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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DracoSuave" data-source="post: 4884094" data-attributes="member: 71571">Alright.  Games are social contracts between a DM and players.  So when you talk about games in progress, you talk about groups, which includes a combination of DM and Players.  Some groups don't give a crap about healing surges as an out of combat resource.  They want to kick down the door, and go.  Using this out of combat facilitates that, and is the logical extension of the 'top the hps off expediantly' that the game designers have already installed into the game.It's not appropriate for all groups and games, but that doesn't make it broken.    That's a different argument completely.No, your claim is that surgeless healing is fundamentally flawed because it doesn't use surges.  That it throws off 'healing calculations.'The game isn't balanced around that, thankfully, and if it isn't balanced around the amount of surges you spend outside of battle then arguments that Life Transferance outside of battle are broken require a different tack.So, all rests must be five minutes or six hours?  I disagree based on the fact that claim is lacks versimiliatude.Who said -anything- about metagame hints?  When the players ask the DM for information, the DM divulges that information in a manner appropriate to the group.  For Group A, that might require a skill roll.  For Group B, the DM might just utilize a Passive check.  For Group C, the DM might just tell the players how much time they guestimate they have.You're presuming a -lot- about how groups and players and DMs interract here.I'm not saying they don't count them, but if the option comes out to minimize the amount of counting done outside of battle, in some groups it is beneficial.  In some groups and in some campaigns, being able to say 'We all heal to full, let's go' without having to check how many healing surges to knock off, or how many times wisdom gets added in there, or whether or not to take Restful Healing' or what not might not actually be enjoyable to some groups.This might be obvious, but if that level of 'healing math' doesn't appeal to some groups, then the option of 'You're at full go' isn't broken, it's a fun-adder.  Things that add fun to a campaign aren't broken.Well no kidding they are different.   But the primary determination of tension in battle isn't the number of surges left, in most games.  It's the -access- to surges.  So, '-12 hit points, and only three surges left' isn't as tense as '-12 hit points, and no powers to spend surges left'.  Three surges left is -nothing- compared to that.Of course, the irony of this is that the argument is irrelevant.  This ability used like that doesn't negate that latter consequence, it postpones it.  So, the question that should be asked is:Is having the battle at -12 hp and 3 surges left considered game breaking if it's Battle 5 instead of Battle 3?Oh absolutely.  These tools are used in campaigns where the careful slog and miniscule juggling of said healing resources is important and necessary to keep the campaign tone.In -those- campaigns, use of this ability for infinite healing is a tone breaker.  In such a case I'd not allow it, and for obvious reason.  However, all of these arguments hold one thing in common:Using Life Transferance for infinite healing might break the -tone- of a campaign.  However, it might also enhance it.This doesn't make the ability broken however.  Every DM has had to wrestle with that since the beginning of gaming.  DMs had to wrestle with Raise Dead breaking the tone of Rokugon games.  Of Create Water's power in Dark Sun.  But -tone-breaking- is not the same as -game-breaking-.The -worst- effect this has, from the point of view of actual game interractions, is extending the endurance of the characters over the course of an adventuring day.  Is that broken?  That's the question you have avoided, Nifft.  Is that broken, or is the ability just something that defies your 'all healing must be healing surge-based' sensibility?In other words, are you confusing 'tone-breaking' with 'game-breaking'?</blockquote>

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