D&D 5E How much healing, how much mitigation for a warlord?

[Leatherhead]

Interesting. How do you limit the use of Healing Word, Cure Wounds and other in-combat healing spells in your campaign?

I'm fortunate enough to play with a bunch of people who also dislike combat healing, for various reasons. They tend to ignore such abilities unless someone is going to die on that turn, and even then they gravitate to potions. Out of combat healing is so abundant that we have been toying around with just auto-healing to full HP, and using Exhaustion and/or Wounds to breed some kind of lingering consequences for fighting. However, I'm still looking for some true in-combat mechanical solutions for defensive support classes, that doesn't turn the game into tickle fight or a war of attrition.

 

[Tony Vargas]

I'm fortunate enough to play with a bunch of people who also dislike combat healing, for various reasons. They tend to ignore such abilities unless someone is going to die on that turn, and even then they gravitate to potions.

Sounds pretty straightforward. A flexible version of the Warlord wouldn't get in the way of that, though, you'd just choose other things, whether at chargen/level-up or in play.

Out of combat healing is so abundant that we have been toying around with just auto-healing to full HP, and using Exhaustion and/or Wounds to breed some kind of lingering consequences for fighting. However, I'm still looking for some true in-combat mechanical solutions for defensive support classes, that doesn't turn the game into tickle fight or a war of attrition.

It's definitely got it's attrition aspects, already.

IMX, defensive buffs are often disappointing. You drop one on somebody, and he doesn't get attacked, or the attack works anyway because of a high roll or would have missed anyway because of a low one. That's just me, though. I like things that actually work when you decide to use them more than things that tilt odds slightly and can be counted on provide an net benefit on average once the law of large numbers kicks in.

 

[Bawylie]

If you use a defensive buff on someone and the enemies avoid attacking him, that's an even better benefit than the buff itself.

 

[Ainulindalion]

If you use a defensive buff on someone and the enemies avoid attacking him, that's an even better benefit than the buff itself.

That only remains true if there isn't another option for the enemies. If you make the tank so hard to hit that the enemy literally can't hit it, they'll stop trying. And they'll smoosh your squishy wizard instead.

 

[Bawylie]

That only remains true if there isn't another option for the enemies. If you make the tank so hard to hit that the enemy literally can't hit it, they'll stop trying. And they'll smoosh your squishy wizard instead.

Well, I'm assuming a party that isn't stupid enough to incentivize murdering the back line or otherwise imperiling their own squishies without some old reason.

 

[MoonSong]

Well, I'm assuming a party that isn't stupid enough to incentivize murdering the back line or otherwise imperiling their own squishies without some old reason.

But a arty isn't only the tank and the squishy, we have one to three other PCs too.

 

[Bawylie]

But a arty isn't only the tank and the squishy, we have one to three other PCs too.

I assume a base level of competence in play.

 

[Ainulindalion]

I assume a base level of competence in play.

As I play in a public setting, mostly, that's a dangerous assumption.

 

[Tony Vargas]

If you use a defensive buff on someone and the enemies avoid attacking him, that's an even better benefit than the buff itself.

If the buff was the reason, and they gave up and did nothing instead of attacking, or even shifted from a badly wounded PC to an un-wounded one because of it, sure go defensive buff.
If they just happened to attack someone else that round, not so much. And, then we're back to the whole prescience issue.

 

[mellored]

If the buff was the reason, and they gave up and did nothing instead of attacking, or even shifted from a badly wounded PC to an un-wounded one because of it, sure go defensive buff.
If they just happened to attack someone else that round, not so much. And, then we're back to the whole prescience issue.

I'm with bawylie on this one.

We should assume the warlord will use his buffs in a tactical manner. If a defensive buff won't help he should do something else.