@StevenSimmonsAm I totally wrong in thinking the HP regain for long rest is overpowered? Are there plans to offer differences? DMG offers some variant rules #wotcstaff
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) April 10, 2017
@StevenSimmonsAm I totally wrong in thinking the HP regain for long rest is overpowered? Are there plans to offer differences? DMG offers some variant rules #wotcstaff
— Mike Mearls (@mikemearls) April 10, 2017
HP regain on LR to me isn’t broken at all when you look closely at the details of what you can do and how you can regain HP: in combat, out of combat, short rest, long rest, potions, spells, hit dice, proficiencies, feats.
In combat: take a potion, std rule of your action doing it. Possible spell, if applicable, again std rule if someone else’s action to heal you. And that’s about it.
Out of combat: potions, healer feat (slightly better than healing word), ointments/oils, spells, short rest with hit dice usage, healer kit with proficiency for 1hp if combat ended before you could stabilize, class features ( wholeness of body, CD blessed healer), long rest.
Short rest: I typically let the party sit for a minimum of 30mins to 1h, use hit dice to conserve potions for combat or dire circumstances, class features, spells if the casters aren’t running low on spell slots. Sometimes I might break up the short rest early, a monster appears close by, or the trail of dead bodies has been found and a search is actively ongoing. Depends on the environment and situation.
Long rest: sounds like a end all catcher, until you read the details, minimum 2hrs, max 8hrs, if sleeping you need 6hrs to gain the benefit of LR, and for those hit dice you spent earlier? Half your level rounded down, per long rest. Right now I have a 6th lvl cleric in a game and used 3 hit dice throughout 2 short rest in a dungeon with 7 encounters gone through, after a long rest returning to town, I gain them all back, but if you use more than half your level, it will take multiple days to recover them all, and while starting the new day with full HP, I used 5 hit dice to heal I would only have 4 hit dice to use that day.
I like the idea of the LR full heal, because it still doesn’t account for items, spells, casters changing their daily prepared spells, and it becomes a game of attrition with the players, of how long can they last, and also what do they need to do differently today so it doesn’t turn into yesterday. I’ve told my players, from my experience as a player and a GM, that the bumrush tactic, or smash mouth devil may care attitude can work for a while, but not for long. Doing that to a raiding party of 1/4CR -1CR monsters works typically, but even with a party of 7, against 3 yuan-ti Abominations, 2 hill Giants, and a troll, there will be blood and party death. I have more trouble with the healing potion aspect than LR. I run taking a potion as a bonus action, and set my party up with greater and a few superiors. The party of 7 is 8th level all around, and if they’re going to take a potion in combat, what the point in healing 5hp, to get hit right after for 12-20 dmg? Will that always be the case? No. But could you end up stranded in initiative away from the party and between enemies? Definitely. But they do have variants in the DMG for fusging the HP regain and the hit dice regain. And I would start small, brooch the players about it, try it for a few games, then keep it, change it, toss it. But then you’ll at least know and have the experience to recraft later on or in a new game. On the level of bad things that linger past taking a LR, being or full or close to full HP waking is the least of my problems, a zerk Barb who wakes up with full HP, low on health pots, but STILL has 2 levels of exhaustion, is way more of a double bladed sword the next day, than a LR health regain of you CON mod in hit dice health regained. But it is a valid point
In short, you can play however you want. However consider, what being dead tired means in combat, an opening is permitted and your opponent kills you. Hp is not blood, its an imperfect representation of morale, exhaustion, and pain.