Healing Cantrip

[Jaelommiss]

I like this, but I would tweak it a little bit. I put my changes in bold above. I specified the living due to some other comments about healing zombies, although I don't think they have HD, but I'm AFB. I added the willing part so that this doesn't become an offensive thing by draining HD from a NPC. Not that it's really abuse able without these changes but I thought I'd add them.

I'd take this on my fiendish bladelock if I could.

I agree with your changes. The only possible point of concern is that an unconscious ally might not be considered willing to some DMs. Perhaps "living ally" or "friendly living creature" would be a better way to word it. If a living ally does not wish to expend a hit die at that time (I imagine someone in the middle of a fight might want to save their HD for proper healing on a short rest or after the fight) the wording of "the creature may spend 1 Hit Die" makes it the target's choice. "May spend" is explicitly different to "must spend." I feel all rules lawyery and dirty now...

Additionally, I am unsure if having the THP only last for one hour is enough. Since a HD is being spent (not insignificant resource) it might be fair to boost the duration. On the other hand, if this spell is being used during a fight it is probably because the target needs health immediately and no one has any spell slots or potions left. Thoughts?

 

[EditorBFG]

I think the temporary hit points should only last until the next time d target finishes a short rest or a long rest.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Additionally, I am unsure if having the THP only last for one hour is enough. Since a HD is being spent (not insignificant resource) it might be fair to boost the duration. On the other hand, if this spell is being used during a fight it is probably because the target needs health immediately and no one has any spell slots or potions left. Thoughts?

The governing resource has really become the HD at that point. That is, you're no longer 'balancing' the cantrip, but weakening the HD. HD are the slowest-recovering resource in the game, at 1/2 your HD per long rest. Expending one is significant.

Upthread, IIRC, there was an idea to limit the cantrip to one application to any given subject between rests, so it couldn't serve as a substitute for short rests. A little extra bookkeeping, but not a bad idea for that purpose.

The concern with a healing cantrip that straight-up heals, like in one of the playtests, was that it'd trivialize hps and healing spells (and HD) as daily resources. A cantrip that taps HD to work doesn't have that problem. But, it does impact the value of HD (they become more a more valuable, but more pressured resource), and at least theoretically reduces the impetus for the party to take short rests. That last could be an issue, if any characters with relatively more to gain from a short rest due to their resource mix aren't able to convince the party to stop and rest for an hour so they can remain viable. Of course, varied resources are always a potential intraparty balance & decision-making issue that any 5e group has to deal with, particularly the DM - it's just a consequence of class design.
I'm not convinced that making HD accessible outside a short rest would much exacerbate that, however.

 

[EditorBFG]

The governing resource has really become the HD at that point. That is, you're no longer 'balancing' the cantrip, but weakening the HD. HD are the slowest-recovering resource in the game, at 1/2 your HD per long rest. Expending one is significant.

Upthread, IIRC, there was an idea to limit the cantrip to one application to any given subject between rests, so it couldn't serve as a substitute for short rests. A little extra bookkeeping, but not a bad idea for that purpose.

The concern with a healing cantrip that straight-up heals, like in one of the playtests, was that it'd trivialize hps and healing spells (and HD) as daily resources. A cantrip that taps HD to work doesn't have that problem. But, it does impact the value of HD (they become more a more valuable, but more pressured resource), and at least theoretically reduces the impetus for the party to take short rests. That last could be an issue, if any characters with relatively more to gain from a short rest due to their resource mix aren't able to convince the party to stop and rest for an hour so they can remain viable. Of course, varied resources are always a potential intraparty balance & decision-making issue that any 5e group has to deal with, particularly the DM - it's just a consequence of class design.
I'm not convinced that making HD accessible outside a short rest would much exacerbate that, however.

Based on these points, I now think the temp HP don't need to be extra temporary. At all. They are already temporary by nature, and they've been purchased with a precious resource.

 

[Saeviomagy]

What about spells that grant hitpoints to a target at the cost of one's own hitpoints? I remember I used to run a dark sun psionicist who healed the party by giving them his hitpoints and then regenerating the damage he took. Something like:

Lend health
Necromantic Cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a length of tubing made from an animals stomach and two iron needles)
Duration: Instantaneous*
Casting this spell causes the target to regain 1d4 hit points, and causes the same amount of damage to the caster. This damage cannot be resisted or reduced in any way.

 

[Tony Vargas]

What about spells that grant hitpoints to a target at the cost of one's own hitpoints? I remember I used to run a dark sun psionicist who healed the party by giving them his hitpoints and then regenerating the damage he took.

As long as you skip the 'and regenerating' part, that might be workable.

Something like:

Lend health
Necromantic Cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S, M (a length of tubing made from an animals stomach and two iron needles)

Medieval blood transfusion?

Duration: Instantaneous*
Casting this spell causes the target to regain 1d4 hit points, and causes the same amount of damage to the caster. This damage cannot be resisted or reduced in any way.

Seems straightforward. Perhaps a restriction on how the caster can heal the damage he receives, as well?

 

[Aimian_Silverflash]

I think you guys are overthinking it. You just simply have to have it hardcapped, like they did in the beta test and the Spare the Dying cantrip. It had a couple different iterations IIRC, but it was always hardcapped to a max of 1 or 2 HPs. It was just basically only to pull a character from death. You could bump the spare the dying so that it heals them to 1 hit point. That way you can get someone back up but not do any signifigant healing and breaking the model.

 

[transtemporal]

Bleh, too complex. Just make it 1hp per casting, or 3 with Life domain.

Who care if it gives unlimited healing. Its basically out of combat healing anyway.

 

[Saeviomagy]

As long as you skip the 'and regenerating' part, that might be workable.

Well, it was equivalent to him having a heal spell that didn't work on others. The real problem was that he could effectively cast the travel version of gate at about 7th level, which played merry hell with most of the published modules.

Medieval blood transfusion?

No, it's just a material component, not medical equipment Maybe make it a little less obvious?

Seems straightforward. Perhaps a restriction on how the caster can heal the damage he receives, as well?

I don't think it's necessary - at best you're making some healing slightly more efficient, and you're spending a cantrip slot to do it.

 

[Tony Vargas]

No, it's just a material component, not medical equipment Maybe make it a little less obvious?

No, it's fine, well within the traditions of the classic game, that way.

I don't think it's necessary - at best you're making some healing slightly more efficient, and you're spending a cantrip slot to do it.

It'd be like closing a loophole proactively. The fear of a healing cantrip is it's systematic use to provide excessive healing, like a 3.x WoCLW or whatever. Combine the kind of cantrip you're talking about, with some other systematically-unlimited self-healing option and you'd have a problem. I don't think there is such a self-healing option, but one might be introduced at some point...