Healing Potions seem woeful

[RefinedBean]

You can also take the two minors over two rounds - like you act, move, then take out the potion so it's in hand, use a minor on your next turn.

And depending on your class (TWF Ranger), you're dropping a weapon to do so. Of course, at that point, things are REALLY desperate!

 

[The Sword 88]

That is the idea. Potions are not supposed to be these cheap awesome healing items or else whole armies would fight and heal for days on end with few to no casualties and the cleric and warlord would become less desired classes. By making potions weak it makes magical healing much rarer for NPCs, especially common people and allows the PCs to stand out with their healing surges and keeps the clerics feeling important.

 

[zlorf]

Dont forget you can sell them for 10gp

I think they will be more useful as a DM placed item either in a chest or NPC. The cost of potions in 3.* were over priced as well.

Cheers
Z

I agree with you Silverblade. I think healing potions weren't very well thought out at all. I mean 50gp for 10hp plus you must spend a surge is ridiculous. Considering most PCs at that level are going to have surge values of around 6-8 anyway it's not that much of a gain. Personally, I think they should have set it up to were it gives you hit points as if you had spent a surge plus an additional amount. I mean the potion is considered lvl 5 and if you want to look at it Clerics have a lvl 6 Utility that can heal for 2xsurge value and doesn't cost a surge.

 

[zlorf]

If a character has used his healing surge already, does a paladins or clerics power that allows that same character to use another healing surge?

Z

There are LOTS of ways to use healing surges in fights. Any leader has them at every single power tier, and Paladins and Fighters also get quite a few of them; Paladins can even share them with other characters.

 

[VannATLC]

Characters get X+Con modifier Healing Surges, where X is dependant on class.

I think you mean second wind.

Healing Surges are a resource that measures vitality, similiar in nature to HP.

Second Wind is an ability that utilises the Healing Surge resource, and is a standard action, 1/per encounter. (Excluding Dwarves, who can Second Wind as a minor action)

 

[Silverblade The Ench]

yeah it takes two actions to use a potion: get it out, then use. So Usually, a Minor and Move, I'd guess, leavign standard to attack or whatever, or use Move ot get hell out of Dodge!
QUick Draw is cool
Hm, I ca see folk's point son potions, but I'm not 100% convinced, I'll leave as per PHB though, till more evidence comes in

 

[Stalker0]

Hm, I ca see folk's point son potions, but I'm not 100% convinced, I'll leave as per PHB though, till more evidence comes in

That's the spirit everyone should take. If it looks weird, watch it, but try the rule out before you commit one way or the other.

While there are some abilities you can run numbers on and prove that its weak or overpowered right out of the gate, most things need experience to prove for sure.

 

[Xanaqui]

Exactly. A magic potion can't heal you but take a nap and *bamf* you can spend a full day's healing surges and get back hundreds of HPs instantly.

You think you could pull a potion out of a backpack and utilize it while wearing armor during the middle of combat as such a trivial action it has no consequences? Give me a break. The convenience of video game macro palettes DOES NOT TRANSLATE to a PnP game. Whats going to be in the next splatbook, the ability for characters to wear 6 backpacks at the same time?

Edited for tone.

Personally, I'd prefer longer rests - perhaps a few days - to regain all healing surges. However, I'll have to admit that with the tempo I usually keep my games at, full regain on rest is probably a good thing.

It seems to cost two minor actions. In any case, do you think that if you had a potion that could save your life, do you think that you'd leave it buried in your backpack? I wouldn't. When I pack a backpack (even for just regular hiking), I know where everything is, and their locations are based on how quickly I may need to get it out.

In any case, I can't see why you couldn't house rule to something like 1 healing surge regained per day of rest. As a warning, this may increase the 1 encounter adventuring day syndrome.

Or as an alternate idea, regain all healing surges - but only after a weeks' worth of rest.

 

[kclark]

The DMG does have some rules for extended tiring of the characters. If the characters are lost out in woods or jungles (probably from failed skill challenge to get where they are going) then they could be suffering a -1 healing surge until the get back to a place where they can rest comfortably. Other environmental effects like extreme cold or heat, prolonged marches, sparse rationing of foor and water could be similar. Diseases can also drain your pool of healing surges.

So these long term stressors can drastically influence a parties ability to fight several combats or even one really tough one where they are relying on potions and such to use many of their healing surges.

 

[KarinsDad]

How much gold to players have at 8th level?? And what is a 1,000GP in the world. Is gold the new copper, is a GP still about what a gp was in previous editions.

Pretty much. IIRC, 20th level PCs have about 2x (or 3x, I haven't actually done the math because it includes magic items) in wealth as 3E. 1st level PCs have about the same. Mundane items and services cost about the same.

So, 1000 GP is about $100,000 ($10,000 if someone were to be super generous with the conversion and a stay at the inn costs $5 a night).

The economic scale is incredibly steep in 4E. It's kind of hard to justify that kind of expenditure for a Healing Potion for something the PC Cleric or Paladin can do with a wave of his hand, especially since it is so difficult to kill a PC in 4E (if there are fellow PCs to help out within 3 rounds) unless one considers that 4E hands out truck loads of Gold, so it's actually ok.