1E Healing Builds

[Allistar]

Anyone know of any optimized healing/support builds for 1E. We're starting at level 2 and the party I'm currently in is known to have pretty deadly encounters. I'm affraid if I just go life cleric and do my normal jank plan I'll end up dead in our first combat.

[KatsOfLoathing]

A common build I see in other parts of the internet is an Oracle with the Life Mystery and Pei Zin Practitioner/Sacred Herbalist archetype. You gain access to channel energy, lay on hands, and an off-brand paladin mercy ability starting at 7th level, in addition to 9-level spontaneous casting off the very heals-and-buffs-friendly cleric spell list. The Life mystery also offers various revelations that can strengthen and diversify your healing powers.

As for spells, there's at least one comprehensive guide out there on the net for Oracle spellcasting choices. Pick the healing and support spells that work best for you and go nuts. Shield Other is a spell I see commonly recommended in tandem with the aforementioned archetype, since they can heal themselves as a swift action.

[Psyren]

As mentioned above, Lay on Hands + Life Mystery is the most optimized since you can effectively heal the entire party for boatloads over the course of a combat using just your swift actions, and not worry about their positioning or that of the enemy. On rounds when you need to burst, you can then Quick Channel + Channel, or Quick Channel + cast (without provoking.)

If you don't want the absolute most optimal in-combat healing though, lots of classes can patch up the party during or after a fight, including non-divine classes like Witches and Alchemists.

[Kurald Galain]

Since you mentioned healing or support, a evangelist cleric of Milani with Community Minded can throw up some pretty ridiculous to-hit bonuses each combat, and a helpful Bodyguard halfling can send his allies' AC to the statosphere. And assuming a party that's mostly strength-based, don't underestimate the power of a Skald that tacks on five rage powers and/or teamwork feats to everyone. HTH.

[SangoProduction]

Just take Life sphere from Spheres of Power. All of the Life sphere.

[Pugwampy]

Priest

Tome of secrets .

[Firebug]

Ninja 2 obviously is the best healer.

You get a Ninja trick so take Vanish that lets you go invisible as a swift action for a Ki point, and you get a Ki Pool.

Anything that can channel plus Ki Channel. You can now recharge your Ki Pool using Channel Energy( #Channel dice = # Ki Points).

Then drink lots of Yorkshire Tea Tea of Transference to recharge your Channel Energy with Ki Points. You can also recharge your spellcasting, but only 2 levels lower than your highest. Basically your Channel Energy now costs you some actions and 40gp. I would almost say it would make the most sense for a banking/trade deity, but it requires Irori for Ki Channel.

[KatsOfLoathing]

Ninja 2 obviously is the best healer.

You get a Ninja trick so take Vanish that lets you go invisible as a swift action for a Ki point, and you get a Ki Pool.

Anything that can channel plus Ki Channel. You can now recharge your Ki Pool using Channel Energy( #Channel dice = # Ki Points).

Then drink lots of Yorkshire Tea Tea of Transference to recharge your Channel Energy with Ki Points. You can also recharge your spellcasting, but only 2 levels lower than your highest. Basically your Channel Energy now costs you some actions and 40gp. I would almost say it would make the most sense for a banking/trade deity, but it requires Irori for Ki Channel.

I would say Shigenjo Oracle gets both features in one package, but that archetype doesn't get a ki pool until 7th level. Could work for a higher level game, though. And it stacks with Pei Zin Practitioner.

[Firebug]

I would say Shigenjo Oracle gets both features in one package, but that archetype doesn't get a ki pool until 7th level. Could work for a higher level game, though. And it stacks with Pei Zin Practitioner.Yeah, but there are a few reasons not to do so beyond late bloomer.
1. The argument 'its not OP because I dipped out 2 levels on a full caster' when your GM inevitably looks toward a ban-hammer after you channel 20-30 times in a day.
2. You don't get Vanish as a swift action (and the OP was worried about being focused as the healer)
3. Oracle is spontaneous, meaning if you took ninja 2 and a prepared caster you would only be 1 behind oracle anyway for max rank spells
4. Shigenjo is race-locked to Tengu if you look at the original source (Advanced Race Guide) and Tengu don't get a bonus to Cha, and has a negative to Con, making it even worse for survival.

Seperately, Pei Zin Practitioner (https://aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Oracle%20Pei%20Zin %20Practitioner) and Shigenjo (https://aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Oracle%20Shigenjo) both replace the level 7 revelation so they don't stack. Archives of Nethys is missing that it changes the level 7 revelation on its archetype summary page, but it is on the subpage. Its just after the conditions Master Healing Technique can remove.

[KatsOfLoathing]

Seperately, Pei Zin Practitioner (https://aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Oracle%20Pei%20Zin %20Practitioner) and Shigenjo (https://aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Oracle%20Shigenjo) both replace the level 7 revelation so they don't stack. Archives of Nethys is missing that it changes the level 7 revelation on its archetype summary page, but it is on the subpage. Its just after the conditions Master Healing Technique can remove.

Rats, you're right. I even checked to make sure because it felt weird to just hand out a free feature at 7th, but I guess my focus got lost in the text somewhere.

[Kris Moonhand]

Ninja 2 obviously is the best healer.

You get a Ninja trick so take Vanish that lets you go invisible as a swift action for a Ki point, and you get a Ki Pool.

Anything that can channel plus Ki Channel. You can now recharge your Ki Pool using Channel Energy( #Channel dice = # Ki Points).

Then drink lots of Yorkshire Tea Tea of Transference to recharge your Channel Energy with Ki Points. You can also recharge your spellcasting, but only 2 levels lower than your highest. Basically your Channel Energy now costs you some actions and 40gp. I would almost say it would make the most sense for a banking/trade deity, but it requires Irori for Ki Channel.

You can actually do this without items via Champion of Irori. Since that combos Monk and Paladin, and allows you to spend ki for Lay on Hands, and you spend LoH to use Channel, you can heal everyone and refill your ki at the same time. You need at least 4 channel dice for it to be cost effective, though (2 ki per LoH, and 2 LoH per channel). So that'd be 7 levels combined between CoH and Paladin, and at least 4 in Paladin to unlock the channel ability. Along with requiring Still Mind from Monk, that's a minimum of level 10 before it becomes self-sustaining, and level 12 before you can make a ki profit. I'm playing this build right now (only level 4 at the moment) and having a grand ol time. Convinced my DM to let me use the Serenity feat from Dragon Magazine so my Paladin abilities work off of Wisdom instead of Charisma, since I'm playing a Vanaran. Monkey Monkadin (with Monkey Style).

To the main question, Life Oracle is definitely one of the best vanilla options for healers. Might be you could pair it with Spirit Guide for more versatility, getting access to Shaman spirits and hexes. If you're allowed 3pp, check out Vitalist (https://libraryofmetzofitz.fandom.com/wiki/Vitalist) or Medic (https://libraryofmetzofitz.fandom.com/wiki/Medic). They're both pretty spectacular healers, and great for in-combat healing, which is generally frowned upon in PF. You might also be interested in the Radiant (https://libraryofmetzofitz.fandom.com/wiki/Radiant), which occupies the healing/support niche, but in a more focused kind of way.

[Firebug]

You can actually do this without items via Champion of Irori. Since that combos Monk and Paladin, and allows you to spend ki for Lay on Hands, and you spend LoH to use Channel.That's not what the prestige class says. You'll still need Yorkshire Tea.
You can spend 2 Ki Pool to trigger Lay on Hands or Smite Evil. Ok fine, you spend 2 ki and you gain the effects of a Lay on Hands. You don't actually regain uses of Lay on Hands.
You can spend 2 uses of Lay on Hands to trigger Channel Energy (paraphrased from the Paladin ability 'Channel Energy'). You spend 2 Lay on Hands and you get the effect of a channel energy.
Nothing in the Champion ability gives you actual Lay on Hands uses, just trigger the effect. Just like the Paladin doesn't actually have uses of Channel Energy, just to trigger the effect. So you cannot spend Ki Pool to trigger Channel Energy because Channel Energy requires Lay on Hands uses to consume and the Champion ability only lets you 'trigger' Lay on Hands. Its like the difference between the effects of a ki point and the pool of them.

Is it a reasonable houserule to let it work anyway? Probably. Especially since you are proposing spending 4 ki pool to gain 1 channel. It would have an action economy benefit over Yorkshire Tea though.


Ninja 2 or Vigilante(Teisatsu (https://aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Vigilante%20Teisat su)) 2 is the quickest you can get a Ki Pool (besides the combat style/dwarven race trait) and on a full caster, the levels matter. For the record, my Ki Channeler was a Shaman(Witch Doctor (https://aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Shaman%20Witch%20D octor)) Life Spirit for multiple channel pools. Half-elf to add Cleric spells to the mix and wandering spirit(Lore) to add a few Wizard ones. Eventually picking up Minor Creation (https://aonprd.com/SpellDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Minor%20Creation) for also unlimited Yorkshire Tea by 13.

I have a similar character though it was reasonably high level before I noticed Ki Channel and I had gone with Serenrae. But I went with Hospitaler (https://aonprd.com/ArchetypeDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Paladin%20Hospital er)(extra channel pool)/Oath against Fiends(for resist energy at level 1), Oracle 1(for life link... and another channel pool via extra revelation), Ninja 2. I spent my Ninja Trick on a Rogue Talent for a Combat Feat though. I had Ultimate Mercy (https://aonprd.com/FeatDisplay.aspx?ItemName=Ultimate%20Mercy) at 5 and raised someone from the dead in a 1-5 in PFS (w/protégé, and some retraining). Its notable, though I think I've only used it once, that you can use Tea of Transference to regain a Smite Evil... so a Hospitaler has more Smite Evils per day than the standard Oath of Vengeance (https://aonprd.com/OathDisplay.aspx?FixedName=Oath%20of%20Vengeance) brute Paladin.