Healing PF2

Healing wounds is of the essence.

Healing for Pathfinder 2 is slightly nerfed in Hökaland because Pathfinder 2 doesn't support attrition in games through continued use of the Treat Wounds activity. Please note that these rules are still work in progress and your feedback is welcome.

Changes

Two additional HP pools are introduced in an attemt to add attrition into PF2 without clogging it down too much. While not "fun" mechanics, the intentions is at least to make gameplay and planning to acquire resources or rest a modicum more challenging. Wounds, specifically also becomes slightly scarier.

• Hit Points remain unchanged; represents a character's stamina/luck/preserverence in face of pain in a given situation
• Wounds themselves use their normal mechanics in terms of near-death experiences, but each wound needs to be tracked and has its own HP pool (you can really only have 3). If you receive a wound, it's not enough to bandage for 6 seconds; you will need resting or magical healing to remove it.
• Persistant Injuries are introduced to significantly increase the need for healing/resting without significantly impairing PF2's combat balance. After dressing a Wound or providing medical aid to a patient a bruise, cut or other "persistant injury" remains which needs healing or rest.

Unless stated otherwhere, the norm is that whenever a character receives healing from any source the recipient can choose which of the HP pools she wish to top up.

The Healer's Tools are no longer unlimited in use. They come with charges and can be refilled at a cheap price, but you will have to venture in to civilization to get them!

Important:

• New - Persistant Injury - A limiting mechanic to Treat Wounds and Battle Medicine - Nerf
• Wounds - Nerfed
• Conditions Related to Death and Dying - Unchanged, except Wounded

Healing sources:

• Magical healing - Unchanged
• Healer's Tools - Nerfed
• Administer First Aid - Nerfed
• Treat Wounds - Nerfed
• Battle Medicine - Buffed
• Resting - Buffed
• Long-Term Rest - Buffed

Other:

• Continual Recovery - Unchanged
• Godless Healing - Unchanged
• Medic Dedication - Unchanged

Persistant Injury

Homebrew:

• Gain: Treat Wounds or Battle Medicine. After gaining Wounded X, gain Persistant Injury X.
• Effect: Lowered HP pool by Persistant Injury score x lvl /2 (min 1hp/condition).
  • HP pool <1 = unconscious.
• Lose: Rest (1), Long Rest (2) and Magical healing (varies).
• Healing: 2 x D8/D10/D12 (unrolled) or 10HP - Any unused healing is lost.

The Persistant Injury condition represents injuries received while adventuring that doesn't immediately go away by kissing it, they can't be remedied quickly without the use of magic.

The injuries represented by the Persistant Injury condition has a score that increases if injuries accumulates and decrease as the injury/injuries get better. Having injuries is a slight handicap and lowers the HP pool by Persistant Injury score x lvl /2 (min 1hp/condition), round up. If the HP pool is lowered to 0 or lower, you fall unconscious until it is restored to 1 or higher.

Persistant Injury conditions become apparent after having Treat Wounds or Battle Medicine applied to a character or suffering a Wound. Each application of Treat Wounds or Battle Medicine add one Persistant Injury condition and every time a character receives a Wounded X condition, she also receives Persistent Injury X conditions. I.e.: A character who has Wounded 1 and Persistent Injury 1 who receives the Wounded 2 condition then receives two more Persistent Injury conditions, totalling at Persistent Injury 3.

A character can reduce her Persistant Injury conditions through Rest/Long Rest or HP gains. When receiving healing or HP gains, the receiving character can choose how to distribute the HP gain between its main HP pool and any Persistant Injury conditions. To remove one condition, use 2 unrolled D8/D10/D12s or 10 HP worth of healing to do so. Any unused healing is lost.

Example:

Persistant Injury	Char level	HP reduction
3	4	6

Wounds

Core rules:

• Gain: Through being downed (reaching 0 HP).
• Effect: If you are downed again, add +1 Dying per Wounded. (3 Wounded + downed = death)
• Lose: Treat Wounds (not Battle Medicine) or full HP + 10 min rest.

Homebrew:

• Gain: Through being downed (reaching 0 HP).
• Effect: If you are downed again, add +1 Dying per Wounded. (3 Wounded + downed = death). When gained, also gain Persistent Inury equal to new Wounded value.
• Lose: Treat Wounds, Battle Medicine, Rest, Long Rest and magical healing.
  • Each Treat Wounds or Battle Medicine removes 1 Wounded each but it leaves a Persistent Injury.
  • Rest and Long Rest removes all Wound values without adding any Persistent Injury.
  • To heal: Heal (6 - CON) x lvl (min 5). A Wound can be partially healed (unlike Persistent Injuries).

Each wound represent a real danger and are harder to heal than in the core rules, but the mechanics of wounds themselves are unchanged. They are noted separately on your character sheet with its own HP deficit values, separate from your HP pool's. A Wound can be healed through effect that removes a Wounded condition or applying healing to set the HP deficit of a wound to 0.

The size of a wound's deficit is (6 - CON) x lvl (min 5).

When receiving healing or HP gains, the receiving character can choose how to distribute the HP gain between its main HP pool and any Wounds. If any wound has a deficit of 0, the condition is removed.

Note: Every time a character receives a Wounded X condition, she also receives Persistent Injury X conditions.

Magical

Core rules: Magical healing recover a HP deficit up to full HP pool.

Homebrew:

Used as normal, allowing the recipient to choose which HP pool to fill which which amount of replenished HP. Temporary HP will not affect Wounded or Persistant Injury conditions.

• Focus spells: (I.e. Lay on Hands) These can be used unlimited, but any Focus spell cast after the day's initial Focus pool has been used will leave a Persistant Injury condition when applied.
• Cantrip healing sources: (I.e. Goodberry) These can be used unlimited but any such spell cast after the first one will leave a Persistant Injury condition.

Healer's Tools

Core rules: Used for Medicine checks to Administer First Aid, Treat Disease, Treat Poison, or Treat Wounds.

Homebrew:

• 10 charges per kit
• 1s per additional charge
• 15 charges = 1 bulk

The game mechanic is unchanged, however the kit comes with charges for things like herbs and bandages. A new kit comes with 10 charges at purchase, regardless of quality. Additional charges cost 1 silver each, regardless of quality. Up to 10 charges can be fit into the kit without the use of additional bulk. If charges are stored in a separate container, 15 charges equates to 1 bulk.

Most actions involving a Healer's Kit also leaves a Persistent Injury condition.

Administer First Aid

Core rules: Used to Stabilize a Dying creature or Stop Bleeding

Homebrew:

Game mechanics are unchanged other than each such action adds a Persistent Injury condition to the patient.

Treat Wounds

Core rules:

• Use: Activity if you have Healer's Tools. Spend 10 min treating a wound. Medicine check DC15.
• Effect: Removes Wounds. Heals 2D8 HP. 4D8 if critical success. If fail, 1D8 damage instead.
  • Experts or higher can use higher DC to heal more HP. After use, the target is immune to Treat Wounds for 60 minutes (including treatment; so not 70 min).

Homebrew:

• Use: Activity if you have Healer's Tools. Spend 10 min treating a wound. Medicine check DC15. Uses 1 charge.
• Effect: Heals 2D8 HP. 4D8 if critical success. If fail, 1D8 damage instead.
  • Doesn't heal Wounds without individually healing them.
  • Using Expert or higher DCs to exclusively treat Wounds, you may double the bons HP received.
  • Every use of Treat Wounds leaves a Persistent Injury behind.

Treat Wounds no longer heals the Wounded condition on a success unless you choose to use the 2D8 to heal the Wound's HP deficit. Also each application leaves a Persistent Injury condition on the patient.

If you choose to increase the DC as per the Treat Wounds activity while exclusively treating Wounds, you may double the amount of bonus HP received.

Battle Medicine

Core Rules: Treat Wounds as two actions in combat. Does not remove Wounded conditions.

Homebrew:

Can remove Wounded conditions. Instead of 1 day immunity to Battle Medicine, the immunity is 6 hours but it applies a Persistant Injury condition.

Resting

Core rules: 8 hours of rest (interruptions are OK as long as the total is 8) will:

• Regain HP: CON modifier (min 1) x lvl; may be less if resting without shelter/comfort.
• Losing the Fatigued condition.
• Reduce Doomed and Drained conditions by 1.
• Most spellcasters need to rest to regain spells.

Homebrew:

• HP gain: CON+1 (min 1) x lvl; may be less if resting without shelter/comfort.
• Fatigue: -1
• Doomed/Drained: -1 each
• Persistent Injury: -1
• Luxurious locale: x2
• Able to regain spells

The core rules are used, but add an additional 1HP/lvl. Regained HP is doubled if resting in especially comfortable accomodations, and/or a place with no stress.

Every time the character Rests, the Persistant Injury condition is reduced by 1. If the rest is very uncomfortable or the character is wholly/partly prevented from regaining lost HP, the Persistant Injury reduction likely also doesn't occur (GM's perogative). If a character receives extra HP during a rest because of beneficial circumstances, remove one additional Persistant Injury condition (GM's perogative).

Long-Term Rest

Core rules: Spend an entire day and night resting to recover CON modifier (min 1) x lvl x 2. Not applicable in Exploration Mode, this is a Downtime Activity.

Homebrew:

• HP gain: CON+2 (min 1) x lvl
• Fatigue: -2
• Doomed/Drained: -2 each
• Persistent Injury: -2
• Luxurious locale: x2
• Able to regain spells

The core rules are used, but add an additional 2HP/lvl and Doomed and Drained conditions reduce by 1. Regained HP is doubled if resting in especially comfortable accomodations, and/or a place with no stress.

Every time a character use a Long-Term Rest, the Persistant Injury condition is reduced by 2. If the rest is very uncomfortable or the character is wholly/partly prevented from regaining lost HP, the Persistant Injury reduction likely also doesn't occur (GM's perogative). If a character receives extra HP during a rest because of beneficial circumstances, remove one additional Persistant Injury condition (GM's perogative).

A character may provide Treat Wounds to remove Wounds during a Long-Term Rest; each patient may receive one such Treat Wounds. The better trained a character is, they may apply more Treat Wounds without interrupting their own restful benefits.

• Untrained = 1
• Trained = 2
• Expert = 4
• Master = 8
• Legendary = 12

Other

Continual Recovery

Core rules: Treat Wounds cause patient to become immune for only 10 minutes instead of 1 hour (only for your Treat Wounds activities; not others patient receives).

No change other than that each application adds a Persistant Injury condition.

Godless Healing

Core Rules: Battle Medicine has +5 HP healed and 1 hour immunity instead of 1 day.

No change other than that each application adds a Persistant Injury condition.

Medic Dedication

Core Rules: Extra HP with Treat Wounds or Battle Medicine using higher DCs. Also some healing on temporarily immune targets.

No change other than that each application adds a Persistant Injury condition.

References

• https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/f525g7/new_to_pathfinder_2e_sources_of_healing/

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