D&D General What's the DC for a fighter to heal their ally with a prayer?

[Imaro]

Conversely, the DM makes the call.

Ultimately I agree with this. And in my campaign... depending on the world it might or might not be possible, but I don't think there's anything in the implied fiction or rules of base 5e that supports or rule it out.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

Ultimately I agree with this. And in my campaign... depending on the world it might or might not be possible, but I don't think there's anything in the implied fiction or rules of base 5e that supports or rule it out.

Honestly? As a player I have actually told my DM “no, really it’s cool.” I don’t want a bunch of mulligans.

But I am not against them taking my stank corpse to get a raise dead either. Stuff happens.

When it’s my decisions that got me there let it stand!

 

[Imaro]

Ok, sure. But what, in fiction, differentiates a wizard from someone trained in Arcana? Or what, in fiction, separates a pious, prayerful acolyte from a cleric?

I'm going to assume you mean base 5e fiction (since you're free to do as you please in your homebrew world). The ability to cast spells & rituals is what differentiates a wizard from someone trained in Arcana, belonging to a tradition of magic also differentiates them. Perhaps I'm missing something in the question you are posing, but since the mechanics and fiction are tied together... often the differences in the fiction stem from the differences in mechanics.

It's not that one can't come up with narrative reasons for it, it's more that class mechanics restrain certain fiction arising from diegetic play. The narrative of "young boy discovers a lost grimoire and learns how to summon magical power" isn't something that happens in-play without a lot of meta discussion between the player and the DM about how to modify the character accordingly.

I'm not sure why it can't with feats and multiclassing, but also with blessings and charms...

 

[EzekielRaiden]

I would generally want more information than the small amount provided in the OP. However, as I absolutely love the idea of this, I would probably do something like the following:

Wisdom or Charisma + Religion. Sliding DC affects the nature of the result:
10 or less: You get an answer...from a god you hate, not the one you asked for. You will owe this deity and they WILL call that favor in a situation you won't like or work toward converting you to their beliefs.
11-15: Either a neutral third-party deity answers, and offers a hard but fair bargain, or the deity you wanted answers, but demands a very high price (in your eyes; the deity might see it differently.)
16-20: The deity you wanted answers, or one of their close allies, and gives you a reasonably fair bargain for their aid.
20+: The deity you wanted answers, and is surprisingly favorable to helping you, though you would earn their gratitude if you returned the favor and did something beneficial for them in return.

Even with a bad roll, you have the possibility of getting what you want...but will the benefit be worth the price? Will a day come when you and/or your friend look back upon it and think it would have been preferable to die to those injuries? This is a potential campaign-defining moment, something from which incredible stories may spring. I am 100% for supporting such things. Indeed, I find it very disappointing that so many folks here choose to respond to it with either outright rejection, effective rejection, or (worst of all) "well guess you should have played Cleric/Paladin, my guy!" This is a player giving you a GOLDEN opportunity to make their lives more interesting, more adventurous, more uncertain, more difficult. Squashing that enthusiasm with "welp, sucks to be you" or "hahahahahaha no, hell no, and never darken my door again" is just...sad.

Our hobby is open-ended. It's such a shame so many folks take it as an invitation to close off the vast majority of possibilities.

 

[chaochou]

The fighter's friend is hurt, even dying. The fighter prays to the gods to heal their friend. How is this action resolved? If it's a Religion or similar sort of check, what's the DC?

A softly spoken female voice forms in your mind. You. You who have caused so many grievous wounds, mortal wounds, now call for Eldath's aid. There are many things I could ask of you. But I only want that which is offered freely. So tell me, what is the life of your friend worth?

 

[Jfdlsjfd]

If we're doing to create rules, then it might be wise not to imbalance existing rules. Praying to have something outside of the regular abilties IS an ability, that clerics get at level 10, and it only happens if they only get 10% (level on a percentile dice). So, any stats that makes it easier than devoting 10 level to cleric and having a significant chance "walks on the feet" of a regular cleric, who forewent other cool abilities and chances to shine to get this particular one.

 

[Imaro]

I would generally want more information than the small amount provided in the OP.

Very much this, before we start casting wide generalizations of where most lie on tactical infinity @Manbearcat , I think there needs to be much more information given in the OP... What tone or mood is the campaign going for (and have the players agreed to it)? What fiction was established already? What themes are at play? Is there a cleric in the group and am I stepping on his/her their toes in allowing this? And so on. It's an interesting thought experiment but I don't think the question or its parameters are robust enough to really glean anything to extrapolate onto a larger group or playstyle with.

 

[Baron Opal II]

The fighter's friend is hurt, even dying. The fighter prays to the gods to heal their friend. How is this action resolved? If it's a Religion or similar sort of check, what's the DC?

Depends. What are the ontologic and daivanic constants of the local brane?

For me, this triggers several questions;

• Is this a general prayer or directed to a specific faith, Patron, or Power?
• Has this fighter been initiated into any Patron's or Power's mysteries?
• Has the friend been initiated into any Patron's or Power's mysteries?
• Has the fighter demonstrated any interest in or connection to the supernatural before?
• Is there a Power or other supernatural entity nearby that might be willing to bargain?

 

[Thommy H-H]

Let's reformulate the question: "What's the DC of a cleric with no spell slots remaining to heal their ally with a prayer?"

 

[Voadam]

I would normally go with the Conan uncaring universe, but D&D has plenty of fiction to justify an interventionist god if you want.

Strahd makes a pact with "Death". Warlocks make pacts with supernatural beings. Gods empower clerics. Sorcerer blood manifests at some big point. Dark powers of Ravenloft answer on behalf of prayers.

I would probably not resolve this with a religion roll, but if I was running a game with an interventionist cosmology I might work something out with the PCs that sounds fun and just make it happen. If they wanted to multiclass this could be an opportunity storywise for justifying it. If I wanted an interventionist being to get involved here is an opportunity. It could be the god they prayed to. It could be something else that answers.