Healing Fully With Rest - Is It Really That Big of a Deal?

[Gilladian]

I really don't mind the "heal overnight" mechanic except that it, in combination with a lack of required training time, item creation time, and use of other extended-duration skills and proficiencies, causes players to go through the novice-to-world-savior in one summer syndrome.

I want PCs to spend 2 or 3 years developing their characters in game time. Whether that's a year or three weeks in the real world doesn't matter. But I want gameworld time to be at least vaguely believable.

It's a personal quirk, I know. But when I DM, I am constantly squeezing extra days here and there into the campaign, pushing time forward. Healing days help with that, for me.

 

[Melkor]

Yes, it is a big deal to some of us who played a lot of 1E and 2E. Healing resources were generally much more scarce, and as mentioned previously in this thread, to obtain the same in game feel, you have to come up with contrived solutions in the playtest material as it is written now.

 

[Raith5]

I understand that people have different goals and desires. But when I get together with my friends I want to skewer goblins or roleplay not sit around a campfire.

 

[JamesonCourage]

Instead, I have a more specific query for those who are strongly against healing fully with rest. Is it just the narrative and believability issues, or do you have any gameplay reasons for being against it?

I'm personally having a hard time separating "narrative" issues from "gameplay" issues. To me, I want a set of rules to give me the narrative I'm looking for (Mutants and Masterminds scratches my itch for superhero games, for example). To that end, if the game is hamstringing the narrative options I'd like in a game (as full healing over night every time without fail will do), then it is a "gameplay" issue.

If you mean "does the game stop working if that's the case?" then the answer is no. But, it fails at giving me the game I want (which is slow recovery as an option) because the mechanics fail to deliver certain narrative paths I want in a game. In a fantasy RPG, complete healing overnight is not an option for my group (whether that means we skip the game or just house rule it depends on the rest of the system).

I hope that helped, but I'm sorry I'm not able to separate "narrative" issues from "gameplay" issues more thoroughly. As always, play what you like

 

[darjr]

I think I've had an epiphany. I don't like the overnight full hp healing. But I think my issue with it is more fundamental than the specific mechanic or what HP represent. It goes to how D&D is expected to be played by WotC designers.

I want to have games without a cleric required, but I don't want mechanics to replace that cleric, I want to play games in a different way than if the party had a cleric or lots of mundane overnight healing.

I want to, sometimes, play a game of nothing but rogues instead of a balanced party BECAUSE I want to play that game differently than I would in a balanced party with a cleric or it's standin healing mechanic. I want adventures that support that flexibility and a game that does, not one that goes out of it's way to support that balanced party style of play.

In AD&D if you had a party of rogues those players played B2 differently than players of a balanced party. I think that WotC is still stuck with an idea of how people should play, and that play style requires either a cleric or this overnight healing mechanic. And that isn't what I want. It's part of the issue I had with 4e and early wotc 4e adventures. It was fun, but eventually not satisfying.

I ran it tonight and the players didn't even try the hitdice mechanic, they went strait to trying to hole up for the night. That hit point recharge was VERY tempting to them.

In fact I suspect, though I don't know, that they tried it to preserve their healing spells and hit dice, just in case.

Edit to add that I loved the adventure, it was B2 with 5e rules. Nice.

 

[Ahnehnois]

If you've ever played a game where the PCs carried wounds around, you would see why it's a big deal. It makes the game so much more engaging and believable. To take that tool out of the DM's hands by handing a player an ability that says their character can never be damaged in any lasting way is crippling.

For a more game-y standpoint it does also run the risk of homogeneity; the PCs being in the exact same state at the beginning of every battle. But mostly it's "narrative and believability issues".

 

[JamesonCourage]

I understand that people have different goals and desires. But when I get together with my friends I want to skewer goblins or roleplay not sit around a campfire.

While some people do enjoy sitting around a campfire, isn't it pretty easy to say "so, you heal X HP/day, how many days do you want to wait?" and either skip days/roll to see if anything interrupts it/etc?

My crew likes spending a small amount of time in inns or taverns trying to get pretty mundane stuff done, like gambling, finding overnight "roommates", drinking, or whatever, but they often say "we'll wait for... 5 days" and then wait for me. I'll roll d% and check a chart (and then maybe roll more if I need to), decide NPC actions, and let them know if 5 days have passed or if something of note has happened.

In the latter case, you don't need to make anything happen. You don't need to roll d% like I do, or make NPCs pursue them, or anything. Just say "5 days pass, you're healed up" and move on. This will take about fifteen to thirty seconds to calculate healing time, and then you'll be on your way to skewering goblins. Right? As always, play what you like

 

[Sound of Azure]

For the bulk of the games I run, it doesn't really matter either way. I do like to run more survivalist or gritty-type games from time to time. I'd prefer a slightly harsher natural healing mechanic, since I'm great at tweaking existing mechanics, but worse at creating them whole-cloth. That way, I can just hand-waive it when I want over-night healing, and tweak the recovery mechanic to my taste when I do use it.

 

[DogBackward]

Some people want more long-term attrition. I'll admit, I'd rather the group have to take more than an 8 hour rest every once in a while, myself. There are some good options, though. My personal favorite:

The lower your HP goes, the more of your HP damage is actual injury. Below half HP, there is some actual physical damage going on, it's not all fatigue. So, with each long rest, you double your current HP (up to your maximum HP, obviously.)

With this method, if you are above half, then you haven't taken any real injury, and will heal to full overnight. If you're are around 25% HP, then you've taken a few good lumps, some aches and bruises. You won't remedy that all overnight, but two long rests will get you to full, or you can use your Hit Dice to heal in the morning. If you've been reduced to 10% HP or so, though, you're beat, dragging along at the last of your reserves. Totally exhausted, and at least a little banged up. Maybe even a real wound somewhere. You'll take more than a day or two to recover from that, barring medical attention (Hit Dice) or magical healing.

 

[Grazzt]

The gameplay reason comes back to narrative: The type of gameplay promoted by "full heal after long rest" is not the style of game that I prefer. I like it if time passes in the campaign, and downtime for healing is a huge component of that in earlier editions. I'd like to see it return.

Yeah. This. If we switch to 5e and If that's the way it works in the final rules, it'll be the first thing that gets houseruled for sure.