Thursday, February 10, 2011

Variant Rule: Healing Surges

Healing surges are a concept that was introduced in Star Wars d20 and used in 4th edition Dungeons & Dragons. The basic concept is that heroes have a limited ability to replenish their hit points, usually a certain number of times per day. This allows parties to go through dungeon crawls at a reasonable pace without a cleric or other healer. This also can help when clerics and druids don't fit in well with the campaign setting.

This variant rule is intended for use in campaigns where healing magic is rare and costly, but player characters are still meant to be strong and powerful heroes who can survive serious wounds. This variant is especially useful whenever a party doesn't have a cleric or other healer to rely on.

The 3.5 edition Dungeons & Dragons rules expect every party to have at least one healer. This variant takes the burden off of the party's healer so that he can contribute to combat more often. Giving every character healing ability would help parties with no healer to keep the pace, but it also would make parties with a healer very powerful. To compensate, use this rule:

  • All spells, class features, and items that heal damage do not heal lethal and nonlethal damage. Instead, they heal no nonlethal damage, and convert the rolled amount of lethal damage into nonlethal damage.
  • Healing nonlethal damage still stabilizes dying characters.

This severely reduces the short-term effects of healing spells. It also means that characters will tend to be knocked unconscious instead of left bleeding and dying. However, characters heal nonlethal damage at a rate of 1 hit point per hour per character level.

Healing surges can be spent to make healing magic more powerful, or heal damage without magic.

  • Every character has 1 daily healing surge, plus an additional healing surge per 5 levels.
  • Characters with 3/4 base attack bonus (like rogues and clerics) have 1 additional healing surge.
  • Characters with full base attack bonus (like fighters and rangers) have 2 additional healing surges.
  • Characters regain their daily healing surges after 8 hours of rest.

You may spend one healing surge to do any of the following:

  • Spend 5 minutes and make a DC 15 Heal check to treat your wounds and heal an amount of lethal damage equal to two times your level. You do not lose the healing surge if you fail the check. You may also do this if someone else makes the Heal check to treat your wounds. You can take 10 or take 20 on this Heal check.
  • As a free action, make a healing spell or effect targeting yourself heal your lethal and nonlethal damage normally (instead of converting lethal damage to nonlethal.)
  • Immediately stabilize instead of failing a stabilization check.

Characters also have access to the following feats that use healing surges:

Critical Deflection [General]
Long hours of combat training have taught you to protect your vitals and roll with serious blows.
Prereq: Dex 13, base Reflex bonus +2 (from classes)
Benefit: Whenever you take hit point damage from a melee attack, ranged attack, spell, or ability, you may spend two healing surges to convert half the damage from the attack (rounded down) into nonlethal damage as an immediate action.
You gain one additional healing surge.

Healing Power [General]
Magical study or divine gifts make your healing magic or ki more effective when used on yourself.
Prereq: Wis 13, base Will bonus +2 (from classes)
Benefit: Whenever you cast a healing spell or use a healing class feature on yourself, you heal lethal and nonlethal damage normally as though you had spent a healing surge.

Expert Healer [General]
You served as a battlefield medic at one time, your first aid skills are top notch.
Prereq: 4 ranks in Heal
Benefit: When you use the Heal skill in conjunction with a healing surge, you may make a DC 25 Heal check to heal four times your level. You may also use this ability on other characters.

Extra Healing Surges [General]
Prereq: None
Benefit: You gain two additional healing surges.

Iron Constitution [General]
Prereq: Con 13, base Fortitude bonus +2 (from classes)
Benefit: You may spend two healing surges to reroll a Fortitude saving throw as an immediate action. You must use the second result, even if it is worse.
You gain one additional healing surge.

Second Wind [General]
You fight well in spite of blood loss and severe injury.
Prereq: Con 13
Benefit: As a swift action, you may spend two healing surges to heal an amount of lethal damage equal to your level. You may only use this ability while you're conscious.
You gain one additional healing surge.

Notes

If you're not worried about healing surges unbalancing your campaign, you might consider using this variant without any changes to healing magic. You could also tweak the number of healing surges characters get, or make them heal more or less damage with the normal Heal check. You may want to give Paladins and Monks the Healing Power feat for free, or give all divine casters the Healing Power feat so that they can keep themselves fit and ready to protect the rest of the party.

An extra daily healing surge could be a reward to the players who properly fill out PC background information.