S
Sunseeker
Guest
If the party lacked other healing, yes, but I would make sure it is fairly limited in some fashion.
D&D 5E Would You Give Your Party a Wand of Cure Light Wounds (limited charges)?
- Thread starter KarinsDad
- Start date
Li Shenron
Legend
I voted the following:
Yes. It's magic and magic is fun.
Yes. Other
Maybe
No. I don't see the need.
No. Other
(They are all true, I'll let you figure out why)
On the other hand, I don't hate CLW wands, I dislike the idea of giving wands just so that "spell casters to use fewer spell slots for healing and more for other cool things" or to compensate a party that doesn't have a dedicated healer (these are strategic choices that already have costs and benefits, and I'm not going to 'fix them'), and I have no idea what you mean with "go to the well healing options".
Yes. It's magic and magic is fun.
Yes. Other
Maybe
No. I don't see the need.
No. Other
(They are all true, I'll let you figure out why)
On the other hand, I don't hate CLW wands, I dislike the idea of giving wands just so that "spell casters to use fewer spell slots for healing and more for other cool things" or to compensate a party that doesn't have a dedicated healer (these are strategic choices that already have costs and benefits, and I'm not going to 'fix them'), and I have no idea what you mean with "go to the well healing options".
Jester David
Hero
A CLW wand, if it existed in 5e (I don't see it in the DMG) would work like other wands and heal 7 charges one tine and 1d6+1 after that. Not quite the full 50 charges of 50d8+50 you could get in 3e.
David Fair
Villager
In 3e Living Greyhawk I played a Rogue 1/Bard X (by the time he ended it was Rogue 1/Bard 8 iirc) that told everyone he was a Cleric (of Farlanghan, the Greyhawk god of rogues, trickery, and I think travel). He used a Wand of CLW to keep up the charade. I would only give out a Wand of CLW in 5e if something similar were taking place.
jgsugden
Legend
This game is designed to provide few magic items and to not have a clw wand available. If you do it, you're messing with the raw mechanics of the game.
PCs are intended to be required to go through a few battles with dings - it is why they have easier encounters in the game. If you give the PCs too much free healing it makes it so that battles with less than deadly foes are pointless and boring.
Per the treasure guidelines if you factor in the math of rolling things out, over 30 levels, PCs should average about 6 TOTAL magic items found that do not get used up in one use - with roughly half of them being attuned. You're not supposed to be able to stocking up on a ridiculous amount of them.
PCs are intended to be required to go through a few battles with dings - it is why they have easier encounters in the game. If you give the PCs too much free healing it makes it so that battles with less than deadly foes are pointless and boring.
Per the treasure guidelines if you factor in the math of rolling things out, over 30 levels, PCs should average about 6 TOTAL magic items found that do not get used up in one use - with roughly half of them being attuned. You're not supposed to be able to stocking up on a ridiculous amount of them.
Just like any other "go to the well" item. If the group is mostly out of spells and hit dice, but are badly wounded and have to press on for some reason, such an item would allow them to continue on while only being moderately wounded (we're probably talking 45 to 66 points of healing total depending on the PC using it). Alternatively, one PC is unconscious in a fight and is really needed and the PC carrying the wand fires off all 7 charges (for maybe 35 points of healing).
Such an item may or may not see a lot of use on normal days (only using 2 charges max so that it is full up every morning), but when it's really needed, the group is generally really happy to have it.
the Jester
Legend
I voted "Yes, it's just like a wand of magic missiles", "Maybe" and "I don't see the need".
In other words, sure, a wand of CLW could come up. I wouldn't hesitate to give it to the party. But I absolutely wouldn't go out of my way to ensure that they had access to one- 5e pcs are very durable.
In other words, sure, a wand of CLW could come up. I wouldn't hesitate to give it to the party. But I absolutely wouldn't go out of my way to ensure that they had access to one- 5e pcs are very durable.
Uh... that's the exact *opposite* attitude that 5E engenders. Yes, they give guidelines of what they feel the default balanced average would be... but they by NO MEANS expect or want everyone to stay at that default balanced average. And as a matter of fact, built the game such that those people who DON'T stay there will still be able to play and rule their game without major issue. To say that in 5E "You're not supposed to do X!" is precisely the conscriptive attitude towards rules they wanted players to get away from.
I gave the party a wand of CLW because it was in the 3.5 AP we were playing. I made it a wand of healing word with seven charges, and it functions identically to the wand of magic missile in terms of how charges are used. so the user could expend 1,2, or 3 charges to apply 1d4+2, 2d4+2, or 3d4+2 healing.
In practice, the wand is only ever used to keep PCs from bleeding out. It only provides 31 (7d4 + 14) hp per day. If I were in this situation again, I probably would not have put it out there, but it has not been a big thorn in my side.
In practice, the wand is only ever used to keep PCs from bleeding out. It only provides 31 (7d4 + 14) hp per day. If I were in this situation again, I probably would not have put it out there, but it has not been a big thorn in my side.
