Slower Healing

[Secret Bard]

Hello. I've been reading posts here and I have seen a lot of disputes on how fast the players should be able to heal, lots of disputes but no solutions. So I thought I would make a new thread so that we may discuss homebrew rules to fix the issue some have with the players healing overnight.

So any suggestions?

[pwykersotz]

I like the healing rate myself, but you can go pretty classic by either capping hit dice healing at 50% hp restored or else removing it altogether. Then go 3.5 and just restore HP for natural healing based on the character's level after 8 hours of rest.

[Stan]

For a low magic, low powered game I'm considering the following.

1. During short rests, you can use only 1 die of healing between long rests.
2. You do not automatically heal after a long rest. You can spend as many hit dice you want after a long heal. but you only get one hit die back after a long rest.

The game will be similar to Arthurian knights. I'm imagining characters getting worn down after days of adventuring and having to occasionally stop to camp and recover for a couple of days or running out of healing. I'm aware this puts pressure on casters to use their spells for healing but there won't be a ton of magical healing either. The number of encounters per day is going to be lower - I'll have to see how this affects the balance between classes. Those with hit point tricks are definitely going to do better.

[BW022]

This obviously depends upon why you need to slow the rate of natural healing. It also then gives more emphasis to having a healing character in the party, certain healing items, and may force campaigns/modules/encounters to be reduced in frequency. Even if you want some more type of realism, you may still have to decide where this ends since making it truly realistic could make it unplayable -- it takes months to recover from a broken leg, chest wound, etc. or and you could implement systems with wounds tables and specific penalties. I'm assuming you don't want to go that far.

Method 1. Natural healing heals your level + constitution modifier (minimum 1) in hit points per long rest. Once per 24 hour period a character may heal the same amount during a short rest provided they or someone succeeds on a DC 10 medicine check. (Average PC heals from zero to full in 5-6 days)

Method 2. Wounds. Each time you go to 0, you get a -2 modifier to all rolls based on an ability modifier (saves, skills, attack, damage, etc.). This is cumulative. Each long rest, and only once per 24 hours, you can make a DC 15 constitution check to reduce this modifier by 1. If someone with the medicine skills spends the entire 8 hours tending to you, you get an advantage on the check. Each 5 points of magical healing when you are at your maximum health, automatically reduces the modifier by 1. (Separates wounds from hit points, with wounds taking days to heal and imposing a minor penalty until they do.)

Method 3. Natural healing heals one hit point per long rest. This is increased to two hit points per long rest if someone performs a medicine check (DC 10) on them. (PCs take weeks or months to heal up naturally, typically based on their level)

Method 4. As method 3, but if you spend 24 hours in total care -- no activity other than bed rest -- you gain your level + constitution modifier (or twice that with a successful medicine check) during your long rest. (Takes weeks or months to heal up naturally, but solid bed rest can reduce this to a 5-6 days).

Method 5. You gain 1 hit point per short rest. You gain your level + constitution for any long rest. (Takes 5-6 days to heal naturally with normal resting, but full resting can do it in a hours or days depending upon your level).

It really depends upon how faster you think it is appropriate for characters to heal naturally. IMO, even if you want a more realistic approach... anything which could result in weeks or months could seriously mess up a campaign or make healers utterly essential.