Re: (TFT) TFT Healing

[LifeIsFun@aol.com]

Thanks for all of the replies!  I think I tend to agree with "pvk" on  
healing.  While the game might move faster with abundant healing or a  healing 
spell, people do become reckless and don't bother to go out of their way  to 
minimize the damage incurred.  If you know there'll be enough healing to  be back at 
full every battle, then tanks charge out into the middle of the room,  
ignoring facing and teamwork to sop up as much experience as they can.  
 
Every GM is different, that goes without saying.  But, I find that the  
better GM's (and i'm not in this list, i'm way too lenient) tend to be able to  
match battles and write missions that intentionally scale according to a  
predicted health level of the party.  It is as if they know that the first  battle 
will attempt to get the heroes to show off, and maybe use up a bit too  much of 
their "special occasion" items.  And the second battle is usually a  grind 
that eats up healing stores.  And after that the good GM's tend to be  able to 
predict that the party will be hurt and they scale the opponents with  placement 
or tactics even if they had not already expected the group to be in  pain.
 
But, clearly as groups become super-groups, predicting what can and will  
happen gets harder and harder.  As a GM it becomes extremely hard to  challenge 
the group without wiping it out.  But, more times than not the  superheroes 
pull out amazing items that tip the scales and save the day.   And, isn't that 
what it's all about?  Isn't it great to see someone pull  out a bean bag that 
does two die-heal once a month and use it as a thrown  weapon?  Isn't it really 
cool to watch a hero power up a headband of  speedmove and save the wizard by 
motoring into a back hex of a giant, charging  the snot out of it with a 
(2d+4) x 2 charge with a pike axe and the extra damage  due to movement bonuses?
 
If there was healing magic, I think more players would simply hoarde their  
cool items and super moves, saving them for themselves to bring down the 
killing  blow for the extra experience.  Why should they worry?  The healer  will 
heal the injured, or resurrect them after the battle.  And while it  makes 
designing battles easier because you can always count on the party being  at full 
strength, doesn't it breed a generation of timid adventurers, groups  that 
won't move on until they are at full?  None of our GM's, me included,  will allow 
a party to sit around and rest up to full.  Either they will  continually get 
interrupted or surprized, or the mision will require that they  make haste.  
 
Well, I've spouted enough.  I can understand the desire to increase  the 
speed of the game.  But, heroes emerge when the chips are down!   Look at every 
adventure movie ever made.  The hero never wins the day  without first being 
beaten to a pulp.  And it's the hero's will to continue  that earns him the 
respect in the end!
 
Good Fortune,
Rick
 
 
In a message dated 9/9/2006 11:17:56 PM Eastern Standard Time,  pvk@oz.net 
writes:

I think  TFT intentionally lacks a healing spell, and I appreciate the 
effect of  having limited healing abilities. It has major effects on the 
world, and  on play, which I tend to prefer to games with easy healing 
spells, which I  have also played (e.g. GURPS Magic). I think too much 
healing actually  removes a lot from play, such as the meaningfulness of 
major injuries, the  usefulness of hireling (cough) fodder, less than 
all-or-nothing  consequences of combat, the value of healing potion as an 
expensive  resource, reward and expense, etc. Easy magic healing tends to 
make the  consequences of risk-taking too weak and temporary for my tastes. 
It  becomes harder for players to learn lessons without actually getting  
player characters completely killed, and the results of an adventure  become 
much more all-or-nothing. That's sort of my  perspective.
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