Which feat to choose?

[Max Caysey]

So...

Can you guys help me?

What feat should I get at level 3 for my healer?

Divine Ward

Divine Ward
( Player's Handbook II, p. 88)

[Divine]

You create a channel of divine energy between yourself and a willing ally. This link allows you to cast your spells upon him from greater than normal range.

Prerequisite:

Ability to turn or rebuke undead,

Benefit:

Once every 24 hours, you can spend 10 minutes creating a magical ward between you and one willing target. For the rest of the 24-hour period, you can increase the range of a touch spell to short range (25 feet + 5 feet per two caster levels) if you target the warded creature, and only the warded creature. When you cast a spell in this manner, you must expend a turn or rebuke undead attempt. You can create a ward between you and more than one target, so long as you expend the necessary time and turning attempts. You must expend a turn or rebuke undead attempt to create each ward beyond the first.



Touch of Healing

Touch of Healing
( Complete Champion, p. 62)

[Reserve]

You can channel divine energy into healing with a touch.

Prerequisite

Ability to cast 2nd-level spells,

Benefit

As long as you have a conjuration (healing) spell of 2nd level or higher available to cast, you can spend a standard action to touch a target creature and heal 3 points of damage per level of the highest-level conjuration (healing) spell you have available to cast. You can use this ability only on a target that has been reduced to one-half or fewer of its total hit points. The effect ends once you've healed the subject up to half its normal maximum hit points. This ability has no effect on creatures that can't be healed by cure spells. As a secondary benefit, you gain a +1 competence bonus to your caster level when casting conjuration (healing) spells.

Any reason for either choice will be of much help!


Thanks!

[ArcturusV]

Hmm... my general thought would be to go for the reserve feat. If for some reason your party doesn't want to chip in for healing (Or they do but want the GP to go further), it's not a bad choice for patching up after a fight, costing you effectively zero resources. The caster level boost isn't really important as that just means +1 HP on almost all cure spells.

Reasoning for not picking Divine Ward? Because... well... maybe it's just me but I always had better things to do with Turning. The Ward's only really good for in combat healing... which is always a dicey option. If you're not in combat the situations where you can't walk over to touch someone are rare indeed. The feat eats up turning uses like a big dog. I dunno. I rather just use my turns for anything else. Actual turning in case we run into an undead heavy stretch, using devotion feats, divine metamagic, etc.

Though to be perfectly honest I probably wouldn't pick either if it was up to me. Level 3 + Caster generally means one thing to me: Craft Wondrous Item. It's a good thing.

[Chronos]

Divine Ward is only useful for in-combat healing, and you'll almost always be better off stopping the enemy that's doing damage than fixing the damage it's already done. Even in the rare case where in-combat healing is worthwhile, you can usually afford to walk up to the person who needs healing (yeah, that might put you on the front line, but you've got armor, and if your buddy is that badly hurt, giving the enemies another target is probably a good idea anyway).

Healing Touch is more useful out of combat, where healing is most useful anyway.

[Max Caysey]

The build that I'm making, is a cloistered cleric, in a rope with a quarterstaff as weapon. So I'm pure cater cleric of Lathander focusing on healing/ buffig the party. So my very few hit points 12 AC will not make me like melee combat. So My idea was to stay back and heal. (think pholy priest in WoW)

I know that it might be boring but I'm used to playing offencive characters and I think it will be a nice break from that.

Im all up for concepting my "#¤% out of the char, so it should fit the character more than be useful... But I'm much in doubt!

[ArcturusV]

That's why I like Craft: Wondrous Item. Unless your concept is near literally "Screw magic items, they are crutches for the weak" there's no real reason not to take them. Particularly with a scholarly healer like a Cloistered Cleric. They could see the use in creating items like Blessed Bandages, Belts of Healing, etc. Not to mention other, insanely useful items like Eight Diagram Coins (Free Augury/Divination 1/day), and so on. Throws a bit of the "tech guru" into the feel perhaps as instead of busting out the healin' touch, you're going "Here, I got a gadget for that"... but then again as a cleric of mercy and healing you'd probably like the idea of anyone being able to heal anyone they need to. So it can fit in that regard. Why keep yourself as THE healer, when you can make everyone a healer?

Not saying you should go staffing people in the face because you don't need to heal in combat anymore. Having divination is always nice and good on a cleric. So you can be the guy who has the healing, and is passing out healing, and burning your spells on non-combat divination in order to advise and prevent harm through wisdom.

Well... it's an idea.

[Red Fel]

The build that I'm making, is a cloistered cleric, in a rope with a quarterstaff as weapon. So I'm pure cater cleric of Lathander focusing on healing/ buffig the party. So my very few hit points 12 AC will not make me like melee combat. So My idea was to stay back and heal. (think pholy priest in WoW)

I know that it might be boring but I'm used to playing offencive characters and I think it will be a nice break from that.

Im all up for concepting my "#¤% out of the char, so it should fit the character more than be useful... But I'm much in doubt!

The thing to remember is that in-combat healing is, well... Bad. Unlike in video games, where in-combat healing is not only the norm, but mandatory, it's really hard to pull off effectively in D&D. Ironically, one of the better classes for in-combat healing isn't a healing class at all - it's the Crusader, who can generate healing on himself and allies by smacking things with his pointed stick.

As Chronos mentions, the best healing is preventive healing - or, more accurately, killing things before they can do damage. Out of combat healing is useful, of course, and welcomed, but even there you're better off using scrolls and wands.

That said, offense and healing aren't your only two choices, particularly as a cleric. Buffing clerics, using DMM Persist, provide an exceptionally valuable service to the party, particularly to the unloved melee classes. And don't forget that Turn Undead, in addition to fueling DMM, is also a perfectly effective tactical decision. Finally, the Summon Monster, Planar Ally, and Gate line of spells give you exceptional versatility, and can thoroughly change the course of battle, without you having to wade into combat personally.

I recommend looking at one of the ubiquitous Cleric handbooks, like this one (http://www.brilliantgameologists.com/boards/?topic=420.0). If you really want to be a combat healer, consider reading the Player's Guide to Healing (http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=2710.0).

[Person_Man]

Depends.

If your party spends a lot of time in cramped dungeons where it would often be difficult for you to Move next to an ally and then cast, I'd go with Divine Ward. It doesn't require line of sight. So you could hang back and/or around the corner, mix in some Summons and battlefield control spells so you're still useful for when you're not healing, and play a support role while still being true to your character concept.

If not, then Touch of Healing is probably better. But even then, it basically just saves you a little gp or low level spell slots that you'd otherwise spend on Lesser Vigor.

[Max Caysey]

Thanks....

I was thinking actually to combine Divine Ward and Touch of Healing... so I could use it at range... Lessor Vigor is a nice spell indeed, for what im trying to do!

[ArcturusV]

Doesn't work by the way. Divine Ward mentions using spells. And the Touch of Healing reserve isn't a spell. Least near as I figure. Only effect that using both of them would have is giving you +1 CL. And honestly I don't see the difference between (at level six I presume as you don't have either yet), being able to heal 3d8 +6 or 3d8 +7 as being quite that much of a combo effect.

[nedz]

Extend Spell is good for Lesser Vigour, though there is a FAQ entry which nerfs this. Quite why they felt the need to nerf this one spell is beyond me, but FAQ is not RAW and there is nothing in the actual rule-set to stop you doing this.

They didn't nerf Persisted Lesser Vigour which is accessible through DMM, obviously the mass version is what you would be after. Extend Spell is the pre-req for Persistent Spell.

[OldTrees1]

Ever wonder how to help buff the lower tiers? Pick Touch of Healing and start adventuring 16hrs a day rather than stopping when the mundane characters run out of hp. This single feat does a lot in helping the noncasters feel more useful since they can finally adventure non stop.

I personally consider it a must pick for any of my caster characters since I play in mixed tier groups. (even try to get it at 1st level sometimes)

[ddude987]

Ever wonder how to help buff the lower tiers? Pick Touch of Healing and start adventuring 16hrs a day rather than stopping when the mundane characters run out of hp. This single feat does a lot in helping the noncasters feel more useful since they can finally adventure non stop.

I personally consider it a must pick for any of my caster characters since I play in mixed tier groups. (even try to get it at 1st level sometimes)

Don't you become fatigued after traveling more than 8 hrs. in a day?

[OldTrees1]

Don't you become fatigued after traveling more than 8 hrs. in a day?

So? A small penalty[-2] to physical stats is not going to prevent the mundane characters from having fun. Just avoid Exhaustion[-6].

[nedz]

Don't you become fatigued after traveling more than 8 hrs. in a day?

Just have the cleric cast Lesser Restoration.

[OldTrees1]

Just have the cleric cast Lesser Restoration.

True. However Fatigue is not that bad (-2 Str, -2 Dex, no run, no charge :smallfrown:) and Exhaustion is fixed by a mere 1 hour of rest. So 1 hour of rest after 16 hours and after every 8 hours thereafter will keep a party merely Fatigued with no spell recuperation.