While the Dungeon’s Master team enjoys some well-deserved vacation time, we’re breaking out the greatest hits and shining a spotlight on a few of our favourite articles from 2012. We’ve searched for hidden gems that our newer readers might have missed and our long-time readers will enjoy reading again. Enjoy a second look at these greatest hits from Dungeon’s Master.
In the original article we talked about ways to bend the rules or tweak the numbers to give PCs a fighting chance when they’re low on hit points and healing surges. One thing that we didn’t really address that I think deserves mentioning are the PCs starting number of healing surges.
There will always be times when the party cannot continue because they’re out of surges. More often than not it’s the PCs that began with few surges in the first place that make the most noise about taking an extended rest. At my tables it always seems to be the strikers, and more specifically the Rogues and the Vampires.
I think it’s important for the DM, and even the other players in your gaming group, to talk to players who choose to run characters with minimal starting healing surges. It is a striker’s job to get into the thick of things which usually results in them talking some hits; however, good tactics and planning ahead can reduce the chances of these PCs running out of surges before everyone else. Yet trying to convince these players to have a good starting Con score, take the Durability feat, or just play smarter is often a challenge.
If the entire group addresses the low healing surge issue early, the party as a whole can develop tactics to overcome this obstacle and ensure the softest PCs stay on their feet and don’t blow through all their surges in the first fight. It’s a behavioural change that a lot of D&D players are not comfortable making but by addressing this early (possibly even during character creation) it can make for better games down the road and eliminate the frequency of the 5-minute work day without the need for any of the tricks we suggest in the article below.
From June 5, 2012, Dungeon’s Master once again presents: Staying Alive: 8 Ways to Keep Wounded PCs in the Game.