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13 months ago ::
May 20, 2012 - 9:29PM
#1
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Date Joined:
Dec 20, 2004
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Legends and LoreHit Points, Our Old Friendby Mike MearlsHit points and Hit Dice are the topics of this week's Legends & Lore column. Mike goes over how these two elements work in the game and what they represent. Talk about this column here.
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13 months ago ::
May 20, 2012 - 9:36PM
#2
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HPs are still abstract. It's looking good for martial healing being a possibility (maybe it allows you to spend HDs in combat).
As for the rest of the article, I'm starting to dig the HDs. It's cool that they found a resource to tade surges for (especially one that has an iconic place in D&D). I'm curious as to whether HDs are only a healing resource or whether they are also used to determine your HPs as you level.
Why Mechanics-Alignment Integration is Bad
Show
so why even play a fighter if you can play the paladin the exact same way behaviorally and get added power to boot. "Paladin" is about accepting better game-enhancing mechanics at the price of more rigid in game behavior.
Really? So it goes something like this?
Fighter: "I want to be a paladin."
NPC: "Really?"
Fighter: "Yes."
NPC: "Very well." Starts reading from a holy book while still in-character "Do you accept having to choose and stick to the lawful good alignment, eventhough neither of us actually knows that it exists or what it is?"
Fighter: "I do."
NPC: "Do you reject good game balance because you accidentally rolled a high Charisma?"
Fighter: "What?"
NPC: "I don't know what it means either."
Fighter: "Oh. Umm, ok I do."
NPC: "In the name of all that is metagamey and broken, accept these better game enhancing mechanics."
Fighter: "These what?"
NPC: "Just get out there and try to fulfill a million different people's notion of good while not violating and part of any of them."
So the system is designed such that every single hit needs to be described to avoid confusion? Here's a scenario. The players are nudists, everybody in the world are nudists, it's not weird, it's totally normal in this land. They are naked and they fight drakes taking damage throughout, but healing up with surges. Later they meet the guy who raised the drakes.
Part 1: I didn't describe any of the hits. What does he see?
Part 2: Lets say I described the drakes as biting the players, yet they healed up. What does he see?
D20 Modern Toon PC Race.
Mecha Pilot's Skill Challenge Emporium.
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13 months ago ::
May 20, 2012 - 9:52PM
#3
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Date Joined:
Dec 11, 2011
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Pasted from the comments: So, here's what I get from this:
Say I have a 3rd-level Fighter with 3 Hit Dice, so 30 HP assuming I use full Hit Dice rules (and that HP are based off of HD). Over the course of a (short? extended?) rest, I can use my HD to recover HP. I get the impression that I have to roll those dice to know how much I heal during that rest.
Therefore, after a combat encounter that reduced my HP to 10, I figure I might as well take an extended rest because I have no access to magical healing. I am unlucky however and roll three times 1 on my d10, healing me up to 13 HP. I pretty much have to sit out the next day because I won't be able to last long enough. Do I roll again and hope I don't heal only 3 HP again, further delaying quest progress?
One would hope that there ways to improve those rolls so that you don't spend days on end without doing anything during time-sensitive missions. Maybe the CON modifier applies to each roll? Could somebody trained in the Heal skill and/or using a Healer's Kit give a buff (this kind of goes towards the direction of no longer relying on magical healing)? Is there a difference between short and extended rests? Short ones would allow to expend only one HD, whereas there is no limit during extended rests?
I'm reading too much into this, but being so close to the playtest and having this article... teasing me... Argh!
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13 months ago ::
May 20, 2012 - 9:52PM
#4
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Date Joined:
Mar 19, 2004
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So Hit Dice are a randomized healing surge? Better than nothing I suppose. At least I'm sure that making HD a constant value can be easily done with or without a module.
Still a little worried that it won't be enough to leave the medic Cleric at home; 1 randomized surge per level is not much to work with, especially at lower levels.
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13 months ago ::
May 20, 2012 - 10:08PM
#5
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Date Joined:
Nov 13, 2004
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L&L with crunch and reveals! Things are getting a bit more interesting now. Still a little worried that it won't be enough to leave the medic Cleric at home; 1 randomized surge per level is not much to work with, especially at lower levels.
Yeah....it sounds nice and simple, but taking a Short Rest and rolling a '1' on your only Hit Dice would mean you may as well set up a tent.
Not sure what this means for a non-magical healer, to be honest. Perhaps a Warlord's Inspiring Word will let an ally spend a Healing Sur...er, Hit Die to recover HP equal to the max roll, perhaps with an extra random rolled die?
4e D&D is not a "Tabletop MMO." It is not Massively Multiplayer, and is usually not played Online. Come up with better descriptions of your complaints, cuz this one means jack ****.
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13 months ago ::
May 20, 2012 - 10:19PM
#6
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Yay abstract HP and surges are back! Too bad you have to roll for healing.  Why not just make the healing fixed to avoid the problem of rolling a few 1's in a row?
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13 months ago ::
May 20, 2012 - 10:21PM
#7
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Yay abstract HP and surges are back!
Too bad you have to roll for healing.
Why not just make the healing fixed to avoid the problem of rolling a few 1's in a row?
Well, we don't have the whole system in front of us. There may be bonuses (maybe you get to add your healing skill) that we don't know about. However, it's an easy enough thing to houserule.
Why Mechanics-Alignment Integration is Bad
Show
so why even play a fighter if you can play the paladin the exact same way behaviorally and get added power to boot. "Paladin" is about accepting better game-enhancing mechanics at the price of more rigid in game behavior.
Really? So it goes something like this?
Fighter: "I want to be a paladin."
NPC: "Really?"
Fighter: "Yes."
NPC: "Very well." Starts reading from a holy book while still in-character "Do you accept having to choose and stick to the lawful good alignment, eventhough neither of us actually knows that it exists or what it is?"
Fighter: "I do."
NPC: "Do you reject good game balance because you accidentally rolled a high Charisma?"
Fighter: "What?"
NPC: "I don't know what it means either."
Fighter: "Oh. Umm, ok I do."
NPC: "In the name of all that is metagamey and broken, accept these better game enhancing mechanics."
Fighter: "These what?"
NPC: "Just get out there and try to fulfill a million different people's notion of good while not violating and part of any of them."
So the system is designed such that every single hit needs to be described to avoid confusion? Here's a scenario. The players are nudists, everybody in the world are nudists, it's not weird, it's totally normal in this land. They are naked and they fight drakes taking damage throughout, but healing up with surges. Later they meet the guy who raised the drakes.
Part 1: I didn't describe any of the hits. What does he see?
Part 2: Lets say I described the drakes as biting the players, yet they healed up. What does he see?
D20 Modern Toon PC Race.
Mecha Pilot's Skill Challenge Emporium.
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13 months ago ::
May 20, 2012 - 10:40PM
#8
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Date Joined:
Nov 17, 2003
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Pasted from the comments:
So, here's what I get from this:
Say I have a 3rd-level Fighter with 3 Hit Dice, so 30 HP assuming I use full Hit Dice rules (and that HP are based off of HD). Over the course of a (short? extended?) rest, I can use my HD to recover HP. I get the impression that I have to roll those dice to know how much I heal during that rest.
Therefore, after a combat encounter that reduced my HP to 10, I figure I might as well take an extended rest because I have no access to magical healing. I am unlucky however and roll three times 1 on my d10, healing me up to 13 HP. I pretty much have to sit out the next day because I won't be able to last long enough. Do I roll again and hope I don't heal only 3 HP again, further delaying quest progress?
One would hope that there ways to improve those rolls so that you don't spend days on end without doing anything during time-sensitive missions. Maybe the CON modifier applies to each roll? Could somebody trained in the Heal skill and/or using a Healer's Kit give a buff (this kind of goes towards the direction of no longer relying on magical healing)? Is there a difference between short and extended rests? Short ones would allow to expend only one HD, whereas there is no limit during extended rests?
I'm reading too much into this, but being so close to the playtest and having this article... teasing me... Argh!
Here's my guess:
Use a healing surge hit die in combat, roll randomly.
Use a hit die during a short rest, gain maximum amount.
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13 months ago ::
May 20, 2012 - 10:43PM
#9
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Date Joined:
Mar 19, 2004
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@Arcane_Guyver
I don't wanna derail this into a Warlord thread, but...
More likely than not, the Warlord's primary ability as a healer will be to allow the use of a surge in battle. I'm sure there's a lot more to it than that, of course; just one HD per Inspiring Word sounds pretty dinky. Would it grant a static bonus HP? Would it double the dice per HD? Extra temp HP? Would it also enable an attack?
EDIT: Don't think so OneEye. Seems quite clear that HD can only be spent on a rest.
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13 months ago ::
May 20, 2012 - 10:44PM
#10
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Date Joined:
Nov 17, 2003
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Yay abstract HP and surges are back!
Ummm.....that is the least abstract description of hit points that I've ever read from 1e through to 4e. It is drawing a direct line from what percentage of hit point damage a character takes to the extent of physical injury.
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