PDA

View Full Version : Playing a Healer, have a feat or two left and can't make up my mind.



Cainen
2008-03-25, 09:49 PM
Yes, that Healer. The horrible, horrible class that no sane optimizer would touch with a ten-foot pole. Of course, this is also a house-ruled healer, so turning/spontaneous casting/an improved spell list/CHA-based casting are added.

Chronicled
2008-03-25, 09:53 PM
Augment Healing will help you do better what you already do well. DMM (Reach Spell) is one way to keep out of the thick of things.

What is your current build?

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-03-25, 10:00 PM
The Imbued Healing metamagic line may be useful.

Cainen
2008-03-25, 10:15 PM
Augment Healing will help you do better what you already do well. DMM (Reach Spell) is one way to keep out of the thick of things.

What is your current build?

CHA 18, Augment Healing. Two feats left.

Solo
2008-03-25, 10:16 PM
I have the perfect last two feats for your build.

Suck and Improved Suck :smalltongue:


On a more serious note, try the Divine feats that let you maximize healing and stuff, if you haven't done so already.

Cainen
2008-03-25, 10:21 PM
I have the perfect last two feats for your build.

Suck and Improved Suck :smalltongue:

GMPC. 'nuff said. The game's understaffed and the cleric doesn't want to play the healbot. Don't feel like stealing the thunder, and they need a caster, so I need to healbot it up. And since I have some semblance of honor, I'm playing by the same rules they are with her.

Also, I was thinking of Sacred Boost, even if it's a one-turn thing. Looks like it's much more efficient than DMM'D Maximize, since it only spends one turn and also allows the other cleric to get in on the healing.

Nohwl
2008-03-25, 10:24 PM
you have turn undead? chain spell and divine metamagic chain spell.

Chronicled
2008-03-25, 10:25 PM
GMPC. 'nuff said. The game's understaffed and the cleric doesn't want to play the healbot. Don't feel like stealing the thunder, and they need a caster, so I need to healbot it up. And since I have some semblance of honor, I'm playing by the same rules they are with her.

Also, I was thinking of Sacred Boost, even if it's a one-turn thing. Looks like it's much more efficient than DMM'D Maximize, since it only spends one turn and also allows the other cleric to get in on the healing.

Ah, you're the DM. In that case, there's as easy way to let the cleric to be able to save group members with the occasional heal, but not have to be relegated to healbot: reserve points (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/reservePoints.htm). I'm using this variant now in a group without a cleric, and it works great; I've heard good things about it from other people who have tried it with a cleric in the party.

Cainen
2008-03-25, 10:29 PM
Ah, you're the DM. In that case, there's as easy way to let the cleric to be able to save group members with the occasional heal, but not have to be relegated to healbot: reserve points (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/adventuring/reservePoints.htm). I'm using this variant now in a group without a cleric, and it works great; I've heard good things about it from other people who have tried it with a cleric in the party.

Well, if DMM wasn't ridiculously powerful I'd just use Pathfinder's(admittedly) brilliant turning rules. And for the record, the NPC has already been made and introduced; it's been that way for a long time, in fact. I just never truly bothered with much beyond the basics, and the little thing has been recurring and important enough to the point where she may as well be statted their way since I kept losing track of it.

Reserve HP seems more like something for an entirely different genre of game than I'd like to run, honestly.

Corsec1337
2008-03-25, 10:30 PM
if it's a DMPC that is more or less supposed to be there for healing, I wouldn't optimize it. Augment Healing is a staple for healing clerics. Other than that there are some feats in Complete Divine or Complete Warrior that burn turn attempts to give some nice bonuses. I don't have my books in front of me so I can't recall which it is.

sonofzeal
2008-03-25, 10:57 PM
For a DMPC? Augment Healing, and the layer on the defensive stuff to keep the old girl kicking until you WANT him/her to kick the bucket. Improved Toughness is a start, but boosting saves is also nice. Force of Personality or Mantle of Freedom, maybe?

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-03-25, 11:01 PM
1 level dip in paladin for Charisma to saves? Vow of peace?

Solo
2008-03-25, 11:07 PM
1 level dip in paladin for Charisma to saves? Vow of peace?

2 levels.

And grab Improved Initiative for your healer so you can Suck first in combat. :smallyuk:

Chronicled
2008-03-25, 11:31 PM
1 2 level dip in paladin for Charisma to saves? Vow of peace?

One level of Dragon Shaman would be better, using the healing aura for free healing up to half their total HP, and the other auras for minor bonuses.

Sacred Vow + Vow of ______ would be a pretty good idea, though. As would Improved Toughness and/or other feats to help with survival.


Reserve HP seems more like something for an entirely different genre of game than I'd like to run, honestly.

Different genre? I'm curious, how do reserve points not work for fantasy?

Sstoopidtallkid
2008-03-25, 11:38 PM
Cha to saves comes at Pally 2. One level of Dragon Shaman would be better, using the healing aura for free healing up to half their total HP, and the other auras for minor bonuses.

Sacred Vow + Vow of ______ would be a pretty good idea, though. As would Improved Toughness and/or other feats to help with survival.



Different genre? I'm curious, how do reserve points not work for fantasy?Some people prefer to be a bit grittier game than standard high fantasy. For them, reserve points are a step in the wrong direction.

Chronicled
2008-03-25, 11:44 PM
Some people prefer to be a bit grittier game than standard high fantasy. For them, reserve points are a step in the wrong direction.

:smallconfused:

The reason I use reserve points is for a grittier, low-magic game. Just because you lost 2 HP doesn't mean that you got cut; with this especially (you can apply this to the standard HP system), physical injuries only happen at <0 HP. Getting regularly cut open and magically healed sounds a lot more like high fantasy to me.

Chronos
2008-03-25, 11:51 PM
One level of Dragon Shaman would be better, using the healing aura for free healing up to half their total HP, and the other auras for minor bonuses.Along similar lines, you could take the Touch of Healing (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Touch_Of_Healing,all) reserve feat. As long as you have a 2nd-level or higher healing spell available, you have unlimited healing ability, up to half the target's max. It also increases your CL for all healing spells.

Cainen
2008-03-25, 11:53 PM
We are quite literally about to step into Dark Sun. Planar travel has been the schtick for awhile, and Dark Sun was one of my favorite settings.

Reserve points + Dark Sun = lol wut?

Survival hasn't been much of a problem due to high HP rolls, good Dexterity/decent Constitution stats, and a few other houserules(2E weapon/style proficiencies, for one thing; one of them is defensive). However, Paladin, Dragon Shaman, and the Vows fail to fit the character at all, since this is a CG Healer with quite a few leanings towards CN; personally, I'd like to avoid multiclassing at all, since I am very much a character-fits-the-sheets player. DMM + Chain Spell doesn't seem like it'd work particularly well, since that goes off of ranged spells only. In fact, DMM altogether seems like it'd be screwy for someone who already has abilities that can emulate what I'd actually need and who doesn't use them for offense.

Chronicled
2008-03-25, 11:57 PM
Along similar lines, you could take the Touch of Healing (http://realmshelps.dandello.net/cgi-bin/feats.pl?Touch_Of_Healing,all) reserve feat. As long as you have a 2nd-level or higher healing spell available, you have unlimited healing ability, up to half the target's max. It also increases your CL for all healing spells.

That would work even better than my suggestions.


We are quite literally about to step into Dark Sun. Planar travel has been the schtick for awhile, and Dark Sun was one of my favorite settings.

Reserve points + Dark Sun = lol wut?

It's an awesome setting. Reserve points would work just fine there too.

It's your campaign, don't use them if you don't want. But saying that they go against any sort of genre or setting is silly. All they do is make everyone a little less reliant on healers, and keep clerics/druids/etc from being forced into the healbot position.

Tempest Fennac
2008-03-26, 02:23 AM
Which spells did you houserule in for your Healers? I'm curious due to how I like playing as healbots, but I know the normal class is probably worse then the Clerics in some respects due to a lack of spontaneous Cure spells.

Cainen
2008-03-26, 08:31 AM
Just a few. No buffing spells, so they are still worse than clerics, but now they can cast the Vigor spells, Stabilize, and Healthful Rest, none of which are all that useful. As the levels go up, I'll definitely add more spells, but for right now it's just the ones that are reasonable to cast. Vigor definitely is useful, but the Healer gets a bonus to her Cure spells, so it's only better in that it's more consistent than the dicerolls. For a Cleric, though, it's a great spell.

Tempest Fennac
2008-03-26, 08:37 AM
Thanks for telling me (I was thinking that adding buffs, and a few battlefield control spells, would probably help the class a lot).

Swordguy
2008-03-26, 08:48 AM
Augment Healing and DMM (reach) are "duh" choices. The DMM is especially nice for a DMNPC since it allows you to stay a little back from combat and throw heals while giving the NPCs an excuse not to run up to your DMNPC and kill him. Since DMM (Reach) forces you to cast the spells as a ray, though, any feat that would normally help you hit with rays will be useful for your other choice. Healing is by definition suboptimal - there's no need to be completely suboptimal by missing with the ranged touch attack and missing - or worse, hitting the other guy.

Sacred Boost is nice: "You can spend a turn attempt as standard action to place an aura of positive energy upon each creature within a 60-ft. burst. Any cure spell cast on one of these creatures before the end of your next turn is automatically maximized, with no adjustment to the spell's level or casting time." The issue is timing it right.

Sacred Healing is decent: "...and a +2 bonus per die on the damage healed by any conjuration (healing) spells you cast."

Keld Denar
2008-03-26, 08:52 AM
Since you gave your Healer turning, give him Divine Ward. It lets you mark 1 target, plus 1 target per turn spent for 24 hours (great with small parties). From then on, you can spend a turn to heal a marked target at a range of 30 as if you were touching them. No attack roll, just pure, simple healing goodness.

Cainen
2008-03-26, 08:52 AM
Sacred Healing doesn't say that. Where'd you get that from?

I think you're talking about Augment Healing or Sacred Healing from another book, since it's certainly not the one I'm looking at right now in Complete Divine.

Swordguy
2008-03-26, 08:56 AM
Sacred Healing doesn't say that. Where'd you get that from?

I think you're talking about Augment Healing or Sacred Healing from another book, since it's certainly not the one I'm looking at right now in Complete Divine.

http://realmshelps.dandello.net/datafind/feats.shtml

Click "Complete Divine", click "Find", scroll to feat, click "Sacred Healing". Bask in the awesome that is this website.

Cainen
2008-03-26, 08:58 AM
Sacred Healing is about granting Fast Healing 3, not that. I think it may be talking about the PHBII one, which would make a lot more sense.

Yep, PHBII. The only problem is that I already have ways to expend turning attempts without actually using DMM/turning undead. I'd have to do the math to find out which is better at buffing CMW and upwards, but I'd wager that Sacred Boost is. CLW is quite a bit iffier, since it's only a single die roll.

Swordguy
2008-03-26, 09:03 AM
I dunno. The site pretty clearly says it's talking about a feat found in BOTH sources, and lists only one set of mechanics. There may be an errata, or the site may be in error. I hope not, though. I use that site on a laptop during game sessions to look up obscure feats - and I'd hate to be doing my players a disservice by using incorrect information.

Cainen
2008-03-26, 09:05 AM
I mean, I'm literally looking at the feat in Complete Divine right now. It's definitely not what the site says it is, though it's likely a bit more reliable with regards to other feats, since I don't recall many same-named items that weren't in the compendiums.

Person_Man
2008-03-26, 09:22 AM
I'm very anti-DM PC. Too many conflicts of interest. And every minute that you're playing your PC is a minute that a player isn't playing, making the game slightly less fun for them. Besides, Wands of Cure Light Wounds and healing belts are cheap. No one has to be play heal bot.

But assuming that you are doing it, consider Reach Spell. It lets you turn touch spells (like Cure or Cause Wounds) into ray spells. Combine with DMM and/or Practical Metamagic and/or Easy Metamagic to reduce the +2 LA. At higher levels, add Split Ray, and take DMM/PMM/EMM again to reduce its +2 LA. You're now the ultimate blaster/healer.

Also, the best thing about being a Healer is the Unicorn that improves with levels. You Share Spells and get a constant Circle of Protection, which means summoned monsters and mind effecting affects can't touch you. Definitely want to stay on its back all of the time, and take Mounted Combat.

Swordguy
2008-03-26, 09:26 AM
OK, from the D&D 3.5 FAQ, pg 38 : FAQ download page (http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/faq)

"Unless stated otherwise, any time that a rule appears in two
different sourcebooks (other than the Player’s Handbook,
Dungeon Master’s Guide, and Monster Manual), the most
current sourcebook is considered correct and all previous
sources are superseded. A book’s credits page lists its
publication date (typically near the bottom of the page).
In this case, Complete Arcane (published in November
2004) supersedes Player’s Guide to Faerûn (published in
March 2004), and thus its version of Innate Spell should be
considered the official version."

From Amazon:
Complete Divine
# Hardcover: 192 pages
# Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (May 1, 2004)

Players Handbook II
# Hardcover: 244 pages
# Publisher: Wizards of the Coast (May 9, 2006)

So the PHB II version takes precedence.

Paul H
2008-03-26, 12:07 PM
Hi

One of those 'horses for courses' times.

If you don't intend multi-classing Divine Vigor, then Sacred Healing at 6th.

Then there's Eldritch Disciple (CM), which uses turn attempts to convert Edlritch blasts into Healing Blasts. If that's the way to go then Extra Turning (prereq), Practiced Spellcaster (Warlock) for extra 'healing' with eldritch. As you increase levels, you can do 'chain' healng eldritch, later even a cone!

You'll lose 2 CL of cleric (one lvl Warlock, plus 1st lvl ED), but the extra uses for your turning, plus all those Warlock eldritch abilities make up for it. Same HP/BAB/Save progression. You even get full Turn Undead!

Eg.

Human Clr 5/Warlock 1/Eldritch Disciple 1

1) Clr :Augment Healing, Extra Turning
2) Clr
3) Clr: Practiced Spellcaster Warlock
4) Clr:
5) Clr:
6) Warlock: Sacred Healing
7) Eldritch Disciple

Cleric CL5. Warlock CL6
In combat use Healing Blast 11/day (Cha 18) doing 3D6. Requires ranged touch. Out of combat use Sacred Healing.
Take See the Unseen eldritch invocation - grants darkvision & see invis for 24 hrs.

Cheers
Paul H

Cainen
2008-03-26, 02:59 PM
I'm very anti-DM PC. Too many conflicts of interest. And every minute that you're playing your PC is a minute that a player isn't playing, making the game slightly less fun for them. Besides, Wands of Cure Light Wounds and healing belts are cheap. No one has to be play heal bot.

This logic doesn't apply, since this is not a face-to-face game and it's quite easy for me to multitask. I only point out things that haven't been noticed if it's been lagging them game as a result. Besides, again, this is a Healer GMPC, and I fully intend to play said character as such; I'm filling an empty player slot, and all but forcing the cleric to play something he doesn't want to or introducing another house rule is not brilliant. Offensive builds are not what I'm looking for at all, since even if I did get it, it'd have to overcome inability to wear anything more than light armor/no shields, poor Strength, a spell list that's not meant for offense in any way, AND prior characterization.