Healing Without a Cleric....

[LokiDR]

I run a low magic game where I disallowed all primary casters at first. Healing potions were at listed price, but scrolls/wands/ect were double. I also introduced a number of alchemical healing items with backlash. A few observations:

At lowest levels, the healing salve from T&B was popular. After that, the alchemst PC started complaining about spending all of his time and money on making healing salve, and that is after I sped up crafting times by 7.

By level 7, one PC took a level in paladin but was not much help. By level 9, a new player came in with several levels of paladin and was much appreciated. There is now a 5th level cleric in the PC's town that will heal, but not travel with them.

My suggestions: decide what feel you want for your game. If you really want grim and gritty, don't add new items and perhaps even limit the current items like the healing salve. If you want heroic with less magic, let them go nuts on potions or alchemical items you invent. If you want the normal feel of D&D without clerics, I suggest giving wands out like candy. Pick your style first, then fit the rules to it.

 

[Ogre Mage]

I was trying to figure out a way to make those groups without magical healing talent a bit more self sufficient in the ways of healing. This would also be helpful in worlds were magical healing is rarer or non-existent.

Thoughts?

I'd like to point out that a party without healing talent and a world with low magic healing are two different things.

If the level of healing magic is the typical level assumed in the PHB but the party has no cleric or druid, then that is their problem. The burden should be on the PARTY to find a solution to their healing problem. The DM should provide appropriate challenges but should not coddle them.

If however the WORLD is low healing magic, then that is a DM imposed restriction on the players. The DM should create healing alternatives for the PCs. The DM should also be cautious because the MM and CR tables assume a certain level of healing. Encounters are tougher to overcome in a low healing world and ability score draining creatures are incredibly nasty.

 

[AuraSeer]

If the level of healing magic is the typical level assumed in the PHB but the party has no cleric or druid, then that is their problem. The burden should be on the PARTY to find a solution to their healing problem.

From the players' side of the table, that looks like a pretty crappy attitude to have.

When no one is willing to play a healer, the party won't include one, and will be much more fragile. Any DM who fails to take that into account is just being an ass. If you don't make healing items more than usually common, or at least allow extra downtime for natural healing, your whole party will quickly die off through attrition. You won't keep many players that way.

The whole point of the game is for everybody to have a good time. Sticking to the books is fine, but not if it interferes with the fun. Following standard game balance at the expense of your players' enjoyment is the mark of a pedant, not of a good DM.

 

[Darklone]

I prefer to customize the game for the group. Sometimes a little devil rides me and I push my players into playing a silly group, sometimes I just let them choose what they want and everyone has a divine spellcaster...

I like groups with only fighters. Only rogues. Only bards. It's just a matter what kind of campaign you wanna play.

 

[Ogre Mage]

Healing without a cleric

From the players' side of the table, that looks like a pretty crappy attitude to have.

When no one is willing to play a healer, the party won't include one, and will be much more fragile. Any DM who fails to take that into account is just being an ass. If you don't make healing items more than usually common, or at least allow extra downtime for natural healing, your whole party will quickly die off through attrition. You won't keep many players that way.

The whole point of the game is for everybody to have a good time. Sticking to the books is fine, but not if it interferes with the fun. Following standard game balance at the expense of your players' enjoyment is the mark of a pedant, not of a good DM.

First off, you need to look again:

The DM should provide appropriate challenges but should not coddle them.

Obviously only a fool would provide challenges which were grossly inappropriate for the party. But the players also need to consider the weakness of their group and how they will address those weaknesses.

In a world with a typical level of magic, healing items should be reasonably available. But the PCs need to REALIZE that their party is weak on healing and TAKE THE INITIATIVE to get these items. They also cannot approach combat situations as if they had a full-time healer. In other words, they need to consider how they will address their lack of healing. This could mean stocking up on items, getting an NPC healer, whatever. As the DM, these things will be available. The party will be spending resources on stuff that could have been spent elsewhere, but that is the choice they made by going cleric-less. A party that utterly fails to recognize their lack of healing and runs pell mell into melee is just stupid.

If the party were to die from attrition, perhaps they might think that they NEED to have healing next time, instead of blaming the GM for their own shortsightedness.

 

[LokiDR]

From the players' side of the table, that looks like a pretty crappy attitude to have.

When no one is willing to play a healer, the party won't include one, and will be much more fragile. Any DM who fails to take that into account is just being an ass. If you don't make healing items more than usually common, or at least allow extra downtime for natural healing, your whole party will quickly die off through attrition. You won't keep many players that way.

The whole point of the game is for everybody to have a good time. Sticking to the books is fine, but not if it interferes with the fun. Following standard game balance at the expense of your players' enjoyment is the mark of a pedant, not of a good DM.

Get a cohort or hireling. Find an NPC cleric who will adventure with you. That covers the healing problem and lets everyone play what they want to. If the party ignores options like this, that is their problem. The DM isn't there to giftwrap solutions, as that isn't much fun.