Designating enemies as "allies"

[Colmarr]

During a recent session, a situation arose where my cleric wanted to use Healing Word on an enemy.

Technically it wasn't within the rules (the enemy had already reached 0 hp and was thus dead) but the DM allowed it because it advanced the story.

We then wondered how the term "ally" works in 4e. Is it even possible to use healing word on an enemy? The discussion of allies and enemeies in the Powers section of the PHB is pretty scant.

 

[Saeviomagy]

During a recent session, a situation arose where my cleric wanted to use Healing Word on an enemy.

Technically it wasn't within the rules (the enemy had already reached 0 hp and was thus dead) but the DM allowed it because it advanced the story.

We then wondered how the term "ally" works in 4e. Is it even possible to use healing word on an enemy? The discussion of allies and enemeies in the Powers section of the PHB is pretty scant.

If you use the word ally in any other way than "someone whom the player would want to give the benefit of the spell to", then it suddenly becomes legitimate to use them for sniffing out secret traitors and so forth.

Note that there is a seperate category that should apply whenever a power has the potential to do a bad thing to a foe: "willing ally".

 

[Danceofmasks]

Well ... commander's strike does not give your ally the choice about whom or even whether to attack the target you designate.

 

[Mirtek]

Well ... commander's strike does not give your ally the choice about whom or even whether to attack the target you designate.

The choice whether to attack is still with the character granted the attack. If he doesn't want to make the attack, he is not an ally at that moment

 

[WalterKovacs]

Dark Pact Warlock powers do not require an ally to be willing. So I'm guessing what qualifies as an ally is a bit more strict. There are some healing powers [Cure Light Wounds] that are able to heal target creature instead of targetting allies. [Also, in most cases NPCs don't have healing surges to spend, making many of the abilities not applicable even if they could be targetted.]

 

[MrMyth]

PHB 57: "When a power’s target entry specifies that it affects you and one or more of your allies, then you can take advantage of the power’s effect along with your teammates. Otherwise, “ally” or “allies” does not include you, and both terms assume willing targets. “Enemy” or “enemies” means a creature or creatures that aren’t your allies (whether those creatures are hostile toward you or not). “Creature” or “creatures” means allies and enemies both, as well as you."

I read this as, for a creature to count as an ally, both you and that creature must believe that to be so. Say you cast Bless, which gives you and all allies within 20 squares a bonus. You must designate each one you consider an ally, and each one must be willing to be so designated.

Now, this would indicate that powers that refer to "willing allies" would be redundant - but one alternate interpretation might be that the target of your powers don't always know what the effect of those powers are, so would have to decide if they are willing blindly, while these powers might make it clear to them what the effect would be before they must decide.

In any case, if you try to heal an enemy - or even a bystander who doesn't want your healing - it does not work, by a strict reading of the rules. One might, however, rule that an unconscious enemy can no longer choose to be unwilling, and thus could be healed if the caster desired.

 

[doctorhook]

During a recent session, a situation arose where my cleric wanted to use Healing Word on an enemy.

Technically it wasn't within the rules (the enemy had already reached 0 hp and was thus dead) but the DM allowed it because it advanced the story.

We then wondered how the term "ally" works in 4e. Is it even possible to use healing word on an enemy? The discussion of allies and enemeies in the Powers section of the PHB is pretty scant.

Also, don't forget that "0 hp" only means "dead" if the character that put the enemy to 0 hp chooses. (0 hp means subdued, so you get to choose between either dead or unconscious and incapacitated.)

 

[Aenghus]

First, p295 PBH Knocking Creatures Unconscious rules allows players and NPCS to K.O. targets they reduce to 0 hp, ratther than kill them. From the way the rule reads this can be done on the fly, rather than be predesignated.

Secondly, lethal combat is the default, and by default enemies reduced to 0 hp are dead. The spirit of 4e allows important NPCS to linger at 0 hp I would say. So, it depends.

If an enemy NPC is unconscious I would allow healing powers to work on them I think, - as has been said earlier in the thread the alternative allows healing to be used for enemy detection.

 

[James McMurray]

We're very flexible on declaring who is an ally and who is an enemy. Nobody has yet declared an opponent an ally in order to help them, but there have been several times when an ally has been declared an enemy. I'd never allow enemies as allies in order to hurt the opponent (such as doing damage to them with Dark Pact powers). Basically the creature has to be willing to cross the enemy/ally line. It opens up a lot of interesting tactical possibilities.

 

[Danceofmasks]

The choice whether to attack is still with the character granted the attack. If he doesn't want to make the attack, he is not an ally at that moment

That's exactly my point.
The cleric shouldn't get to choose who he considers an ally when he tries to heal, it's up to possible targets to first have a blue circle under their feet.