Healing in a Psionic campaign.

[IdleMuse]

A bit of background first.

I'm currently playing in a psionics-heavy campaign, somewhere between Mortal Engines and Dark Sun in flavour, very Ian Irvine if you know Geomancer. There is no arcane or divine magic on the planet, only psionics. I'm in a lvl5 party with...

- A wilder with status-inflicting powers.
- A Psionic Bard (A Thoughtsinger homebrew from somewhere, only just joined, doesn't have any healing powers).
- A full Monk with poor stats and awful feat selection.
- A pretty standard TWF Rogue.
- A Ranger/Divine Mind (Me. Given the obvious lack of optimisation in the group, I decided to play something a little bit rubbish. Optimised to tanking, huge armour, the Iron Guard's Glare stance from ToB, massive intimidate optimisation, aiming for Deepwarden).

We're all from the Underdark of the world, and are currently on a 'quest' of sorts to find the Surface, basically a fairly long dungeoncrawl. And we're suffering fairly massively. Lots of monsters with high AC, DR, contructs or elementals (so our main DPS is neutered). So far we've mostly survived on the back of Iron Guard's Glare and inflicting status effect on foes, but have taken a fair amount of damage in the meantime.

And we're finidng it incredibly difficult to heal up. Without any potions, wands of CLW, or clerics, it seems that healing damage is mostly about making high heal checks (which we can more or less do), and waiting a while. Now, this is all well and good in the context of a gritty campaign, but I'm wondering if there's simply something we are missing. Should we be buying Dorjes of Body Adjustment? Have we simply suffered for not having a Psion in the party? Are high-psionics games supposed to make extensive use of pre-battle Vigor?

So far a bit of GM fiat has had us run into scouting parties with Ardents who spam Touch of Health at several points.

tl;dr How do you heal in a No-Magic High-Psionics game?

[Jack_Simth]

You learn Vigor (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/vigor.htm) to cover the drawbacks from Empathic Transfer (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/empathicTransfer.htm), usually. Or hand everyone powerstones (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/powerStones.htm), psionic tattoos (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/psionicTattoos.htm), or Dorjes (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/dorjes.htm) (as appropriate to what they can use, due to class or ranks in Use Psionic Device) of Body Adjustment (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/bodyAdjustment.htm) or True Metabolism (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/trueMetabolism.htm).

You may need to find someone with Psychic Chirurgery (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/psychicChirurgery.htm) or Psychic Reformation (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/psychicReformation.htm) to avoid waiting for level-up ... but I somehow suspect that your DM will cooperate on that.

[IdleMuse]

You learn Vigor (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/vigor.htm) to cover the drawbacks from Empathic Transfer (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/empathicTransfer.htm), usually. Or hand everyone powerstones (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/powerStones.htm), psionic tattoos (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/psionicTattoos.htm), or Dorjes (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/items/dorjes.htm) (as appropriate to what they can use, due to class or ranks in Use Psionic Device) of Body Adjustment (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/bodyAdjustment.htm) or True Metabolism (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/trueMetabolism.htm).

You may need to find someone with Psychic Chirurgery (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/psychicChirurgery.htm) or Psychic Reformation (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/powers/psychicReformation.htm) to avoid waiting for level-up ... but I somehow suspect that your DM will cooperate on that.

Yeah, he's not DMed Psionics before so he's as concerned about it as we are, and this post is mostly on his behalf. I suspect some dorjes are on the horizon, given we're essentially in caves of psionic crystal.

[Fouredged Sword]

If you want to have a quick and dirty solution, there is a power is Complete Psionic that is called touch of health. It is a level 1 power that heals two HP per PP used. Your DM could slip in a power stone of that and let any of the psionic characters borrow the power to heal at night, burning through any leftover power points from the day. Remember that you can take three rounds and some checks to use a power in a powerstone with your own power points.

All you need is a 25gp power stone to pass around.

Anyone who wants to cast it better can pick up the expanded knowledge feat to get it off one of the ardent mantles.

[PId6]

Just get a wand of CLW or two. You're a ranger, so you can use them just fine. That should solve any healing problems in the group.

[Morph Bark]

Just get a wand of CLW or two. You're a ranger, so you can use them just fine. That should solve any healing problems in the group.

How can those exist though, if there is no divine or arcane magic? :smallconfused:

On another note, is wild psionic power typically drill-shaped in that campaign?

[Draz74]

Sounds like this is one party that would greatly benefit from a character taking the Draconic Aura (Vigor) feat (Dragon Magic). And buying a bunch of Healing Belts (MIC).

[Starbuck_II]

How can those exist though, if there is no divine or arcane magic? :smallconfused:

On another note, is wild psionic power typically drill-shaped in that campaign?

An Erudite made them. Question not the Spell to power Erudite: he just does. :smallbiggrin:

[PId6]

How can those exist though, if there is no divine or arcane magic? :smallconfused:
Whoops, missed that part. :smallredface:

Hmm, if it's truly psionics-only, I'd houserule in Psionic Cure Wounds or something of that nature, analogous to Psionic Repair Damage. Alternatively, have someone take three levels of Sangehirn (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040625c). That would require a bit higher level though.

[Quirinus_Obsidian]

You need Sangehirn (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040625c). Basically it's a Psionic PrC that is based on healing.

Edit: Psi-ninja'ed

[Optimystik]

1) Unless he changed it in some way, Thoughtsinger (http://dsp-d20-srd.wikidot.com/thoughtsinger) isn't homebrew - it's third-party.

2) Your best bet is a powerstone/dorje, like others have said. The rest of you either just aren't good enough manifesters (no offense intended) to be Sangehirns or take mantles, or you give up too much to do so (in the Wilder and Thoughtsinger's case.)

[tyckspoon]

Have one of you take Leadership when you hit 6th and use it to make friends with a Worldthought Medic? It's the equivalent of using Leadership to get a Healer to follow you around when you realize your party of Barbarians has no way to patch themselves up, although somewhat more useful in other applications. It's the same source as Thoughtsinger, so it should be permitted.

[Lycanthromancer]

ToB is obviously allowed, so ask your DM to allow you to retrain (or retcon) your ranger level(s) to crusader, instead. See if you can swap out one of your schools for Setting Sun for TWF-type maneuvers. Take Crusader's Strike and Martial Spirit. Now you won't have to worry much about it anymore.

[Optimystik]

It's the same source as Thoughtsinger, so it should be permitted.

Not necessarily - WTM is a Society Mind variant, just like Erudite is a Psion variant. Allowing DSP does not guarantee access to a medic.

However, if they are allowed then the OP is set, since a WTM never actually has to go with the party. He can chill in his living room and eat cheetos while keeping the party healed, even if they go to another plane.

[Lhurgyof]

Healing is rare in psionics for a reason, it doesn't fit the flavor of it at all.
It's like the divine mind... Dx

[Jack_Simth]

Not necessarily - WTM is a Society Mind variant, just like Erudite is a Psion variant. Allowing DSP does not guarantee access to a medic.

However, if they are allowed then the OP is set, since a WTM never actually has to go with the party. He can chill in his living room and eat cheetos while keeping the party healed
At 13th, if they leave him back at camp, or 16th for further away.

, even if they go to another plane.Once he hits 19th level, sure.

They're in a level 5 party.

[IdleMuse]

Retraining is generally disallowed by the DM, except in the case of the odd feat here or there, and anyway, I only have ToB stuff as a product of the requisite feats, the base classes are more or less no-goes for setting reasons. Leadership to get a healer buddy might work quite well (good in a fluff sense also), although given our current geographical position, finding a cohort would probably be more or less impossible.

DM has previous indicated that he might houserule a Psionic Cure Light Wounds power, also Touch of Health is more or less the same thing tbh. I'm considering trying to persuade our Wilder to take Expanded Knowledge for it next level :smalltongue:

Regards homebrew/thirdparty stuff, the only reason he's allowed it is because our DM pretty much said that Psionic versions of nonprimary casters (Paladin/Ranger/Bard, plus any PrC it makes sense for) could exist, and so that player went out and actually found a Psionic Bard. I didn't know it was third-party, never seen anything from Dreamscarred Press before, and the version he presented to us, while identical, was some random pdf, not that official SRD site.

My Ranger levels are mostly to qualify for Deepwarden, and also for fluff (FA: Aberrations, specifically. Although we don't know it, we're in the middle of a MindFlayer-Aboleth war).

[Optimystik]

Once he hits 19th level, sure.

They're in a level 5 party.

They won't be doing much planar travel at level 5 either. Obviously I was referring to later.


DM has previous indicated that he might houserule a Psionic Cure Light Wounds power, also Touch of Health is more or less the same thing tbh. I'm considering trying to persuade our Wilder to take Expanded Knowledge for it next level :smalltongue:

Ick. That power is not worth a feat. Just hold out until you can get a dorje of it, it sounds like your DM is trying to help you along anyways.