Author Topic: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread  (Read 9966 times)

Offline Waazraath

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A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« on: August 14, 2012, 03:15:12 PM »
The guide is here: http://www.minmaxboards.com/index.php?topic=6656.0

Please post here comments, suggestions, etc.

Offline Jackinthegreen

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #1 on: August 14, 2012, 03:29:42 PM »
Something else that might be worthwhile to mention is healing ability damage and other conditions.  The Healing Lorecall spell helps with this, and of course various spells like Restoration and Heal are good for it too.

The Healer class is actually pretty good at healing, but is pretty much stuck in that role unless it can get some other spells.

If Dragon Mag can come into play, there's a cleric variant in 311 called Benefactor that can spontaneously cast all manner of healing spells as well as buffs.

I think there's a feat or some other effect that grants temp hit points for certain spells cast on party members.  I'd have to look around for it though.

Offline veekie

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #2 on: August 14, 2012, 04:01:37 PM »
Close Wounds probably should warrant a mention. Out of turn healing can negate damage before the real loss occurs.
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Offline Endarire

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #3 on: August 15, 2012, 06:02:42 PM »
Close wounds is a rare IMMEDIATE action healing spell.  It's only d4 HP +1 HP per CL (max +5), but it's useful in a pinch.

And thanks for this guide.

Offline Concerned Ninja Citizen

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #4 on: August 15, 2012, 06:28:00 PM »
The Prestige Paladin from UA might be worth a mention. It potentially allows access to Battle Blessing and swift action healing using the Cleric's superior spells/day.

Offline kitep

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #5 on: August 15, 2012, 10:19:34 PM »
Close wounds is a rare IMMEDIATE action healing spell.  It's only d4 HP +1 HP per CL (max +5), but it's useful in a pinch.

And thanks for this guide.

I looked at the spell and it says:

Quote
If you cast this spell immediately after the subject takes damage, it effectively prevents the damage. It would keep alive someone who had just dropped to –10 hit points, for example, leaving the character at negative hit points but stable.

Makes me wonder if you can cast it on yourself if you hit -10?

Offline Jackinthegreen

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2012, 10:39:15 PM »
It probably does allow casting on oneself for that purpose.  I don't see anything that says it can't be done that way.

Offline Halinn

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2012, 10:59:59 PM »
A shorter guide to healing in combat: Don't. :p

Offline Zionpopsickle

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #8 on: August 15, 2012, 11:33:23 PM »
A shorter guide to healing in combat: Don't. :p

That's not quite true (and yes I get you are joking but some people really do hold that viewpoint).  The key is to make healing action efficient.  So priorities are things like close wounds (which lets you use your swift actions for something), pre-buffing with the vigor lines (which can be combined with imbued healing to provide other buffs as well), or using heal to refresh a character so they can continue along in the fight.

The problem most healbots get into is that they use their action to heal and then the opponent uses their action to do more damage than what was healed leading into a quick downward spiral.  There are ways to optimize around this but generally they just have too high of an opportunity cost. 

Offline phaedrusxy

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #9 on: August 16, 2012, 02:31:57 PM »
Close wounds is a rare IMMEDIATE action healing spell.  It's only d4 HP +1 HP per CL (max +5), but it's useful in a pinch.

And thanks for this guide.

I looked at the spell and it says:

Quote
If you cast this spell immediately after the subject takes damage, it effectively prevents the damage. It would keep alive someone who had just dropped to –10 hit points, for example, leaving the character at negative hit points but stable.

Makes me wonder if you can cast it on yourself if you hit -10?
It's an immediate action, which takes effect before the action you preempt (or at the very least interrupts it). So I think you could.
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Offline Waazraath

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #10 on: August 16, 2012, 03:10:40 PM »
Thanks all!! I added all the suggestions, with the exception of a section on healing conditions and ability damage. It can be a good addition, might add it in the future but atm I don't know all the options there are for that, so I'd have to look into it.

Offline snakeman830

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #11 on: August 16, 2012, 08:20:48 PM »
On Draconic Aura, there is nothing RAW preventing the feat from being used to select the Vigor aura.  The feat references a list ("See page X"), but does not say that the selection must be from that list (which would be "From (the list on) page X"), just that it must be a draconic aura.
« Last Edit: August 17, 2012, 09:47:50 AM by snakeman830 »
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Offline littha

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #12 on: August 16, 2012, 08:23:17 PM »
Mastery of Day and Night (Players guide to Eberron) is pretty much flat superior to levels in radiant servant of pelor.

Offline Waazraath

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #13 on: August 17, 2012, 10:32:22 AM »
@littha: what does it do? I don't have the book, can you write something that I can put in?
@snakeman: well, the feat says "When you select this feat, choose a draconic aura (see page 86). .... " Vigor is in a different book, so that's why I think it's a bit dubious at least (also, one of the other handbooks on healing states it isn't RAW). Of course , you could say that the "see page 86" refers to information about draconic aura's and not to the aura's that you can choose... I'm not certain what's meant in any case.

Offline sirpercival

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Offline Concerned Ninja Citizen

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #15 on: August 17, 2012, 03:10:03 PM »
Quote from: A short guide to healing in combat
(If you are lucky with your DM and play really high powered campaigns, cleric with prestige paladin and battle blessing might get all cleric spells quickened for free, though this is controversial.)

Getting all Cleric spells as swift actions via PP and BB is definitely controversial but at that point you'd have better things to do than casting cure spells to heal people (like winning everything with swift action cleric spells.)

What is less controversial and more likely to pass muster with a DM is BB allowing a PP Cleric to cast "Paladin" spells, that is spells on the Paladin list (the feat says "Paladin spells" and the PP class suggests granting access to core Paladin spells only), as a swift action. The Paladin list is pretty self buff and healing oriented so that interpretation wouldn't open up gamebreaking cheese like swift save or dies.

« Last Edit: August 26, 2012, 09:27:25 PM by Concerned Ninja Citizen »

Offline snakeman830

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #16 on: August 17, 2012, 11:27:53 PM »
@snakeman: well, the feat says "When you select this feat, choose a draconic aura (see page 86). .... " Vigor is in a different book, so that's why I think it's a bit dubious at least (also, one of the other handbooks on healing states it isn't RAW). Of course , you could say that the "see page 86" refers to information about draconic aura's and not to the aura's that you can choose... I'm not certain what's meant in any case.
Given that the feat does not have the full rules for draconic auras, I believe it is referring to those rules on page 86.  Again, it does not say "from the list on page 86", which it would have to if it were only able to pull from that list.
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Offline Maat Mons

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #17 on: August 18, 2012, 12:14:56 AM »
Recaster (Races of Eberron) or wyrm wizard (Dragon Magic) can give an arcane caster heal as a 5th-level spell, from the adept list.  War weaver (Heroes of Battle) allows you to target multiple allies with spells that normally only affect one, with some restrictions. 

You might want to look through this thread

I think there's a feat or some other effect that grants temp hit points for certain spells cast on party members.

You're probably thinking of deity's favor (Player's Handbook II, p43). 

Offline gorfnab

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #18 on: August 26, 2012, 05:03:11 PM »
Revenance + Revivify

Offline Lord Slasher

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Re: A short guide to healing in combat - Discussion thread
« Reply #19 on: August 27, 2012, 07:39:15 PM »
Divine Ward negates the problem of having to be right next to your buddy to heal, only problem is that using this eats turn attempts like crazy