What if everyone can heal?

[Frostmarrow]

After the last session of the Scarred Lands campaign we begun discussing running a double-DM swashbuckling campaign. Not that Scarred Lands is not good enough, it is, but we have multiple DMs and the gaming time is limited so...

I mentioned that if we are to run a swashbuckling city campaign we ought to make it so that everyone can heal themselves fully after each combat. In order to make the campaign less cleric-centred if you see what I mean. My reasoning went something like this: If we are to have an intrigue-filled campaign where you might cheat your fellows out of the treasure it's vital that you can take care of yourself and that being on the cleric's good side is not an issue.

I also argued that after the combat is won any left over injuries on the characters part does not matter anymore. For who wants to lie in sickbed for days as the story will most certainly still progress? I called this the Ivanhoe-syndrome. Moreover in all/most RPGs there is always some cheesy way of healing people in no time from the most grievous wounds. So why bother making excuses? Why not say that if you survive the combat you are at full strength immediately. (We might call this the John Wayne-solution.) The most important thing is to get people role-playing and progress the story. And you can't easily do that if you are half-dead already.

Now, much to my surprise my fellow gamers agreed completely and said that they always thought of the 'magical healing' as a bit redundant. So I turn to you, mighty EN-boarders, what do you think: Is it vital that you are still wounded after the battle is won?

(Naturally the DM may impose hard-healed injuries to further the story.)

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

I think it's a good idea if the characters are playing in the kind of campaign you describe, although I'd suggest that you ask them to play out some injuries they suffer, even if they don't actually have written hp damage on their character sheets. EG, the heroic fighter climbing off his hospital bed to finish off his enemy once and for all...

But otherwise...? No. Healing and damage become very important in terms of game balance. If you heal after every fight, the DM has to throw very powerful creatures at you because your characters will be so careless in attack and fights. Why bother defending yourself? You'll be healed instantly at the end! Ahah!

but as part of a unique campaign, I say go for it and see if it works!

 

[Frostmarrow]

The good news is that we are after all playing D&D, where defending yourself is the same thing as going after your adversaries with tooth and nail. Yet you bring up a few good points. Naturally it's daring to fight on even when your arm is in a sling or your leg in a cast. Furthermore it does defy all reason to have all injuries mysteriously disappear after each fight. So perhaps some excuse is needed after all. Any suggestions?

This will probably be a campaign centred on humans and few monsters will be present, save the odd zombie or two. I am thinking that maybe we just need more sources of healing available to us. Perhaps the heal skill might actually do some good. If such was the case it becomes easy to introduce the doctor into the campaign. What I'm aiming for really is the possibility to take care of yourself and not having to rely on the support of your trusted friends. For in this campaign treason will be a matter of timing.

I am aware of course of the existance of potions and wands but having played this game for far too long those things have gotten a bit old. And they are just as difficult to justify realism-wise as any other method of healing we've learned to use from the numerous RPGs we've tried.

Luckily we are playing D&D. I think I've just made that point but in D&D hitpoints doesn't really represent bodily harm in the first place, right?

 

[Seule]

I think you might want to try the Wound Point/Vitality Point system from Starwars d20. It models this very well, most of the time you have merely taken Vitality damage, and can thus heal very quickly. You could even have criticals not bypass vitality, but work to multiply damage as in D&D, such that as long as you didn't run out of vitality in a fight, you are fine again in a few hours, being merely tired. It sounds like more tweaks might be necessary, but I think you get the point: most damage you take is just fatigue, and only the last few are actually wounds.

--Seule

 

[Frostmarrow]

How does this Wound Point/Vitality Point-system work?

 

[Seule]

Basically, for your purposes, your hit points are converted into Vitality Points, which represent near misses and suchlike that cause you to tire. You also have Wound Points which represent actual damage, and are equal to your Constitution. Once you take Wound damage, you are Fatigued (as in the PH), and must make a Fort save (15) or be knocked out.
Wounds heal slowly, like Hit Points, Vitality comes back much faster, like Subdual does normally.
In Starwars, a confirmed critical goes directly to wounds, but you might want to scrap this.
Toughness can be taken for Wounds or (as the feat Quickness) Vitality.
Subdual weapons merely are unable to do wound damage, they do full vitality.
Once you run out of Vitality, all damage goes to Wounds.
It's a far more cinematic system, people don't tend to actually get hurt except by big threats.

I think that's the basics.

 

[Jeph]

Subdual weapons merely are unable to do wound damage, they do full

Ick. Ick ick ick ick ick. That's not a good way of handling subdual damage. In Star Wars, that would mean that you can beat a peasant for hours with a club to the head, and they won't feel a thing (remember that lv. 0 characters have no VP). I'd say, they merely do half damage (or third damage, or whatever) against WP.

 

[HellHound]

But clubs don't deal Subdual damage... they deal real damage.

 

[Jeph]

But clubs don't deal Subdual damage... they deal real damage.

Yeah yeah yeah. Make it a sap, then.

 

[JoeBlank]

Is there someplace where I can find a more official description of wound/vitality points on the web? As far as I know, it is not open gaming content, but I could be wrong about that.

My group hates the feel of constant magical healing, and may go for something like this, but I need a decent site to point them to so that they will consider it.

Thanks.