Touch of Healing [Reserve] feat from Complete Champion Excerpt

[James McMurray]

Do your players die in your game?

In mine they do.

Mental not, do not be a player in Egres's game. While my life might enjoy the sudden influx of life insurance money, I'd miss out on many future gaming sessions.

 

[jcfiala]

Do your players die in your game?

In mine they do.

Hum. Where do you bury them? How do you keep the police or loved ones from tracking them to your door? I ask.. oh, for no particularly special reason... *whistles innocently*

 

[Nail]

No worries. I already called the cops (to get the reward money, of course!).

 

[cignus_pfaccari]

Hum. Where do you bury them? How do you keep the police or loved ones from tracking them to your door? I ask.. oh, for no particularly special reason... *whistles innocently*

"Blackmail is *such* an ugly word."

"I didn't say blackmail."

"No, but I did."

Ah, paraphrasing Buffy quotes.

Brad

 

[rgard]

Hum. Where do you bury them? How do you keep the police or loved ones from tracking them to your door? I ask.. oh, for no particularly special reason... *whistles innocently*

I recruit the homeless for my games. Game sessions are played in a trailer down by the river.

 

[Egres]

Mental not, do not be a player in Egres's game. While my life might enjoy the sudden influx of life insurance money, I'd miss out on many future gaming sessions.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

I think you misunderstand. It doesn't matter if the BBEG kills one or even 3/5 PCs or even TPKs the group. He will still have very little use for the reserve healing feat in most campaigns because he will either not need healing enough for his action to be profitably spent on healing a little bit instead of killing PCs a lot OR he will need a lot of healing in which case the reserve healing feat won't cut it and he needs whatever the highest level healing spell he can cast is. The feat solves a resource management problem that bad guys simply do not have vis a vis the PCs.

Maybe mine are unusual games, but I play the BBEGs tougher than what you describe. Sometimes it's the PCs who drop 1 to 10 rounds into the combat.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[evilbob]

I haven't read this thread all the way through because it seemed to be mostly people arguing, but in case this hasn't been said:

This feat seems to be the new "required level 3 feat" for clerics, just like Natural Spell is the "required level 6 feat" for druids. The only difference is that while a viable druid build can include feats other than Natural Spell, I'm guessing once this book comes out there will be no viable (good or positive-channeling neutral) cleric builds that do not include this feat. It is just too good not to take.

And in my mind, if something is so good that it's basically required, it should just be a class feature. Looking ahead to future versions of D&D (as others have certainly mentioned), this seems to be the direction they're going...


P.S. I feel extra bad for dragon shamans. They have one trick - and this is a better one that they can't even qualify to take.

 

[rgard]

I think you misunderstand. It doesn't matter if the BBEG kills one or even 3/5 PCs or even TPKs the group. He will still have very little use for the reserve healing feat in most campaigns because he will either not need healing enough for his action to be profitably spent on healing a little bit instead of killing PCs a lot OR he will need a lot of healing in which case the reserve healing feat won't cut it and he needs whatever the highest level healing spell he can cast is. The feat solves a resource management problem that bad guys simply do not have vis a vis the PCs.

Hi Elder-Basilisk, I understand your premise; it's just not the way I play the NPCs. I run the NPCs just like the players run their party. Granted, 'most campaigns' may be just as you describe. So I may be in the minority.

Thanks,
Rich

 

[James McMurray]

I think you misunderstand. It doesn't matter if the BBEG kills one or even 3/5 PCs or even TPKs the group. He will still have very little use for the reserve healing feat in most campaigns because he will either not need healing enough for his action to be profitably spent on healing a little bit instead of killing PCs a lot OR he will need a lot of healing in which case the reserve healing feat won't cut it and he needs whatever the highest level healing spell he can cast is. The feat solves a resource management problem that bad guys simply do not have vis a vis the PCs.

It matters if the BBEG bases his tactics around having small bursts of infinite healing, and instead of standing in a room waiting for his climactic fight scene he harries the party with hit and run attrition tactics designed to hurt them and him a little before breaking off and fully healing.