Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 Prescient Nov 29, 2014 11:51:05	One person at my table has had an issue with the speed of healing––he thinks it's too fast. I picked up the DMG yesterday and had a look through its healing and lasting damage. Some of it speaks to me, other parts seem overly complex. Here's a system I wrote for a grittier campaign that still maintains its heroic nature.   Vitality, Wounds, and Healing
#2 Saelorn Nov 29, 2014 11:59:26	Off the top of my head, this would make any critical hit or bad death save kill you instantly.   Other than that, the ability to recover multiple wounds in a day makes that whole mechanic pretty trivial, since you should never have any wounds left at the end of the day. If you just said that a long rest recovered one wound, that would be more in line with slow healing that has a meaningful impact.
#3 Rhenny Nov 29, 2014 12:25:53	The whole healing issue is kind of complicated.   The DMG gives options for slow healing, even changing resting times.   The issue to me is this:   If healing becomes too difficult or takes too long, then most adventurers would not be so willing to travel too far from a civilized area.   This would make adventurers behave more like real people and would not encourage heroic exploration as much as D&D generally focuses on.   I think it is ijmportant for DMs and players to realize that the way healing works in the world does not necessarily have to be like real life.   Lots of people use an option where a long rest only restores hit dice rather than popping the PC up to full health.   This may be a nice middle ground.
#4 ankiyavon Nov 29, 2014 12:41:50	Rhenny wrote:
#5 bonethug0108 Nov 29, 2014 12:49:45	I think if people stopped thinking of HPs so much as actual health and more as how well equipped you are to survive a battle then there wouldn't be any issues.   Like if I have 18 HP and lose 12 in one fight, that doesn't necessarily mean I got seriously cut up a lot. It just means that fight took a lot out of me and now I'm tired, winded, and maybe bruised up with some minor cuts and scrapes.   It isn't until you reach 0 HP that you actually took a really bad hit. All of the dodging and banging and what not finally got to you and your enemy finally nailed you with a good shot to put you down.   When thinking of it like that, resting lets you catch your breath and attend to your battered but not critically wounded body(unless you happened to be critically wounded).   HPs does not equal health(directly). It measures your survivability in a fight.
#6 cowleymen Nov 29, 2014 22:57:49	bonethug0108 wrote:
(Reply to #4) Rhenny	ankiyavon wrote:
#8 Saelorn Nov 30, 2014 16:26:24	Rhenny wrote:
#9 Saelorn Nov 30, 2014 16:30:09	bonethug0108 wrote:
#10 bonethug0108 Nov 30, 2014 17:08:51	Yeah it's not for everyone. I was just saying if.   But remember a successful attack doesn't have to mean you actually injure someone seriously any more than losing HP doesn't have to mean you just got cut open. Some people may view it that way. Another way to view it is scoring some measure of advantage toward defeating your foe. Whether that's a small cut on the arm, a blow right to the middle of their armor, or getting hit in the head but not hard enough to bust you open badly or cause a serious wound. Or it could be wearing down your foe physically/mentally to the point where they can't effectively defend themselves, or working them into a disavantageous position to deal the fatal blow.   I know that doesn't work for everyone. It doesn't and shouldn't have to. But it is another way to look at it if you've never thought of it that way before.   I've just always viewed it as here is a battle and lots of things are going on. You're trying to wear down your foe by any means necessary until you can deal a fatal blow(dropping them to 0 HP). Every hit may be a minor blow or some way to wear that foe down, but it isn't until you drop them that you land that one good hit.   This viewpoint, in turn, also makes "fast" healing not seem so fast. HP as a combination of physical and mental health and stamina instead of straight health allows you to look at it as you can keep pushing on until you're too battered mentally and/or physically to do so.   If you try to push on when too low on HP, you aren't really ready to survive another fight. It is easier for that enemy to land a fatal blow against you because you're body and mind is weak, not necessarily because you have 20 deep cuts on you(maybe minor cuts).   It also makes something like second wind seem perfectly normal, and do exactly what it says. You were getting worn down, but you found your second wind and can push on in the fight(instead of viewing as okay this guy just ignored/"magically" healed that huge wound without magic).   The only thing I'd like to see is if you drop to 0 hp and aren't healed magically, you should take longer to get back on your feet as you've sustained a serious enough wound to almost kill you. Maybe have it something like you gain 1 hp per day, unless someone uses magic(which then you can be brought back to full HP in the normal ways) or a healer's kit(you roll 1 HD and gain 1 + the roll for the day).   But like I said, this isn't for everyone. It's merely a suggestion I thought may be helpful to some people.
#11 Mistwell Nov 30, 2014 21:02:27	cowleymen wrote:
#12 ankiyavon Nov 30, 2014 21:27:56	Mistwell wrote:
#13 bonethug0108 Nov 30, 2014 21:50:03	Hit points came from a naval war game(as did the concept of Armor Class):   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_%28gaming%29#Hit_points   "Dungeons & Dragons co-creator Dave Arneson described the origin of hit points in a 2002 interview. When Arneson was adapting the medieval wargame Chainmail to a fantasy setting, a process that with Gary Gygax would lead to the game Dungeons & Dragons, he saw that the emphasis of the gameplay was moving from large armies to small groups of heroes and eventually to the identification of one player and one character that is so essential to role-playing as it was originally conceived. Players became attached to their heroes and did not want them to die every time they lost a die roll. Players were given multiple hit points which were then incrementally decreased. Arneson took the concept, along with armor class, from a set of a naval American Civil War game's rules."