# Touch of Healing - How does it work?



## MithrasRahl (Mar 27, 2008)

Feat - Touch of Healing

Benefit: As long as you have a conjuration (healing) spell of 2nd level or higher available to cast, you can spend a standard action to touch a target creature and heal 3 points of damage per level of the highest-level conjuration (healing) spell you have available to cast. You can use this ability only on a target that has been reduced to one-half or fewer of its total hit points. The effect ends once you've healed the subject up to half its normal maximum hit points. This ability has no effect on creatures that can't be healed by cure spells.

How does this work?


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## Folly (Mar 27, 2008)

How I read it was that you could use the ability on any target with fewer than 1/2 their max hp and once the target reach 1/2 or more of their max hp it stopped working. This means that you will be able to use it to get the target to a fewer hp above their halfway point. It can also cause some interesting situations when the target has very low max and the caster has high level spells. For example, if a character was at 24 of 50 and a caster with access to 9th level spells were to use it on him. It would function since the target is below 1/2 max and would gain 27 hp. In this particular situation the target would end up being at full. Given this only really happens at the extreme cases and not a serious concern, since if you have a party member with 50 hp at level 17 you have more dire problems to worry about. Though I suppose a wizard with 10 con would have 55 hp at level 17 assume (1/2) +1 per level.


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## MithrasRahl (Mar 27, 2008)

But I am reading it right, that it is essentially free healing up to half a person's hit points?


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## blargney the second (Mar 27, 2008)

Yep.


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## MithrasRahl (Mar 27, 2008)

And that's not overpowered?


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## Hypersmurf (Mar 27, 2008)

MithrasRahl said:
			
		

> And that's not overpowered?




The Dragon Shaman could do the same thing before the Reserve Feat came out.

-Hyp.


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## Nifft (Mar 27, 2008)

MithrasRahl said:
			
		

> And that's not overpowered?



 IMHO moving from "mostly dead" to just "half dead" isn't game breaking.

Half dead still sucks.

Cheers, -- N


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## Darklone (Mar 27, 2008)

MithrasRahl said:
			
		

> And that's not overpowered?



Usually not. I was very cautious at first to allow it but even in campaigns where healing is pretty rare (and wands of CLW are not easily bought) it wasn't too strong. 

As our fighter said: At half hitpoints you're half dead.

Edit: The penguin won initiative!


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## Corsair (Mar 27, 2008)

Up to level 3 or 4, half dead is still one hit away from really dead.  Whether you have 1 HP or 20 HP doesn't matter much when a troll rends you, or an ogre fighter 2 power attacks with a two handed great club.

Past that, all it really does is replicate what you could have done with wands of Cure Light Wounds or Lesser Vigor.


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## MithrasRahl (Mar 27, 2008)

We're level 12/13, so when our 181 HP tank gets to 21, this feat will be money saving as all hell


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## Hypersmurf (Mar 27, 2008)

MithrasRahl said:
			
		

> We're level 12/13, so when our 181 HP tank gets to 21, this feat will be money saving as all hell




When your tank gets that low, your 13th level cleric casts Heal, right?

Heal will take him from 21 to 151 - only 30 hit points down.  The reserve feat is saving you 30 hit points of healing - about a Cure Serious Wounds worth - because the cleric can cure him a bit 'for free' before casting Heal.

-Hyp.


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## Olaf the Stout (Mar 27, 2008)

Folly said:
			
		

> How I read it was that you could use the ability on any target with fewer than 1/2 their max hp and once the target reach 1/2 or more of their max hp it stopped working. This means that you will be able to use it to get the target to a fewer hp above their halfway point. It can also cause some interesting situations when the target has very low max and the caster has high level spells. For example, if a character was at 24 of 50 and a caster with access to 9th level spells were to use it on him. It would function since the target is below 1/2 max and would gain 27 hp. In this particular situation the target would end up being at full. Given this only really happens at the extreme cases and not a serious concern, since if you have a party member with 50 hp at level 17 you have more dire problems to worry about. Though I suppose a wizard with 10 con would have 55 hp at level 17 assume (1/2) +1 per level.




The way I read it (and how I plan to rule it as a player in my game is thinking of taking this feat) is that you can only heal people up to half HP's.  So even if the spell gives them more hit points than half their total, the excess HP's are lost.

Example - The Fighter is at 39 out of 80 hit points.  The Cleric has a 5th level Healing spell available.  The Figher is healed up to 40 hit points, and not 54 hit points.

The other question I have with this feat is this:

Can a Cleric who is able to spontaneously convert prepared spells to cure spells able to use the Touch of Healing feat if he has spells prepared still available to cast, but none of them are Conjuration (Healing)?  (i.e. he could convert one of his spells to Conjuration (Healing) if needed but doesn't have one prepared as such)  I would say that he is able to use the feat, but I can see how some DM's might rule otherwise.

Olaf the Stout


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## blargney the second (Mar 27, 2008)

MithrasRahl said:
			
		

> And that's not overpowered?



Nope.


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## Jack Simth (Mar 28, 2008)

Olaf the Stout said:
			
		

> The way I read it (and how I plan to rule it as a player in my game is thinking of taking this feat) is that you can only heal people up to half HP's.  So even if the spell gives them more hit points than half their total, the excess HP's are lost.
> 
> Example - The Fighter is at 39 out of 80 hit points.  The Cleric has a 5th level Healing spell available.  The Figher is healed up to 40 hit points, and not 54 hit points.
> 
> ...



If you prepare spells, you need to have a matching spell actually prepared - it's in the Reserve Feat type description, not the description of the specific feat.  If you don't prepare spells, you need to know one and have a free slot available of that level.  At least, it's that way in the Complete Mage Reserve Feat type description (page 37).  I'm not entirely sure how it works for a Sorcerer, Bard, or similar with Arcane Preparation, who does both.

A curious note is that this makes Heighten Spell potentially more useful for a prepared caster in regards to Reserve feats than it does to a spontaneous caster - with Invisible Needle, for instance, the Cleric-9 who doesn't have any 3rd, 4th, or 5th level Force spells (at least, not in the PHB spell list - I'm reasonably sure there's a 3rd, 4th, or 5th level Force spell out there for clerics somewhere....) can use a Heightened Spiritual Weapon to make a 3rd level Force Spell, where the Favored Soul-9 has to wait all the way until 12th level and take Blade Barrier as a spell known to do it with just the PHB spell list.


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## Ogrork the Mighty (Mar 28, 2008)

We've been using Touch of Healing for several months now and it's been a very welcome addition to our game. Not broken at all.

What it's good for is saving healing resources. The great limiting factors are that, (a) it can't heal you above half; (b) it takes a standard action to use; and (c) it ties up a relatively high level spell.

In our game, the druid has been holding a 7th-lvl spell in reserve and healing 35 points (we house ruled it to 5 hp per level at the expense of only being able to use it on fellow PCs who are followers of the druid's faith) at a shot. It's proven *invaluable*. While it never proves decisive all on its own, it conserves healing resources for when they're really needed. The druid spends many rounds delaying to deliver a crucial healing boost when it's needed most.

I highly recommend the feat.


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## Kmart Kommando (Mar 29, 2008)

The healing-up-to-half mechanic is stupid.
We had a dragon shaman in one game at, at the low-power levels, and half hit points going into an encounter was always 2 hits away from dead.  Or one crit.  It was like that from 1st to 5th, when the dragon shaman finally died.


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## Nifft (Mar 29, 2008)

Kmart Kommando said:
			
		

> The healing-up-to-half mechanic is stupid.
> We had a dragon shaman in one game at, at the low-power levels, and half hit points going into an encounter was always 2 hits away from dead.  Or one crit.  It was like that from 1st to 5th, when the dragon shaman finally died.



 You tried to use a Dragon Shaman as your only source of healing?

 -- N


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## Jack Simth (Mar 29, 2008)

Kmart Kommando said:
			
		

> The healing-up-to-half mechanic is stupid.
> We had a dragon shaman in one game at, at the low-power levels, and half hit points going into an encounter was always 2 hits away from dead.  Or one crit.  It was like that from 1st to 5th, when the dragon shaman finally died.



The healing-up-to-half mechanic is designed to supplement other types of healing - not to be your only source of it.


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## Olaf the Stout (Mar 30, 2008)

Jack Simth said:
			
		

> The healing-up-to-half mechanic is designed to supplement other types of healing - not to be your only source of it.




I agree.  The idea is to use the Dragon Shaman to heal everyone up to half and then use other forms of healing to get up to close to full HP's again.

Olaf the Stout


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## Kmart Kommando (Mar 31, 2008)

Jack Simth said:
			
		

> The healing-up-to-half mechanic is designed to supplement other types of healing - not to be your only source of it.



We had a cleric too.  But it was a large party and there wasn't enough spells to go around.  At least, not for 4 encounters per day standard.  Seems like anything over 2 encounters per day and someone bites it, sometimes even more than 1.  And lowering the EL makes the bigger party walk all over everything.  It's one of the reasons I run Iron Heroes instead.  We have a smaller party for that game, though, and I'm still trying to dial in the EL.


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## Olaf the Stout (Mar 31, 2008)

Kmart Kommando said:
			
		

> We had a cleric too.  But it was a large party and there wasn't enough spells to go around.  At least, not for 4 encounters per day standard.  Seems like anything over 2 encounters per day and someone bites it, sometimes even more than 1.  And lowering the EL makes the bigger party walk all over everything.  It's one of the reasons I run Iron Heroes instead.  We have a smaller party for that game, though, and I'm still trying to dial in the EL.




Did you have any wands of CLW or Lesser Vigour for out-of-combat healing?  I thought they were considered standard for almost all groups.

Olaf the Stout


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## Kmart Kommando (Apr 1, 2008)

Olaf the Stout said:
			
		

> Did you have any wands of CLW or Lesser Vigour for out-of-combat healing?  I thought they were considered standard for almost all groups.
> 
> Olaf the Stout



Funny thing about those though.. they are pretty much assumed to be readily available, but they never are.   :\ 

I kept putting the word out about Lesser Vigor wands, but everyone always wants CLW.  This is the same group that min/maxes everything to get the most out of their gold, but then takes CLW over Lesser Vigor.    

I gave my Iron Heroes party a healing disc that would transfer 1 reserve point per Hit Die of the user to hit points of the target (currently 5 hit points, 5th level) as a standard action, all day long, but they don't even want to use it.  And an IH Healing Potion heals 4hp/HD.  Most of the party has some form of more-or-less-instant in-combat healing of a sort, even without magic.


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## Jack Simth (Apr 1, 2008)

Kmart Kommando said:
			
		

> Funny thing about those though.. they are pretty much assumed to be readily available, but they never are.   :\



That's because way too many parties aren't balanced and don't do cooperation, or don't have down-time.  It takes a day (8 hours, really) 375 gp, and 30 xp for the Wizard and Cleric to get together and Craft one.  At low levels, it'll last a few levels.  At high levels, it'll last a few encounters.  Either way, it more than covers it's own expense.


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## Slaved (Apr 1, 2008)

I would rather spend a feat to get the Vigor Draconic Aura than take the Touch of Healing feat. It will do the same thing out of Combat and it might actually help sometimes while in Combat!


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## Nifft (Apr 1, 2008)

Slaved said:
			
		

> I would rather spend a feat to get the Vigor Draconic Aura than take the Touch of Healing feat.



 If you're thinking about the feat in Dragon magic, that's not an available aura choice. Only way to get Vigor is a level of Dragon Shaman.

Cheers, -- N


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## Slaved (Apr 1, 2008)

Nifft said:
			
		

> If you're thinking about the feat in Dragon magic, that's not an available aura choice. Only way to get Vigor is a level of Dragon Shaman.
> 
> Cheers, -- N




It is not a _normal_ choice but I believe most Dungeon Masters would allow it. I certainly would if I was the Dungeon Master and all of the Dungeon Masters I know would allow it.


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## Nifft (Apr 1, 2008)

Slaved said:
			
		

> It is not a _normal_ choice but I believe most Dungeon Masters would allow it. I certainly would if I was the Dungeon Master and all of the Dungeon Masters I know would allow it.



 Then lucky you. Nonetheless, by the RAW, it's not a valid choice.

(My opinion of what the RAW says is not always the same as what is fair and balanced.)

Cheers, -- N


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## Darklone (Apr 1, 2008)

I did allow it once... in a round where I allowed legendary classes for the other players.

Usually? No way.


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## the Jester (Apr 2, 2008)

Slaved said:
			
		

> It is not a _normal_ choice but I believe most Dungeon Masters would allow it. I certainly would if I was the Dungeon Master and all of the Dungeon Masters I know would allow it.




Not me. 

I think Touch of Healing is prolly fine, but I haven't seen anyone use it yet.


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## Patlin (Apr 2, 2008)

At low to moderate levels, healing up to half with touch of healing and then using Mass Lesser Vigor works pretty well.  Very efficient, if you have the time.  If you have the time, though, there are a lot of other options too.  For example, what spell can a 5th level Wizard cast to heal his whole party and restore their spells and abilities?  Completely core, no splatbooks involved.

[sblock]Extended Rope Trick[/Sblock]


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## Folly (Apr 2, 2008)

Extended Rope Trick is a 3rd level spell.

Kmart Kommando-
Depends on how you define large party. Some say a large party is 6 players, while other consider large to be more than 6. But if the party is large enough to tap out the cleric the party should be contributing to a pearl of power 1 pool. 1k for 15 hp per day and additional utility if healing is not needed goes a long way as well. If party size really isn't the issue but damage being taken by the party then the party should build sturdier characters.


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## Patlin (Apr 2, 2008)

Folly said:
			
		

> Extended Rope Trick is a 3rd level spell.




That's why I said a 5th level Wizard.  5th level Wizards can cast 3rd level spells.


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## Folly (Apr 2, 2008)

Sorry, I misread your post. I saw 5th spell level rather than 5th level wizard.


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## Olaf the Stout (Apr 3, 2008)

Folly said:
			
		

> Extended Rope Trick is a 3rd level spell.
> 
> Kmart Kommando-
> Depends on how you define large party. Some say a large party is 6 players, while other consider large to be more than 6. But if the party is large enough to tap out the cleric the party should be contributing to a pearl of power 1 pool. 1k for 15 hp per day and additional utility if healing is not needed goes a long way as well. If party size really isn't the issue but damage being taken by the party then the party should build sturdier characters.




A Belt of Healing would be better (although it doesn't have the same utility of a Pearl of Power).

750gp for 6d8 healing (average 27 points) is better value for money.

Olaf the Stout


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## Patlin (Apr 3, 2008)

Olaf the Stout said:
			
		

> A Belt of Healing would be better (although it doesn't have the same utility of a Pearl of Power).
> 
> 750gp for 6d8 healing (average 27 points) is better value for money.
> 
> Olaf the Stout




Minor Schemas of Lesser Vigor: 200 gp, 22 hp per day.


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## Kmart Kommando (Apr 3, 2008)

Folly said:
			
		

> Extended Rope Trick is a 3rd level spell.
> 
> Kmart Kommando-
> Depends on how you define large party. Some say a large party is 6 players, while other consider large to be more than 6. But if the party is large enough to tap out the cleric the party should be contributing to a pearl of power 1 pool. 1k for 15 hp per day and additional utility if healing is not needed goes a long way as well. If party size really isn't the issue but damage being taken by the party then the party should build sturdier characters.



Actually, I guess you'd call it a huge party. Had I think 7-8 players during the half-to-all-dead trend, and during an Age of Worms campaign, up to 9 players.  In a party that size, a pimped-out Healer trumps a cleric in keeping the party up and fighting.  Oh, and every character is built for survival, the DM's favorite thing was massive amounts of damage, all the time.  Any enemy combatant was a 3 round supernova, stacked to the gills with synergy cheese.


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## Folly (Apr 3, 2008)

Kmart Kommando said:
			
		

> Actually, I guess you'd call it a huge party. Had I think 7-8 players during the half-to-all-dead trend, and during an Age of Worms campaign, up to 9 players.  In a party that size, a pimped-out Healer trumps a cleric in keeping the party up and fighting.  Oh, and every character is built for survival, the DM's favorite thing was massive amounts of damage, all the time.  Any enemy combatant was a 3 round supernova, stacked to the gills with synergy cheese.




That would be a tough job for your cleric. Rough campaign with a lot of charges. I would request some of the gold be set aside for healing items, whether they be wands, pearls, or some other item.


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## Folly (Apr 3, 2008)

Pearls have the advantage of versatility. They can be 15 hp, or they can be any other level 1 spell your party has used. (Paladin + pearl 1 + lesser restoration is awesome)


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## Olaf the Stout (Apr 3, 2008)

Patlin said:
			
		

> Minor Schemas of Lesser Vigor: 200 gp, 22 hp per day.




What book is this magic item from?  Or is it a custom made item?

Olaf the Stout


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## Hypersmurf (Apr 3, 2008)

Olaf the Stout said:
			
		

> What book is this magic item from?




Magic of Eberron -  a schema is effectively a 1/day scroll (a bit like an eternal wand from MIC, I suppose).

-Hyp.


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## Slaved (Apr 4, 2008)

Eternal Wands are originally in Eberron as well!


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## Kmart Kommando (Apr 5, 2008)

Folly said:
			
		

> That would be a tough job for your cleric. Rough campaign with a lot of charges. I would request some of the gold be set aside for healing items, whether they be wands, pearls, or some other item.



Once someone decided to play an actual Healer (the class), the party stayed up and fighting.


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