D&D with no Healing Magic! Would it work?
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Zappo
Explorer
I don't know about no magical healing at all, but my party has went for quite some time with no cleric. The survived by using smart tactics against monsters, using magical items, and avoiding multiple tough fights per day. A problem that arises here is that if you don't have many tough fights per day, spellcasters become substantially more powerful since they can unload all their spells at the first hard encounter.
This will be very difficult to achieve.
1. Poison: Humans had to deal with poison in their history. There are treatments for most poisons so the players should get the appropriate medicines.
2.Dragons: Smaller dragons. Otherwise expect hit and run tactics, ambushes, dirty tricks and a lot of complaints from your players.
3.Ability drains: Don´t make it permanent. Get some alternate means to deal with this stuff. Don´t overdo it.
4.Evocations: Design some defensive spells that help against this kind of magic. A magic forcefield perhaps? Expect it to be a standard spell cast in battles involving spellcasters.
5. Dungeon crawls: You can make some dungeon crawls but adjust the CR.
6. 4 encounters: Your players are weaker now. Adjust the EL to weaker monsters.
1. Poison: Humans had to deal with poison in their history. There are treatments for most poisons so the players should get the appropriate medicines.
2.Dragons: Smaller dragons. Otherwise expect hit and run tactics, ambushes, dirty tricks and a lot of complaints from your players.
3.Ability drains: Don´t make it permanent. Get some alternate means to deal with this stuff. Don´t overdo it.
4.Evocations: Design some defensive spells that help against this kind of magic. A magic forcefield perhaps? Expect it to be a standard spell cast in battles involving spellcasters.
5. Dungeon crawls: You can make some dungeon crawls but adjust the CR.
6. 4 encounters: Your players are weaker now. Adjust the EL to weaker monsters.
Doctor_Skull
First Post
I'm going to second the motion on the approach that the CONAN OGL game uses. We are in our 8th game of Conan, and haven't missed Clerical healing one little bit. Here are the factors that go in to making Conan work without healing spells:
1) Armor reduces damage. So enemies with low damage weapons will not cause very much hit point loss in Conan. In D&D a hit that does 1d8 is a serious, in Conan if you are wearing decent armor, it'll will likely not be very serious at all.
2) Healing skill does a better job at restoring hitpoints (Level +CON bonus).
3) Natural Healing is faster (Level+CON Bonus+3 per day, double if under competent care).
4) "Fate Points" allow character to be rescued from death, without clerical raise dead spells or the like.
Even if you just took steps 2,3 and 4 from Conan, you'd end up with a D&D that was clerical heal free and still worked.
1) Armor reduces damage. So enemies with low damage weapons will not cause very much hit point loss in Conan. In D&D a hit that does 1d8 is a serious, in Conan if you are wearing decent armor, it'll will likely not be very serious at all.
2) Healing skill does a better job at restoring hitpoints (Level +CON bonus).
3) Natural Healing is faster (Level+CON Bonus+3 per day, double if under competent care).
4) "Fate Points" allow character to be rescued from death, without clerical raise dead spells or the like.
Even if you just took steps 2,3 and 4 from Conan, you'd end up with a D&D that was clerical heal free and still worked.
DelayedReactionMan
First Post
It's an extremely intriguing idea. Maybe you could incorporate items that accelerate natural healing? For example, potions could double, triple, or quadruple the rate characters heal. Potions would require a Craft(Potion) skill to work, and the rate would be based on the check made. Depending on your preference for difficulty a potion could modify healing by check/10 percent (so a result of 15 increases healing by 50%), and could require specific herbs.
I would also agree with the WP/VP system.
Finally, space out the distribution of points healed. Rather than heal level*CON points per day, heal 1 point per 24/(level*CON) hours, or something similar. It's the same thing, just dispersed out more.
I would also agree with the WP/VP system.
Finally, space out the distribution of points healed. Rather than heal level*CON points per day, heal 1 point per 24/(level*CON) hours, or something similar. It's the same thing, just dispersed out more.
nikolai
First Post
Any comments on the Reserve Points system? It seems a neat way of giving PCs a "healing" cushion without the clunkiness of the Wound Point system.
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?...0031214a&page=4
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?...0031214a&page=4
rogueattorney
Adventurer
diaglo said:you could try OD&D.
clerics don't get spells until 2nd lvl.
no bonus spells for wisdom.
and a very short list of spells to start.
however, clerics can research their own spells. much like magic-users do.
Just about to say the same thing...
Did none of you ever play low-leveled OD&D? Or did you just have wussy DM's who gave out healing potions at the drop of a hat, like that aweful Zanzer's Dungeon thing in the 1991 Black Box?
R.A.
Gunslinger
First Post
Allow your characters to rest often, with no interruptions during the night. Also, increase the speed of healing. Others have suggested basing it off of hit-die and con modifier, and that sounds like a good idea.
Also, be aware that you cannot roleplay your way out of many encounters because the creatures are not intelligent enough, or just won't listen to you (undead, oozes, elementals, most magical beasts, aberrations, constructs, plants, vermin)
Also, be aware that you cannot roleplay your way out of many encounters because the creatures are not intelligent enough, or just won't listen to you (undead, oozes, elementals, most magical beasts, aberrations, constructs, plants, vermin)
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Sir Whiskers
First Post
rogueattorney said:
Sure I did. I also remember that only about 1 in 20 characters survived to 4th level. It worked only because creating a character took all of 5 minutes, and we never got too attached to them at low levels.
Trainz said:
Is the Bard's ability to heal a new development in 3.5? Or could they heal in version 3.0 too? (I don't play 3.5.)
I wanna run a "no divine power" game but still keep it *D&D*. So, hit points will stay.
Perhaps the PCs can nab some relics from the past . . . a couple of stale old healing potions (with floaters inside) here and there.
I don't want to introduce arcane healing because it hasn't cropped up yet in my other *normal* D&D campaign. If I introduced it, my players would think I was going "soft" and also want it in the other campaign. Psionics, however . . . Well, yes, I was thinking of introducing this. There was gonna be a guy called the Wanderer, or something, who'd go around teaching people this *new* power that "didn't need the gods who'd deserted us." To the list of psionics powers, there would be a few *healing* ones. I'll have to check out the Psionic Handbook.
Are psions very good in the healing department? How does psionic healing work? Can they manifest a "cure light wounds" for example. I know that in the back of "If Thoughts Could Kill" there is a Wizard/Sorcerer spell list conversion to psionic powers. Is it any conincidence that they didn't include a Cleric spell list conversion? Either they didn't have the space or they're suggesting that psions are "mind wizards", not priests!
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