D&D 5E Potions of Healing (and other common magical items)

[AsmodeusDM]

Potions of Healing are available in the PHB and are listed as a "common" magic item in the DMG alongside 1st level scrolls.

1. does this imply that potions of healing should be widely made available for pcs to purchase?

2. If so; do potions of healing become the new CLW wand of this edition?

3. Should (or do) 1st level scrolls or other common magical items share the same availability as potions of healing?

 

[Tormyr]

1. I have them easily available for purchase.
2. I am running a 3.5 AP conversion and have kept the healing wands. The wand of healing word behaves almost exactly like a wand of magic missile. It generally doesn't do enough healing to help during combat, but it is used to keep PCs from dying. If I was not running a converted 3.5 AP, I would not have several of the magic items I am including (basically I am converting everything over, so it is a high magic campaign).
3. Purchasing magic items in general is up to the DM. The potion of healing is available in the equipment section of the PHB. I would think anything in that section would be readily available. Scrolls are up to you.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

1. Rarity is a relative measure. Just because something is "common" does not mean that it's available in every town. You're still looking at something worth a pound of gold, and yet which is virtually worthless to anyone other than an adventurer. Not every economy can support that.

2. They will still be more fragile, and probably heavier. I'm not sure what they've listed as the weight of a single potion, but surely fifty of them weigh more than a wand.

3. If a potion and a scroll are both "common", then they should be roughly as common as each other. That's not to say they must have identical availability, but they'll both be more common than something which is "uncommon".

 

[Wrathamon]

Common doesnt mean towns all have unlimited supply of potions laying around. If a town has a place that can sell a potion they might only have a handful available to purchase.

 

[Nebulous]

Like others said, small towns likely won't have even common magic items like healing potions. I had a healing basin in a temple of a small town, but when the PCs asked if they could scoop water out and take it, i said it only heals within the confines of the temple.

 

[aramis erak]

Let's examine that "common" rarity from the other direction...

Healing Potions can be crafted by an alchemist rather than a spellcaster. To do so, he's taking 10 days of labor. A medieval economy was around 90% farmers; of the rest, over half were farming support staff (Farriers, smiths, millers, bakers, low level clergy). So in a village of 200 (a decent sized village - 30-40 families), you might find 10 people who aren't farmers, smiths, farriers, clergy, millers, or bakers. And they're probably 2-3 families, one of whom includes the headman, and one's the Lord's Reeve & family... so maybe one alchemist and his son. making 2 potions per 10 days, netting 50gp per 10 days betwixt them both. or about 2.5gp each...

 

[Riley37]

The basic rules list a standard price for healing potion: 50 GP.
They also list a standard price for full plate armor.
That doesn't necessarily mean you can buy full plate armor at a drive-through convenience store...

But I imagine that any sufficiently wealthy household would keep a healing potion in storage, in case of emergency, in case there isn't time to get a doctor or cleric to someone injured in an accident. It's one of those technologies which make any D&D setting substantially different from historical settings.

 

[delericho]

1. does this imply that potions of healing should be widely made available for pcs to purchase?

No. It's up to the DM whether they're available or not.

However, unless there is a good reason to do otherwise, I'd generally recommend allowing PCs easy access to such things.

2. If so; do potions of healing become the new CLW wand of this edition?

Perhaps. Can't say I ever really had a problem with the CLW wand in 3.5e.

3. Should (or do) 1st level scrolls or other common magical items share the same availability as potions of healing?

Again, it's up to you. Here, I would tend to say, "no", but largely because of the effect such things had on 3.5e. It's not yet clear whether 5e has the same issue, of course.

 

[ExploderWizard]

I have the potions available for sale. Quantities available depends on the size of the population center. A village might have a handful available and it could take a few weeks to re-stock. Larger towns & cities would have more.

 

[DEFCON 1]

2. If so; do potions of healing become the new CLW wand of this edition?

No, because the Wand of CLW gave you upwards of 50 healing uses for a single purchase or craft. So they were the method for "regain all your HP after a fight" of 3E, which was replaced by spending Healing Surges in 4E, and regaining all your HP with a long rest in 5E.

Potions of Healing are one-shot items, so they are not effective for the complete regaining of hit points. They are a stop-gap to dying, nothing more.