The value of recovering both offense ( atleast short rest ones) and defense (hp) is to keep things from being sloggy offensively its better than just recovering defense for everyone involved.

My goal is while inspired by 4e to try and do better than that.

I think HD expenditure should refresh and invigorate not just bolster resilience. Which is better emulated by recovery of both hp and some offensive energy.

Tie the spending of HD to getting back short rest resources ie you only get the one with the other... ie it might even mean you only get back your fighters CS die by spending HD. Yes after the battle a HD lets you gain HP and some amount of KI or a CS die or Spell Points or whatever.

 

[Garthanos]

My goal is while inspired by 4e to try and do better than that.

I think HD expenditure should refresh and invigorate not just bolster resilience. Which is better emulated by recovery of both hp and some offensive energy.

Tie the spending of HD to getting back short rest resources ie you only get the one with the other... ie it might even mean you only get back your fighters CS die by spending HD. Yes after the battle a HD lets you gain HP and some amount of KI or a CS die or Spell Points or whatever.

The numbers to make that work seem to be tricky one might just shoot from the hip and double hd and assume half can and will be be spent on recover offensive resources during a rest as they need to.