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<blockquote data-quote="JohnSnow" data-source="post: 4985625" data-attributes="member: 32164">Well, perhaps. But the whole result of mechanics like healing surges and, more to the point, Second Wind, is to give the players narrative control over the scene. While they don't strictly get to recover just &quot;because it's dramatically appropriate,&quot; they get to have a &quot;dramatically appropriate recovery.&quot; The abstract nature of hit points - and until 3e, they were always abstract - makes that feasible.Similarly, the abstract nature of said hit points is similarly what enables &quot;martial healing.&quot; The exact nature of the combat's events isn't known until it's completely over. By the way, Second Wind lets a player dictate a dramatic comeback for his character. But more important is the death save - which allows for a surge to be spent if a natural 20 is rolled. This preserves the possibility of a dramatic recovery that surprises even the players - as opposed to just their characters. Fourth Edition has recognized that D&amp;D's primary strength is an action-adventure role playing game and thus it aims for a cinematic feel to combat - something that wouldn't be entirely inappropriate in a Conan, Indiana Jones, Pirates of the Caribbean, or Three Musketeers movie. Clearly, that's what the designers are going for. It may not be to everyone's taste.However, it still tries to remain a tactical game - something some people seem to have a problem with. Which is a might odd considering D&amp;D started as a supplement to tabletop wargaming.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="JohnSnow, post: 4985625, member: 32164"] Well, perhaps. But the whole result of mechanics like healing surges and, more to the point, Second Wind, is to give the players narrative control over the scene. While they don't strictly get to recover just "because it's dramatically appropriate," they get to have a "dramatically appropriate recovery." The abstract nature of hit points - and until 3e, they were always abstract - makes that feasible. Similarly, the abstract nature of said hit points is similarly what enables "martial healing." The exact nature of the combat's events isn't known until it's completely over. By the way, Second Wind lets a player dictate a dramatic comeback for his character. But more important is the death save - which allows for a surge to be spent if a natural 20 is rolled. This preserves the possibility of a dramatic recovery that surprises even the players - as opposed to just their characters. Fourth Edition has recognized that D&D's primary strength is an action-adventure role playing game and thus it aims for a cinematic feel to combat - something that wouldn't be entirely inappropriate in a Conan, Indiana Jones, [I]Pirates of the Caribbean[/I], or [I]Three Musketeers[/I] movie. Clearly, that's what the designers are going for. It may not be to everyone's taste. However, it still tries to remain a tactical game - something some people seem to have a problem with. Which is a might odd considering D&D started as a supplement to tabletop wargaming. [/QUOTE]

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