Battle Standard of Healing and Healer's Brooch: overpowered healing?

[Ferghis]

In a play by post arena that tries to play by the book, for the most part ( Sands of Valathorn (DnD 4e Arena) on RPoL ), my fifth level cleric has obtained the following two items:

Healer’s Brooch +1 level 4 neck item
Property: When you use a power that enables you or an ally to regain hit points, add the brooch’s enhancement bonus to the hit points gained.

Battle Standard of Healing Level 3 Wondrous Item
Power (Encounter; Healing, Zone): Standard Action. When you plant the battle standard in your space or an adjacent square, it creates a zone of healing energy in a close burst 5. Whenever you or an ally spends a healing surge while in the zone, you and all allies in the zone regain 1 hit point.
This effect lasts until the end of the encounter or until the battle standard is removed from the ground. Any character in or adjacent to a battle standard’s square can remove it from the ground as a standard action.

My understanding of these items is that the effects stack as follows: each time the Battle Standard's healing is triggered, the Healer's Brooch increases the healing to 2. Some of the DMs have balked at the increased healing provided by the Battle Standard, and feel that allowing the Brooch to increase the healing provided is overpowered. What do you think? Game-breakingly overpowered? Or within the confines of the playable?

To fully disclose the houserules implemented so far, monsters have unified initiative to make a play by post 4e game practicable. Warforged do not automatically pass death saves, but merely have a bonus, to make sure that those characters have a good chance at dying as well. Expertise feats are implemented automatically at levels 5. And twin strike can be used to attack in melee with a sword in one hand and throw a javelin with the other (to make one iteration of a kobold ranger playable). Please note, I'm only providing these houserules to provide a background as to what modifications have been considered necessary so far. Another consideration that might affect your decision is that, at an approprate level, my character hopes to obtain the following items:

Healer's Gloves level 12 hand item
Property: When you use a power that has the healing keyword, one target regains an extra 1d6 hit points.

 

[Ferghis]

I almost forgot another relevant detail: my character has taken the Channel Divinity: Healer's Mercy power, so she can trigger three healing surges per encounter. Plus, her medic's weapon allows her to use a daily item power to recover her Channel Divinity, which could allow for another heal.

 

[Flipguarder]

Totally within the realm of "playable".

 

[keterys]

It can be argued that Healer's Gloves (or Armor) wouldn't apply to the Healing Standard, as they apply to a target, and you can dispute whether the standard has targets at all.

That said, the Brooch works and frankly it's totally fine. It's not a lot of healing, it's mostly useful outside of combat for healing the party up just that tiny little bit more. Out of combat healing can use all the boosts it can get.

 

[Mengu]

Optimized cleric healing can be a little over the top. But the battle standard in itself is not an issue.

Having said that, it's also not an item I would give out as treasure in my campaign because I don't like the idea of someone spending a standard action for a handful of hit points through the encounter so they can save a surge every 3-4 encounters. I'd rather they use that standard action to go hit someone on the head with a long stick.

 

[Obryn]

It can be argued that Healer's Gloves (or Armor) wouldn't apply to the Healing Standard, as they apply to a target, and you can dispute whether the standard has targets at all.

That said, the Brooch works and frankly it's totally fine. It's not a lot of healing, it's mostly useful outside of combat for healing the party up just that tiny little bit more. Out of combat healing can use all the boosts it can get.

This is how I'd argue it as well, honestly. I don't know that a character's Healer's Brooch would alter an item's ongoing power.

With that said, the Standard has a pretty substantial cost - a Standard Action - so I don't think it's unplayable.

-O

 

[Jarrod]

Without regards to playability, I would conclude it did not work. The brooch's text specifically mentions a "power", and the battle standard creates a zone. I do not believe the effects of zones are classed as powers. Furthermore, the brooch only applies when _you_ use a power, and the standard is not you.

 

[KarinsDad]

I have a strong opinion on this topic since Healer's Mercy was used in my PBP game to heal over 100 hit points on 4 4th level PCs with a single power with a single standard action. The PCs went from 4 bloodied out of 5 (the Cleric wasn't bloodied, but HM did not apply to the Cleric) with 1 of those unconscious and another almost unconscious to none bloodied and 2 full up or close to full up.

Healer's Mercy can be nearly the equivalent of up to 4 (or more party size depending) Healing Word spells. I think that spell is broken.


The issue comes in of tactics. Every player has his or her PC swing away for the fences and never bothers with tactics such as total defense or seeking cover and using ranged weapons, etc. cause they know that the Cleric will just make everything all better.

In fact with a dedicated healer in the group, the players rarely bother to even use Second Wind anymore.


It has gotten out of hand with Divine Power.

Having said that, the loss of a Standard Action for the Battle Standard balances that item. Plus, the enemies can always steal it if no PC is in the same square. DMs have to be aware of this and have an occassional NPC take the Standard.

And, the Brooch is ok.

It really is the synergies of the heals that blow this out of the water, not any one giving item, feat, or power (with the exception of Healer's Mercy which does blow it out of the water on it's own).

 

[keterys]

Yeah, Healer's Mercy is a whole different issue

 

[renau1g]

I feel Healer's Mercy should be a Daily, like Life Transference now is.