Ideas for a healer/skill monkey

[BoB821]

Hya all,

I was ask to play a Xcrawl game, starting at first level, My first though was a halfing wrestler/reaping mauler, but some one beat me to the tank position.  Now I'm onto the postion few seem to want play, buff/healer, which I have no problem playing, I just want something different, but still effective.

Looking for something healer/skill monkey, but using the core books, maybe 1-2 things from non core, but can choose most La-0 races(within reason).  Again starting at 1st, knowing it is a progression, and most-likely not going much above level 10.

Let me have it, break it down level wise and thoughts please.

[phaedrusxy]

If you can use the web enhancement, the kobold domain grants Trapfinding as a rogue. If not, maybe a druid (use wildshape for stealth, summons to "disarm" traps, detect magic to find most traps).

[Eldritch_Lord]

If you don't want to play the usual healbot cleric and have access to Complete Champion, there's a bard ACF called Healing Hymn that swaps out Fascinate for the ability to add your Perform ranks to any healing effects you or your allies cast in the area while the song lasts.  (The errata nerfs it to be subject to the CL cap on spells like the cure line, but I'd suggest not showing that to the group or convincing your DM to ignore that because it's fine in its un-nerfed state.)  There's another ACF in PHB2 called Bardic Knack which swaps out Bardic Knowledge for the ability to make skills checks with a number of virtual ranks equal to half your bard level, as if you'd almost maxed out every skill at the cross-class level.

Between those two features, you can be a pretty darn good healer and a very versatile skillmonkey (though, as usual, obviously not as good as a T1 caster), and if you want to buff too, you can check out this handbook for advice on optimizing Inspire Courage/Dragonfire Inspiration.  The build is very easy: you get both ACFs at level 1, so just take bard all the way, focusing on whatever healing and/or skill-boosting spells look cool and possibly adding in stuff from the IC handbook.

[awaken_D_M_golem]

Rogue 1 / Bard X isn't quite as good,
and needs help like El'Lord posted
... or Rogue 1 / CoDzilla X of course. 
Wand of Cure Light Wounds is enough.

Guidance Of The Avatar is wotc online, for boosting skills.
https://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/sb/sb20010504a

Quickstart Cleric Archer is a decent beginning too, on handbooks.
There's also a Grapple guide, that can easily sub for your wrestling/mauler.

[Maat Mons]

Cloistered cleric (Unearthed Arcana, p50) gives you 6 + int skill points per level.  That's decidedly helpful to any skill-focused build. 

If you want to focus on knowledges, ancestral knowledge (Races of Stone, p136) is a dwarf-only feat that lets you use wisdom instead of intelligence for knowledge checks.  Cloistered cleric already has all knowledge skills as class skills, so you can pretty easily get some high modifiers. 

If you want to focus on social skills, the pact domain (Spell Compendium, p278) and the trickery domain add appraise, bluff, disguise, hide, intimidate, and sense motive to your cleric class skills.  Cleric already gives you diplomacy.  I think pact and trickery have a nice thematic connection, obeying the letter of a deal while twisting the intent. 

[BoB821]

Any bard/cleric, rogue/cleric, or spell thief/cleric builds I should look into, or some super brains come up with?  would the bard healing thing work with vigor spell line?

[Eldritch_Lord]

Any bard/cleric, rogue/cleric, or spell thief/cleric builds I should look into, or some super brains come up with?

You don't really gain much from multiclassing a skill-based class with cleric that you couldn't gain by just going Cloistered Cleric with two of the Kobold, Pact, or Trickery domains.

You could try factotum 1/archivist X with Able Learner: two Int-based classes for the bonus skill points, one of which gives you +Int to skill rolls a few times per encounter and all skills as class skills with no cross-class cost, the other of which gives you all the healing power of a cleric plus some Knowledge-based buffing/utility.

would the bard healing thing work with vigor spell line?

Yes, though whether the bonus healing is per round or just once when you cast it is debatable (and your DM will probably go with the latter interpretation).

[Arz]

Any bard/cleric, rogue/cleric, or spell thief/cleric builds I should look into, or some super brains come up with?  would the bard healing thing work with vigor spell line?

Spellthief healing via wands isn't really viable until mid-levels but it will beat out cleric skill-monkies too at that point. Downside is the equipment expense being quite high. Mixing cleric and spellthief is not advised.

[awaken_D_M_golem]

Bard 1 / Cleric* X / PrestigeBard Y
* could also be Cloistered Cleric or Archivist
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/prestigiousCharacterClasses.htm#prestigeBard


Previous CoDzilla reference included Cleric, the "C" part of codzilla.

Feat Rogue 1 or 2 gets fighter feats instead of sneak + evasion.
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/variantCharacterClasses.htm#rogue

Rogue 1 or 2 / Cleric X

[PsyBomb]

I'm not big on in-combat healing, but if you want to do both the skill-monkey thing and some minor healing you could go for Incarnate. Use a feat to learn the Worg Pelt soulmeld in case you have to do any sneaking. Lifebond Vestments get useful for some minor healing tricks, especially once you can Bind it.

... and then I read the "mostly-core" part. Unfortunate.