Hey guys, I was just creating a random encouter which is a little tent market my players might stumble across. In the random effects, I have things like 'rations on sale cheap' and a pickpocket, stolen jewelry for sale etc.
I was thinking about having someone selling health potions which only restore one HP for a low price. I realize these would be very useful for downed players, kind of like smelling salts (in fact that might be a good name for them).
Question: Do you think 1HP health potions/smelling salts would unbalance the 5e game? Should I not do this?
Personally, I think it's a decent idea, but you'd need to find a way to make it appropriately priced. It's Goodberry in a bottle. I think the price should be based on that. Heal Damage is a 1st level spell and a potion of it costs 50 gold, so make these be a goodberry spell that doesn't expire. They'd cost 5 gold a piece (Goodberry's a 1st level spell, so's Heal Damage, and 10 berries priced evenly across 50 gp for a level 1 spell, would be 5 gp a piece). At least, that's my logic behind it.
Mechanically, these are obviously designed for PCs at 0 HP. In that case, the first HP restored is worth *much* more than the second or third etc. Going from Unconscious and dying to Standing and Fighting is a huge buff. Going from Fighting with 1 HP to Fighitng with 2 HP.... not so much.
And realize that the 50gp healing potion averages 7 HP... so 7gp per HP. And if the first one is worth much more than the subsequent ones...
I would put the 1HP healing potions in the 20-30gp range. And even that is probably a good deal.
Now, what you really want, is something to give 1HP as a bonus action......
Okay, I agree. I found the goodberry spell, just after I posted and so, since it's a first leve spell, I think I can do this.
What I'm doing is making the random encounter be an grizzled Calishite in the market who has a bunch of trinkets for sale, but one item of note is a single bottle of smelling potion he claims will rouse a fallen comrade.
Just a single bottle for 10gp. The way I play, 1 gp is like 100 USD so, 1000 USD is still a pretty decent quantity of money. I plan on keeping my players at least moderately short of gold until after they knock down a decent adventure, and making it one single use potion will keep it as a cool get out of jail free card, rather than a crutch.
I don't have a problem with it. Kind of like beefed up healer's kit which can be used to automatically stabilize a person.
Ipecac wrote:
Well, to start with I gave my players only the starting gold granted by their background. Seeing how a new character is fully equipped from go, it leaves them ready to adventure, but wanting the treasure or payment.
A spell component pouch and 10 bolts is stuff they already have. After hitting the dungeon, they'll have enough to replenish their supplies, upgrade a bit and then they'll be deciding if they want to splurge or save their coin. Say 10 gp to restock ammo and gear, 25 gold for a new item or tool, and 15 gold left in your pocket. That's a 50 gp payday, so save those bolts if you can!
Obviously Im not going to cheap them on rewards, but I want them to be hungry for more then they have.
As a player, I played in campaigns where a guy would offer us 200gp each to do something Like escort a noble or deliver a message. When an innkeeper says 8 sp for a comfortable room, I don't even bother to do the math! In my vision, outfitting for a trek into the wilderness, getting rations or an extra bedroll, is going to make our guys say, "I hope we get paid, because I can't afford to rent this room much longer!" Or to make a delux celebration feast or round of ales for the tavern feel like something worth remembering!
Again if a gp is similar to 100usd,then a hotel with dinner and a drink is about what you would get, unless you're slumming. 10gp upon wandering into town looking for adventure is 1000 bucks in your pocket, enough to gamble, drink and motel for a week, then you'd better be making things happen!
P.s. 1 gp is one ripping drunk night on the town, if my last session is any indicator. :D
Then in that case, it does raise the question of why potions and magic are so expensive, especially now that creating magical items and potions only requires time. Even learning the magic to just start pumping out healing potions only takes a few weeks to learn, when you really get down to it. And really, no offense to you, but why is equipment so expensive if most of the things on the list are supposed to be affordable? How's a fisherman ever going to afford that $100 fishing tackle or a carpenter ever going to afford a $200 shovel? A lot of the other things make sense, considering, but there's a few things that would not make sense in your system.
No offense taken at all!
I grew up on a fishing boat, and I've worked a few construction jobs, so I can attest to the fact that fishing gear for a commercial fisherman, or a cordless drill for a foreman is no 100 dollar expenditure. I mean, everyone's dnd universe is their own, of course, mine is one where adventuring, fishing and shoveling are jobs.
I mean if you can go buy a 1 gp shovel and, boom, you've got 10 gp from your day's work, dude, you're quitting the shovel business!
I realize my vision is a departure from the "treasure pile with jewels" fantasy view, but that's just how I picture the adventuring life.
Adventuring is high risk so more lucrative that farming, for example, but then you're buying a new scimitar and drinking dwarves ale all night for 27gp, vs drinking small beer and getting the shovel you wanted for 1 gp plus coppers.
Oh regarding magic potions and magic items being absurdly expensive , ie the 2500 dollar health potion, or the 10000 dollar magic dagger, it is because they are luxury, status and convenience items.
Anyone can go buy a 30-06 hunting rifle for a few hundred bucks and bag some deer. But what if you wanted to get a tricked out assault rifle with night vision that can fire underwater? The money gap between an adventurer and a commoner is like the difference between the used Subaru and the Humvee!
Ipecac wrote:
I totally get your meaning. This is the reason I'm looking for alternatives. I'm kind of inclined to make things cost what makes sense for my setting.
I don't know the potion crafting rules off the top of my head but doesn't crafting take a long time and cost a lot, like it needs to be done between adventures and maybe require reagent hunting missions?
Ipecac wrote:
Ah okay I see. So if you are capable and posess the potion making supplies, you could craft a healing potion in one 8 hour day for 25gp. Or, if you don't,you can buy one for 50gp. That would be quite a profit margin in my world, but I see in the dms guide p130 a section referring to the sale of magic items being something that takes days to find a buyer and then maybe not at full price.
I think I'm okay with this. In my current adventure, my two PCs are being offered 50 gp to share in exchange for bungling a shop, which will ultimately launch the, into a world of trouble. That means, for a day's work atop this fee, one of them could try and craft a single healing potion. I think it works pretty well for my cash poor world,
What I don't want is players quaffing potion after potion because they're cheap or plentiful to make. This is why I thought the good berry potion might be a nice offering.
I did decide to make it a single item, for 10gp, as a novelty ,not a regularly available item.
Heh, *burgling
Ipecac wrote:
Nice! It really makes Goodberries sound like a wicked awesome spell 
Good luck and thanks for the discussion!
I think you have a fine idea. Thumbs up. Do you mind one more perspective?
Hit Points in 5E are not intended to be physical damage, but more of a force of will keeping you in a battle. A mystical power providing a bump from 0hp and 1hp is like drinking a Costco case of 5-Hour Energy. The average NPC doesn't necessarily have a need for magic that restores hp in the manner you're suggesting, so it can be on a totally different scale from a mundane item -- as noted above: it's a luxury the common man might never consider.
Not sure if that helps or just muddles things. ;o)
DungeonKrusher wrote:
dafrca wrote:
Oh yeah, that is interesting. I found it a little weird that an 8 hour rest would take a player from being on his deathbed to being ready to face another day. If the HP are a morale or will type thing, then this makes sense.
But still, how does getting hit with an arrow NOT require real healing? I guess at some point we have to agree that we don't want our adventures to take months of between time for realistic healing.
Thanks for the perspective.
I'd use ointment for about 10 or 20 gp, though it works only on external injuries. Requiring an action to apply and such.
Seems like you want a stabilizing potion, but the players can just use a Healers Kit which stabilizes without a roll and has 10 charges.
Archon007 wrote:
DungeonKrusher wrote:
Ipecac wrote:
Ipecac wrote:
Okay, I like that. That's actually the way I rectified the notion when I thought it over. Thanks for the insight!
Ipecac wrote:
DungeonKrusher wrote:
Saelorn wrote:
transcendantviewer wrote:
Saelorn wrote:
DungeonKrusher wrote:
transcendantviewer wrote:
DungeonKrusher wrote:
transcendantviewer wrote:
Saelorn wrote:
DungeonKrusher wrote:
For me, using fatigue or something detracts more from the game than magically healing up overnight. Describing damage is part of the excitement of combat. I,can definitely start putting more "armor hits" in for realisms sake, but still, I need my guys to get hurt.
That being said, in every movie with action, guys get shot in the shoulder, take an arrow which they snap off or go falling through a skylight and land on an elevator 2 stories below. 10 minutes later, they are in a wrestling match with a guy and showing no weakness.
The image of a warrior taking cuts and wounds in stride isn't really that much of a stretch, just don't describe an arrow piercing your guys lung and it can be chalked up to superficial wounds.
Ipecac wrote:
Saelorn wrote:
transcendantviewer wrote:
Saelorn wrote: