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When we started up with S&S, we had to make sure that all of our roles were filled and I took it upon myself as a challenge to figure out a cleric/healer that fit in this pirate theme.
Here's what I came up with:
Vernon Blueskye: Human Male Cleric (Separatist) of Besmara (Oceans & Sun Domains)
Background: He was hit on the head while working on a ship at sea which gave him visions that led him to conclude that Besmara was actually a man and that the female version is a lie perpetrated by blasphemers.
This character really is a lot of fun to play, especially when encountering 'true' clerics of Besmara.
So, how did you/your party fill this important role of healer but keep the pirate theme true?
My group's cleric (Besmara) is a Mwangi named Shieraa'll. She's from an inland village and heard the call of the sea at a young age and was eventually cast out of her home as she began to manifest powers. Wound up in Port Peril at some point and then to the Wormwood. She's serving as the cook's mate but has absolutely no skill in the area...and this has led to some fairly interesting situations. She is apparently an awesome fisherwoman and turtle-catcher.
I guess the player is what Laws would call an outlier (minor). Example: Shieraa'll doesn't have Knowledge (religion). What's that make her? Hedge cleric? Not sure but she's interesting. Mostly she has used skill rather than channeling to heal...though she did use it once with the dire rats in the bilges when things got a bit rough.
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We had a strange Mwangi Halfling Oracle of Life with us, cursed with blindness affliction, who the characters had met in a short "prelude" adventure, and who loved the characters for showing her the way about town. Was looking for tribesmaids kidnapped by slavers. All kidskins, sharp fingernails and feathers... nevermind the obligatory rattle, shaking it at far too many things to "expel the spirits !"
Very strange and eery little female gumbo survival-tool, being pretty proficient at stealth, too. Most fun part was getting her send to the masttop repeatedly as the lookout (we had the characters using both charts for shipboard encounters) and having to be "briefed" with the messaging cantrip about what was really going on.
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Bah! Sandara?!? The blasphemous wench!
Just kidding - Vernon and her had a few philosphical conversations. Quite entertaining indeed :)
We actually have a druid in our party (He's the captain), so we've got a bit more healing in there. He's more of a front-line druid, so just a bit more.
Vernon is turning out the be quite deadly along with his healing powers; so far I've taken Martial Weapon: Cutless, Channel Smite, Selective Channeling and Versatile Channeling. And with the Ocean domain to push/pull folks around and the Sun domain utterly destroys undead, he's getting to be fun. At lower levels he was known as the 'prone cleric'.
(Vernon has the Sun domain as part of the Seperatist archetype; I chose it because it is sort of a beacon of light to show the blasphemers the light.)
Shieraa'll's (too. many. apostrophes.) holy symbol is a skull and crossbones on a flask.
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We've got an Oracle of Bones (called 'Bones' or 'Mr. Bones' by the crew) who was cursed by Orcus with his powers. Undead rowers are pretty awesome.
My upcoming S&S campaign will have a druid, a witch and an oracle of the waves... I don't think healing will be an issue.
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Right now I am playing a Tiefling Cleric of Besmara. I made my holy symbol into a skull and crossbones belt buckle. We also have a druid in the party but he doesn't heal. So far my healing and debuffs have been enough for the party.
Nice! I envision him channeling positive energy by performing an Elvis dance.
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@mearrin69 - Ahhh the drunken cleric! I haven't really considered how Vernon has his holy symbol. I was thinking of a silver skull and crossbones necklace that always seems to pop out at the most convenient time to save everyone.
@Terraneaux - I wanted to have a skeleton crew on the ship, but I have a very large Pharasma-worshipping Mwangi barbarian on board. I have to keep the peace somehow.
@Paladin of Baha-who? - Whoa, that's a boatload of healing! Har! See what I did there?
@Trinite - Any GM should give an extra point of healing if he actually did that! Vernon channels both positive and negative energies, so I see the positive energy as that feeling of heroics and comraderie and the negative energy as the dread that be the presence of pirates -if that made any sense.
My PCs broke the "true pirate" theme with their healer.
May, the oracle of life, was press ganged while she was running errands for her father, a lay healer in Port Peril. While the 16 year old had no skills that made her a pirate, she did (fortunately) know how to cook, and was drummed up as the cook's mate. While originally naive and thinking she could "reform" the crew, rum-rations got the better of her in two day's time, and now she's a raging alcoholic.