How should D&D handle healing?

[jodyjohnson]

I answered how I woulld do it but I think the game should just do what Mike Mearls suggested in June 2013.

http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ll/20130527

Time and again, we've seen divergent opinions on what hit points represent, how quickly they refresh, and so forth. When we read comments, we see many views that coincide with this concept of genre. Are the characters in your campaign the main characters in a grand story? You want an easy way to get hit points back. Does your campaign embrace the survival of the fittest, with one bad decision leading to ruin? Then you're fine with an extended period of time needed to regain hit points.

D&D as an RPG has developed a few genres within itself. You can see this in how people talk about the game. Some groups run intricate stories that place their characters at the center of world-changing events. Other groups play characters who are merely one adventuring band among many, delving into ruins in search of treasure and risking life and limb to the vagaries of the dice. When you say roleplaying game, do you emphasize roleplaying or game?

There's no right answer here, and that's why we're embracing the idea of hit points as something that DMs can customize.

He goes on to list a potential default and then a bunch of options depending on what tables want.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Why do people care about recovering rates when it's 1 or 2 hp a night (I'm assuming we're talking pre-4th Edition). If you have a cleric, a party can go from almost dead to perfect health in about 3 days at the most. A Bard, and even Rangers and Paladins, can heal too. If you spring for a wand of cure light wounds, you'll have enough healing to last a long time; but since it costs money you wouldn't use it unless time becomes an issue.

 

[Hussar]

MichaelS I'd point out that the absolute max healing time in 3e is 8 days and typically 1 full day of rest will heal most characters. It's not like there's a huge difference between 3rd and 3e here.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

You had HP like normal, representing luck, etc. and a Wound Threshold equal to your Con. When you ran out of HP each attack dealt its damage in Wound points and when you reach Wounds = Con you are dead.
Some things like falling or critical hits also dealt some wound damage. And I think you got also a -1 per wound, but here I am even more unsure than with the rest.

Healing HP was easy. Healing Wounds was not.

In such a system I could actually accept Shout healing etc. as long as it is restricted to HP.

I adopted a similar but similar system for Mages & Monsters. There's only the need to keep track of hit points; hit points up to CON score equate to physical wounds and above that represent luck, fatigue, etc. Short rests will recover hit points if you are above CON score, but only magical or long-term healing will work if you are below CON. There are some interactions with the Heal skill that support this system.

It makes quick recovery a little tougher at lower levels, but strikes a balance between wound- and fatigue-based hit points that doesn't require tracking two sets of numbers.

Realizing that different folks like different approaches, though, I've probably built three different death and dying optional systems for the Expanded rules.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Why do people care about recovering rates when it's 1 or 2 hp a night (I'm assuming we're talking pre-4th Edition). If you have a cleric, a party can go from almost dead to perfect health in about 3 days at the most. A Bard, and even Rangers and Paladins, can heal too. If you spring for a wand of cure light wounds, you'll have enough healing to last a long time; but since it costs money you wouldn't use it unless time becomes an issue.

Because you require a cleric. Because the cleric might want to cast non-healing spells for once. Because your cleric might be (in 2e) unable to access the healing sphere: see first point. Because holing up for three days to heal is not fun. Because going back into adventure with hardly any hit points due to time reasons is suicidal. Because when one PC is badly wounded and the others aren't, you either need to push this PC into suicidal danger, leave them behind, or hole up, none of which are good options.

The Wand of Cure Light Wounds fixes the problem, but there are a lot of DMs out there who don't understand the wealth by level rules and try to restrict them, so no wand of CLW. Also, that's an option only available in 3e or Pathfinder, not earlier editions.

 

[3catcircus]

Why do people care about recovering rates when it's 1 or 2 hp a night (I'm assuming we're talking pre-4th Edition). If you have a cleric, a party can go from almost dead to perfect health in about 3 days at the most. A Bard, and even Rangers and Paladins, can heal too. If you spring for a wand of cure light wounds, you'll have enough healing to last a long time; but since it costs money you wouldn't use it unless time becomes an issue.

When focused on non-magical healing, recovery rates ARE important. What if your GM runs a game where magic is severely restricted - such as in Dark Sun or Midnight? What if the game is a gritty one where magical healing doesn't exist at all? The healing surge / HD methods in 4e and the D&DN playtest allow excessive non-magical healing of hit points in comparison to previous editions.

Because you require a cleric. Because the cleric might want to cast non-healing spells for once. Because your cleric might be (in 2e) unable to access the healing sphere: see first point. Because holing up for three days to heal is not fun. Because going back into adventure with hardly any hit points due to time reasons is suicidal. Because when one PC is badly wounded and the others aren't, you either need to push this PC into suicidal danger, leave them behind, or hole up, none of which are good options.

The Wand of Cure Light Wounds fixes the problem, but there are a lot of DMs out there who don't understand the wealth by level rules and try to restrict them, so no wand of CLW. Also, that's an option only available in 3e or Pathfinder, not earlier editions.

And I would argue that:

1. You don't need a cleric. There are plenty of other options.
2. "Holing up for three days to heal" IS fun if the DM uses that time appropriately to allow for non-combat in-game activities. Gotta go forage food and water for the invalid? Gee - we found something that needs investigating while out gathering water. Hey - while the cripple is healing up, I managed to finish crafting my +uber magic item!
3. If you don't want to hole up and going any further is suicidal, that is a good time to run. The current mindset of the PCs are guaranteed to win and beat all enemies is, in my opinion, not fun.
4. See #1.

 

[Uller]

As long as the DM is in control of events outside the PCs/party and HP/Healing is a limited resource, I'm not really sure why it matters what the books say. I'm the DM. I control the pacing of the game and therefore control the decisions before the party. You're wounded, lost, low on spells and one of you is poisoned...do you give chase to the assassin that just tried to kill you? She's wounded too, but she knows her way. Maybe she could lead you out...maybe she will lead you into a trap...Your choice.