Or because the opponents are smart enough to spiral on the character they see as the greatest threat...It's a team game, and one with a lot of randomness. It is almost never a single PC's fault they reach zero. And if it is, it's often because they are serving an altruistic role like tank and inviting the attacks so others don't take them.
Which brings about a truly bizarre risk-reward dynamic: the player who intentionally puts her character at risk to take one for the team is rewarded by having the consequences of that risk - and thus the degree of risk itself - reduced or even eliminated!As such, penalizing a single player (by having them sit idle) for either team actions or for playing altruistically is exactly wrong. While I understand that some tables find no problems in penalizing the player for this, it will never be on my table so not part of any house rule suggestion I make.
And the best fix is to go exactly the opposite direction from just about every other suggestion thus far: make it that healing someone who's at 0 has no effect except to prevent death - i.e. you're stabilized, no more death saves required, and that's it. You're still at 0, you're still down, and basic healing ain't gonna help otherwise for x-amount of time (I suggest ten minutes). Very high level healing or curative effects might bypass this delay.Which, as listed is the actual problem - healing is more effective after dropping, so the rules encourage that behavior.
Hmmmm...never thought of it this way before but I wonder if that's an intentional design decision: to reduce reliance on healers (or healbots) by making healing generally less effective than resting as a means of h.p. recovery.Now, you could bring back negative HPs, to make them both equal and then rely on players not wanting to drop. But that doesn't address how anemic healing in 5e is compared to damage (compare Cure Wounds and Inflict Wounds), so it is still not fully solving the problem.
Increasing the healing values just serves to make a game that's already pretty easy on its players/PCs (relative to other D&D editions) even easier. Is that the result you want?To restate: any solution that does not address both low 5e healing values and healing-from-zero as more efficient is not actually addressing the problem, it's at best a band-aid dealing with a symptom.
Instead of penalizing PCs for allowing themselves to reach 0 (risking death), you want to buff in-combat healing to make that more attractive? IMO in-combat healing should already be attractive enough given that it keeps PCs in the fight.
As for upcasting, we made it more appealing by allowing the additional dice from upcasting to automatically be the maximum. So, a 2nd level Cure Wounds, instead of 2d8+WIS mod, is 1d8+8+WIS mod. It makes upcasting spells like Sleep more appealing as well since you have a good chance to affect more creatures.
So, no, not for me, but for groups that like healing surges it would probably work well.
I could, off the top of my head, see abuse with goodberry (as a static healing amount of 1, each berry would heal 11 damage), and life transference (XGE)(damage yourself for Xd8 amount and heal another for double that amount)....you can spend a HD. An upcast 3rd level Healing Word for 3d4+ability could let you spend 3 HD - finally it isn't lackluster when upcast.
Way to think outside the 5e box, but Whack-a-Mole happens because of DM decisions, not because the rules reward it. When a PC goes unconscious, that PC "drops whatever it's holding and falls prone." That's an effective half-movement penalty from the fallen PC's next turn while it stands up and grabs its weapon. The DM rewards W-A-M tactics by guiding NPCs to-. . . Often a solution is to penalize a character for going down but that is trying to solve the wrong problem. Whack-a-mole healing happens because the rules reward it. Because you get more for the same healing spell - a 4 HP Healing Word won't prevent a character with 6 HPs from going down to 12 points of damage, but will stand them back up. . .
I think I didn't communicate it well then. For every 10 point of static healing done, you may add a HD.I could, off the top of my head, see abuse with goodberry (as a static healing amount of 1, each berry would heal 11 damage), and life transference (XGE)(damage yourself for Xd8 amount and heal another for double that amount).
I don't know of a single 1st level spell slot that does more than 1 die of healing so you can't add more than 1 HD. I think this may be part of me not communicating clearly.I could also see issues at higher levels (basically instant full heal for the cost of a 1st level spell in a boss battle).
That works fine, but not as a incentive to make healing-while-up more attractive than healing-from-zero.Is there any issue instead using the DMG optional "healing surge" (p266)(as action spend up to 1/2 hit dice to heal; DM may allow "superheroic" feel by allowing it to be done as a bonus action, usable 1/rest)?
Wow, I like that idea! I may just incorporate it into my game. If for no other reason Than that my die rolls suck, and this could really help the party endurance. 6-8 encounters, my butt! We're lucky to get through 3 or 4 before someone's near death, we're out of spells/ ability uses; and all are severely depleted of health...Instead of penalizing PCs for allowing themselves to reach 0 (risking death), you want to buff in-combat healing to make that more attractive? IMO in-combat healing should already be attractive enough given that it keeps PCs in the fight.
As for upcasting, we made it more appealing by allowing the additional dice from upcasting to automatically be the maximum. So, a 2nd level Cure Wounds, instead of 2d8+WIS mod, is 1d8+8+WIS mod. It makes upcasting spells like Sleep more appealing as well since you have a good chance to affect more creatures.
So, no, not for me, but for groups that like healing surges it would probably work well.
No, it only maximized the dice gained from upcasting. The original dice for the spell are never adjusted.Clerics have a 3rd-level spell, Beacon of Hope, which maximizes all healing done in its aura. It seems like your house rule is almost like an always-on Beacon.
LOL glad you like it and might use it, whatever the reason.Wow, I like that idea! I may just incorporate it into my game. If for no other reason Than that my die rolls suck, and this could really help the party endurance. 6-8 encounters, my butt! We're lucky to get through 3 or 4 before someone's near death, we're out of spells/ ability uses; and all are severely depleted of health...