D&D (2024) Just DMed my 1st session of 5.5. Healer's Kit!?!?!

[el-remmen]

Misreading rules as the OP?

Well, the sentiment, if not the specific details.

You mean if someone a medicine check, it just counts as anither save which can be a failure or success? So 3 medicine checks to stabilize?

That’s one way to do it.

So potions are out of combat stuff?

That’s up to a character to decide. But both PCs and antagonists will use actions in combat to down a potion if necessary. I usually see it happen every other combat or so.

Honestly, I think drinking a potion with a hostile enemy in reach should draw an opportunity attack like it did in 3e but I haven’t gotten buy-in for that yet.

 

[AlViking]

I don't have a problem with healers kit being used to stabilize someone in combat since you could already do it with a DC 10 medicine check anyway. Another interesting spin on this is the healer feat which lets characters regain HP with an action, in the 2024 rules it requires the target of the healing to spend a hit die.

As far as lay on hands being bonus actions I like it because it feels like now my paladin isn't wasting their turn which often didn't make sense. Like many people we've been drinking potions as a bonus action for a while now.

 

[Maxperson]

Yes, healing is generally easier in 2024, since it was objectively a suboptimal use of your action in 2014 unless you were healing someone from 0HP to get them back into the fight. Now it’s worth considering using to keep your party from falling to 0 in the first place, hopefully helping alleviate the whack-a-mole problem somewhat.

It will not stop whack-a-mole. Hit points and damage are still the primary balancer for 5e combat. Healing doesn't pace or outpace the rising monster damage, especially with the increase in 5.5e. What it will do, though, is slow down the point at which whack-a-mole starts, reducing it somewhat in game play.

 

[Maxperson]

I don't understand what you don't like about the Healer's Kit. That you don't have to roll Medicine? I mean, it's weird that the skill almost becomes useless once you have the gear, but it's probably just a time saver.

I think it's that you can identify what is medically wrong with your comrade, get the kit, rummage through it to get out what you need, and then bind/heal an injury that is life threatening, all in 6 seconds, while also moving and attacking yourself.

I'm okay with looking the other way a little bit, but all of that together breaks my brain too much. If someone in my game wants to use their main action, I'll give them a roll with advantage. If they want to use just a short bonus action, it will be a roll at disadvantage. Outside of combat there can be an auto success.

 

[Maxperson]

You mean if someone uses a medicine check, it just counts as anither save which can be a failure or success? So 3 medicine checks to stabilize?

Presumably those checks are in addition to death saves, so it could be two successful death saves and one successful medicine check, or any other combination of the two.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Presumably those checks are in addition to death saves, so it could be two successful death saves and one successful medicine check, or any other combination of the two.

I do actually like that. But then spare the dying and any healing spell should work in the same way.

Question is, how do you translate healing into death saves?

Maybe one point of healing to remove failed saves and another point per succeful save you still need. And the remaining hp is what you actually heal?

Or maybe a bit more punishing? 2 per slot? Or one per success needed, 2 per failed save or vice versa?

 

[el-remmen]

Presumably those checks are in addition to death saves, so it could be two successful death saves and one successful medicine check, or any other combination of the two.

This is actually more generous than my current system (which admittedly is a test version, so it could change) but I like it and may implement it.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I think it's that you can identify what is medically wrong with your comrade, get the kit, rummage through it to get out what you need, and then bind/heal an injury that is life threatening, all in 6 seconds,

Yeah, that's insane... but it's not a 2024 thing. Did healer's kits just not come up before now?

while also moving and attacking yourself. .

I still don't see how you can also attack.

I'm okay with looking the other way a little bit, but all of that together breaks my brain too much.

The problem, IMO, is with the designers choosing to imply that a "quick stabilize" using a healer's kit is akin to "bandaging wounds". They should model that with something that takes longer (and hopefully does more).

A quick stabilize ought to be something like a shot of morphine, smelling salts, or IDK (workshop it). Monsterous leeches.

But you're right: One can barely have a look at an actual wound in 6 seconds, far or less do anything about it.

If someone in my game wants to use their main action, I'll give them a roll with advantage. If they want to use just a short bonus action, it will be a roll at disadvantage. Outside of combat there can be an auto success.

Sure. Sounds reasonable.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Decided to play it straight before doing houserules.

Things that came up:

Paladin somehow doing 20 plus damage at level 1. That's a good smite.

(Healing) Potions as a Bonus Action. This was not unknown to me.

Lay on Hands is also a Bonus Action. What?

Healer's Kit is 5gp for TEN auto stabilizes. Oh and it can be used as part of another action. So, Attack and stabilize NO ROLL! plus my bonus action!

Edit: misread of the utilize action.

Healer's Kit thing is blowing my mind. My players were also quite surprised. One of them joked "Just kill me!" and I said "I can't the game won't let me!" We all laughed.

But yeah I have to think of house rules because good lord stuff like the Healer Kit is a step to far IMO.

I wonder who was really asking for stuff like the 5.5 healers kit? Who thinks its too easy to die in 5e?

 

[dave2008]

I wonder who was really asking for stuff like the 5.5 healers kit? Who thinks its too easy to die in 5e?

The healer's kit in 5e24 is the same as in 5e14. So I would guess whoever wanted it in 5e14?