Pathfinder, Best Healer for My Party

[TheFreshman]

I recently created a group and we were going to play Pathfinder, but unfortunately Everyone was pretty specific on what they wanted to play so I got stuck with the role of healer. I am still pretty new to the game so any amount of help with Race/Class/Feats, would be appreciated. The current Party setup is Barbarian,Sorc,Monk,(Healer). We have plenty of Damage so there is no need to create a hybrid healer but I still want to do something that is "Top-Notch" and will really be powerful in this setting.

[LTwerewolf]

Preventing damage is far more effective than healing it after it's been taken. Clerics and Druids are both pretty good at it.

[Novawurmson]

The super duper healer in PF is the Life (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/oracle/mysteries/paizo---oracle-mysteries/life) Oracle (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/oracle). If your DM is OK with psionics and third party content, consider the Vitalist (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/vitalist), but that might not fit as well for someone new to the game.

Another potential class is the Witch, picking up Healing Hex at first level.

However, it's generally more useful to spend your time buffing your allies and crowd-controlling enemies than healing.

[Psyren]

Clerics and Oracles make great healers. It sounds like you guys could use a skillmonkey/face though, so I would consider Bard. What's the sorcerer doing, and what do you want to do besides heal?

[TheFreshman]

Sorcerer was planning on dealing straight damage. I think The best thing for me to do would combine a combination of Healing and Crowd Control, but I am I little worried about the the "tankiness" of our group.

[LTwerewolf]

Sorcerer was planning on dealing straight damage. I think The best thing for me to do would combine a combination of Healing and Crowd Control, but I am I little worried about the the "tankiness" of our group.

Clerics and druids can both be pretty damn tanky, especially if you're prepared beforehand.

[TheFreshman]

Clerics and druids can both be pretty damn tanky, especially if you're prepared beforehand.

I seem to be more intrested in the druid side of things, becuase I have done alot of looking over the cleric side of things and it is not that appeling being alligned to one deity and restrictions and all of that. What would be the best way to build a druid based off of A Healy/Tanky or A Damage Prevention/Tanky. By the way we are doing a 25 point buy.

[LTwerewolf]

Clerics are better at preventing damage with some of the spells they have, but druids get a lot of battlefield control. The two things you're going to want to focus are con and wisdom. At 6th level you'll get wild shape which will help your ability scores a bit, but not as much as being human form with a decent magical weapon, so it's more for transportation than anything. This means you'll need some type of damage stat, either dex (with weapon finesse) or str depending on your weapon.

You'll use your weapon occasionally, but as you get higher and higher, your spells are going to be more and more dominant. One of the best battlefield control spells you get is available at 1st level (entangle). Make it easy for your group to divide and conquer. Later you'll get access to spells that let you control more things, like wind, so you can move enemies where you want them to be.

[Novawurmson]

Take a look at Treantmonk's Druid guide (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/extras/community-creations/treatmonks-lab/druid-handbook-part-1)(s) for some tips on playing a Core-Only Druid; for more goodies, you'll need to hunt around a little more.

[Corlindale]

Note that Oracles have pretty free rein regarding deities and restrictions as well. Druids are actually more restricted than oracles, having to be neutral. Oracles can be whatever they want, and aren't restricted in the area of alignment-dependent spells either.

Oracle can make a good healer/tank hybrid, especially if you go with Battle. Metal, Ancestor and Wood are the other "tanky" mysteries.

You can also make a nice blaster/healer if you go with Flame. Deal damage at the beginning of fights, heal damage at the end of fights or when necessary, and generally do whatever fits the situation.

Life is best for pure healing, obviously, but also gets some cool powers not directly related to healing (like semi-Blindsight).

In short, I suggest giving oracle a serious consideration too. Many of the mysteries are really cool, and provide some unique powers you won't get anywhere else.

[Psyren]

Heavens is also extremely powerful from a control standpoint. I would go with that and just heal with spells, rather than go with Life just for the channel. (Channeling has its uses of course, but the other Mysteries are more useful in general.)

An important point about Oracles is that they get all the cure spells for free. This lets you be a capable party healer regardless of Mystery, because you can just dump any leftover spells you have each night into patching the party up.

[Larpus]

Reminded me of this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13120545#post13120545).

As far as "being a healer" goes, that does sound like a pretty viable, different and awesome option.

[grarrrg]

Clerics and Oracles make great healers. It sounds like you guys could use a skillmonkey/face though, so I would consider Inquisitor. What's the sorcerer doing, and what do you want to do besides heal?

Fixed that for you :smallwink:


Reminded me of this (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13120545#post13120545).

As far as "being a healer" goes, that does sound like a pretty viable, different and awesome option.

GAH! Someone beat me to it!
Oracle of Life 3/Hospitaler Paladin 4+
Can add more Oracle if desired, can also Prestige into Holy Vindicator for better casting at the cost of Lay on hands.

The Oradin would solve a variety of your problems though.
You wouldn't be 'locked' into the role of healer, you'd be able to play a decent Beatstick at the same time.
It would also help solve your lack of Tank problem. The Oradin is one of the VERY few builds that can really be considered a Tank.


You could also do a "Skill Monkey" type Oradin, although it'd be more of a Inquisitoracle.
Oracle of Life 3 remains, but the rest is Inquisitor all the way.
Inquisitor can get Fast Healing X as a Judgment ability (1+every 3 Inquisitor levels).
Versus the Oradin, the Inquisitoracle loses the 2nd Channeling Pool, but has better casting, and SKILLS! Also, the Oradin must be LG, the Inquisitoracle can be any alignment.
Dwarf (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/races/core-races/dwarf) is a solid choice for Inquisitoracle, although your Channeling Pool will be VERY limited due to the -2CHA, your Inquisitor Casting gets a boost AND you can improve a Judgment as your Favored Class bonus. You'd get +1 Fast Healing every 2 levels instead of every 3.

[navar100]

There's nothing "stuck" about being a healer. Healing is important, but clerics and oracles can do a lot more than just healing. It depends upon what you want to do. You can go hog wild in melee combat. Divine Favor, Divine Power, Righteous Might, Bull Strength, Battle Mystery. You can go nova spellcasting bombarding your enemies or buffing the party. Bless, Command, Searing Light, Flame Strike, Bull Strength, Flame Mystery, Dispel Magic. You can even play either class like a gish.

[gorfnab]

If you just need to heal hp: Glorious Heat (original text) feat (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/glorious-heat) + Spark cantrip (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/spark)

[grarrrg]

If you just need to heal hp: Glorious Heat (original text) feat (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/glorious-heat) + Spark cantrip (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/s/spark)

Ignoring the Cheese factor for the moment...(mainly because it is scheduled for Errata as per the note on the PFSRD).

You still have to be a 5th level caster that is capable of casting Divine spells.
While not hard to do, being a 5th level Divine caster means you'll be healing anyway.

Note: Technically, you can be a 5th level Arcane caster, and dip a level into a Divine class to qualify for the feat, but you must still be a Caster.