Effects of Free Healing on a 3.5 Game?

[wayfare]

I'm designing a class with a friend that seems somewhat cool but pretty gamebreaking. The class uses mortality as a tie to both the positive and negative energy planes. Becasue the character is tied to life and death energy, he can deliver a touch attack inflicting positive or negativ energy damage.

Or course, that means free healing as well.

At level 1 this effect cures/inflicts 1d6 + Charisma damage, and increases by 1d6 at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter.

Is this game breaking, or does it simply extend the adventurers work day?

[Ernir]

You will start all encounters at full HP.

That's... pretty much it.

Free/cheap healing isn't that hard to come by in D&D. Usually requires more than just taking levels in a single class (usually a level + a feat or something like that), but it's hardly gamebreaking when added to the plethora of options already out there.

[dsmiles]

Is this game breaking, or does it simply extend the adventurers work day?Really, it won't extend the work day by that much, considering that the work day still pretty much ends when the caster runs out of spells. It doesn't seem all that game breaking to me. 6d6 at 20th isn't really that much.

[grimbold]

at first it might be a bit OP, early levels will be easier, you may want up enemies LA
otherwise it should work

[Greenish]

Infinite free out of combat healing doesn't the game much at all, beyond the very lowest of levels, where it allows for a few more encounters without risking TPK (though at the very low levels, most encounters carry a risk of TPK).

[molten_dragon]

All it means is that they will start every combat with full health. 90% of the time this is the case anyway, so I don't see how it's going to change much. Plus it's already possible to get unlimited healing (or enough healing as to be practically unlimited) anyway.

[Ernir]

at first it might be a bit OP, early levels will be easier, you may want up enemies LA
otherwise it should work

That's a good point...

Just delaying the ability to the point where the party has scrounged up a wand of Lesser Vigor/Cure Light Wounds/Healing Belts for everyone should make it a lot less "special".

[Last Laugh]

I'm designing a class with a friend that seems somewhat cool but pretty gamebreaking. The class uses mortality as a tie to both the positive and negative energy planes. Becasue the character is tied to life and death energy, he can deliver a touch attack inflicting positive or negativ energy damage.

Or course, that means free healing as well.

At level 1 this effect cures/inflicts 1d6 + Charisma damage, and increases by 1d6 at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter.

Is this game breaking, or does it simply extend the adventurers work day?

Yep, I'm gonna have to agree with everyone else.

Most parties should pick up a inexpensive source of out-of-combat healing really early in their careers. (my 4th lvl warforged managed to get a wand of repair light damage as a quest reward =D)

And he doesn't even heal a terribly large amount with it (or hurt a terribly large amount) Healing/hurting 1d6+4 at level 1 with a touch attack will be interesting, he will have a very reliable way to deal nice damage. Even at level 4 it won't be that great (2d6+4=11 health/damage. Multiple uses to rack up a kill that's for sure, and multiple uses to heal an ally to half.)

[wayfare]

Thanks for the input, everyone!

I'm thinking of restricting the ability to once/round, but allowing it to stack with multiple attacks.

[Greenish]

Thanks for the input, everyone!

I'm thinking of restricting the ability to once/round, but allowing it to stack with multiple attacks.Wait, you mean it's not a standard action? :smallconfused:

[MammonAzrael]

Indeed, the unlimited healing is pretty...not game breaking. Ever.

But what kinda action is it? The only thing is for in-combat healing. Which, btw, in combat healing as it stands now, sucks. So making it better wouldn't me a bad thing.

[Jack_Simth]

Wait, you mean it's not a standard action? :smallconfused:
Eh, per-round expected damage output at 1st will be roughly on par with what the greatsword-wielding Fighter. At higher levels, the Fighter wins in that regard. Not really a big deal.


I'm designing a class with a friend that seems somewhat cool but pretty gamebreaking. The class uses mortality as a tie to both the positive and negative energy planes. Becasue the character is tied to life and death energy, he can deliver a touch attack inflicting positive or negativ energy damage.

Or course, that means free healing as well.

At level 1 this effect cures/inflicts 1d6 + Charisma damage, and increases by 1d6 at 4th level and every 4 levels thereafter.

Is this game breaking, or does it simply extend the adventurers work day?
About all it does is shift game balance slightly towards those with unlimited use abilities (Fighter, Rogue, Warlock, et cetera), but even then it's not much - you can go through more low-CR encounters in a day. But that's really all it does.

[wayfare]

I think it would be a standard action that can be part of a full action -- i think complete arcane would consider it a "weapon-like spell."