KOTS Healing Potions

[fnwc]

Anyone else underwhelmed by these? They require a healing surge to use and instead of the hit points you would normally regain, you regain 10 hit points.

I'm not exactly sold on the fact that drinking one requires a healing surge -- not to mention the fact that a 3rd level Dorf Fighter and Dragonborn Paladin no longer gain a benefit from using them.

I might change this to:

• Use a healing surge: gain the hit points you would normally gain using a healing surge and 5 additional hit points
• Use without a healing surge: Gain 10 hit points

Thoughts?

 

[Deverash]

Anyone else underwhelmed by these? They require a healing surge to use and instead of the hit points you would normally regain, you regain 10 hit points.

I'm not exactly sold on the fact that drinking one requires a healing surge -- not to mention the fact that a 3rd level Dorf Fighter and Dragonborn Paladin no longer gain a benefit from using them.

I might change this to:

• Use a healing surge: gain the hit points you would normally gain using a healing surge and 5 additional hit points
• Use without a healing surge: Gain 10 hit points

Thoughts?

This is the lowest level healing potion, i'm sure there'll be higher level versions that heal more hps. Also, even a 3rd level defender gets a use from them, it's another way to heal in combat w/o a leader using a power, and it's only a minor action to use, rather than a standard. You can also use a standard action to feed one to someone else, like say your poor cleric who's been dropped already.

 

[Victim]

Characters can only spend so many healing surges on their own inside a given encounter. You can second wind ONCE per encounter even if you have a ton of healing surges remaining. So the item lets a character bring more of his reserves into play during a fight - that's not too bad even if it's no more efficient (or less so for higher level characters) than other healing powers.

 

[Nytmare]

Anyone else underwhelmed by these?

I think you might be underwhelmed because we're probably only looking at "Cure Light Wounds" potions, and you're probably not taking into account that a character can normally only use second wind once per encounter.

 

[Jawar]

This is the lowest level healing potion, i'm sure there'll be higher level versions that heal more hps. Also, even a 3rd level defender gets a use from them, it's another way to heal in combat w/o a leader using a power, and it's only a minor action to use, rather than a standard. You can also use a standard action to feed one to someone else, like say your poor cleric who's been dropped already.

Only a minor action?
Maybe it's a standard procedure to join the fray with the potion flask already clenched between teeth

 

[fnwc]

This is the lowest level healing potion, i'm sure there'll be higher level versions that heal more hps. Also, even a 3rd level defender gets a use from them, it's another way to heal in combat w/o a leader using a power, and it's only a minor action to use, rather than a standard. You can also use a standard action to feed one to someone else, like say your poor cleric who's been dropped already.

Aha. I keep forgetting that you can only use second wind once per encounter.

 

[Blackeagle]

I think the big benefit of these is that they allow the use of additional healing surges during a fight.

If I were to change them (which I've thought about) I might make it: "Use a healing surge and heal 10 points or the amount you would normally heal using a surge, whichever is greater". I think I'm going to hold off on making any changes until I see whether there are more powerful healing potions.

I really don't like the idea of healing without using a surge. Every method of healing we've seen so far either expends a healing surge, or is a daily power (which effectively gives an additional healing surge). These limits on healing surges seem like they're a pretty fundamental part of the game and I would be reluctant to mess with them (especially since we don't have the full rules set yet).

 

[fnwc]

...and it's only a minor action to use, rather than a standard.

In KOTS, it says, "As a standard action, drink this potion...".

I guess we'll all know more when the real books are released. *shakes fist at sky*

 

[Saitou]

Keep in mind that an unconscious or dying character can't use a healing surge on his own, so a potion would be useful in this case, no matter how few hit points it heals.

 

[zero skill LPB]

In KOTS, it says, "As a standard action, drink this potion...".

I guess we'll all know more when the real books are released. *shakes fist at sky*

From the KotS FAQ:

Page 59 of the Adventure book says a healing potion takes a standard action to use and page 57 says it takes a minor action. Which is right?

Drinking a potion is usually a minor action but administering a potion to an unconscious creature is a standard action.

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Since you know about the potions you shouldn't mind the potential spoilers on the FAQ?

http://wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1387