Potions of healing are likely the single most consumable items in D&D 5e. Potions of healing are the magical items or magic potions that heal the wounds of creatures who drink them during the game.
These potions are one of the most impactful and usable magical items in the game because of their ability to heal any wounded creature during the game.
New or some D&D players often find it difficult to determine the cost of healing potions. So, no need to get confused since this article will help you to know how much should potions of healing price in the game.
How Much Should Potions of Healing Cost in D&D 5E?
A potion of healing is a red fluid drink in a vial. A creature or character regains 2d4+2 hit points after drinking a magical potion of healing in the game.
According to the Player’s Handbook (PHB), potions of healing costs 50gp in D&D 5e. Still, it does not list the price of other potions of healing, such as a potion of greater healing, a potion of superior healing, and a potion of supreme healing.
So, we can refer to Xanathar’s Guide to Everything (XGtE) for determining the cost of other healing potions in the game. According to page 130 of XGtE, here are the time and cost of different types of potions of healing in the game:
| Potion | Crafting time (in days) | Rarity | Cost (in gp) | Level required | Regained hit points |
| Potion of healing | 1 | Common | 50 | 3 | 2d4 + 2 |
| Potion of Greater healing | 7 | Uncommon | 100 | 3 | 4d4 + 4 |
| Potion of Superior healing | 21 | Rare | 1,00 | 6 | 8d4 + 8 |
| Potion of Supreme healing | 28 | Very Rare | 10,000 | 11 | 10d4 + 20 |
According to the above table, crafting time means a standard healing potion will require one day of work to brew and 50 gp worth of materials.
Similarly, if you want to create the potion of supreme healing, you need 28 days of work to brew the potion, be at level 11, and should have 10,000 gp worth of materials.
Another method is to take a flask of any quantity and material that can at least hold 200mL of liquid.
- First, you need distilled water, a gemstone worth 25 or 50 gp (grounded into a fine powder).
- Now, mix the two components and cast “Cure wounds” on the mixed components to make the potion of healing. The whole process should take one day if you are making a standard potion of healing, or the process may take more days depending on the rarity of the healing potion.
- The process of crafting the potion of healing may vary because there is no specific recipe mentioned in the rule books. So, it is up to the players and DM to decide the time and process required to create the potions of healing in 5e.
So far, we have discussed the cost and process of crafting different kinds of potions of healing in D&D 5e. Let us now answer some more queries related to potions of healing.
FAQs
Are Common Potions of Healing Considered Magic Items?
According to the Dungeon Master’s Guide, the standard potion of healing is a consumable magic item. When a wounded character drinks the red healing potion, it regains 2d4+2 hp (hit points) in the game.
All the potions of healing appear explicitly as the magic items in the magic items chapter of the DMG (Dungeon Master’s Guide).
A standard or common potion of healing, described in the equipment section of the Player’s Handbook (PHB): A character who drinks the magical red fluid in this vial regains 2d4+2 hp (hit points).
According to Jeremy Crawford (lead rules designer of D&D 5e), a potion of healing is a magical item, as stated in its description on page 153 of the Player’s Handbook (PHB).
Can an Unconscious Person Drink a Potion of Healing?
Yes, unconscious characters can drink a potion of healing given by another player. According to the rules specified in Sage Advice Compendium (SAC), you can administer a potion of healing to someone else as an action (DMG, page 139).
So, it is allowable to house-rule this. If you decide to do so, make sure your players and DM know that you are allowing players to administer a potion of healing to unconscious players in the game. So they know about it and do not get confused or misguided while playing the game.
Can an Unconscious PC or NPC Reject a Potion of Healing?
No, any Playing character (PC) or NPC cannot choose to abstain from the effects of a potion of healing because they have no choice but to reject the potion or its consequences.
If you have a choice about potion effects, the potion of poison would be useless to any player in the game. The potion of poison looks, smells, and tastes similar to a potion of healing and causes 3d6 poison damage to the person who drinks it.
If any player chooses to abstain from potion effects, the player can drink the potion of poison, thinking it is a potion of healing, and then opt out of the consequences of the poison caused by the potion.
Another noteworthy thing is that an unconscious character cannot choose to abstain from taking a potion of healing.
Can You Drink Part of a Potion?
No, you cannot drink part of a potion because you cannot drink enough to enjoy any of its effects without automatically drinking the whole drink.
According to the rules, potion usage is an all-or-nothing proposition. To enjoy the benefit of the potion of healing, you must drink the whole potion to heal your wounds.
Quaffing a potion takes no time (according to rules). So, if you put the vial to your lips, the potion will suddenly go inside you, without any chance of drinking only a part of it.
