The healer feat

[Skrum]

I'm working on a survivalist/combat medic build which use the healer feat, but I'm running into a problem. What the heck does the use of this feat look like in-game. I'm a player who likes to narrate character actions, in a game where it is encouraged to narrate character actions...and I flatly cannot imagine what a character could possibly be doing in less than (3? 4?) seconds to heal someone without magic. Hitting them with a water balloon full of salve? Spritzing them with ambrosia? I've got nothing.

[Kane0]

Single stroke of a surgical tool to remove wound debris, a splash of wash and a one-two wrap. Pat on the back and off you go, you make it look easy!

[Pyrophilios]

I basically explain it as applying a health tonic (i.e. painkillers) to get people back in fighting shape (that's also the reason you can do that only once per short rest and why it's using up so much content of the kit)

[Jerrykhor]

I imagine it like Payday 2, straight up telling the target to get the F up.

[Chaos Jackal]

You'll need some suspension of disbelief. If you can accept firing a crossbow three times in six seconds, you can probably accept a bandage being tied in six seconds too. Frankly, the second option isn't quite so outlandish and probably within the realm of reality too for a quick and simple patch, unlike machine gun crossbows or running ten meters and swinging a polearm taller than you twice followed up by a smack with the rear end.

Otherwise, special pills/tonics (adrenaline-boosting drugs or painkillers, more or less) straight into the mouth, a quick dab of a fast-acting herbal concoction on a scratch or a bruise, maybe pretend there's a dislocated shoulder and you're popping it back in on the count of three except you do it at one... that sort of thing.

[nickl_2000]

In real life, my children will go from crying to perfectly fine in about 2 seconds with the application of a band-aid (plaster for you British people). It could be something like that as well?

[J-H]

Bandages of some type, pre-soaked with a small amount of healing potion on them?

[DragonBaneDM]

In real life, my children will go from crying to perfectly fine in about 2 seconds with the application of a band-aid (plaster for you British people). It could be something like that as well?

I love this. Couple it with “Oh no buddy! Are you unconscious? No? Did the boo-boo make you poisoned? No? THAT’S my +4 Con save guy.”

“Awe duder, it’s okay! Remember, you play just as good with 1 HP as you do with 53! Now does my tough guy want dinosaurs or gryphons for his bandaid?”

Note-This joke will work once. ONCE.

[Skrum]

Suspension of belief for sure lol.

I'm just like... Ok my ally is fighting. Circling, feinting, thrust, parry, etc. And then my character runs over and is like "here, lemme bandage that real quick" and with *no reduction to their defenses, no interruption, no loss of concentration, I apply first aid.* In 4 seconds. Even giving them a potion implies they have a hand free, take their eyes off their opponent for a second, something.

No the game isn't supposed to "realistic" or whatever, but this is just.... Ridiculous. Maybe i stick to out of combat uses, just to not drive myself crazy

[Gurgeh]

You should never take the Crossbow Expert feat, either. You know, to be consistent.

[Mastikator]

They pull out the ingredients of a healing potion and apply it to the target.

The ingredients vary between injuries and targets, so every instance is different and unique, thus it can't be replicated, but the technique can be taught (by taking the feat).

It's a freaking D&D game, the non-magical parts are magical too, there's nothing realistic about D&D.

[Skrum]

You should never take the Crossbow Expert feat, either. You know, to be consistent.

I can far more easily imagine rapidly reloading a crossbow than I can bandaging a wound on someone that is moving around and actively fighting.

Like I said, this is about narrative - it's not about realism. I can narrate Superman dragging a planet. But the Joker doesn't make his joker venom in combat, and narrating that is quite a bit harder (or just impossible).

[Mastikator]

I can far more easily imagine rapidly reloading a crossbow than I can bandaging a wound on someone that is moving around and actively fighting.

Like I said, this is about narrative - it's not about realism. I can narrate Superman dragging a planet. But the Joker doesn't make his joker venom in combat, and narrating that is quite a bit harder (or just impossible).

Batman doesn't make his trusty shark repellent spray during combat either, he just pulls it out of his bat belt.

The healer retroactively has healing potions in his healers kit that he made before. Easy peasy narrative squeezy

[Keltest]

Batman doesn't make his trusty shark repellent spray during combat either, he just pulls it out of his bat belt.

The healer retroactively has healing potions in his healers kit that he made before. Easy peasy narrative squeezy

It doesnt have to be healing potions even. Just herbs and a poultice or something. You know, the basic contents of a first aid kit.

[Anonymouswizard]

Bandages of some type, pre-soaked with a small amount of healing potion on them?

Yeah, this. It takes ten minutes to prepare a heal, so here's one I made earlier.

[x3n0n]

I'm working on a survivalist/combat medic build which use the healer feat, but I'm running into a problem. What the heck does the use of this feat look like in-game. I'm a player who likes to narrate character actions, in a game where it is encouraged to narrate character actions...and I flatly cannot imagine what a character could possibly be doing in less than (3? 4?) seconds to heal someone without magic. Hitting them with a water balloon full of salve? Spritzing them with ambrosia? I've got nothing.

Is this problem specific to the feat? That is, if you're fine with any schmo using a healer's kit to stabilize someone in 6s without fail, then why wouldn't a trained expert be able to do a better job healing someone in the same 6s?

Once you come up with a rationalization that works for the stabilization case (as suggested by others, perhaps the material associated with each charge is a pseudo-magical bandage), I think the extension to combat healing doesn't sound that unreasonable.

[Skrum]

Right but how is it being administered. Just slapped on their wound as they're dancing around? If they're at zero and lying on the ground, fine. I'm just thinking of the specifical *while fighting* part.

Maybe I'll just make it a soldier pill, senzu bean thing. Narratively hand it to them or something (and not think about them maybe not having a hand to take it).

[Demonslayer666]

You could also have it be something similar to a smelling salt, where no interaction would be necessary.

[Anonymouswizard]

Right but how is it being administered. Just slapped on their wound as they're dancing around?

Dragon Age poultices. Quick, easy, and effective, but they taste terrible.

[Dork_Forge]

If you want some help with the imagery, you could draw upon the scenes from WW2 movies where medics are treating injured soldiers: douse them in powder and wrap it in a bandage.

[Grod_The_Giant]

Perhaps your character slips in front of the other and uses one hand to keep the baddies back with a flurry of strikes while they use the other to slap on a sticky poultice? Or heck, maybe all you're doing is handing them the bandage and the "action" is you defending them long enough to apply it.

Another option might be a syringe full of painkillers/adrenaline/healing potion/whatever-- all you need to do is wait for an opening and to stick them in the thigh, epi-pen style.

Or, if it bothers you too badly, ask the GM if you can increase the healing a bit at the cost of provoking an opportunity attack. I'd certainly allow a trade like that.

[thorr-kan]

It's dirt. It's all dirt: the healer's kit, the alchemist's kit, the healing potions, the cure spells. All of it.

You rub some dirt in it, and it's better. Sometimes just throwing dirt in the general direction of the injury is enough.

[Waterdeep Merch]

According to some quick and dirty research, medieval first aid was often just washing out the wound with water, beer, wine, or vinegar (can be sprayed by mouth in a pinch), smearing honey (could be done relatively quickly, has antimicrobial benefits), local herbs and mint poultices (much like the honey, though may require more setup), cobwebs and moss (might take longer, but blood moss in particular was so effective it was still in use during World War 1), live snails (might not be in a kit), and consuming willow bark (contains aspirin, good for pain relief, fever reduction, and headache relief). Some or all of this could be done quickly- spit out some fortified wine, slap some honeyed linen on a bad wound like a band-aid, or just toss them a helping of willow bark to fight through the pain. This is before reasoning in magical ingredients, which may or may not look just like these methods but with a fantasy bent. Like spraying a simple elixir, using a stronger medicinal poultice with linen, or administering all manner of simple medications your party members can chew on or quickly swallow.

[KorvinStarmast]

Bandages of some type, pre-soaked with a small amount of healing potion on them?

Or whiskey/vodka/everclear/rum/dwarven spirits ...

It's a freaking D&D game, the non-magical parts are magical too, there's nothing realistic about D&D.

While this is true, I think they just need a little something.

[nickl_2000]

I love this. Couple it with “Oh no buddy! Are you unconscious? No? Did the boo-boo make you poisoned? No? THAT’S my +4 Con save guy.”

“Awe duder, it’s okay! Remember, you play just as good with 1 HP as you do with 53! Now does my tough guy want dinosaurs or gryphons for his bandaid?”

Note-This joke will work once. ONCE.

You could also give it a kiss to make it better.

[brainface]

Rapid and aggressive application of duct tape around anything leaky-looking.

[Skrum]

lol thanks for all the suggestions y'all. I think I'm going to use a bit of everything; present it different ways in different situations. I think that's much more aligned with him doing medical procedures, and not just waving his hand. This character is going to be a whee bit of an oddball, so ridiculous cures are right up his ally.

[rel]

You could always bring back the 1 minute combat round.

[Willie the Duck]

I'm working on a survivalist/combat medic build which use the healer feat, but I'm running into a problem. What the heck does the use of this feat look like in-game. I'm a player who likes to narrate character actions, in a game where it is encouraged to narrate character actions...and I flatly cannot imagine what a character could possibly be doing in less than (3? 4?) seconds to heal someone without magic. Hitting them with a water balloon full of salve? Spritzing them with ambrosia? I've got nothing.

There's a huge section of the game that doesn't really make sense with 6-second rounds. Mind you, movement was equally as challenging to the imagination (in the other direction) back in the 1-minute round days.

I've usually been of a mindset that what they ought to have done was say that a round was how long it takes to do something meaningful, and that the exact amount of time is going to be very context-dependent (and probably best determined retroactively). Mind you, ought to as in it would solve this problem, not ought to to please the most gamers, as I think there's a subset of gamers who this would drive up a wall.

Regardless, it's thematically coded as providing first aid. So their providing first aid -- as one would do in a semi-real medieval setting. No way it could be done that fast? No, probably not, but that guy reloading a crossbow and the thief-rogue picking a lock in 6 seconds are likewise moving preternaturally fast.

[Rukelnikov]

You could always bring back the 1 minute combat round.

TBH, 1 minute might have been too much, but longer combat rounds made for easier/better narrative combat scenarios