Radical Houserule: No in-combat healing for anyone

[Leatherhead]

It also removes any chances of very detailed, dramatic and tactical fights. In order fot that kind of battles to unfold, characters need to be hit, and if characters are hit, they need in combat healing.

This is just not true. Firstly, tactics and drama do not require the characters to be hit, only that they make choices. Secondly, being hit does not require combat healing, only healing of any sort. Such as out of combat healing.

In fact, combat healing smooths out mistakes, which is in direct opposition to achieving dramatic and/or tactical game play.

 

[Chris_Nightwing]

My conclusions from the many other threads on healing:

• Healing should not be a resource deployable by only one class, as the design of that class then focuses entirely on making healing an acceptable choice for them, be that in terms of actions or spell slots or what have you.
• The healer, or healing cleric, is a choice that some players enjoy, however, so this has to be an option. To make it a choice, rather than a mandate, then again, easily accessible healing must be available to all classes.
• The cheapest and easiest form of healing should be out of combat. When required in combat, with the exception of the healing cleric, it should take up the resources of the player requiring healing or the party as a whole, be they actions, hit dice or gold. I would hate to see all in-combat healing removed, because healing potions are important to the game, I feel, and they fit the paradigm I have outlined: they cost the individual's action to use, and party resources to acquire.
• You might argue that healing surges, triggered by a cleric who needn't spend an action to do so, also fulfill the paradigm. Unfortunately this necessitates having a cleric to trigger them, makes a dedicated healer not that special, and makes healing too accessible such that combats are lengthened rather than dramatised.

 

[hbarsquared]

I actually had begun considering something similar last week, while ruminating on the three pillars design of Next.

If we assume that each class should have access to abilities that work across the three pillars (Combat, Exploration, Social), we should be able to slot each class ability into each pillar. (There can be some leakage and overlap, of course).

If we were to do this, and take a cleric's class ability of "Healing," I would slot it into the "Exploration" pillar instead of "Combat." An ability to be used during rests, out of combat, to heal overnight and to extend the characters' abilities to adventure.

Perhaps, once/encounter the cleric can spend an action to heal. Just so there is some ability to heal in combat, but with its limited usage, won't be a primary component of the cleric's combat ability. Characters could have their "second wind," maybe, and access to healing potions (which the cleric can also make as part of their "Exploration Pillar" abilities!)

So, very limited healing in combat, but still part of the Cleric class for outside combat.