Thoughts on a Health System

[illathid]

So, I've been thinking about the health system and how Josh Sawyer took inspiration from D&D 4e healing surges. While ruminating about this I thought of a system that would get this idea across and be visually appealing as well. I don't think this would make it into the game, but I like it want to hear thoughts on it. Here's what I was thinking:

 

You have two stats: Health* and Recovery Power*

Health is analogous to Endurance in PoE, and Recovery Power is analogous to PoE's Health. All damage to Health can only be healed by expending the characters Recovery Power. This would be done automatically at the end of combat at a 1:1 ratio. Recovery Power would likely be a multiplier of your Health based on class (like the changes being made to the PoE health system). Healing spells would use recovery power as well, but offer a better ratio (e.g. cure light wounds would heal 20 damage and cost 10 recovery power). Resting would be the only way to refill your Recovery Power. If you have any recovery power your are knocked out when health reaches zero, but would be killed if you have no

 

Visually, these would appear in hourglass shaped meter, Health at the bottom and Recovery Power on top. You'd see the level of "sand" in the Recovery Power meter go down as "sand" in Health meter goes up every time a heal occurs.

 

Benefits: Like the PoE system, every character would have a stat that shows how many times they could be knocked out before death. While this would be functionally equivalent to the PoE, I think many of the complaints would be mitigated. This is because it will feel more like you have a resource your expending rather than a stat that is constant falling.

 

I'm sure there are problems with this is missing so feel free to point them out. Anyways, I just thought this would be a cool way to do things.

 

 

 

TL;DR - Rename Stamina to Health, Health to Recovery power, and make recovery power a resource you expend to heal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Name subject to change

[rjshae]

I think you've confused matters significantly with your renaming. But, if I understand you correctly, the net effect is to use the (current) Health as an expendable to heal the Stamina. Is that right? I'm not really clear as to what the benefit would be, game play-wise.

[Matt516]

The only real difference I see with this (assuming that magical healing also heals from this "recovery power" pool) is that taking damage no longer removes your health immediately, but at the end of combat instead. That and the fact that stamina (health in your system) is now what determines if you die, not health (recovery power).

 

So this really isn't much of a change from a mechanical standpoint. It's a good idea, sure - but I don't see too much reason for adopting it in place of the (soon to be) current system.

[Fatback]

You should not have it auto replenish at end of combat I would rather have it so I could choose to save for healing spells in combat ie I have spell that uses 10 w/e it was called to heal 20 health but last encounter I lost 10 health I would rather wait to take 11 more damage and use a

Same amount of w/e it was called.

 

Over all I think it isn't a bad mechanic.

Edited September 14, 2014 by Fatback

[illathid]

You should not have it auto replenish at end of combat I would rather have it so I could choose to save for healing spells in combat ie I have spell that uses 10 w/e it was called to heal 20 health but last encounter I lost 10 health I would rather wait to take 11 more damage and use a

Same amount of w/e it was called.

 

Over all I think it isn't a bad mechanic.

 

Well the reason I set it up as I did was to incentivize in combat healing, which has been been identified as a problem in the Beta.