Healing PF2
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
In order to attempt att introdcing attrition, one new condition is introduced, Persistent Injury, which is meant to represent that while "fit for fight HP" is not that hard to regain, some longer (or magical) healing will be needed for the actual, physical harm our body has taken. Rather than limping through combat, a quick bandage has you up and running but something still hurts. Persistent Injury has a value and every one of those decrease the HP pool ever so slightly, representing the long-term damage. These injuries are healed through resting or magical means.
Terms:
- Hit Points remain unchanged; represents a character's stamina/luck/preserverence and combat-readiness in face of pain in a given situation.
- Wounds themselves use their normal mechanics but are slightly harder to sort out; you will need resting or healing to remove it.
- Persistent Injury is introduced to increase the need for healing/resting with as small impact on PF2's combat balance as possible. After dressing a Wound or providing medical aid to a patient, a bruise, cut or other "persistent injury" remains underneath the bandage, 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!
Persistent Injury
Homebrew:
- Gain: Treat Wounds or Battle Medicine. After gaining a Dying value, gain a Persistent Injury value.
- Effect: Lowered HP pool by
Persistent Injury value x lvl.- HP pool <1 = unconscious. After restoration, receive 2 levels of Fatigue.
- 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 Persistent 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 Persistent 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 Persistent Inury value x lvl. If the HP pool is lowered to 0 or lower, you fall unconscious until it is restored to 1 or higher.
Persistent 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 Persistent 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 Persistent 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 Persistent 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:
| Persistent Injury | Char level | HP reduction |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 4 | 6 |
Dying
- Gain: Reach 0 HP, fail death saves, etc.
- Effect: Dying 4 = Death. Increase Dying value +1 by taking damage or +2 from critical hit. You become Unconscious and make Recovery Checks[1] on your turns.
- Flat DC 10 + Dying value
- Critical Success Your dying value is reduced by 2.
- Success Your dying value is reduced by 1.
- Failure Your dying value increases by 1.
- Critical Failure Your dying value increases by 2.
- Lose: Recovery Check back to Dying value of 0 (Unconscios but wakeable) or have 1 or more HP. Gain a Wounded value.
Homebrew:
- Gain: Reach 0 HP, fail death saves, etc. If you gain a Dying vale, also gain a Persistent Inury value.
- Effect: Dying 4 = Death. Increase Dying value +1 by taking damage or +2 from critical hit. You become Unconscious and make Recovery Checks on your turns.
- Flat DC 10 + Dying value
- Critical Success Your dying value is reduced by 2.
- Success Your dying value is reduced by 1.
- Failure Your dying value increases by 1.
- Critical Failure Your dying value increases by 2.
- Lose: Recovery Check back to Dying value of 0 (Unconscios but wakeable) or have 1 or more HP. Gain a Wounded value.
Wounded
- 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).
- Lose: Treat Wounds, Battle Medicine, Rest, Long Rest and magical healing.
- Each Treat Wounds or Battle Medicine used to specifically remove Wound removes 1 Wounded each but it leaves a Persistent Injury.
- Rest and Long Rest removes all Wound values without adding any Persistent Injury.
- Magical healing: Unrolled 2D8 or 10HP healed. No Persistent Inury added.
- Being restored to full HP an resting for 10 minutes removes all Wounded values and add an equal amount of Persistent Injury values.
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. A Wound can be healed through effects that removes a Wounded condition or applying healing.
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.
Note: If you remove a Wounded value using non-magical means, you also gain a Persistent Injury value.
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 Persistent 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 Persistent 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 Persistent 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
- 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 Persistent 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 Persistent Injury condition is reduced by 1. If the rest is very uncomfortable or the character is wholly/partly prevented from regaining lost HP, the Persistent 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 Persistent 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 Persistent Injury condition is reduced by 2. If the rest is very uncomfortable or the character is wholly/partly prevented from regaining lost HP, the Persistent 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 Persistent 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 Persistent 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 Persistent 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 Persistent Injury condition.
Dying
Core Rules You risk dying for real. Any Wounded value you had prior to the Dying condition increase the Dying value by that amount. When losing the Dying condition, gain Wounded condition value equal to the Dying value.
Homebrew: After losing the Dying condition, in addition to Core Rules, after the encounter ends, also gain Fatigue 1.
References