Healing in a no-magic campaign

[RealMarkP]

I'm a player in a campaign situated in a very gritty, no-magic setting. Our only source of extraordinary abilities is psionics. The only psionics that are available to us are from the Psion/Wilder list and as the only psion in the group, I've taken the path of a Seer. Items of healing are extremely rare, so we are forced to rely on sleep to regain our health.

So, what can someone do to regain hit points, either through enhancing sleep in some way (other than a bed) or some psionic means?

[CaladanMoonblad]

Um... just that.

Heal skill, bedrest, etc. There are also apothecaries, herbalists, etc., but your GM would have to adjudicate that. If your GM us running a low magic world, then they need to have some sort of home brew option available (for instance, a poultice can guard against infection, perhaps restoring 1 hp the first day in addition to bed rest).

A few threads that may interest you for this subject.

Here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=241944), Here (http://www.rpgcrossing.com/showthread.php?t=112515)and Here (http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/29453019/The_realism_of_Magical_vs_Martial_healing&post_num=4).

[jedipilot24]

Try Reserve Points (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/reservePoints.htm) from UA and the SRD.

It's not exactly healing but it at least makes a TPK less likely.
Psionic healing is very limited and, in your case, pretty much limited to Body Adjustment.

[Flickerdart]

Ardents get healing powers, and Sangehirn (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040625c) allows you to share Vigor (Temporary HP) and Body Adjustment (healing) with others.

[Raimun]

If you can't heal, avoid damage.

This means more sneaking, overwhelming power to end fights quickly, underhanded tactics, maximum use of protection/cover/dodging/armor/etc., general skullduggery, talking yourself out of fights, backstabbing, walking around/over/under/away and most importantly, ungentlemanly warfare.

[RealMarkP]

Ardents get healing powers, and Sangehirn (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20040625c) allows you to share Vigor (Temporary HP) and Body Adjustment (healing) with others.

My DM has a mechanic for promoting personal powers to touch. However, it requires a Fortitude save (DC 15), which is hit-or-miss at my level. So I can share vigor, but nothing permanent. Body Adjustment sounds like something I should take.

[Crake]

a combination of the empathic transfer and body adjustment powers can heal allies? You transfer 2d10 damage from the target to yourself then use body adjustment to heal 1d12 of it (both are augmentable for more though). Not a great option for combat healing though. It'll probably suck your powerpoints dry pretty quick too.

[JusticeZero]

Yeah, there's not a whole lot.
Isn't there a psionic healer class in the Pathfinder psionics? Like this? (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/classes/vitalist) Would you have access to that?

[Ravens_cry]

I recommend giving the heal skill an overhaul.
Ideas: Add your wisdom modifier, minimum 0, to the number of times you can treat deadly wounds on someone
Add +1d4 for for every 5 you go over the DC.
Add your wisdom modifier, (minimum 0?) to your healing.
All this doubles with extended care.
Everyone gets back half their Con along with their level with bed rest, the feat (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/fast-healer)gives you full.
These could be part of the skill itself or added as feats, but the game assumes magical healing is available. It's not quite realism, but allows the game to progress while still keeping combat scary.

[Averis Vol]

In Tome and Blood (Yes,, yes, its 3.0, but it was never upgraded so it should be good) there's an item called healing salve that does exactly what you think; 1d8 hp flat, nonmagical no caster level addition 50gp a pop. Came up in my own low magic game and it was a lifesaver.

[HalfQuart]

There's the Healing Hands skill trick in Complete Scoundrel that heals 1d6 hit points when you successfully stabilize someone with the Heal skill. That's not much, but it is something.

[Fouredged Sword]

Healing touch, level one power - Complete Psionic - Heals 2 HP per power point. With PP reduction (earth power, torque of power, ect) you can heal 4,6 or more HP per pp. Not bad for healing damage out of combat.

[ksbsnowowl]

Capture a Elysian Thrush (Planar Handbook). It doubles the rate of natural healing.

[HalfQuart]

What about Dragon Shaman (PHB2)? Are their (Su) auras too much like magic? If not, there's the Vigor aura that gives allies fast healing while <= 1/2 their full HP.

[Juntao112]

Poison Healer + Alcohol.

[Gavinfoxx]

Seconding the Healing Salve!

[Valwyn]

Bitterleaf oil from Races of the Dragon? It's not clear if it works on non-kobolds, but it costs 25 gp and restores 1 HP/level (max 5) after a full night of rest. Each bottle comes with 10 doses.


Edit: so a Bitterleaf heals kobolds?
:belkar:: Yeah, right.

[limejuicepowder]

I was in a low-magic, survival type game where healing is basically non-existent. The DM made a new item, healing kits, which allowed healing based on the user's heal skill (make a heal check, heal by the total amount). The heal skill can only be applied that way when you had an (expendable) healing kit. Work pretty well to patch us up after battle.

[Valwyn]

NWN 1 & 2 use that mechanic. It's very useful, especially if you have a class with Heal but that doesn't heal all that well (like Ranger). There were several versions of the kits (+1, +3, +6, and +10, I think), so potentially you could heal 40 HP (plus diseases and/or poisons) per shot.
If you can convince your DM to use a similar mechanic, have him rule it takes 30 min or more to try a check (stiches, pushing bones into the right positions, disinfect cuts, etc), and maybe that you need a full night rest to benefit from the check. In a low magic setting it should be easy to justify the existance of herbal medicine (or troll soup or whatever) that boost natural healing when used properly.

[Calimehter]

It might be too late to talk your DM into this for a up-and-running campaign, but the Wound and Vitality points from UA are good for this.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

No mention of Crusader yet? Go Crusader 5/ Binder 1/ Hellreaver 5/ Crusader 9, heal 1 point of ability damage per ability score per round, heal 20 hp to someone every round as a swift action. Take a few points of Con damage about every minute or so to keep that 20 hp/round going, which gets healed within two rounds. This healing is in addition to whatever strikes/stances you get from Crusader, which already has exceptional healing abilities, and you can use Stone Power to soak damage with temporary HP.

[Gavinfoxx]

Get your Heal mod up, Take 10, and have everyone who isn't the healer Aid Another on the main Healer.

[Coidzor]

Unless you all are planning on staying at very low levels, I would recommend just getting the group to adopt an alternate method of dealing with damage, such as a wounds system.

[Pickford]

I'm a player in a campaign situated in a very gritty, no-magic setting. Our only source of extraordinary abilities is psionics. The only psionics that are available to us are from the Psion/Wilder list and as the only psion in the group, I've taken the path of a Seer. Items of healing are extremely rare, so we are forced to rely on sleep to regain our health.

So, what can someone do to regain hit points, either through enhancing sleep in some way (other than a bed) or some psionic means?

Complete Warrior has a good chapter on this...by the way, Extraordinary abilities (Ex) are littered across the classes. Practically everything that isn't magical is extraordinary.

But yeah, if healing magic is really that limited, put ranks into Heal and grab Faster Healing (CW) when possible, it's dependent on a successful heal check which can be made even when doing something strenuous...like adventuring.

This is the kind of thing most people ignore I've found, seems like there's just an assumption that everyone heals up to full hp.

[animewatcha]

Since you are allowed powers, can you get your DM to house-rule allow touch of healing feat to work for powers instead of spells?

[Fouredged Sword]

There is a low level bardic music ability that doubles the effects of a full nights sleep. This works well as it can be obtained at low levels (3rd level of bard, I think).

[Pancritic]

In Tome and Blood (Yes,, yes, its 3.0, but it was never upgraded so it should be good) there's an item called healing salve that does exactly what you think; 1d8 hp flat, nonmagical no caster level addition 50gp a pop. Came up in my own low magic game and it was a lifesaver.Tome and Blood wasn't updated to 3.5 because it was replaced by Complete Arcane.
It might be too late to talk your DM into this for a up-and-running campaign, but the Wound and Vitality points from UA are good for this.Seconded. In my opinion, Wound/Vitality works really well in a low-magic/low-healing campaign.

[Gavinfoxx]

Well that particular item wasn't actually updated to 3.5e, so it's still legal.

[Ravens_cry]

Well that particular item wasn't actually updated to 3.5e, so it's still legal.
Legal, yes, but still worth asking a DM about.

[Averis Vol]

Legal, yes, but still worth asking a DM about.

Though I agree, it is a cruel, cruel DM who would deny you that; I run a low magic game myself and it is one of the few things keeping my group alive.