Healer's Sash question...why charge?

[hailstop]

What's the point on charging the Healer's Sash when you can only expend a charge once per encounter?

 

[Nytmare]

The person wearing/using the sash doesn't have to be the person/people who charged it.

 

[Hejdun]

What's the point on charging the Healer's Sash when you can only expend a charge once per encounter?

One, it lets you more evenly distribute healing surges throughout the day. You generally have to take an extended rest once a single member of the party gets low on healing surges. So if the Fighter's down to 1 surge but the Wizard hasn't been hit all day and still has 8, those 8 surges are wasted.

The Healing Sash lets the Wizard use some of his excess surges to heal the Fighter.

The second reason to get a Healing Sash is to give yourself an extra ability to use a healing surge in an encounter, which is huge. In my party, we have a cleric who can use Healing Word twice an encounter. Anything past that will require Daily powers (i.e. from multiclass cleric, Comeback Strike, Cure Light Wounds, etc.). So being able to allow 3 surges to be used instead of 2 in every encounter goes a long ways.

 

[boolean]

To put (what I believe is) the OP's point a little more clearly:

The Healer's Sash can contain up to 5 charges, but it resets to 1 after an extended rest.

The ability to use the sash, to heal an ally, is an encounter power.

So, what is the advantage to having more than 1 charge in the sash? What's the advantage of taking 4 surges from the wizard at the beginning of the day, instead of simply taking 1 charge during each short rest?

 

[keterys]

The only advantage is if you can take the surges from someone who will be separated from the party - such as an NPC, or a PC who doesn't show up every session, or someone who dies.

My character who has a healer's sash never charges it more than 1 unless someone forces extra surges on me for some obscure reason 'Meh, I have twice as many as everyone else, take 3 and don't worry about it every combat'.

 

[Nytmare]

So, what is the advantage to having more than 1 charge in the sash? What's the advantage of taking 4 surges from the wizard at the beginning of the day, instead of simply taking 1 charge during each short rest?

When I first saw the sash my impression was a "charged" sash being given out or loaned to a party. Something a little more effective than the standard "and here's a half dozen potions of healing, good luck!"

But, to better explain what I meant in my earlier post, there's nothing guaranteeing that the sash-wearer is going to be with the wizard encounter to encounter. The party can split up, the sash-wearer might get separated or go off alone, the wizard might die.

 

[Thanee]

The only reason I can come up with, where it might make sense, if you split the party up.

Otherwise, it's always just one charge in the belt at a time.

Of course, if you have a bunch of minions sitting around somewhere...

Bye
Thanee

 

[Shin Okada]

Monsters and NPCs still have healing surges.

Maybe you can convince friendly villagers to "Donate" their healing surges to their heroes.

Or, maybe you can convince surrendered opponents to give you healing surges as you let them live.