By: Jared Biti
In this article, I want to talk about what I have seen at the game table for healing. Specifically, how healing mechanics can be used as items, spells, and racial abilities, and how this can affect the pace and feel of combat and the time between combat encounters.
Let us start with the simple things. The potions. These come in a couple of forms in D&D. The most common is the “potion of healing”. This heals a moderate 2d4+2(average of 7). This is great for low-level characters. Once the levels and, therefore, the hit point pools get larger, this becomes less useful. The standard “action economy” for using a potion is an action or bonus action. It can vary from table to table and GM to DM. So check with your GM/DM to find out how your table works. My personal rule is: “As a bonus action, you can use the potion on your belt.” This means you can drink a potion as a bonus action once per encounter. After that, it will take a full action because you would be “searching through your gear” for one. At higher levels and thus larger hit point pools, there are potions of healing rated as “Greater,” “Superior,” and “Supreme.” They heal for 4d4+4(14), 8d4+8(28), and 10d4+20(45), respectively.
In this same vein, there are spells and magic items that can provide healing or temporary hit die in combat. There are an abundance of these in 5e D&D alone, let alone other systems and editions. But largely, the potions, spells, and items provide a momentary recovery of HP during a combat encounter. For these to work effectively, they need two things. They need to be able to be accomplished in an action or bonus action, or the system equivalent. And they need to recover enough HP to offset incoming damage. Example being, if the PC has HP of about 50 and they are taking anywhere from 5-12 damage per round, then a common potion of healing is useful for them, but just barely. Several levels later, they may have HP of 130 and be taking damage around 15-25; at that point, a common health potion is basically useless. In the same way, a basic Cure Wounds only heals for 1d8+Wis Mod(5+2or3) has almost the same effective range as a common healing potion. Fortunately, in D&D 5,e it can be upcast to improve its usefulness in combat as the party levels up.
In other systems that do not have spells or potions, you will have things like injectable healing items and other, often temporary, boosts to that system’s version of HP. Specifically, in the Traveler Mongoose 2e system, there is a “First Aid” skill check that can be made to repair a damaged body. This requires the use of a medical kit or similar equipment, must be done within 1 minute of the damage being taken, and only recovers 1-5 or so of a possible 14-21 HPP. Largely, though, in a modern or sci-fi setting system, you are often left without a way to recover from damage taken during a combat encounter.
Once we get out of combat, the party can take a short or long rest. Again, I am referencing D&D 5e here. A short rest allows the PCs to regain some class abilities and an amount of HP from a feature called “Hit Die.” On long rests, the PCs can recover all of their HP and class features and recover a portion of their previously mentioned Hit Die. In other systems, particularly the modern or sci-fi systems mentioned, there is a variety of “healing” systems. Again, referencing the Traveller system and edition from above. You spend time in “surgery”. This requires a medical facility and the presence of trained medical personnel. Best used when the damaged person has a lot of damage. Outside of that, there is just “Medical Care”. This generally recovers HP at about 1-3 per day. I am talking in very general terms. This is all spelled out in detail on Page 82 of the Core Rule Book for Traveller Mongoose 2e 2022.
Now we are going to touch on racial abilities for healing and recovery that can come into play during combat and outside of combat encounters. The first and best known in the D&D world is the Troll. The Troll recovers HP every round on its turn if it has not received damage from fire or acid in the last round of combat. There are others that are similar. A minor one that comes up more often with PCs than the Troll feature is Relentless Endurance. This appears in the Half-Orc Racial traits in the Player’s Handbook, D&D 5e. This feature simply keeps the character from going into death saving throws the first time they go down to 0 HP.
Out of combat, Relentless Endurance really does not have much effect. However, any feature that heals the creature or character every turn can have a significant impact out of combat. This is why cantrip healing spells are generally not a thing. With no limitations on healing, a creature or character would simply recover to their full HP in a few minutes outside the parameters of action economy in combat.
Lastly, regeneration from death. As far as I know, there are limited options in a modern or sci-fi setting once a character is dead-dead. There could be clone back-ups or reloading of a memory file, but that is precisely what could be called “regeneration.” In the fantasy setting, there are spells that can hold a person on the edge of death until a greater healing spell can be applied. There is also reincarnation as an option. Still somewhat limited and often expensive in material components, but you could say it is more available and “practical” than anything available in a modern or sci-fi setting.
Thank you for walking with me through this talk on the various healing options available in gaming. Do you have any you would like to see listed? Do you have a unique one that you have seen in play as a player or GM? Bring it up in the Discord or the Facebook page. Thank you for reading! Game On!
About the author
Jared “Martel” B has been GMing and playing in several TTRPG’s since late 2013. Enjoys the challenge of bringing his players worlds and stories straight from his mind in the moment that it happens. He is one of the Founders of RPGCounterpoint, happy husband to an active historian wife, and father to two puppers and a toddler!
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