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Cure Light Wounds
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Deadlord
Grandstanding Collector
Posts: 5885
Joined: Jun 30, 2003
Last Visit: Jul 31, 2026
Location: Cow Hampshire, US
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2026 5:19 pm
Wasap mah posse! Another question for the brain trust. I have always hated the cure spell system clerics use, particularly the nomenclature. Cure light wounds heals a shaving cut for a 10th level fighter but can literally restore ALL HP for a 1st. I use spell points, so instead of this system I implemented one cure spell (1st level) and made it scalable based on the desires of the cleric. Example: a 7th level cleric can cast the spell, and decide how many dice to use, up to his level. Does anyone else use a custom curing system? If so, what is it?
If you hit a Rowsdower, you get to keep it.
jamesmishler
Prolific Collector
Posts: 493
Joined: May 12, 2005
Last Visit: Aug 02, 2026
Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2026 11:04 pm
I always liked the system in
Arduin Grimoire Volume III: The Runes of Doom
.
The 1st level
heal lesser wounds
spell cures 25% of the target's maximum hit points; 2nd level
heal serious wounds
cures 50%; 3rd level
heal grievous wounds
cures 60%; and 4th level
heal critical wounds
cures 100%.
A character with 10 hit points would get back 3 from HLW, 5 from HSW, 8 from HGW, and 10 from HCW.
A character with 60 hit points would get back 15 from HLW, 30 from HSW, 45 from HGW, and 60 from HCW.
James Mishler
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Deadlord
Grandstanding Collector
Posts: 5885
Joined: Jun 30, 2003
Last Visit: Jul 31, 2026
Location: Cow Hampshire, US
Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2026 7:07 pm
You sold me on it. I'll start using Arduin's; makes perfect sense.
If you hit a Rowsdower, you get to keep it.
grodog
Grandstanding Collector
Posts: 5923
Joined: Nov 16, 2002
Last Visit: Jul 31, 2026
Location: Wichita, KS, USA
Posted: Sat Mar 14, 2026 6:09 pm
Some other variants I’ve heard used over the years:
- I’ve reduced the CSW to 3rd level, and bumped Cure Disease to 4th (no changes in die rolls though)
- add +1/level of caster above the minimum for the spell to all curing spells: a 9th cleric casts CLW at +8, and CSW at +2; other variants I’ve heard let you add that to the total max within the spell (so you can max out more easily, but don’t exceed the max)
- I think that
2e
and/or
3e
allows clerics to turn non-healing spells into cure spells, and/or to substitute higher-level spells as lower-level cure spells, or something like that too
Allan.
Allan Grohe (
grodog@gmail.com
)
Greyhawk, grodog Style
Editor and Project Manager, Black Blade Publishing
https://www.facebook.com/BlackBladePublishing/
Deadlord
Grandstanding Collector
Posts: 5885
Joined: Jun 30, 2003
Last Visit: Jul 31, 2026
Location: Cow Hampshire, US
Posted: Tue Mar 17, 2026 6:50 pm
I do spell points for clerics as well. Took a long time to work out what seems to be a balanced system. I think you're right about
3e
using on-the-spot healing, I don't remember seeing it in
2E
.
If you hit a Rowsdower, you get to keep it.
Deadlord
Grandstanding Collector
Posts: 5885
Joined: Jun 30, 2003
Last Visit: Jul 31, 2026
Location: Cow Hampshire, US
Posted: Wed Mar 18, 2026 12:27 am
What a coincidence. On page 22 of the Princeton 3rd Annual D&D Convention book is a table for a spell point system that makes a lot of sense. It's based on SP gained from your INT score, and the cost of a spell by level goes down as you level up. So at L12 you could cast 18 first level spells at 1pt. each, or 3 6th level spells at 6 points each. They're up to PrinceCon 49 this spring, so I believe this was in 1980. I'm going to take a look at it and maybe tweak it a bit.
If you hit a Rowsdower, you get to keep it.
SimperingToad
Verbose Collector
Posts: 1382
Joined: Nov 03, 2008
Last Visit: Apr 07, 2026
Location: My Pad
Posted: Sun Mar 22, 2026 3:21 pm
I've been tossing around the idea of the normal healing of wounds by the number currently lost rather than 1/day of rest because of the strangeness. I saw a similar idea many years ago on PlanetAD&D (pre-2000), but never tried it.
Current Number in Wounds - Number gained per day of Rest
1-10 - 1hp
11-20 - 2hp
21-30 - 3hp
31-40 - 4hp
etc.
The thought occurs to try a similar thing for curing wounds. Maybe CLW does 3 days of rest, CSW as 6 days, CCW as nine. Or something in that vein.
As a side note, I have grown to hate the term of 'curing' wounds. Wounds are not cured, they are healed.
Art of dragons doing what dragons do. Site of a friend.
Dragonstuff
ExTSR
Verbose Collector
Acaeum Donor
Valuation Board
Posts: 1945
Joined: May 01, 2004
Last Visit: Aug 03, 2026
Location: Almost Lake Geneva, WI
Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2026 1:31 pm
I base it on total HP.
Gain 10% of them per day of rest. (Round down of course.)
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