D&D General Is Healing Magic Painful?

[Argyle King]

In most RPGs, healing magic fixes everything, without a lot of questions asked. It just works.

However, while sitting at home today, I started to consider whether healing magic is painful. Sure, it heals the damage, but (I think) that also means that it puts bones and such back into place.

How do you imagine that feels within a 6-second period of time?

You're mangled to near death.
The party healer mumbles a few words.
No anesthesia
Now your entire body is forcibly put back together.

In the case of divine magic, maybe the deity granting the magic makes the process painless.
But what of a bard singing a character back to health? My bone is sticking out the side of my leg after being crushed by a rampaging minotaur, some dude breaks into an impromptu rendition of "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. on his lute, and then suddenly my tibia is being jammed back into my body by the chorus.


~Well, everybody hurts
Sometimes, everybody cries
And everybody hurts
Sometimes
And everybody hurts
Sometimes
So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on~

 

[Mort]

In most RPGs, healing magic fixes everything, without a lot of questions asked. It just works.

However, while sitting at home today, I started to consider whether healing magic is painful. Sure, it heals the damage, but (I think) that also means that it puts bones and such back into place.

How do you imagine that feels within a 6-second period of time?

You're mangled to near death.
The party healer mumbles a few words.
No anesthesia
Now your entire body is forcibly put back together.

In the case of divine magic, maybe the deity granting the magic makes the process painless.
But what of a bard singing a character back to health? My bone is sticking out the side of my leg after being crushed by a rampaging minotaur, some dude breaks into an impromptu rendition of "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. on his lute, and then suddenly my tibia is being jammed back into my body by the chorus.


~Well, everybody hurts
Sometimes, everybody cries
And everybody hurts
Sometimes
And everybody hurts
Sometimes
So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on~

I think the only possible answer is an unsatisfactory - it depends.

As a DM do you want healing magic to hurt? I can certainly see it. Heck I've tooled about imposing a level of exhaustion on the person healed, as their body compensates.

But it also depends on who's doing the healing: a goddess of healing could make the pain completely go away, a goddess of love could also (heck her followers could have a very not this board friendly -relationship with pain and healing). While a god of war could make healing more painful than the wound itself plus leave scars as a reminder (what's the point of a battle wound without evidence!) Whereas a bard heals with different magic entirely - as you said.

Ultimately, the healing in the world should reflect what you want the world to convey. I do think different deities etc. healing completely differently is a cool way to differentiate them.

 

[Guest 6801328]

If it involves nasal swabs it's not "painful" per se, but I'd happily trade it for something excruciating.

 

[Immoralkickass]

Only if you think of HP as meat. I think of HP as... HP.

 

[Mort]

Only if you think of HP as meat. I think of HP as... HP.

HP are a abstraction, sure - but doesn't physical damage occur at some point? Especially at really low HP or 0?

If nothing else - for narration purposes. There only so many times you can describe almost getting hit.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

HP are a abstraction, sure - but doesn't physical damage occur at some point? Especially at really low HP or 0?

If nothing else - for narration purposes. There only so many times you can describe almost getting hit.

Depending on certain particulars of edition/version, the answer to "doesn't physical damage occur at some point?" comes out as being not significantly, no, at least not unless it killed the character.

The abstraction of HP never un-abstracts itself to sufficent enough degree to reveal a moment when a character is definitely physical damage beyond nebulous bruises and scratches - except for if the character has died, or if the particular edition/version has rules for specific injuries and those are almost always unrelated to HP gained/lost.

 

[Argyle King]

Depending on certain particulars of edition/version, the answer to "doesn't physical damage occur at some point?" comes out as being not significantly, no, at least not unless it killed the character.

The abstraction of HP never un-abstracts itself to sufficent enough degree to reveal a moment when a character is definitely physical damage beyond nebulous bruises and scratches - except for if the character has died, or if the particular edition/version has rules for specific injuries and those are almost always unrelated to HP gained/lost.

Typically, healing magic is assumed to fix those injuries.

Do you feel the process would be painful?

Edit: In the event HP isn't "meat," does that imply that healing magic doesn't actually do anything? In such a case, I can appreciate the joke of healing magic being "faith healing," but that seems to pose a lot of other questions (which I've seen discussed elsewhere) concerning what is happening.

 

[Mort]

Depending on certain particulars of edition/version, the answer to "doesn't physical damage occur at some point?" comes out as being not significantly, no, at least not unless it killed the character.

The abstraction of HP never un-abstracts itself to sufficent enough degree to reveal a moment when a character is definitely physical damage beyond nebulous bruises and scratches - except for if the character has died, or if the particular edition/version has rules for specific injuries and those are almost always unrelated to HP gained/lost.

The rules in all editions I I remember are pretty coy on the subject of how abstract HP really are - sure.

And any given table can play them differently, so it's not really a rules issue. But I don't recall the last time I was at a table where the DM didn't eventually dictate physical damage, often serious physical damage happening as HP got low. Especially if the PC was knocked to 0 - dead or not. It's not mandatory, and it's not a given - But in my experience, it sure is common.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

The GM's chosen narration doesn't actually matter though, since the rules for regaining HP don't ask what narration was given.

GM says "the orc's blade pierces your liver, leaving you bleeding on the floor" or the GM says something a lot less specific, the HP lost to that attack get restored the same way.

 

[Coroc]

In most RPGs, healing magic fixes everything, without a lot of questions asked. It just works.

However, while sitting at home today, I started to consider whether healing magic is painful. Sure, it heals the damage, but (I think) that also means that it puts bones and such back into place.

How do you imagine that feels within a 6-second period of time?

You're mangled to near death.
The party healer mumbles a few words.
No anesthesia
Now your entire body is forcibly put back together.

In the case of divine magic, maybe the deity granting the magic makes the process painless.
But what of a bard singing a character back to health? My bone is sticking out the side of my leg after being crushed by a rampaging minotaur, some dude breaks into an impromptu rendition of "Everybody Hurts" by R.E.M. on his lute, and then suddenly my tibia is being jammed back into my body by the chorus.


~Well, everybody hurts
Sometimes, everybody cries
And everybody hurts
Sometimes
And everybody hurts
Sometimes
So, hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on
Hold on, hold on~

What song is to played when casting raise dead?
MJs "Thriller"? ah no that would be animate dead hm,

Reincarnation?
Judas Priest "Victim of changes"?

True Resurrection?
"Forever young" (dunno the band atm)?