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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Vorpal Sword" data-source="post: 4253872" data-attributes="member: 67580">Can I suggest the novel Dragon, by Steven Brust?  In synopsis, the main character has to go to the underworld to retrieve the trapped soul of a friend's cousin.  Hijinks ensue, topped off by a nice bit of ritual magic to get the characters home again.@ the OP, count me in among the people who don't have a problem with this.  Something I didn't see anywhere upthread is that this sort of damage, in an out-of-combat situation, isn't actually a big deal.  Any Heal check result above 0 has, as the worst possible consequence, knocking the recipient unconscious (and, as several people have noted, the healer knows in advance if a check result of 0 is possible).  Since there's a healer standing right there, and presumably I have at least a short rest available to use my healing surges, even damage = max hp isn't a serious threat.  As I see it, what the rules really do is require the expenditure of time.  Most of the time, being healed from a disease will require a short rest for the party; once in a while, if the PC was badly damaged and the healer is less competent, it will require an extended rest.  That changes it from a damage problem to a resource management problem, which in my understanding is right in line with the 4e design goals.EDIT: somehow, the last two paragraphs got lopped off.  Fixed now.</blockquote>