D&D 4E 4e rule question - extended rest & HP's

[Samurai]

If you want to extend the healing times a bit, you could say that an Extended Rest heals half your total HPs and returns 3 Healing Surges. That would mean it'd take about 2 days instead of 1 to fully heal, or you could use 2 of your regained Surges and heal back up to full in 1 day, but then be pretty spent as far as any further healing that day.

 

[Milambus]

It may be helpful to think of hit points in 4e as how much energy or ability to fight they have left rather than how much physical damage they have taken. Taking 5 points of damage isn't getting sliced with a sword, its having spent energy to dodge away from the sword. And an attack that misses was a swing that was effortlessly dodged, something the character really didn't even have to try to do.

Thinking about it that way helps to Warlord's "Inspiring Word" and everyone's "Second Wind" make more sense. They do not heal physical damage that your character has taken, they just give you a burst of energy which lets you continue the fight with.

 

[Stalker0]

3 death saves are pretty easy to fail as well.
-O

This is especially true when you remember that you death save count DOESN'T go away until you get to take a short rest!

That means if you drop, fail 2 death saves, and get healed back up...if you drop again your one save away from death.

Believe me...it comes up a lot more than I thought it would when I first read the mechanic.

 

[DracoSuave]

Yep. HPs fluctuate so much in battle that it's like riding a rollercoaster. Attrition/Death Spiral never needs to be a factor, monsters are pretty capable of dealing a lot of damage when push comes to shove.

 

[Obryn]

Believe me...it comes up a lot more than I thought it would when I first read the mechanic.

Ditto. I was thinking, "Bah, that's less than a 1-in-8 chance. Nobody will ever die from this."

Boy was I wrong. That death save builds tension wonderfully.

-O

 

[Fkewl]

My way to deal with over-resting

Since my players in KOTS where resting alot even after getting several message that the undead were going to break through anytime now, they had very bad nightmares during their extended rest and now had 1 less Healing Surge. Then the second time they did a extended reste, they had 2 less HS (and so on).

My reasoning is that they are very near a portal to a demonic plane which affects all living beings and the closer it gets to be opened, the more it affects them.

 

[pskought]

Did I read this right?

After an extended rest the PC gets back all his hit points.

(How can someone even die now in 4e?)

Folks have quoted you a bunch of ways, but let me add this:

I play the tank (Dragonborn CHA Paladin) in a party of 3. We are currently 3rd level, having played 6 or 7 sessions. I have hit 0 HP at least once in every session. I actually "died" in our first game, because everyone else thought making a death save meant you stabilized, a la 3.x*.

On paper, it sure seems like you're invincible. But between sudden bursts of bad guy damage and painful ongoing effects, death is really just three rolls away at almost any time. It's awesome.


* - As far as the Cleric was concerned, I "stabilized" when I rolled an 11, and he went to go zap somewhere else on the map. He didn't believe me that I was still dying and 2 rounds later - URK! But between that and umpteen other rules cock-ups, we called it a do-over.

 

[Mighty Veil]

Thank you very much for letting me know (esp. that 12 hours rule).

My group got half way through those 3e Realms mega-adventures and we decided to just go 4e. First game should be this weekend.

 

[Obryn]

I actually "died" in our first game, because everyone else thought making a death save meant you stabilized, a la 3.x*.

Well, holy crap.

We've been playing that wrong. I thought it stabilized a dying character.

And even with that error, we're still getting character deaths.

-O

 

[Aristotle]

The game is still plenty lethal and, as others have pointed out, the healing up to full is really not so different than a lot of 3e games only the need to erase charges and purchase new wands now and then are gone. Of course you can still take healing surges or even recovered health from players to simulate various circumstances.

I aslo make sure my players know that full HP does not always mean fully healed wounds. Your back up to fighting capacity, but you might still be bruised and bandaged until you get back to town and get a few weeks rest.