[UA] Mearls will be happy about this

[Kesh]

It really sounds like 'getting your second wind' to me.

 

[mearls]

It really sounds like 'getting your second wind' to me.

Exactly. The beauty of the design is that it creates a simple, elegant, and easy to use solution to a bugbear of d20 design: it removes the need for some outside agent to provide healing. The time keeping complaints I just don't understand, unless my group is the only one to use minute/level duration spells.

The key to the reserve rule is that it makes any given encounter just as lethal as normal, but it allows the PCs to truck along through an adventure for a longer period of time without having to rest and prepare spells.

Its beauty lies in its elegance and simplicty. It has none of the lame wonkiness of VP/WP. It has none of the unnecessary complexity required to keep everything balanced in a game world without clerical healing. It keeps the game environment the same on an encounter-level, while allowing you change all sorts of stuff on the campaign level. If you want to run a heroic game without easy access to healing magic, it's the best option out there.

 

[buzz]

I think the point TW is making (well, one of them) is that using reserve points makes it necessary to keep a fairly accurate track of time elapsed in the dungeon. Has it been 30 minutes or 60 minutes since we fought those demons? That could make a big difference when we fight the lich.

I suppose when a PC is high level, and you're playing thorugh a fight-a-minute dungeon, this could be an issue. In other siutations, the rule essentially translates to getting your reserve in hp back between fights, a la BESM. Regardless, DMs are tracking time for many other reasons most of the time anyway, so no big whoop.

Heck, EGG has been admonishing us all to keep accurate time records since 1978.

 

[A'koss]

Originally posted by Kesh:
It really sounds like 'getting your second wind' to me.

That was my thought as well. And right away I could think of several variants for our low magic game. Various means to increase your reserve points - feats and magic for example... And since I'm looking into different ways of handling healing, spells that can improve hit point recovery rate (2+ replenish points per minute or even a per round rate with higher level magic) and replenish your reserve points faster seem like logical extensions to this rule.

Originally posted by maddman75:
This is one of my problems with high level D&D. THe game is MORE lethal above 12th level than it is below 5th!

Preach it brother!

This was definitely a factor in our group switching over to a lower magic, more epic battle-style game.

Cheers!

 

[Liolel]

This is not for my game, for I do not one a game with low magic or no clerics and expensive healing. However I can see how this would be useful for some of the types of games I don't run.
The best way to negate the advantages of these reserve points is to apply a time pressure, a big one that forces the pc's to act really fast.
Dying villian"So you've defeated me but in 5 minutes at the back of my mines the sacifice takes place."