Does in combat healing have a place in the super heroic genre

[kirakane]

I'm personally still divided on this issue (both as a GM and a player). So I'm looking for opinions to help me make up my mind. I've seen even innocuous amounts of healing drag fights out into that should have ended much sooner and at times I've seen healing be a boon so the GM doesn’t have to re-arrange an encounter on the fly due to some difficulty problems.

Does in combat healing belong in a superheroes game or is it one of those abilities that by mutual agreement GM's and players should avoid? What's your thoughts on the subject?

[Tim]

I don't see aproblem with it. Just remember, it will put the healer on top of the "take down" list next to the mentalist.

Also, in the minds of the public, if a character can heal in combat, obviously he can heal out of combat also. "Mr. hero, I have this terrible bunjun." " My wife is dying of cancer, could help her?"
"My dughter..." "I..." "could you help..."

The hero would be as overwhelm as Jesus was if his healing powers were confirmed. People would be flocking to him expecting miracles. Then there are those who will try and prove him a fraud, or attack him for various reasons.

All in all, it might help in combat, but it would be a pain outside of it so he probably wouldn't do it very often.

(I'm just reminded of the scene in the Matrix Reloaded, where Neo steps off the elevator and all those people are waiting for him.I'm glad I'm not in his shoes.

TimS.

[Monolith]

That is a hard question to answer. I think we have all played characters who have been knocked out and forced to sit out a battle due to unlucky die rolls. Who would not want a chance to get back into the playing if they knew they had half-an-hours or more wait before they got a recovery? In those instances Combat Healing seems to make sense.

I think the new rules on Healing go a long way to fixing your Combat Healing problems. If you know that 5d6 Healing is really only useful once per character it makes it a much simpler process, and one less open to abuse. I think the new Healing rule makes the power useful, and due to the wider array of combat options in 5th Edition a little healing might just come in handy. :)