Healing someone too early can be risky, if the monsters all change targets for whatever reason you'll have wasted a heal on someone who didn't need it. You don't want to wait too long either, or your ally could drop before your turn comes up again and they will have to waste a move action to stand up.
Healing words give additional healing when used in combat compared to healing spending healing surge during resting.
Also your encounter power for healing should be used for healing before combat ends when the last foe is bloodied.
Healing words give additional healing when used in combat compared to healing spending healing surge during resting.
If you have the time to kill, though, you can use the healing powers during the short rest to maximize the healing.
Dwarf with a CotWW = fun. :D
Can you ready heals for specific circumstances, taking your standard and move actions on your turn and if there's no reason to heal then use the minor for a ready action "I use healing word if someone is at 20% or less hitpoints"?
Nope.
Readying an action is always a standard action, regardless whether the power or action that you're readying (in this case, Healing Word) is a standard, move, or minor. You'll find this explained on PH 291: "You can ready a standard action, a move action, or a minor action. Whichever action you choose, the act of readying it is a standard action."
Also note that some DM's (including me, actually) wouldn't allow that "20% hit points or less" trigger, either. I think that triggers should be specific actions or events that could reasonably be perceived by a character within the game world. The characters themselves aren't aware of specific dice rolls or percentage of HP remaining; they're seeing orcs swinging battleaxes. ;)
- Alane -
Also note that some DM's (including me, actually) wouldn't allow that "20% hit points or less" trigger, either. I think that triggers should be specific actions or events that could reasonably be perceived by a character within the game world. The characters themselves aren't aware of specific dice rolls or percentage of HP remaining; they're seeing orcs swinging battleaxes.
You could ready a healing word on the next bloodied PC which get's a hit.
Maybe this isn't optimal, but in our party we usually save "healing word" (or "inspiring word" for warlords) for when a person is dropped or when they seem to be within one attack of getting dropped. This is because these powers are the only ones that you you heal at range. If you run out of [x] words and somebody goes down where nobody can reach them, that person is really screwed.
Healing from negative HP is often a better tactic than trying to keep people on their feet. You get more out of the surge that way, since the damage the monsters did beyond zero is wasted. At epic levels, the Undying Warrior/soul-forged armor combo shows exactly how gross this effect can get, but it's handy even at heroic.
OTOH, you do have to consider the timing. If the healer isn't going to go before the dying character, you're risking a death save and losing a round's worth of actions. If there are a bunch of monsters waiting to coup-de-grace (bad form for the DM, but it happens), then it's very risky. And at the very least it's costing a movement action to stand up once healed, which can be important.
And, of course, there are a fair number of monsters that get bonuses against bloodied targets. With those, preemptive healing is probably the way to go.
If you have the time to kill, though, you can use the healing powers during the short rest to maximize the healing.
Many of the healing of the cleric are minor actions. If you don't need the minor action (to sustain a effect), why not heal when the last enemy is remaining. You get loads of bonus HP especially with healing items such as Gloves of the healer and Healer's Brooch. Not to forget, you get bonus to heal from your healer's lore and healing word.
Many of the healing of the cleric are minor actions. If you don't need the minor action (to sustain a effect), why not heal when the last enemy is remaining. You get loads of bonus HP especially with healing items such as Gloves of the healer and Healer's Brooch. Not to forget, you get bonus to heal from your healer's lore and healing word.
why not do both?
If I see a melee striker stuck in a bad place, and wounded, I might not wait till they are bloodied to heal them, especially if I see a lot of damage coming their way (and they will get a scoulding for being in that spot after the encounter). If a ranged striker in a relatively safe spot is bloodied, I don't care, healing can wait till they drop.
If I see a defender bloodied, I don't worry about it too much, especially the BRV fighter. They can survive another round or two. Most defenders also have some self healing or ways to get temp hit points. If the defender is placed at an important bottleneck or has an important mark, I might toss them a heal at some point, otherwise no heal for the defender. They are built to last.
If I'm bloodied I heal myself, because if I'm down, no one's getting healed without a lot of trouble.
If the controller is bloodied, and is sustaining a daily, he is first priority healing (even before me). If he doesn't have anything to be sustained, I won't bother healing him till he drops.
If another leader is bloodied, and they have a way to heal themselves, I ignore them, and let them make their own decission. If they are stunned or dazed, I might help.
I end some encounters with one [x] word unused. I use it before taking a short rest on the person with the fewest healing surges left to get best bang out of bonus healing.
Sometimes you'll be up against monsters that do bonus damage or otherwise function more dangerously against bloodied targets. In those cases, healing someone as soon as they're bloodied (or about to become so) can be a better plan than waiting.
Sometimes your fellow PCs will actually want to be bloodied. Maybe they become more effective (dragonborn and some battlerager fighters, for example.) Maybe they can have regen while bloodied, so staying in that state is more efficient. Maybe they have powers they can only use when bloodied, or that function better if used while bloodied (both of the racial powers for Shifters, as well as Warforged Resolve), and so they'll want you to hold off for a round so they have time to activate their power before you heal them. It's good to stay in communication so you know when people might actually reject healing.
I usually heal before the tanks and strikers (as a cleric) use their second winds since economy of action is better for me to use my minor (2) and I am a Cleric/Ranger so i use distracting shot to basically be a heal, and its immeidate reaction. After that I declare my healing is gone save for bacon of deliciousness and broken ground.
No dwarf defenders makes 2nd winding a standard Action, and that can be risky since most of the time the pally wants to use his powers to daze or slow or mark or etc., though he has daily heals and high wis. The fighter is no holds barred and can get into trouble fast, but he also kills fast, so even at 10 hps (at 8th level) he would rather tactically maneuver and attempt to kill stuff.... so healing him is rather priority early to keep him from just getting hammered.
I took bastion of health as well, and use it as a reserve that i never tell the party about (I metagame and so does my party... we just assume that we all have telepathy and such, so we know each other's HP and spells and intentions and so on). So when i announce that i am out of healing, what that usually means is that I am stressed on healing.
all that being said, we have a nice controller, and that helps mitigate problems... If we didn't a competent (barely, with much help) wizard, i would probably reserve healing for %25 rather than half.
I know a dragonborn player that doesn't want to get healed untill he drops to 0 or is very close, since he wants to stay bloodied.
Usually when someone is bloodied, I start to pay closer attention to them, usually getting an idea on the quantity of damage the monsters do is a big help.
lso note that some DM's (including me, actually) wouldn't allow that "20% hit points or less" trigger, either. I think that triggers should be specific actions or events that could reasonably be perceived by a character within the game world. The characters themselves aren't aware of specific dice rolls or percentage of HP remaining; they're seeing orcs swinging battleaxes. ;)
- Alane -
While I agree with this, semi-smart players can get around it by just saying "I ready an action to heal Trogdor when he asks for it." Also being semi-smart, Trogdor just waits til he has 20% HP and asks for healing. (Since, mechanically, you can talk as a free action outside your turn.)
But at least they are staying within the game and not using meta-concepts.
While I agree with this, semi-smart players can get around it by just saying "I ready an action to heal Trogdor when he asks for it." Also being semi-smart, Trogdor just waits til he has 20% HP and asks for healing. (Since, mechanically, you can talk as a free action outside your turn.)
But at least they are staying within the game and not using meta-concepts.
Exactly. I am much happier having the character screaming "Healer! Help me!" as in-game conversation than having the healer somehow reacting to changes in the HP mechanic.
Preparing a ready action to heal your ally if he screams for help seems perfectly reasonable!
- Alane -
But she has consecrated ground, bacon of hope and exalted armour so I may hold off until even closer to 0 than that to trigger it all off.
But she has consecrated ground, bacon of hope and exalted armour so I may hold off until even closer to 0 than that to trigger it all off.
Win. I too would like some bacon of hope.
If you have the time to kill, though, you can use the healing powers during the short rest to maximize the healing.
No you can't.
Read Bard ability "song of rest"
you can only have "one" short rest, if you attempt anymore you start an extended rest.
edit: I guess you could use them, but then wouldn't benifit from the short rest, and would have to start the next encounter without them.
Or, you could "cheese" and let people take multiple short rests. But that really destroys the Bard ability and makes healing surges more powerful then they already are.
No you can't.
Read Bard ability "song of rest"
you can only have "one" short rest, if you attempt anymore you start an extended rest.
edit: I guess you could use them, but then wouldn't benifit from the short rest, and would have to start the next encounter without them.
Or, you could "cheese" and let people take multiple short rests. But that really destroys the Bard ability and makes healing surges more powerful then they already are.
There's no cheese about it, the PHB actually suggests this as a tactic. Nowhere does it say that taking 2 short rests in a row "starts an extended rest". The bard ability makes healing better, period.
That is not to say that every situation allows for characters to take 2 short rests in a row. Maybe they can, maybe they can't.
Generally I wait until someone is bloodied before I heal them. Is this wise? When do you heal, and why?
I subscribe to a simple philosophy when I play a healer-class: if you can get away with not healing... do so. Redundant healing can quite often turn out to be a wasted turn, as the threatening foe may be killed or peeled before the one you heal was ever in real danger.
Meanwhile, a turn on offense where you deal damage is never a wasted turn.
Besides, I've never been a fan of the healbot role. While it's important to have heals, it's shallow in complexity. In fact, the best time to heal is after a battle, I find - when turns are free.
There's no cheese about it, the PHB actually suggests this as a tactic. Nowhere does it say that taking 2 short rests in a row "starts an extended rest". The bard ability makes healing better, period.
That is not to say that every situation allows for characters to take 2 short rests in a row. Maybe they can, maybe they can't.
Back your quote up with a quote from the PHB that says "take two short rests in a row." Or retract your statement.
You can't short rest after a short rest cause there's nothing to rest from.
RaI are clear. Short Rest or Extended Rest. One or the other.
RaI are clear.
Yes the rules are clear. "A short rest is about 5 minutes long. You may take as many short rests as you want during a day."
There are no other rules about short rest timing.
The designers have said that you can take multiple short rests in a row and have suggested doing so. In fact several Bard rituals including the one given above are designed specifically with that action in mind.
Yes the rules are clear. "A short rest is about 5 minutes long. You may take as many short rests as you want during a day."
There are no other rules about short rest timing.
The designers have said that you can take multiple short rests in a row and have suggested doing so. In fact several Bard rituals including the one given above are designed specifically with that action in mind.
It's not a ritual per say.
There is no need for multiple short rests.
If the game designers intended you to take multiple short rests to utilize the two per day healing of leader classes, why even make the ability?
There is no need for multiple short rests.
Often no. Because one Leader heal will usually heal enough such that another is wasted. Sometimes however That's not the case and time is less important then surges.
If the game designers intended you to take multiple short rests to utilize the two per day healing of leader classes, why even make the ability?
Because then a party with a leader has an advantage others don't while still not unbalancing a single encounter.
In addition multiple short rests are required for things like IDing multiple items found at the same time.
Edit: As another example, the restful healing feat (PHB2) is a total waste unless you take two short rests in order to get the encounter powers you just spent back.
Back your quote up with a quote from the PHB that says "take two short rests in a row." Or retract your statement.
You can't short rest after a short rest cause there's nothing to rest from.
RaI are clear. Short Rest or Extended Rest. One or the other.
You may find people a bit more willing to answer questions if you use a less confrontational approach. Thanks.
The rules for short rest are at PHB 263. They state there is no limit per day on short rests. They also say that if you use powers during a short rest you must take another short rest in order to recover them.
There is nothing there which forbids the use of a second (or third, etc) short rest in sequence. Thus by RAW a party may rest as many times as they wish at any time they wish to do so. Furthermore as other posters have also mentioned there are multiple instances of the game designers restating that a party may take multiple short rests in a row.
As I said before, it may not be possible for a party to do multiple short rests because each takes about 5 minutes and time may not be available. Of course you are free to interpret the rules differently if you wish.