Healing power beyond re-use limit

[ronpyatt]

I'm attempting to build a character that can heal once per phase (including re-use). What are some of the ways to get around the limit set by the rule "cannot buy healing use more frequently than 1 turn"?

I was thinking of using partially limited scaled dice, 1d6 normal, +1d6 extra phase or maybe using delayed effect, but it's seems clunky.

(6th Edition)

[Beast]

speed 6 buy regen 6 per turn

[Rapier]

Are you talking about healing other people or healing yourself?

Are you the GM or the player? If you are the GM, just ignore the rule. That's your option. If you are the player, you should REALLY discuss this with your GM. One of the things nearly guaranteed to piss off the majority of GMs is bring them a character that makes end-runs around and skates the letter and/or intent of the rules.

There is an optional rule to track damage per wound. You would then only be able to heal wounds individually, but in that case I would waive the Only Once Per Turn stipulation.

A AoE Radius Healing Field might be the way to go. You would be the equivalent of a healing zone in an MMO.

I'm not so sure I would normally allow it to go much beyond Once per Turn. That is a LOT of healing and would be so effective that it could very easily make any kind of incoming damage nearly moot. Why bother dodging or even wearing armour when a character can set off a heal every phase?

[azrad]

You could buy multiple copies of your heal ability I suppose. Won't be cheap but what you want to do would be very powerful, so it shouldn't be cheap :)

[ronpyatt]

Then I must really have a bone to pick with this power.

The arbitrary re-use limit of 1 per Turn is a campaign based limitation and should not be a basic rule for all game worlds. It's not too powerful, as I've see it used in Hero games, and it's worked just fine. Even other gaming systems allow for healing of faster than once per turn where even cumulative healing is allowed. I'm not going to worry about the world ending by introducing an effective healer. Most of the GM's I've gamed with don't even worry about this limit. So, you're right. I should just ignore the rule entirely, as I can imagine a world where such things happen, if if others cannot.

Thanks for the feedback.

[JmOz]

I would have prefered to see that as an optional rule, along with a couple of other options on restricting Healing. In some games it is a non issue, in others...

[IndianaJoe3]

I agree that it varies by setting. The GM needs to balance incoming damage, defenses, and healing.

[prestidigitator]

I have always hated the arbitrary difference imposed between Regeneration and Healing, in that the former is cumulative but the latter is not (cannot be!). Even in 5E(R), where Regeneration was built using Healing, the difference was a special system/GM hand-wave because we'd backed ourselves into a corner with all the restrictions and "can'ts" imposed. Bulls***! So I allow UOO to be taken for Regeneration and/or Cumulative to be taken for Healing. But that's in general, to complete the functionality of the Hero System; for many games I won't allow it except in rare circumstances (often for special abilities/effects/items rather than for everyday PC use), and then I am very careful about its influence on the game.

[Hugh Neilson]

Given Regeneration in 5e was effectively 2/3d6 Healing (standard effect of 2 character points = 1 BOD) rather than a full 1d6, and worked once per turn, if you mathed out the effect, the accumulation every turn equated to a +1 advantage. Now, if decreased re-use duration as an advantage had made a reduction to "every turn" a +1 advantage, it would have worked pretty well.

[prestidigitator]

Yeah. I think I would've been happy if Healing were, by default, reusable every Phase, and Increased Re-use Duration was a Limitation.

[JmOz]

I agree, I feel that the default answer int he book is you can, with options for you can't

[azrad]

Well since many people here think it should be possible. What should the cost be given the current (6ed) system? It is +1/4 per increment on the time chart starting at 1 day (for +0). Once per turn is (+ 1 1/2). Do you think (+1 3/4) is adequate for once per phase? Just looking for your thoughts.

[Rapier]

Well based off the progression of Decreased Re-Use Duration, I would say +1.75. Each step down the time chart seems to be another +1/4.

Of course at that rate a 2d6 Healing Usable Every Phase is 55 Active Points (and 5 END). Without some SERIOUS Limitations that is still a rather large chuck of change and the END cost is not inconsiderable. I think that it's possible that this might be limited enough that I might allow it in my game.

EDIT: Of course, if you can drop that into an MP that would mitigate a great portion of the cost. But I would imagine this level of healing would be unnecessary in Supers. In Heroic it might be difficult to come up with an MP high enough (if you've got one at all).

Now stack on some Empathic Healing Damage and some Regen and NOW we're talking FUN!

[Hugh Neilson]

The APG suggests Regeneration which works more often than once per turn, and follows the same progression as Regeneration moving up the time chart in the core rules, so using the same progression for healing also seems reasonable.

I think, for most games, the question is less "how expensive do I want to make this ability" and more "do I want the ability to Heal per phase available at all"?

How much more useful is that "healing per phase" than "healing per turn", already quite powerful in games where BOD damage is a serious issue? In most Supers games, it probably doesn't matter much. In Heroic games, what does it really mean? You can focus on one combatant, I suppose, and keep his BOD bolstered up, but if he's taking 7 BOD a phase, he's probably soaking up a lot of STUN as well, so the question will become whether he is down and KO'd or down and dying/dead.

Every phase that Healing is used is a phase that the Healer isn't attacking. A 55 AP attack would likely also have a considerable impact on the combat, perhaps more than just some BOD healing.

To some extent, the problem is gamer expectations. Many gamers are used to hit points dropping fast and rising fast. If your game features bold warriors with, say, 5 or 6 rDEF and attacks in the 60 AP range, they will be taking a lot of BOD, and that rapid healing seems a lot less overpowered, and a lot more a prerequisite for PC survival. But most Heroic Fantasy games I see have much lower DC's compared to defenses, so BOD is taken more slowly, if at all, and per turn, or per minute, or even per hour healing is typicallly quite adequate to deal with the wounds which arise.

To some extent, I don't much care whether Healing starts with a 1 day cap and is priced at 10 per 1d6, or starts unlimited and is priced at, say, 25 or 30 per 1d6 (27.5 per 1d6 seems like a pain to price out). However, I think I prefer a default ability with a reasonably low entry price and the addition of advantages to achieve more powerful results. However, I don't see a compelling reason for the system to impose a "per turn" restriction, rather than leaving this determination to the group, providing comments on the possible issues if healing is too readily available.

[prestidigitator]

Here you go:


Cumulative Healing
Regeneration: 1 Body/Turn; Limited to Amount Rolled on Healing Dice (-1/4)
(16 Active; 13 Real)

Make it an Everyman ability if you like. :D

[dmjalund]

add Useable on Others?