Healing Word (and the abuse thereof)

[Kinneus]

Last Saturday, I DMed my first game of D&D 4e. Everyone was new to the rules, especially me. One of the first questions to come up was healing and healing word. The exact wording is:
"The target can spend a healng surge and regain an additional 1d6 hit points".
The players asked me if they could choose not to use the healing surge, and still gain the additional 1d6 hit points (+ some extra from Healer's Lore). Not really thinking (and wishing to take it easy on my friends during our first game), I ruled that they could. Looking at it again, I think it's pretty clear that this was wrong; the additional hit points are reliant on the target using that healing surge, I believe.
But that wasn't the real problem. No, the real problem was when I told them that, outside of combat, they could use an encounter power every five minutes. Healing Word is an at-will power you can use twice per encounter; in other words it's basically a power you can use twice every five minutes, right?
Anyway, due to my foolish ruling that the target could opt not to use a healing surge, every combat ended with the party standing around for ten to twenty IC minutes while the cleric topped everyone off, all without using up any healing surges. Even if I hadn't made that earlier ruling, it still didn't quite feel right to me... everybody's healing surge value is basically doubled outside of combat just because they're standing in the same room with a cleric?
Needless to say, my group pretty much breezed right through my first dungeon.
How can you deter groups from using Healing Word like this outside of combat? Have a patrol of goblins walk by if they stand around for more than five minutes? Just not allow them to use Healing Word outside of combat? Or simply make your encounters harder, to factor in the extra healing they'll get from their cleric when and if they survive?

 

[SadisticFishing]

Yeah, you're right about being wrong the first time, but wrong the second.

Your healing surge value basically DOES double if you have a leader.

"Gain additional hitpoints" infers that you need to be gaining hitpoints.

 

[gtJormungand]

For one, the character being healed must spend a healing surge in order to receive the extra healing in the first place. There is no capability for abuse there.

 

[Rechan]

I would say "My ruling was crap last time. I let you get away with it then, not now."

No healing word outside of combat. They spend their surges like everyone else.
If you don't spend a surge, you don't get the 1d6+. The 1d6+ is conditional on the surge, not a separate factor.

 

[FireLance]

Using a cleric to increase the effectiveness of the party's healing surges out of combat allows them to go through more encounters in a day, but does not reduce the difficulty of any specific encounter. As long as the party is able to spend healing surges out of combat, they will probably be going into each fight at close to maximum hit points anyway. It might be an issue if you're running a time-sensitive scenario, but if you're not, does it matter whether the party only takes short rests or whether they take one or more extended rests as well?

 

[Kinneus]

I would say "My ruling was crap last time. I let you get away with it then, not now."

Heh, that's pretty much the plan.
Okay, I fully get how this power works, now. Thanks for your input, everybody.

 

[Mouseferatu]

No healing word outside of combat. They spend their surges like everyone else.

This is not correct, by RAW. A cleric can use healing word twice after each short rest. The rules support this, and the designers have even confirmed that this was their intention.

If you don't spend a surge, you don't get the 1d6+. The 1d6+ is conditional on the surge, not a separate factor.

This, however, is correct. If you do not spend the surge, you do not get any of the benefit.

 

[fba827]

There is even an example in either the PHB or the DMG where the PCs can use healing word/inspiring word outside of combat to speed up their healing. They just need an additional 5minutes short rest to get back the used powers.

The only real limiting factor there are the spent healing surges (eventually they'll run out and need an extended rest) and also time (something can interupt them or they are on a race to do something before a deadline). By taking extended rests they start loosing other things (like more action points, or some higher level magic items that grant additional bonuses if you've passed a certain number of milestones that day)

So, bottom line, it is only because of the first error (which is fine, don't beat yourself over it -- you're all new at it) that the second thing became so outlandish.

Just say from the next game onward that you misunderstood the healing word and you have to use the healing surge to regain the additional +1d6

Yes, they can (and will) continue using the healing word outside of combat -- it's to be expected.

edit: ninjaed!

 

[Rechan]

This is not correct, by RAW. A cleric can use healing word twice after each short rest. The rules support this, and the designers have even confirmed that this was their intention.

Huh. Really now. I hadn't heard about this. Do you have a link (so I can show my DM? )

I wonder if this would stack with the Bard's Song of Rest.

 

[Dalzig]

Huh. Really now. I hadn't heard about this. Do you have a link (so I can show my DM? )

I wonder if this would stack with the Bard's Song of Rest.

PHB 263, Short Rest: Using Powers while you Rest.

And no, it doesn't stack with the Bard. The bard only affects healing surges that you spend because of the short rest. Using healing powers does not fall under this category.