Abstract long rests

[JRRNeiklot]

Wouldn't it be quite easy to houserule it? Or use the old school module, which I'm sure will exist.

It's not that simple. Adventures will assume the default, so every room or encounter is going to assume the pcs are at or near full health. Which means if I houserule healing back to AD&D levels, I have to change everything else as well. The entire pace of adventures will assume pcs start the day at full health, so I'd have to change that too. It's much easier to leave healing at AD&D or even 3e levels and have a module for more healing than the reverse.

 

[DEFCON 1]

It's not that simple. Adventures will assume the default, so every room or encounter is going to assume the pcs are at or near full health.

That assumes the party takes a Long Rest between every room/encounter, which isn't the case either.

Will there be more instances of parties being at full health at various parts of a dungeon than there would have been in AD&D? Sure. But to say that every room/encounter will be that way is a bit hyperbolic.

And let's be honest here... with the rule as stated that an interrupted Long Rest means the party has to start over from the beginning of said rest... that will cut down on the number of times parties will attempt to rest within a dungeon (because of wandering monsters). That means parties will be more likely to leave the dungeon and go back to camp/town to rest. Then once that happens... there's really no appreciable difference in the game from the party coming back the next day to the party coming back the next week (other than the occasional "restock" of the dungeon that might occur within that week... but even something like Caves of Chaos said it would take several weeks for that to happen.)

 

[JRRNeiklot]

That assumes the party takes a Long Rest between every room/encounter, which isn't the case either.

Will there be more instances of parties being at full health at various parts of a dungeon than there would have been in AD&D? Sure. But to say that every room/encounter will be that way is a bit hyperbolic.

5th level fighter takes 10 points of damage in a fight. rolls 2d10 after a short rest. On average, he's now full health. Next fight, he takes 5 points of damage. Rolls 1d10. He's full again. Next fight he takes 20 points of damage. Rolls his remaining 2d10. Now he's 10 down on average and possibly full up. Next fight he takes 20 more points of damage. He's out of hit dice, so he spikes a door shut or retreats to a safe spot and rests for the day. He's back to full for the next day. Rinse and repeat. I don't see that as hyperbolic at all. In fact, I'd say it will become the standard.

 

[DEFCON 1]

5th level fighter takes 10 points of damage in a fight. rolls 2d10 after a short rest. On average, he's now full health. Next fight, he takes 5 points of damage. Rolls 1d10. He's full again. Next fight he takes 20 points of damage. Rolls his remaining 2d10. Now he's 10 down on average and possibly full up. Next fight he takes 20 more points of damage. He's out of hit dice, so he spikes a door shut or retreats to a safe spot and rests for the day. He's back to full for the next day. Rinse and repeat. I don't see that as hyperbolic at all. In fact, I'd say it will become the standard.

And how have you come about these numbers of taking 10 points, 5 points, 20 points, and 20 points of damage? Just made them up? What happens when that first battle he takes 40 points of damage and then has to blow all 5 hit dice? Does he go "one and out" and make the party hit the showers then and there to regain everything? Or does the party tell him to suck it up and keep moving? Or does he perhaps not use all his hit dice and instead just use a couple so that he's still 15 to 20 hit points down but still have has an HD or two in reserve for later?

It's easy to use averages and make up random numbers in order to try and prove your point... but this is where the playtesting comes in. We'll get to actually see if your "best case scenario" to prove why the healing in 5E will suck actually comes about. Because I suspect things will not get tied up in the perfect "at max hp every fight" bow you're presupposing.

 

[JRRNeiklot]

And how have you come about these numbers of taking 10 points, 5 points, 20 points, and 20 points of damage? Just made them up? What happens when that first battle he takes 40 points of damage and then has to blow all 5 hit dice? Does he go "one and out" and make the party hit the showers then and there to regain everything? Or does the party tell him to suck it up and keep moving? Or does he perhaps not use all his hit dice and instead just use a couple so that he's still 15 to 20 hit points down but still have has an HD or two in reserve for later?

It's easy to use averages and make up random numbers in order to try and prove your point... but this is where the playtesting comes in. We'll get to actually see if your "best case scenario" to prove why the healing in 5E will suck actually comes about. Because I suspect things will not get tied up in the perfect "at max hp every fight" bow you're presupposing.

Of course I made them up. Choose different numbers if you like, though I suspect the outcome will - generally - be the same or near enough. Also, that's not even taking account for magical healing. So, yes, I believe most - but obviosly not all - encounters will be faced at or near full health with the system as it stands.

Keeping hit die in reserve is not a wise idea in any case. Reserve heals can't be spent when you're dead.

 

[FireLance]

Of course I made them up. Choose different numbers if you like, though I suspect the outcome will - generally - be the same or near enough. Also, that's not even taking account for magical healing. So, yes, I believe most - but obviosly not all - encounters will be faced at or near full health with the system as it stands.

Keeping hit die in reserve is not a wise idea in any case. Reserve heals can't be spent when you're dead.

Currently, there is one minor drawback to taking a short rest to spend Hit Dice after each fight: you expend one use of a healer's kit each time you do so. Admittedly, the cost is minimal (since a healer's kit costs 50 gp and has 10 uses, that's only 5 gp per short rest), but copper piece-pinching PCs will want to wait until they are injured enough to spend all (or half - if they are more cautious) of their Hit Dice at once, in order to conserve funds.

 

[Lalato]

No Level 20s in that campaign, but a Level 5 PC still takes longer to heal than a Level 1 PC. Seems kind of unrealistic to me. Just sayin.

 

[VannATLC]

Er. You don't take any real hits till you reach bloodied, and no actual injuries till 0. So why Does healing overnight, from at least 1 or more, bother you?

 

[JRRNeiklot]

Er. You don't take any real hits till you reach bloodied, and no actual injuries till 0. So why Does healing overnight, from at least 1 or more, bother you?

The premise of never being injured until 0 bothers me. Those "hits" didn't hit me? Then why am I saving against poison? Why does a cure spell heal me? That entire premise fails my litmus test. It too must go.

 

[VannATLC]

Then DND is, and has always been, the wrong game for you. From the very beginning, HP have been massively abstracted. (I kind of agree with the Poison example. Why I prefer saves for things like that, instead of AC. )