Easy GM Fix for Healing Word!

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Many dungeon masters for D&D 5e get frustrated with Healing Word cast repeatedly by the cleric or bard in the group. While it may seem this is an easy button to cheat death -- okay, yes, it is. HOWEVER, there is a quick and easy solution that any game master can use to fix the issue. In this video, we discuss how GMs can fix healing word in their games. Brought to you by the evil Barbarian, whose advice has helped DMs around the world murderize their dear players' precious characters.

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#dnd #dnd5e #dungeonsanddragons #dungeonmaster #gamemaster #shorts

[Tristan_Shuler]

I’ll see your “counterspell a healing word” and raise you to “counterspell a revivify.”

[RIVERSRPGChannel]

Yes why wouldn’t the bad guys have a cleric?
I like these devious plans

[JadeyCatgirl]

Honestly, the opposing side using healing magic is a really good idea, and something that we should see more often.

[crimsondragon]

DMs turning your shenanigans against you is wonderful.
My DM let my artificer use _Mending_ on objects that weren’t necessarily once the same object. Guess who found the MacGuffin mended to the floor?

[GreycatRademenes]

I see a major issue with the 'Enemy also uses Healing word' option.
First of all, this means enemies don't instantly die when they hit 0, which is something you establish early on.
Secondly the DM now has to roll Death Saves and keep track of them for every Goblin, Kobold or Orc the players fight.
Personally I only give Death Saves to plot relevant npcs and companions.

[hellocentral]

Also for your consideration: Have an encounter with some kind of terrain trick to make getting to the player harder. use aerial monsters like gargoyles, teleport the PC away, anything to get them away from their friends. Then have the bad guys pull a "surrender or your ally falls" speech, and see what happens.

[TonyCrenshawsLatte]

"You just need to be as cheesy as your players." Ah, such wisdom from Barbarian. I love that guy.

[alberthord]

Remember that the Barbarian always gives bad advice (even when it sounds reasonable). Counterspelling healing is how you know you are a bad person. (Evil DM)

[callmepopyallfather]

Yep, that's brilliant. It makes perfect sense that a pack of dire wolves would have a handy cleric nearby. And definitely makes sense for sharks to cast counter-spell. Of course the players will have readily available access to legendary actions and resistances too.... right?
Or maybe, and this is just an idea, the DM can present a challenge, and the party can deal with it as they see fit, without the DM meta-countering them?

[Aether_Veilborne]

Let the enemies use Chill Touch when an player is close to or are down. They can't gain hit points to get back up till the caster's next turn.

Then if a player still tries to heal them with Healing Word before the effect ends, just spout off a bedroom performance joke.

[vadenummela]

So if you feel bad, just make someone else feel equally bad.

[lesouth]

My favorite thing I've done: we had a cleric, druid, and bard who all were spamming healing word while the ranger was using cure wounds, and they were so cocky, and then all the enemy mages were using healing word and counterspell

[thesong]

People joking about counterspelling revivify, and i'm just thinking "who the heck is casting revivify *during combat*?
During combat you prevent it being needed in the first place, and if someone does die going through the process that is getting out all those diamonds and casting that dramatic spell is a thing you do post-combat.

[StayinFoxy]

Another strategy is to give the big enemy their fighting an AoE field around them that negates magical healing. Of course, then a character with the crusher feat or one with a forced movement spell could move the enemy away from the downed character, but y’know what? That’s still action economy, 😎. They couldn’t instantly rely on healing word to bail their friend out, which possibly raises the stakes a bit, depending on if the downed character failed/crit failed their death save.

[tabletopgamingwithwolfphototec]

💕 Luke is going to love pathfinder 2nd editions Dying & wounded system.

It creates a ticking clock of auto death for players that keep dropping and popping back up off of healing.

[Thevolt]

I just started giving them levels of exhaustion when they're reduced to zero HP. They were totally into the idea and, within a couple sessions the cheese factor went way down and actual strategy with solid tactics went way up.

[neilmacstar]

Or perhaps instead of doing something that perpetuates the problem in a way that only further upsets players and GM instead do something like implementing rules to going down. Such as applying 1 or more points of exhaustion when players go down. That way players start trying to avoid going down rather than just popping back up.

[douglaslewandowski]

You are great! Please keep up the laughter.

[Mr_GoR_]

Depending on the context, it is not unreasonable for some enemy groups to include healers, but rolling saves for EVERYTHING slows down the game, so here's a couple simple house rules I came up with: Enemies don't get saves. In the absence of a healer, once an enemy is down, they're down (unless the PCs decide to use nonlethal damage). A downed hostile has 3 rounds to be brought back by an enemy healer before they die.

[konor]

I had no greater joy in dnd as a Dm than watching the faces of my pc's grow dark in the moment that my bbeg subtle counterspelled a 9th level mass heal xD An epoc moment and a bbeg that they will remember forever...