D&D 5E Can we add some meaning (power) behind the Skill "Medicine"

[ExploderWizard]

That was the problem, no one in my group want to run a stinking cleric, too weak

250 days and 250 Gold is in the DMG for learning Languages, so we use it for everything the DM does not wants to do, like refit Platemail, etc...



what, wrong post, sorry

The one thing you need to re-size plate armor is.....(surprise!) a skilled armorer. At this point you haven't met one. I'm sure there would be more than one of these in a good sized city who could do it in a reasonable amount of time for a negotiable fee.

The Problem with the Medicine Skill and My DM is, "If it is not written in the Players Handbook you can not do it"!!!!!!

So the only thing that the Medicine Skill is used for is Stabilize creatures

So far that is the only thing you have TRIED to do with it. Medicine is also useful for diagnosis of unknown ailments but that hasn't come up yet.

Your proposal for the medicine skill would take it from being moderately useful to being a must have skill for everyone. Healing up to half HD outside of a rest? That's like giving every class an improved version of second wind. While stabilizing is fine, giving instant hit points is overpowered.

It isn't my fault that out of seven people NO ONE wanted to play a healer. We aren't using any of the grittier optional rules, everyone heals to full on a long rest and there are no lingering wounds or anything. I would consider additional uses of medicine that work over time, much like actual medicine but I won't consider making a medicine check a suitable substitute for quick tactical healing that is covered by magic.

The basic rules made medicine largely irrelevant when the decision to have a nights rest cure all wounds. Who needs medicine when a nap does the trick? Fast effective healing for short term is what magic is for.

 

[Paraxis]

When adjudicating ability check use you need to be careful not to invalidate existing abilities or you are taking away the specialness of those abilities. For example, detect poison & disease is a spell so is protection from poison, and as I mentioned in another post so is the Healer feat.

I would not allow an ability check to restore hit points above what could possible already be healed, so letting someone use Medicine skill to let someone roll twice when spending hit dice or to take the maximum sounds doable. I could see a successful Medicine skill check to be used to Help someone on a save vs poison or disease for example.

 

[Athinar]

I'm not saying anything about "Healing up to half HD outside of a rest", even the Healing Feat can not do that, but using Medicine to aid during the Short Rest, Poison Condition, etc..

I don't like the Long Rest and Full Hit Points, sounds to much like WOW

Have you given us the name of the Restaurant for tonight so we can setup the game?

 

[ExploderWizard]

I'm not saying anything about "Healing up to half HD outside of a rest", even the Healing Feat can not do that, but using Medicine to aid during the Short Rest, Poison Condition, etc..

I would be willing to let the use of the medicine skill improve HD healing during short rests. Lets say a successful medicine check would allow the character it is used on to roll HD spent healing with advantage. I will work out the DC and other details prior to next session.

Have you given us the name of the Restaurant for tonight so we can setup the game?

It wouldn't be tonight it would be tomorrow night, and with the snow coming probably a no go.

 

[iserith]

When adjudicating ability check use you need to be careful not to invalidate existing abilities or you are taking away the specialness of those abilities. For example, detect poison & disease is a spell so is protection from poison, and as I mentioned in another post so is the Healer feat.

If nobody actually has that spell (or has access to that spell but never uses it), does it really matter? I don't think so. What's more, some class features, spells, and the like remove uncertainty from an action entirely. You cast the spell and it works (barring some edge cases in context). You take an action with a similar goal/intent and there's no guarantee it will work, which is where ability checks may come in.

I would not allow an ability check to restore hit points above what could possible already be healed, so letting someone use Medicine skill to let someone roll twice when spending hit dice or to take the maximum sounds doable. I could see a successful Medicine skill check to be used to Help someone on a save vs poison or disease for example.

You might "not allow an ability check to restore hit points above what could possibly already be healed," but that's not the thing that's allowing something to heal in that fashion. It's the fictional action with the uncertain outcome that precedes it. By saying you won't "allow the check" to do that, you're either saying that a fictional action to that effect automatically fails or automatically succeeds. Is it your position that under no circumstances can a character take an action that will restore additional hit points through means other than a class feature or spell that is spelled out in the rules?

 

[Paraxis]

Is it your position that under no circumstances can a character take an action that will restore additional hit points through means other than a class feature or spell that is spelled out in the rules?

Yes, for the most part. The only exceptions would be things on a character sheet/in the rules that restore hit points besides class features or spells, or something I as a DM include into the game like a healing fountain, magic circle, or other device.

I don't allow characters to just heal people, the same way I don't allow them to just mimic any other spell effect in the game through skill use. You can't do god calls, summon demons, conjure walls of fire, or control minds without class abilities or spell effects giving you that ability, same goes for restoring hit points.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

When adjudicating ability check use you need to be careful not to invalidate existing abilities or you are taking away the specialness of those abilities. For example, detect poison & disease is a spell so is protection from poison, and as I mentioned in another post so is the Healer feat.

I don't think "detect poison and disease" is something that needs niche protection. You resort to magic when you don't have the skill, like knock vs using thieves tools to open a lock. Medicine absolutely should cover both of those.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

I don't like the Long Rest and Full Hit Points, sounds to much like WOW

You could just imagine it as your Medicine skill helping.

 

[Paraxis]

I don't think "detect poison and disease" is something that needs niche protection. You resort to magic when you don't have the skill, like knock vs using thieves tools to open a lock. Medicine absolutely should cover both of those.

Well the spell is an area effect, and only takes an action. I would allow a person to use Medicine to diagnose a poison or disease in an individual that took a few minutes or so.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Well the spell is an area effect, and only takes an action. I would allow a person to use Medicine to diagnose a poison or disease in an individual that took a few minutes or so.

Gotcha, that makes much more sense!

Its certainly campaign specific, but I have a fair amount of diseases in my game that can't be cured by magic (the god dess of plagues would be a pretty crappy god if her work can be undone by any 3rd level chump cleric), so the medicine is quite useful for providing palliative care while the person tried to fight off the infection.

Its also useful for providing mass treatment. I'm reminded of this because I'm probably running the old Dungeon adventure Goblin Fever next in our 5E game.