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Message: <blockquote data-quote="cthulhu42" data-source="post: 7270473" data-attributes="member: 6792361">Thanks for the replies. Some very good stuff here. Trust me, I get the abstract nature of hit points. I understand that they are not meant to represent sword cuts and broken bones. BUT... at a certain point you ARE dealing with sword cuts and broken bones. Some damage IS real. If you're getting into combat with swords and maces as frequently as D&D characters do, some of those hits are going to be real damage. I know that's up to me as the DM since the game doesn't differentiate, but I have to believe it's true. I mean, lets say a PC gets captured by a bad guy and they torture him. While DMing the situation I specifically say that the bad guy breaks the PC's hands, shattering his bones with a club. Then his party charges in and rescues him. They take an eight hour rest and, technically, all those broken bones are back to good! And sure, I am free to adjudicate that encounter more realistically. And I might. But if I want to keep my game moving, I can accept the eight hour rest OR come up with some rational that makes the eight hour rest not so ridiculous. Also, yes, my idea would require a divine caster of some sort in the party. But hasn't D&D always kind of required that? I think magical healing is what has always made fantasy RPG's work so much better than most other genres. Many of the suggestions here are helpful if the party does NOT have a caster. I think natural healing should be slower, and my thought is to use the longer healing rules in the DMG, or even one of the suggestions from this thread, should a caster be unavailable. But usually my group does have a divine caster of some sort. And remember, it's not my intention to slow the game down. As someone mentioned in a reply, what I'm looking for is a narrative device that allows us to keep the eight hour heal without it straining reality to the breaking point. I think having the spell be a ritual rather than a cantrip is a better idea. I had thought of that but I got stuck on the ten minute ritual casting time, but I suppose there's no reason a ritual couldn't have a longer casting time. Also, as was mentioned before, my idea would certainly make the healing process easier to interrupt, which, as a story device could be useful. It would add a small element of danger when healing in a less than secure place, which isn't a bad thing.</blockquote>

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