Why Randomized Healing?

[rrealm]

We started doing this for clw wands. Each charge heals 5 hps. He were wasting hours rolling one at a time now if your down 40 hps, its 8 charges. Much quicker.


Aaron

I couldn't imagine how one could spend hours to heal just forty points of damage. IMC we can heal over 100 points of damage between 5 characters in around 5 minutes.

Fighter to Cleric: “I’m wounded pretty badly. Can you heal me?”
Cleric to Fighter: “Ya. I want to save my spells so I’m going to use my wand of cure light wounds. [rolls dice, and marks off charge on a piece of paper]. Are you still injured?”
Fighter to Cleric: “I would like more please.”
Cleric: [rolls dice, and marks off charge on a piece of paper].
Fighter: “More”
Cleric: [rolls dice, and marks off charge on a piece of paper].
Fighter: “That’s enough. Thanks.”
Cleric: “Who’s next?”
Rogue: “Me!”
Cleric: [rolls dice, and marks off charge on a piece of paper].

This continues until the party runs out of healing or a need to continue healing.

 

[rrealm]

Edit: As for having pre-rolled healing potions, a major problem with that is what to do with the prices. Do you charge as much for a 2 hp CLW potion as for a 9 hp one? If not, how do you determine the price? Should there be a difference in price between a 7 hp potion of CLW and a 7 hp potion of Cure Moderate Wounds?

Would you allow a caster to heal only a certain amount if they wanted to? Suppose a cleric casts a cure light wounds healing spell but only wants heal 5 points plus mods. Would you make the person roll and on a die roll of 1 to 4, they heal less than what they wanted - too bad, so sad. A roll of 5, it didn't matter what the player wanted to do anyway, or a 6-8, the player could of healed more but chose not to.

If so, would you allow a person to make a wand using the normal rules, roll for the amount of healing it would provide, and then determine the selling price? If the person rolled low, the wand won't sell for much and the character will probally lose money from making it. If they rolled high, they can make enough money to create three "average" wands.

I would say that a wand of CLW that healed 5 hps per charge would sell for a little more than one that made the person roll each time (because it heals .5 hp more on average) which would be the same as a PHB or DMG wand of CLW. A 1 HP wand would sell for far less than the PHB, DMG version and an 8 HP would sell for much more.

 

[Old Gumphrey]

I allow taking 10 on magic the same way you can take 10 on skills. If you're out of combat and not under other pressure, you can take the average result of any spell, healing or no. Meaning that outside of combat a heal can recover a set amount, 4.5 points per die, 9 for every 2. So casting Cure Moderate by "taking 10" at level 3 heals 12 damage. You won't get screwed with a 5, and you also won't get a 19. Works very well for us.

 

[rrealm]

I allow taking 10 on magic the same way you can take 10 on skills. If you're out of combat and not under other pressure, you can take the average result of any spell, healing or no. Meaning that outside of combat a heal can recover a set amount, 4.5 points per die, 9 for every 2. So casting Cure Moderate by "taking 10" at level 3 heals 12 damage. You won't get screwed with a 5, and you also won't get a 19. Works very well for us.

Hey, I like that idea. It's always a bummer to finish combat and then when the cleric walks around, they roll a 1. Makes you really scared to get into combat again since you're hardly healed.

 

[Treebore]

I just house ruled that all potions and wands of healing are essentially maximized. I have also ruled that all healing spells cast outside of combat conditions are maximized. In combat they can either take the average or roll it, casters choice.

I find as DM it is easy to kill characters whenever I want, so why not maximize their ability to recover? Outside of combat that is.

 

[Liquidsabre]

Doesn't anyone use the Vigor spells from CD? Just get a wand of Vigor (3rd lvl spell, caster lvl 5th): 30HP per charge over 15 rounds. Or a Wand of Lesser Vigor for 11 HP per charge over 11 rounds. Sure beats using a Wand of CLW after a battle.

 

[Old Gumphrey]

And what do we call it, kids, when one spell is clearly and obviously better than another spell?

"BROKEN!!"

I know that's a bit sarcastic but it does have merit. Maybe Vigor tree is not as effective in combat, but out of combat it is far and away superior; there's not even a contest. If you can use cures in combat, and vigors out of combat, and vigors are better than maximized versions of cures at the same level...you do the math. If you could only take one or the other I think it would be balanced but that is not the case.

 

[PallidPatience]

I don't think it's broken at all. Obviously, the Vigor spells are MEANT to be used outside of combat, while the CW spells are meant to be used for on-the-spot healing. Each spell has its niche, and is better in that niche than other spells.

Case in point, fireball is broken because it's the best third-level spell for wiping out a tightly-clustered group of enemy goons.

 

[Liquidsabre]

If you've taken a close enough look at the Vigor spells and run the numbers they are WAY broken. Mass Lesser Vigor (the supposed equivalent to the Mase Cure light Wounds, a 5th level spell I might add) is only a 3rd level spell afterall!

So I just adjusted MLV as a 5th level spell (with a higher max rounds) and adjusted all the vigor spells to base 5 rounds instead of 10, then I set max rounds so that healing wouldn't exceed max for cure spells of that level. Essentially this made Vigor spells as maximized cure spells (which in CD as they are, they are BETTER than maximized-cure-spells for their level) that heal over a short period of time, as i thought they should be, just poorly executed in the CD text. With the changes it's worked absolutely fabulous!

 

[Staffan]

Doesn't anyone use the Vigor spells from CD? Just get a wand of Vigor (3rd lvl spell, caster lvl 5th): 30HP per charge over 15 rounds. Or a Wand of Lesser Vigor for 11 HP per charge over 11 rounds. Sure beats using a Wand of CLW after a battle.

I don't find these two all that broken, really. 30 hp per charge sounds much, but you're paying 15 times as much per charge as you are for a wand of cure light wounds, and only healing about 5 times as much. Lesser vigor sounds more iffy, but has the disadvantage of being useless if you're in a hurry.

Also, you have to wait the full 15 or 11 rounds to get the benefit. If you get a lesser vigor while one is already in effect, you'll still only have Fast Healing 1, not 2, and their durations will overlap rather than stack.