Is the Stigmata Feat from BoED Worth Getting?

[TheRinni]

Is it? I'm thinking about taking it as a support/buffer/healer in an upcoming campaign. Honestly, at first glace, it seem rather under powered.


Benefit: You can heal the wounds and ailments of others using your own life energy. When you activate this ability, as a free action, you immediately take at least 2 points of temporary Constitution damage. You can take as many points of Constitution damage as you wish, as long as you remain alive and conscious. Once you have activated your stigmata, you can touch your allies to heal them of 1 point of damage per level they possess for every 2 points of Constitution damage you take. In addition, any character you touch who is suffering from a disease can immediately make a new saving throw against that disease with a sacred bonus equal to the number of points of Constitution damage you took. If the character succeeds on that saving throw, she is freed from the disease. You can use this touch on one ally per point of Constitution damage you take. As with delivering a touch spell, you can touch up to six allies as a full-round action. A single person can only benefit once from each activation of your stigmata, but each activation lasts for 1 hour. For example, if you sacrifice 4 points of Constitution, you can grant four allies a number of hit points of healing equal to twice their level. Each ally who was suffering from a disease would make a new saving throw with a +4 sacred bonus. If only two of your allies were wounded at the time you activated the stigmata, you could “save” the other two uses for up to 1 hour, in case other characters become wounded within that time. Even if the characters you originally healed were injured again, however, they could not benefit from the same activation of your stigmata. When you use this ability, the wounds on your body bleed in proportion to the Constitution damage you take. The bleeding persists for 1 hour, and the Constitution damage cannot be restored by any means until the bleeding has stopped. Once the bleeding has stopped, you can freely activate the stigmata again, whether or not you have recovered your lost Constitution, as long as you have enough Constitution left to use the ability and survive.

The campaign starts at level 8, which means I'd be sacrificing 2 Con damage to heal someone 8 hp.

I can see it being useful in a bind: if you're out of spells per day, and the party is about to wipe.

[PollyOliver]

Unless you're only taking it because you're a VoP character and you've run out of other exalted feats to take, no, probably not. Take touch of healing instead if you want to heal with a touch--you can only bring people up to half-health, but it's otherwise unlimited and doesn't deal CON damage. Keep a 4th level healing spell prepared and you'll heal 12 hp with a touch up to half, and as a bonus get a +1 to your CL for healing spells. (Edit: The only disadvantage being that you can only hit one target at a time with it)

[subject42]

If you bind Naberius with a level of Binder, when the "cannot be restored by any means until the bleeding has stopped" clause expires, you would get your constitution back to max very quickly. It could be good for out of combat healing.

[PollyOliver]

If you bind Naberius with a level of Binder, when the "cannot be restored by any means until the bleeding has stopped" clause expires, you would get your constitution back to max very quickly. It could be good for out of combat healing.

If you have a way to heal CON damage, then out of combat it would let you top people up at (their level)*(the amount of CON you're willing to risk losing for an hour). Combined with touch of healing, this could be useful (without it, you might as well just give them around the same quantity of healing with that feat and top up with spells), but only if you're willing to make that much of a feat investment on healing. Your mileage may vary depending on whether your DM throws an encounter at you during that hour, to work around your workaround.

[TheRinni]

Unless you're only taking it because you're a VoP character and you've run out of other exalted feats to take, no, probably not. Take touch of healing instead if you want to heal with a touch--you can only bring people up to half-health, but it's otherwise unlimited and doesn't deal CON damage. Keep a 4th level healing spell prepared and you'll heal 12 hp with a touch up to half, and as a bonus get a +1 to your CL for healing spells. (Edit: The only disadvantage being that you can only hit one target at a time with it)

Thank you. Touch of Healing sounds like a much better trade-off than Stigmata. I liked the concept of the feat (I'm kinda going for a martyr character) but it just doesn't seem worth it.

[Grendus]

Unfortunately, BoED drastically overestimated the value of their exalted feats. There were a few good ones (Touch of Golden Ice, while only fort DC 14, is overpowered at low levels and still good in later game, as even a Balor has to get a nat 1 at some point, and Nymphs Kiss is a nice way to trade a feat for skill points), but most just suck. Just another thing that makes VoP useless, after about level 5 you run out of exalted feats worth taking..

Taking con damage to heal a pitiful amount of HP is never a good idea, unless you're using Naberius to self heal the con damage (and if you're a binder, you might as well just bind Buer and get free healing without con damage).

[Person_Man]

Buy a tiny sap (1 point of subdual damage) and give it the Vampiric Enchantment (heals 1d6 points of damage on each hit). Take turns beating on each other out of combat, and you basically get infinite out of combat healing for a reasonable price.

[Throgg]

I don't recall the prereqs, but it seems like it'd be MORE worth it on a character who has no business healing in the first place. Secondary fighters, rogues, etc.

It is always nice to have a way a to do a little healing, if only to help stabilize. And hey, the amount of HP is pitiful but if it means bring your teleporting wizard back into the positives so he get you away safely, I'd say that is a win.

Of course, all of that is accomplish-able with UMD and some simple potions.

I could see the feat having a cool place in a non-magic/very low magic campaign (if the DM allows it)

[TheRinni]

Buy a tiny sap (1 point of subdual damage) and give it the Vampiric Enchantment (heals 1d6 points of damage on each hit). Take turns beating on each other out of combat, and you basically get infinite out of combat healing for a reasonable price.

Lol, that'd definitely be awesome... if this wasn't for my Apostle of Peace (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=203182). xD That PrC kinda frowns upon hitting things.

[Big Fau]

If you bind Naberius with a level of Binder, when the "cannot be restored by any means until the bleeding has stopped" clause expires, you would get your constitution back to max very quickly. It could be good for out of combat healing.

Alternatively, if the DM allows the Strongheart Vest soulmeld to prevent the damage outright, it's worth it.

[Mordokai]

Buy a tiny sap (1 point of subdual damage) and give it the Vampiric Enchantment (heals 1d6 points of damage on each hit). Take turns beating on each other out of combat, and you basically get infinite out of combat healing for a reasonable price.

If you play Icewind Dale 2, you eventualy come upon the following item.


Delnar was a timid mage who never was one for adventure. He spent most of his life in quiet study, living with his mother, trying to learn the art of crafting magical items. Unfortunately, his mother had a habit of interrupting him at crucial points during the enchantment process, often with disastrous results. Delnar's Healing Blade is another botched attempt by Delnar to construct something of use.

This weapon is truly an enigma. When used in battle it does little to no damage, instead healing the intended target. However, the healing is miniscule at best and hardly worth the effort required to swing the blade. In any case, it has been given the name 'Delnar's Healing Blade' because of its inability to slay a target.

What purpose Delnar originally intended this weapon to serve is unknown. There are some who argue that it functions as intended, while others laugh at the absurdity of this.

STATISTICS:

Damage: None
Attack Bonus: +1
Enchantment: +5
Damage Type: None
Special: Heals 2d4 points of damage per hit
Weight: 4 lb.
Feat Requirement: Martial Weapon, Large Sword
Type: One-handed

Quite useful for out of combat healing :smallbiggrin:

Just thought it would be interesting piece of thrivia to be shared :smallsmile:

[balistafreak]

Lol, that'd definitely be awesome... if this wasn't for my Apostle of Peace (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=203182). xD That PrC kinda frowns upon hitting things.

You're not hitting people, you're massaging them.

...
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... yeah, I got nothing.

[subject42]

Lol, that'd definitely be awesome... if this wasn't for my Apostle of Peace (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=203182). xD That PrC kinda frowns upon hitting things.

I don't have my copy of BoED on hand, but isn't it alright for the Apostle of Peace to do nonlethal damage?

[Big Fau]

I don't have my copy of BoED on hand, but isn't it alright for the Apostle of Peace to do nonlethal damage?

Vow of Nonviolence has that clause, but Vow of Peace prevents you from dealing any damage to anything that is alive.

[Person_Man]

Vow of Nonviolence has that clause, but Vow of Peace prevents you from dealing any damage to anything that is alive.

Well, you could always take Martial Study and Martial Stance to get Divine Spirit. That way you'd theoretically be healing them a point of damage every time you hit them. In a very weird, Ilmater (http://forgottenrealms.wikia.com/wiki/Ilmater) sort of way.

[Saintheart]

C'mon, Pers, we all know Ilmater and Loviatar just get together every Friday night for the shiggles. :smallbiggrin:

[Psyren]

Vow of Nonviolence has that clause, but Vow of Peace prevents you from dealing any damage to anything that is alive.

Incorrect - Vow of Peace does in fact allow nonlethal damage. The feat has many problems but that is mercifully not one of them.