Cure x Wounds - Explain this

[Lazybones]

Maybe think of it the reverse way:

Take a cleric 5 . He encounters a first level fighter that is down to 1hp from an axe-swipe. He heals him with a minor spell, which is enough to bring this inexperienced guy back to health. He's on his feet again, but one more axe-swipe can put him back on death's door.

Then he meets a battered fighter 5 with 1 hp. This guy is also close to death, but he's taken a beating--multiple cuts and scratches from an extended battle, plus perhaps a major wound that put him down, and while he's just as close to death, he's been battered as well, using up his luck and stamina and skill in a lengthy fight. Cleric casts CSW, restoring not only his health, but his vitality and energy as well. Now Ftr 5 can again take on more foes than Ftr 1, and can take more "damage".

I guess that's the same as what some of the other posters have been saying. It's abstract, and personally I'm glad it is (I've played some games with more specific damage systems, and they are an accounting nightmare).

 

[Jack Daniel]

Like many, I have my own adaptation of the system, but by necessity it's still failry abstract. The thread is called The House Rule That Wouldn't Die.

 

[Anabstercorian]

My own rule is that hit points mean different things to different people. A wizard's hit points might be his body being held together through sheer force of will or arcane pacts. A barbarian might be gushing blood at a gallon a minute yet JUST DOESN'T DIE. A fighter might be deflecting blows from his sword, a paladin might be denting his armor, a rogue or monk might be completely dodging.
A Cure Light Wounds is just a positive energy infusion - Who's to say that different characters don't use it differently? Each PC can decide what his hitpoints mean to them.

 

[Errant]

... a battered fighter 5 with 1 hp. This guy is also close to death, but he's taken a beating--multiple cuts and scratches from an extended battle, plus perhaps a major wound that put him down, and while he's just as close to death, he's been battered as well, using up his luck and stamina and skill in a lengthy fight. Cleric casts CSW, restoring not only his health, but his vitality and energy as well. Now Ftr 5 can again take on more foes than Ftr 1, and can take more "damage".

This is closest to how I imagine Hps. They're not a primarily a measure of how much physical abuse you can suffer & still keep breathing, they're a measure of your ability to avoid serious injury & represent a combination of your energy, alertness, instincts, & so on.

As long as you're in positive Hps you haven't sustained any gaping wounds or life threatening injuries. Knicks, scratches, bruises, strains, exhaustion are all manifestations of lost Hps.

Hps lost to a non-mortal blow (one that doesn't drop you to negative Hps), reflect fatigue, bruises, strained muscles, & minor shock (the kind that leaves your hands shaking after a near miss, not the kind that shuts down your vitals & kills you after a major trauma).

The 5th level Fighter on full Hps is rested, primed & alert. "Struck" by a surprise blow, only an unconscious reaction to pull away from the attack, prompted by a near supernatural instinct honed in dozens of life threatening struggles, allows him to avoid a mortal blow. Instead of being run through, he throws himself out of the way, before turning, lightly cut & breathing hard, to face his attacker...

The 1st level Fighter standing next to him isn't so lucky. Even though he tries to escape the blow as it lands, his reaction is too slow & the blow strikes deep...

When I get my players to indicate their Hp levels, I ask them not to express it in numbers. A PC on full Hps is fit & healthy, as he loses Hps he becomes tired, bruised, cut up, limping, & finally staggering.

Cure spells repair the minor cuts, bruises, & strains, while infusing you with fresh energy, focus & alertness through the touch of divine power.

Even Mohamed Ali at his peak could have been killed by a strong enough punch to the head if he just stood there and let it land, but years of training and experience gave him the instincts & stamina to keep dodging long after lesser men would be too exhausted to move at all.

Thats the way I look at it.

 

[Thraxus]

Lots of good feedback. That's why I keep lurking here after all this time. I suppose what it all boils down to is that there isn't anything really wrong with the mechanics, but maybe the names of the Cure x Wounds themselvse are misleading.

Cure Light Wounds sounds like it should only be able to heal minor injuries, but it can easily bring someone (such as a Lvl 1 char) from the brink of death (negative hp) to relatively good health (positive hp). Cure Light Wounds can actually heal major life-threatening injuries, contrary to the literal interpretation of its name.

Perhaps the spells just need different names, that don't invoke any specific expectations of what they are capable of doing.

 

[Arthur Tealeaf]

The Cure <light, moderate etc..> wounds spells cure wounds, right? Not luck, or skill or stuff like that....?

If that 12 hp fighter can take one blow from a greatsword, and is healed of that blow from the spell... ...that 280 hp fighter, who can take something like 30 hits. He must look like a real meatball. Since, well, the cure spells cures just as many wounds on him as the 10 hp guy doesn't it???
Now, imagine how a person would look after 30 slashes from a greatsword--and remember that each and every of those slashes would probably kill a commoner outright (okay, mortally wound).
Maybe high-level characters should gain charisma penalties when wounded....?

 

[noretoc]

This has kind of been said but I will say it in a diff way.
1st senario - lvl 1 fighter takes 9 points. 1 hp left.
(The goblin stabs at you with his spear. It enters right through your chest and punctures your lung. You are in deep trouble.)
Cleric casts cure light - (you can breathe much easier and it seems as if you have never been injured)

lvl 5 fighter - 50 hp. 9 damage
(The goblin stabs his spear at you, and it pierces your armor, but you move back a bit taking only a small wound. those practice sessions have payed off. You have done worse falling of your horse.)
A few round later fighter already has 45 damage, takes 4
(The goblin moves in and get under your guard. The spear goes right for you stomach and your other wounds leave you too tired and dizzy to get out of the way in time. I pierces your belly and you are hurting,)
Cleric casts CLW healing 5
(The friened Tobin uses his magic, but it is only strong enough to stop the bleeding, and reduce the pain a bit. You are still hurting a bit and are weak from loss of blood)
Cleric casts CCW healing 30
(After taking some time to pray to his god, he again cast healing magic at you. This time the spell is much more powerful. Most of your wounds close up, even thoes that were turning red with infection. You feel envigorated and strong, though you are still a bit tired)

 

[Umbran]

The Cure <light, moderate etc..> wounds spells cure wounds, right? Not luck, or skill or stuff like that....?

No. The spells heal Hit Points - they cure loss of whatever it is Hit Points represent. Names for spells are flavor text, nothing more. Bull's Strength doesn't give you the literal strength of a bull, nor does having "bull" in the name mean it has anything to do with animals. It adds to your strength score. Period.

I think the names of the Cure <X> Wounds spells are based upon the point of view of a moderate level character, not a low level one. For most of a character's career, less than 8 HP of damage is a pretty light wound.

 

[Nightfall]

I say snuff the bastard! Annilating Strike on ALL their candy asses!

 

[Thraxus]

I say snuff the bastard! Annilating Strike on ALL their candy asses!

Let's not go there! A discussion on Annihilating Strike deserves a thread all of its own.