Heal skill ideas for low-magic campaign?

[TheCorsairMalac]

Hello everyone,

My group is trying a new setting, in which we're non-magical travelers stuck in a magical world. We'll be subject to all the typical hardships of the D&D universe, but have to deal with them without magic(We've got some technological advantages to compensate.). I'll be playing the healer in the group, and my DM has given me permission to add or create a whole bunch of new uses for the heal skill.

What are some ideas you guys have? Keep in mind that it IS intended to replace magical healing, but with different restrictions and flavor. What could a highly trained healer potentially do?

[DeltaEmil]

You could let the Heal skill convert an amount of lethal damage to nonlethal damage equal to the Heal check result (damage reduction and other such abilities do of course not further reduce the converted damage). That use of the Heal skill would require 10 minutes to achieve that effect.

[TheCorsairMalac]

You could let the Heal skill convert an amount of lethal damage to nonlethal damage equal to the Heal check result (damage reduction and other such abilities do of course not further reduce the converted damage). That use of the Heal skill would require 10 minutes to achieve that effect.

So after battle you treat a wounded man, converting (d20 + heal skill) lethal damage into nonlethal damage. He then heals that nonlethal damage at a rate of 1 per hour naturally. In effect bumping his natural healing rate to 8 hp per level per rest period, but only for an amount of damage determined by your skill.

I like it, and will definitely swing the idea by my DM. Thank you!

[Eox]

Sean K. Reynolds actually released a really good feat (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/3rd-party-feats/sean-k-reynolds-games/general-feats---3rd-party---sean-k-reynolds-games/asclepian-doctor) for this.

[Kelb_Panthera]

I've lifted d20 modern's version of the heal skill (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/modern/smack/skillsorder.html#teatinjury) wholesale and apply it to all of my games, not just the low-magic ones.

[TheCorsairMalac]

Sean K. Reynolds actually released a really good feat (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/3rd-party-feats/sean-k-reynolds-games/general-feats---3rd-party---sean-k-reynolds-games/asclepian-doctor) for this.

Aha! That's good! I'm especially interested in the way it handles raising the dead. 'Repair injury' combines several things I'd separated. It's simpler, and probably better.


I've lifted d20 modern's version of the heal skill wholesale and apply it to all of my games, not just the low-magic ones.

A perfect idea. :) Thank you. Surgery and removal of some status effects would be awesome. I think I'll add tidbits giving the ability to gauge overall health of an adversary. That'd be cool.

[Kelb_Panthera]

A perfect idea. :) Thank you. Surgery and removal of some status effects would be awesome. I think I'll add tidbits giving the ability to gauge overall health of an adversary. That'd be cool.

Pretty sure that tidbit already exists in one of the heal expansions somewhere. I don't remember where exactly though.

[Fouredged Sword]

First, if you truely want to go no magic, then I suggest you use the vitality point system from the SRD. Now, this allows you to take damage without actually getting cut open by swords. It also nicely delineates what is physical damage and what is wearing a character down.

Healing vitality is easy. Call it first aid. I would think a heal check and 15min of rest should heal something like 1vp per HD, and with a modern medical kit 2 per hd. This would be bandaging small non-vital wounds, stretching, resting, taking some mild analgesics. You should be able to treat someone a number of times per day equal to their con modifier, and no more than once every hour.

Treating wounds should heal WP. Treating a wound should heal something like 1d4 WP on a DC 15 check, and then heal another point per 5 you exceed the check. A modern medkit should double the bonus points you receive and reduce the treatment DC to 10. You should only be able to treat someone's wounds a number of times per day equal to their con modifier (minimum 1).

[Ruethgar]

One of the Wedded to History feats lets you flat out heal people with the skill.

[Ashtagon]

I'd let you do the additional stuff from d20 Modern's Treat Injury skill.

http://www.12tomidnight.com/d20modernsrd/Skills.php?Name=Treat%20Injury

[Psyren]

For low-magic games, I recommend UA's Vitality and Wound Points system (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/vitalityAndWoundPoints.htm), which makes the mechanics of hit points line up a bit more closely with their fluff (i.e. HP represent a character avoiding or mitigating damage rather than, say, getting better at taking a sword to the gut.



Sean K. Reynolds actually released a really good feat (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/3rd-party-feats/sean-k-reynolds-games/general-feats---3rd-party---sean-k-reynolds-games/asclepian-doctor) for this.

Note that this feat was created prior to PF, which means the "5 ranks" requirement there actually means this feat is meant to be available at level 2.


I've lifted d20 modern's version of the heal skill (http://www.systemreferencedocuments.org/resources/systems/pennpaper/modern/smack/skillsorder.html#teatinjury) wholesale and apply it to all of my games, not just the low-magic ones.

Er... 1d4 HP once per day? Or 1d6/level if they undergo invasive surgery for 1d4 hours, longer if they were in negatives, and then they are fatigued for at least 6 hours after that? Even for low-magic this seems kinda harsh, and with any level of magic above that is basically useless. It's better than what Heal can do now, sure, but I think it needs further tweaking to be viable in this sort of campaign.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Er... 1d4 HP once per day? Or 1d6/level if they undergo invasive surgery for 1d4 hours, longer if they were in negatives, and then they are fatigued for at least 6 hours after that? Even for low-magic this seems kinda harsh, and with any level of magic above that is basically useless. It's better than what Heal can do now, sure, but I think it needs further tweaking to be viable in this sort of campaign.

It's back on your feet in a day and you still get natural healing along side it. Seems good enough to me.

Part of a low-magic campaign, IMO, is significantly increased cost in healing; in either time or cash. Potions aren't wicked expensive but they are definitely more so than wands and/or healing belts, which I would presume are out since the DM is asking for alternatives to magical healing. The treat injury skill is much slower than any kind of magic but much faster than natural healing.

[DrKerosene]

I'll suggest looking at the Pressure Point feat from some Drag.Mag. that allows (mostly) Monks to remove/inflict conditions, including stopping casters from casting at all.

It's not great as-is, but might inspire something.