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View Full Version : Please help my healer [3.5]



MiniMoose
2010-05-12, 11:12 PM
Hey, me and some friends are starting a 3.5 campaign soon, and I have chosen to focus on healing. Here are my (tentative) plans:

-Class: Favored Soul (CD)
-Race: Catfolk (RotW)
-Primary Weapons: Clawed Bracers (Arms and Equipment)
-Variants: Recharge

The general idea of this character is to keep everyone alive during battle, and on turns I dont need to keep people up to attack with Clawed Bracers (according to Arms and Equipment guide you can cast spells as normal with clawed bracers on, so I am planning on dual wielding.)

I'm pretty set on Favored Soul, unless someone can talk me out of it, but I'm not so sure about Catfolk. The stat boosts are nice, as is the 40ft land speed. However, im not sure if this is enough to take the +1 LA. Any suggestions?

Flickerdart
2010-05-12, 11:15 PM
Clerics are better healers since they don't need to waste Spells Known on Cure spells. Artificers can craft Wands of Vigor and CLW. Warlocks/Rogues can UMD said wands. Binders can grant Fast Healing. These are all better ways than wasting valuable combat actions.

Temotei
2010-05-12, 11:27 PM
Level adjustment for casters is awful unless it's really, really, really justified. Careful with that. If your group isn't optimized and it fits what you want to play though, go for it.

I'm agreeing with Flickerdart. The favored soul is one of the worst options for healing you can choose when there's so many others out there.

holywhippet
2010-05-12, 11:33 PM
I don't agree exactly. Favoured souls have less spells known, but more spell castings per day. A good or neutral cleric can convert any of their spells into equivalent cure spells, but they have less such spells to convert. If your party gets hurt a lot those extra spells might make a real difference.

On the flipside, as soon as you can buy or craft of a wand of CLW it provides a reasonable backup to actually casting the spells yourself.

Temotei
2010-05-12, 11:36 PM
I don't agree exactly. Favoured souls have less spells known, but more spell castings per day. A good or neutral cleric can convert any of their spells into equivalent cure spells, but they have less such spells to convert. If your party gets hurt a lot those extra spells might make a real difference.

On the flipside, as soon as you can buy or craft of a wand of CLW it provides a reasonable backup to actually casting the spells yourself.


Variants: Recharge

Answered. :smallamused:

MiniMoose
2010-05-12, 11:46 PM
So the general feeling im getting is that people say cleric's are better because they have more spells available. However, I'm mostly planning on only using spells for healing, and maybe a little buffing. I will be the party healer (only divine spellcaster actually) but that doesnt mean I will be only healing. Thus, the spells aren't as important and I think I like Favored Soul more (better saves, free weapon focus, energy resis)

Also, I think I may go for a Painted Elf. Bonus to dex, and -2 to int which is my dump stat anyway.

Side(ish) question, when applying templates how does CR adjustment interact with lvl adjustment? If I wanted to make my elf shadow (manual of the plains) it says it is +1 CR. Does that also mean +1 ECL?

Akal Saris
2010-05-12, 11:46 PM
Well, if healing is what you want to do, then the cleric is the best at it, though the Healer class is actually pretty solid too, especially if you give the spells from Spell Compendium that are recommended. Favored Soul will work though, if you have your heart set on it.

Catfolk is pretty weak, as others have said.

Good healing feats for a ridiculously dedicated healer:
Augment Healing (CD): Heal +2 HP/Spell level with healing spells. Nifty for low level healers, mediocre for mid-level, and bad for high level.

Magic of the Land (RotW): Basically can add a +2HP/Spell Level kicker to any spell you cast on an ally - so you can cast Remove Paralysis and also throw in a 4HP heal, and just add +2HP to every cure spell you cast. Requires Knowledge (Nature) as a class skill, so could be difficult for a Favored Soul to get.

However Magic of the Land is only usable in a natural setting. You can get around this if a druid or ranger in your party can cast Acorn of Far Travel for you. http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/fw/20040710a

Spontaneous Healer (CD): Take a feat to do what clerics do for free and spontaneously cast cure spells. You can also get the same benefit from 5 levels in the combat medic prestige class.

Mastery of Day and Night (Player's Guide to Eberron) Req: Knowledge(the Planes) 2 , Spellcraft 6, Maximize Spell, membership in manifest spellshapers. Spontaneously Maximize any Cure or Inflict spell you cast with no spell level increase adjustment.

Touch of Healing (CC): A reserve feat that lets you heal somebody to half health without spending spell slots as long as you have a 2nd level healing spell prepared. You might take it if you don't have ready access to wands of cure light wounds.

Good healing spells for the Favored Soul to pick:
Cure Minor Wounds
Cure Light Wounds OR Faith Healing: If your whole party worships your deity, Faith Healing is CLW, only maximized: so 9 HP/spell.
Lesser Vigor (Spell Compendium Lvl 1): This is out of combat healing, but it heals 13/cast at max level. Very efficient.
Close Wounds (Spell Compendium Lvl 2): This is great in-combat healing. It's 1d4+CL as an immediate action (like Featherfall), so you can cast it as soon as the fighter is about to go unconscious, etc.
Heal: This should be a no-brainer :P



Useful healing items:

Wand of Faith Healing (Spell Compendium)
Wand of Lesser Vigor
Wand of Cure Light Wounds: the Old Standby for healers everywhere.

Amulet of Retributive Healing (MIC): 3/day heal yourself for as much as you healed an ally. Helps spread the healing around, especially if somebody casts Shield Other on you. Very cheap at 2,000gp.

Armband of Maximized Healing (MIC): 3/day your next healing spell of 6th level or lower is maximized. Very cheap for the effect. This can make in-combat healing worthwhile for another level or two.

Circlet of Solace (MIC): 3/day your next healing spell also grants +5 to various saving throws for 1 minute. A great effect, and one that even works with very low level spells like cure light wounds.

Healing Belt (MIC): Best healing per gp ratio in the game. 750gp, and a +2 to your healing checks to boot.

Karma Beads (DMG): Good for increased CL on any divine healer

For a Favored Soul or Healer, these items are also good:
Domain Icon (item, FoE) - 10k - can swap a spell slot for a domain spell from your deity 3 x day.

Raiment of the Four (MIC 204): This item set gives some additional versatility by allowing you to swap spell slots to cast specific spells granted by the items.
Gloves of the Starry Sky: swap 3/day for magic missile
Goggles of the Golden Sun: swap 3/day for Fireball at set DC 14
Periapt of the Sullen Sea: swap 2/day for freedom of movement
Belt of the Wide Earth: swap 2/day for teleport

Domain Staff (Complete Champion): A Domain Staff holds all of the spells from a single cleric domain such as War or Healing, and you can sacrifice some of your own spell slots to cast spells from the staff at the same level. Though you can only use one domain staff per day and each spell from it can only be cast once per day, at higher levels this gives your character a lot of versatility for 36,000 gp.

Domain Staves worth noting:
War: This one I like a lot. It has some crowd control (blind, stun, blade barrier), some damage (flame strike, spiritual weapon), a good buff (magic vestment), and of course divine power, which lets you pretend you're a cleric for a little while.

CC says that other staffs are easy enough to come by. Here's some decent domains to consider:

Balance (SpC): Very Healer-esque, one duplicated spell but a lot of crowd control and buffing.

Charm (SpC): Adds all of the utility of charm spells, plus a single buff (Good Hope).

Force (SpC): Adds a lot of battlefield control spells to your list.

Sloth (SpC): You laugh, but it comes with a nice array of debuffs and mobility enhancers.

Liberation (SpC): A lot of overlap, but it does get you Dispel Magic, Greater and a couple of decent buffs.

Trickery: Just a lot of powerful spells here.

Akal Saris
2010-05-12, 11:48 PM
So the general feeling im getting is that people say cleric's are better because they have more spells available. However, I'm mostly planning on only using spells for healing, and maybe a little buffing. I will be the party healer (only divine spellcaster actually) but that doesnt mean I will be only healing. Thus, the spells aren't as important and I think I like Favored Soul more (better saves, free weapon focus, energy resis)

Also, I think I may go for a Painted Elf. Bonus to dex, and -2 to int which is my dump stat anyway.

Side(ish) question, when applying templates how does CR adjustment interact with lvl adjustment? If I wanted to make my elf shadow (manual of the plains) it says it is +1 CR. Does that also mean +1 ECL?

CR and LA don't work together, since CR is only a tool for DMs to use for monsters, while LA is for PCs. So if it says +1 CR and has no LA, you can't use it without special permission from your DM to make it count as +1 or +2 LA.