Healbot Warlock? 3.X

[RagnaroksChosen]

hey i had a question/wanted to see what people thought or if people could throw some ideas out..

I like the warlock class abilitys but i wonder if we could redo eldritch blast to be a heal instead of dmg? and change some of the incatations to be healing...

I know that there was a invocatin based cleric or healer but i want to use a mechanic similar to eldritch blast..

Over powered?

[Duke of URL]

Three words: free downtime healing.

Three more words: really bad idea.

[RagnaroksChosen]

damn i forgot about that... what if we just changed it to a not out of combat abilitie?


... crap enrouching on 4th ed...

[kamikasei]

"Eldritch Disciple", Complete Mage, Cleric/Warlock theurge class. It can heal with its eldritch blast. I think the mechanism is that you burn turning attempts to do so.

[RagnaroksChosen]

ill have to go look that up thanks

[Jayabalard]

Three words: free downtime healing.

That's pretty standard in 3e already, isn't it?

I'd think that something like this would wind up horribly boring to play... most people hate playing healbots.

[MeklorIlavator]

There is a Prc that can help you with this. Its a Warlock-cleric theruge class, found in the Complete Mage(Eldrich Disciple, I belive). It allows you to choose from several abilities, including one Eldrich Essence that makes your blasts heal. Of course, this costs one turn attempt per use, but it can be combined with shape essences. For instance, I found that a healing Eldritch Glaive works very well. Chain and Doom would also make very good choices.

Ninja!

[Frosty]

Free out of combat healing is actually ok in my book. It keeps the clerics from needing to be heal-bots.

[Duke of URL]

That's pretty standard in 3e already, isn't it?

You have to at least pretend to rest normally. With this, everyone's back to full HP after any encounter.

[RagnaroksChosen]

so then for those that think its ok any ideas on what to take.. as far as invocations go ? and or retooling the warlock class to go with this idea..

[Tokiko Mima]

Besides if free out of combat healing was your goal, there are PrC's that do that. Celestial Mystic's capstone of point blank area fast healing comes to mind, as does the healing Reserve feat (though it only lets you heal up halfway.)

A warlock with Brimstone Blast and an army of iron golems would be in healing heaven, especially with blast shape invocations to get their blast out to as many targets as possible.

[Jayabalard]

You have to at least pretend to rest normally. With this, everyone's back to full HP after any encounter.

That's what I mean... in 3e, don't most people carry around wands to bring everyone back to full hp anyway?

[Calemyr]

My artificer just used a Spectral Dagger (Magic Item Compendium) and switched the Chill Touch spell out for a Cure Light Wounds. Not that useful in combat (meaning combat is still kinda hairy), but it means the party has been able to operate since the cleric dropped out of the campaign.

[SurlySeraph]

There is a Prc that can help you with this. Its a Warlock-cleric theruge class, found in the Complete Mage(Eldrich Disciple, I belive). It allows you to choose from several abilities, including one Eldrich Essence that makes your blasts heal. Of course, this costs one turn attempt per use, but it can be combined with shape essences. For instance, I found that a healing Eldritch Glaive works very well. Chain and Doom would also make very good choices.

Ninja!

You... heal people... by stabbing them with a magic spear?

WE'VE GOT A HEALING SHIV!

[Mushroom Ninja]

Warlocks as healers?

This is Madness!

you know you want to...

[_Puppetmaster_]

Get the negative energy blast and have everyone take tomb-tainted soul?

[RagnaroksChosen]

well i think keeping most of the warlocks level abilitys woiuld work renaming them of course .. can't picture a healing warlock with fiendish resiliance ... mabye make it like holy resilaince... or what not..


i wonder if a cure desise or posion style invocation would be over powered?

[monty]

Get the negative energy blast and have everyone take tomb-tainted soul?

Sure, if you want to toss around a bunch of negative levels while you're healing.

[Te'Shen]

I was about to say that even though warlock still did it better, the eldritch disciple adapted to the dragonfire adept could do it alright thanks to his aura... then I remembered the aura is a dragon shaman ability... so nevermind me.

[RagnaroksChosen]

I was about to say that even though warlock still did it better, the eldritch disciple adapted to the dragonfire adept could do it alright thanks to his aura... then I remembered the aura is a dragon shaman ability... so nevermind me.

heh nice...

[RagnaroksChosen]

I was about to say that even though warlock still did it better, the eldritch disciple adapted to the dragonfire adept could do it alright thanks to his aura... then I remembered the aura is a dragon shaman ability... so nevermind me.

actualy now that i think about it all the Eldritch prestiege classes that require a warlocks eldritch blast could be done with dragon fire adept.. subbing out eldtritch blast for breathe weapon..

[Animefunkmaster]

I would like to propose a close second to any kind of warlock healer. Setting sun ninja with tomb tainted soul. He heals himself with negative energy, then cures a party member, all you need is a single level dip and a feat to get unlimited out of combat healing.

[The Demented One]

There's a Binder vestige that allows for unlimited downtime healing at 7th level, so something like this wouldn't be terribly unbalanced. It does, however, break the flavor of the warlock, whose buffs are all "me only" types. Eldritch Disciple is probably your best option.

[Sinfire Titan]

Three words: free downtime healing.

Three more words: really bad idea.

It actually isn't that bad to give free healing like that. It allows the party to continue far longer than they normally do (if you have Martial Adepts or heavy-melee characters, but casters don't like the idea of playing more than 4 encounters out). If you are running a campaign like WLD, then it is a good idea to give them a way to heal up after every encounter, as they need it.

[Chronos]

That's what I mean... in 3e, don't most people carry around wands to bring everyone back to full hp anyway?

That's not exactly "free", though.

That said, there are a few perfectly valid ways of getting unlimited downtime healing already, which stretch the rules to various degrees. The simplest and least rules-stretching I know of is a Binder with the vestige Buer, who can heal 1d8+10 points, once every 5 rounds.

Other methods include:
A Crusader stance (I can't remember the name), that lets you heal 2 points of damage every time you hit something. The rules stretch comes from the fact that all of the the other Crusader maneuvers that heal require that you hit something that presents a real, credible danger to you, so you can't just use them on earthworms and grasshoppers, and a DM might rule that the stance ought to have that limitation, too.

The Touch of Healing reserve feat, and one of the Dragon Shaman's auras. These are both of undisputed legality, but only work up to half maximum HP.

A variety of things which do negative energy damage, combined with some way to heal from negative energy. But healing from negative energy is fairly nonstandard for PCs, and everyone to be healed needs to have it.

Shadow Sun Ninja lets you alternate negative energy and positive energy, but you still need something to take the negative energy (an enemy or at least one character with Tomb-Tainted Soul or the like)

A vampiric weapon works, but again, you need something to take the damage. One possibility is a summoned critter, via the Summon Elemental reserve feat. This method also costs a lot of gold to get started.

The item creation guidelines suggest that you could make an unlimited-use use-activated item of Cure Minor Wounds for a fairly low price. But of course, they're only guidelines, and this is probably one of the cases where they break down.

You can apply the Persist Spell metamagic to Vigorous Circle, to give all nearby allies Fast Healing 1 for 24 hours. But Vigorous Circle is high enough level that you can't apply the metamagic normally; you need something like Divine Metamagic to make it workable.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Shadow Sun Ninja also works with the Summon Elemental reserve feat.

Mass Lesser Vigor is only a 3rd level spell and can be persisted normally or by DMM to get fast healing 1.

[Weiser_Cain]

Well if the whole party's undead you can already do this.

[monty]

Shadow Sun Ninja also works with the Summon Elemental reserve feat.

Mass Lesser Vigor is only a 3rd level spell and can be persisted normally or by DMM to get fast healing 1.

Well, since Persist is +6, that "only 3rd level" becomes "only 9th level." It's really only viable with DMM or Incantacheese.

[dman11235]

Free healing isn't a bad thing. Especially at such a low amount, since you'll only be using this OOC.

I am currently making six new blast essences, one for each of the inner planes, and one is positive and one is negative, so either of those can be used for this if you're interested in homebrew. Otherwise, Eldritch Disciple+Binder+Hellfire Warlock+Tenebrous Apostate=unlimited healing, since you gain turn attempts every 5 rounds if you bind Tenebrous. Find a way to bind Naberius as well to avoid that pesky con damage each time you use Hellfire Blast. It's not needed for the healing, it just make EB viable. Binder+ED+Tenebrous Apostate are.

Other methods for infinite healing: SSN, MLV, Dread Necromancer. There are many more out there, I just can't think of them now. btw, I've been able to make the SSN a better healer than the Healer. Yes, a monk can heal better than a Healer.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Actually, the ONE good thing about the holy Warlock PrC in Complete Mage is the infinite healing combo. Basically, take Leadership, and take another Warlock as your minion.

The 'capstone' ability (and I use the term with a vague sense of nausia) is that you can greater dispel and heal yourself or an ally, but you can't do it on your own spells. So have your buddy warlock drop down a buff on himself (see the unseen is a good choice), then you dispel it for healing, and repeat as necessary.

If anyone in the party dips Warlock, or has a method of doing a buff infinitely (maybe some reserve feat?), then you don't need leadership.