D&D 4E 4e Heal info in new Confessions article

[BryonD]

It would be better without the simple addition. I'm sure they can find a way that won't slow down play so much.

 

[Wepwawet]

There's been at least one PC death in playtest reports. Not enough for my taste. Then again it's trivially easy to increase the death rate by using more powerful traps/monsters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bP3GYdrW450

 

[Holy Bovine]

I house ruled the Heal skill to be able to restore a number of HP equal to the number of ranks you have in the skill. The treatment must be done within 5 minutes and each application takes 1 minute to perform and only one to a customer. It also requires a healer's kit (which add +2 to the amount healed).

 

[FreeTheSlaves]

PC death adds excitement and drama...

In my experience I have never enjoyed this 'excitement and drama'. I've had characters die over meaningless encounters, much to our frustration. Typically this happened due to a sudden dump of out-of-whack hp damage, save or die, or no-save ability damage.

That's what can happen when you follow the rules as written and roll openly and thus fairly.

I think it's a pretty fair claim to say of 3E & earlier that they lacked enough dramatic mechanics for when the pc's are getting wasted. You chugged along nicely until smashed into negatives, of which there was only a small cushion of. Hopefully the bloodied condition, second wind, this new healing skill, and whatever else, can all add up to excitement and drama.

I am certain 4E will not eliminate character death. If it can remove anti-climatic and no-player-fault deaths, then I'll be delighted.

...and why would you keep playing if your characters die?

One of our players quit after his character died and he couldn't/didn't get attached to the replacement.

 

[FourthBear]

If they reduce PC death, but also reduce PC resurrection I'll be pretty happy. Nothing is more ridiculous, IMO, than people talking about how death is always a present danger in their campaigns, then talk about how the affected characters were just carted off to the church to be raised. If you can come back, that's not death, that's a temporary inconvenience and the most "video-gamey" part of D&D. From designer notes, it sounds as though resurrection won't be common even for adventurers until Epic levels.

 

[SlagMortar]

I'm down, basically at death's door, yet I can find the focus to heal myself?

I would be happy with a heal check reviving someone mid-combat if the terminology was changed from "unconscious" at -1 to -10 HP to something more along the lines of "knocked down" or "disabled" or even "stunned". The mechanics would be the same as 3.5's "unconscious", so -5 HP would mean you are on the ground and can not take any actions, but the flavor is you've been knocked down and disoriented. You might be on the ground moaning and unable to defend yourself, but your buddy comes over and waves some smelling salts under your nose, slaps you on the cheek and says 'Orcus hasn't finished with you yet' or 'On your feet soldier' or 'Come, your friends are dying' or 'Get up and kill that ogre and I'll buy you all the ale you can drink.' If the downed character is truly spent - already used his second wind - then he's down and can't get back up. If the downed character still has a little something left - hasn't used his second wind - then he can get back up and back in the fight. The flavor of "on the ground and bleeding to death from the many stabs and slashed in your body", which is basically the 3.5 flavor, doesn't really fit.

 

[Cadfan]

Healing that depends on the TARGET creature more than on the HEALER?

That's great!! It could solve most of the problems tied to old style Light / Moderate / Serious / Critical healing spells!!

If it's used throughout the system, a mechanic for (just speculation from now on), say, Cure Light Wounds that triggers a target's second wind ability, and for Cure Serious Wounds that triggers two second winds (or maximized, or whatever) could basically make healing consistently relative for characters from lever 1 to 30.

Brilliant.

Amen and Hallelujah!

I hope they don't phrase it as "Casting Cure Light Wounds grants the target an immediate use of his Second Wind." Because that will make certain types of players flip the heck out. I hope they phrase it as, "Casting Cure Light Wounds heals a number of hit points equal to the target's Second Wind."

Same with heal checks.

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

While it's nice that Healing has a good use, I'm not sure if I like this 'internal healing reserve' thing. It smells of cheese.

I'm down, basically at death's door, yet I can find the focus to heal myself?

I soooo desperatly want to like 4e, but things like this just turn me off.

Think Jack Bauer. He can get the crap kicked out of him, tortured, even have his heart stopped, but less than an hour later he is running full speed, beating up the bad guys etc. He obviously has an internal healing reserve.

Is it realistic? Nope. Is it cinematic? Absolutely.

 

[Gort]

While it's nice that Healing has a good use, I'm not sure if I like this 'internal healing reserve' thing. It smells of cheese.

I'm down, basically at death's door, yet I can find the focus to heal myself?

I soooo desperatly want to like 4e, but things like this just turn me off.

You say that, but I think of the bit in Terminator 2 when Arnie switches to auxiliary power and pulls that iron bar the T1000 stuck through him out of his sternum and gets back up, and I get really turned on. In a manner of speaking.

 

[Darkwolf71]

It is, admittedly, more cinematic and less realistic. You just have to keep repeating the mantra "hit point gain does not necessarily mean physical healing" to yourself. Think of those scenes in a movie where the hero was knocked unconscious by a trap/an explosion/the BBEG/whatever, and a secondary character is shaking him and trying to make him get up. On a successful Heal check, he does.

Heh, well that does make it a little less painful.

(I still don't like it though. )