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Gloves of the Frugal Healer
Aura faint conjuration; CL 5th
Slot hands; Price 8,000 gp; Weight —
Description
These dark blue embroidered gloves feel slightly warm to the touch. The silver embroidery gives off a faint white glow when the gloves of the frugal healer are activated.
Whenever the wearer provides or receives magical healing by touch, any excess points not used in the healing are stored in the gloves. A maximum of 24 points of positive energy can be stored this way. At daybreak the stored energy dissipates from the gloves leaving them empty.
As a standard action the stored energy can be released to heal the wearer or someone else by 1D6 hit points for every 6 points stored in the gloves. Alternatively as a swift action the stored energy can be used to charge a held weapon with positive energy. This charge dissipates after one minute has passed. On the next attack that hits, the weapon deals 1D6 points of extra damage to the undead for every 6 points stored in the gloves. This effect does not stack with other similar effects. Both of these actions drain the gloves of all stored energy.
If the wearer is reduced to negative hit points but is not killed, she can try to activate the gloves as an immediate action by succeeding in a DC 10 Will save. She takes penalty to this roll equal to her negative hit point total.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, symbol of healing; Cost 4,000 gp
These are pretty sweet! However, as Mona likes to say any time you really create a must have item (and this is one) you need to think about it. But this is a cool item that comes real close to being a "why didn't someone think of this before" kind of item to store up the extra unused healing. Maybe I am just finding things to like, but I love the elegant design of 1d6 for 6 points rather than just being a storage container for extra healing. Doing it that way, rather than just 6 points, really shows me the mind of the author is a superstar mind. That is next level stuff right there. But that said there are some fumbles. It is a bit off from how healing works. For instance, 1d8 is really a more standard healing increment to use. But now I'm just nit-picking. This is a good item.
Contributor; Publisher, Kobold Press; RPG Superstar Judge
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This is a supremely useful item and possibly even a little too good, though the text hedges the design with some balancing restrictions and qualifications. That's good in items like this.
The language is a little sloppy: "She takes penalty"?
Oddly, the Gloves of the Frugal Healer do turn into an offensive item pretty quickly if you add 24 points of energy to it, and then add 4d6 damage against undead. (Which is a likely use.)
I'm not a huge fan of items like this because they undermine the resource management of the game, but if you are going to tinker with that, this is well done.
My immediate concern was "cast your remaining heals when you go to bed and store the healing, prepare spells in the morning, you still have saved healing from yesterday," but the "dissipates in the morning" rule means that's not a concern. Yay!
Nice conversion of 6 points to 1d6 points... means the "surplus" healing isn't stored at 100%, avoids exploitation of overhealing limitations.
The writing could be stronger, but I think the author thought through this item and tried to make it resistant to player abuse.
Contributor
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Star Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 9
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Welcome to the Top 32, lumiapina!
I really like these gloves, and I agree that this is an idea that seems quite obvious...once someone executes it. You did an excellent job following the template; this is the first item I've commented on that has no errors. With a great concept and no problems with the template, I'll have to resort to a tiny quibble: I think the healing should be done in increments of 1d8 per 8 points, rather than 1d6 per 6 points, since that would match the standard for cure spells, and healing seems to be this item's main concept. That would mean the positive energy damage would follow suit. Still, that's a minor concern in an otherwise terrific item.
This is a great design, and I hope you keep it up in future rounds!
First of all, congratulations on making the Top 32! That in itself is a major accomplishment and it’s something you should take great pride in. You rock!
I have to admit, I was initially a little meh about this item at first ... but it’s grown on me. I usually don’t like items that-–as Wolf put it–-“undermine the resource management of the game.” But this one does so in a clever enough way, I can forgive it. I love that each 6 points of positive energy turns into 1d6. That’s a smart way of preventing outright player abuse. However, my favorite power is the last one. What player wouldn’t want to get a rush of healing the instant they’re reduced to negative hit points? Nice work!
I like that the stored positive energy is not redistributed at a 1 to 1 ratio (unless you roll all sixes).
These gloves are so good that many PCs will want them, which raises the question: What happens if a gloves wearer heals another gloves wearer? How are the extra points distributed? Or does a rift to the positive energy plane open?
symbol of healing is a nice touch.
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7
aka Tamago
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I think these were my favourite item this year. I really like the utility. The fact that it's not a straight 1:1 conversion helps keep abuses in check and is a nice bit of flavor. And the fact that it might go off if you fall unconscious is just gravy.
It's a bit on the expensive side for my taste, but I know of plenty of characters who would love to have this item!
Congratulations!
Honestly, I think if it weren't for the 6:1d6 conversion, these wouldn't work. That said, Kalervo was smart enough to include that, so kudos to him.
I like the immediate action and the penalty as well. Nice touches.
Unlike the judges I find the conversion of every six points into d6 a tedious and would prefer fixed numbers but I am not a fan of dice rolls for healing in the first place (infernal healing for the win!). Except for the Lay On Hands change from 3.5 to PF which I find much better than original version.
Congratulations!!
I'm of the same mind here. 1d6:6 is a great idea, should have been 1d8:8 though.
What I didn't like was that these kind of negate the Lay on Hands ability and it doesn't stack with LoH. Maybe I'm crazy, but if you are going to give a class ability to anyone, it should work better for that actual class.
Looking forward to your Round 2!
Oh, and despite the conversion of stored points to dice I like the general idea behind the item much, I'd love to see more items that help manage the healing.
Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8
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Great item! The only problem that it might raise is that some deities (particularly LE deities like Asmodeus) encourage their divine spellcasters to prepare their spells at night. Any divine caster following such a pattern could dump all of her unused healing spells into the gloves, then prepare spells and go to sleep and still maintain those charges for the following day.
I agree that this is an item with inherent potential for abuse, BUT I thought the 6=1d6 conversion was a good way of getting around that. Despite some issues, this definitely struck me as a "Why don't we have something like this already...?" item and it was probably my favorite of the healing items this year. :)
So kudos and congrats on making the Top 32!
I don't care for this item. I think that an item that helps players over-economize healing results in a very safe, timid style of gameplay. Sometimes you use too much healing, sometimes too little, I don't think you need to collect every dreg of positive energy for use later.
I did not vote for this item as I felt it reduces the consequences of choices made by players. I did, however, like the name as it captured the essence of the item very well.
This item is the sort of thing I have heard my players bemoan the lack of time and time again. I think that's a niche that needs filling.
Congratulations on making it to the Top 32. I'll see you in the archetype round!
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RPG Superstar 2012 Top 16
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Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka Locke1520
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Congratulations on making top 32! This was one of the items I think I voted for every time it came up. Definitely one of my favorites this year.
Very much Looking forward to your round 2. Good luck.
A subtle and very useful item, clearly hitting a niche, with well-thought out mechanics. Good stuff!
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Dedicated Voter Season 6, Dedicated Voter Season 7, Dedicated Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka Steven T. Helt
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I had mixed feelings about this. Game creep makes adventuring easier, so items that let you get away with healing willy nillt contribute to that effect where powerful parties adventure until they run out of spells and then rest in their impenetrable, unnoticeable extradimensional fortress. However, in a desperate game where mean GMs are pushing their parties to the limit, this would be a lifesaver and really contribute to excitement. I am bought in that the conversion rate should be 8 for 1d8. Having said all this, I know I voted for it at least once and I think it cerainly passes the "got to have me one of these" test!
Congrats on making the top 32 and good luck in round 2!
Thank you all for the comments and congratulations.
I'm pretty happy how my item turned out, even though there's always room for some tinkering and extra polish. Now it's time to start panicking about my archetype!
I like these, never saw them in voting.
Interesting idea, makes me think "why didn't I think of this"
Good job!
Kalervo, congratulations! Now, hundreds of people will mispronounce and misspell your name when discussing the contest and your item! ;)
Seriously, though, this is a nice little item. Useful, but not excessive. Balanced, too. In regards to this being a "why didn't someone think of it before" type of thing, this is very similar to one of the abilities of the psionic vitalist - though this is a little more balanced, and useful to the average party.
Good work!
The Good: High Nifty factor, great balance.
The Bad: Iffy on the name, it grew on me
The Ugly: It would have been easy to down vote you on reflex, there were allot of bad healer items this year and it was a risky space to design in.
Congrats on Top 32, this was full of win despitre my critiques and I'm looking forward to your archetype.
Kalervo,
Congratulations on earning your spot. This item was definitely on my radar. A really creative utility item that wasn't overpowering. Like some of the others that commented, I have issues with the ability to abuse this item (casting all unused spells as healing at the end of the day and charge it up like a battery) rather than use it in the spirit it was intended. However, at the end of the day, it's a good showing. Good luck in the next round.
Since only six of my personal top 32 became actual contestants, congratulations on being part of that group! I'll admit these were a late addition to my list of favorites; they made the keep folder right away but it wasn't till the end of voting that I realized they had a MASSIVE number of upvotes along the way, which made me go back and look over them again and realize that they really were better than some of the faves I'd had listed til that point. I think healing items have a bit of an uphill slope to climb in that regard, since they often are at risk of coming off as too utilitarian. These do a really nice job of bringing something 'new' to a healing item, though. I mean, who hasn't been annoyed that they're only 5 hp short of maximum health and the cleric doesn't want to waste a cure spell on them until they're more injured because it will 'waste' healing? I do feel that the self-heal upon negative hit points might be expanding the functionality of a fairly simple item a bit too much, but it's not a deal-breaker for me.
Best of luck!
Sadly, I'm not thrilled about this item. While certainly useful, it just doesn't strike me as cool. After all, how would a character in the game, who has no conception of hit points, describe what these gloves did? It just feels more mechanical than mystical to me. That said, I think any adventuring party would want a pair of these. Congrats!
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Marathon Voter Season 6, Marathon Voter Season 7, Marathon Voter Season 8, Marathon Voter Season 9
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Congrats on making it!
It wasn't my favorite item but it actually works and I can see using it before selling it in town. I would rather have the extra clw wands.
Looks to me that this item could be good for a paladin with lay on hands.
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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32, 2011 Top 16
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Star Voter Season 6, Star Voter Season 7, Star Voter Season 8, Star Voter Season 9
aka JoelF847
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This was my favorite item during the voting period, so I'm glad to see you made the top 32. This is a perfect type of item that addresses a long term issue in the game - that of wasting excess healing, and is well balanced to boot.
Keep up this level of work and you'll do well.
Great idea, good formatting. Good for just about any PC type and not just clerics. I also like that it works for both healing and fighting undead - you kept the concept streamlined but widened the item's versatility. That's very cool.
Editing nitpicks: Die codes shouldn't be capitalized (it's 1d6, not 1D6). Also, Oxford commas may be optional in modern style, but there are a few places in this entry where commas are requisite but were not used. Read up on comma usage, and have someone proofread your submissions in future rounds for safety's sake.
Browsing now. I actually don't mind the d6, as I went to channelling when I read it, not cure spells.
It's a bit odd, though, since healing from channeled energy (which, in my anecdotal experience, is where most healing comes from, in games with a cleric at least) is specifically excluded, not being healing by touch.
How would these gloves function (or fail to) if the healer used Reach metamagic to case a cure spell at a distance?
Surely one of my favorites!, Nice to see it in the top32!. I know a witch or two who would just looooove that!
Congratulations and good luck on your next round! ^^.
This effect does not stack with other similar effects.
Sorry, I like this item...but what are "similar" effects? Items that do positive energy damage? Or items that do extra damage period? that's just a little too vague in my opinion.
Other than that, I love this. Well-balanced, and gives a reason for a cleric or bard not to be afraid of "wasting" one of his spells for healing.
Also, since it also absorbs recieved healing overage this makes it even better too...then it's a good item for a PC tank to heal himself as neccessary without bothering the cleric every time, or it allows him to heal the cleric when he needs the healing back!
This is really neat. I wish I saw it during voting. I think I understand using d6's from the Channel Energy perspective, but I do believe that the d8s of 'Cure X Wounds' are more prevalent, and thus a better option.
I totally want these for my Oracle now.
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Joseph, you raise a really good point. They sound really cool, but a lot of that is very meta. The idea of saving 2hp of healing from a spell in your gloves is very number-crunchy.
Thanks for all the new comments. The last few days have been a bit crazy while working on the round 2 entry, so I haven't been on the forums that much.
The 1d6 vs. 1d8 is valid point, tho the feel would be a bit different. It would take a little longer to gain enough energy for the first die.
I kept the fluff streamlined on purpose, but maybe something about how the gloves feel when they absorb energy could have been added. Like pulsing with warmth.
Congratulations Kalervo,
I think you maintained balance with the 6/1d6 which has already been said, but also by the 24. A cure moderate on a non-wounded character could fill it. But sharing a CMW is not game breaking. I dinnae care for the name, but the writing was clear. Nice job.
Suggestions for future rounds: you are better at this than me, but stick with the tight rules and good flavor. It will serve you well.
Good luck,
EDIT: fixed spelling :(
As prior entries will tell you, Template Fu is one mean point eating machine, but will also praise where praise is due.
These reviews being this in depth usually take me a while to do and they get fitted in around other demands on my time, so please bear with me if I haven’t gotten to your item yet. I will get there in the end.
Review Caveat: I try to keep things totally dispassionate and all comments herein are my own. Having not made the illustrious levels that you have achieved this year, I can only caveat that anything I propose in feedback may not be totally in line with what Paizo thinks or needs of its freelance game designers, so do consider carefully any and all feedback I make under this light.
I start your review with…
Congratulations on being selected by the public at large and then the stalwart judges!
Review Breakdown:
Template: 4/5
Hungry! Yes, perfection – almost – you gave Template Fu a new point that I don’t think has been seen before. He does love new flavors! (ohh I removed the “U” from flavor without thinking about it – maybe I’ve been polymorphed into a US humanoid O-o o-O O-o)
When detailing dice of damage, in Pathfinder, the “d” is lowercase and not uppercase. Oh yeah, Template Fu is on fire, check out in the core wondrous items the Cloak of the Manta Ray for the example “1d6 points of damage”. (There are lots of examples elsewhere, but I wanted a Wondrous Item example).
Spelling: 5/5
This bit IS boilerplate to avoid confusion. Everyone should know to use US English, so you just know that I am going to eat points for stray ‘u’ letters and similar.
Template Fu’s huffing and muttering becomes the gentle(?) sound of dragon-kin deep slumber. Please tip-toe on and let him sleep…
Readability: 4/5
These are readings you can get from most spelling and grammar check options in word processors, for this, I am pasting everyone’s description into Word for consistency. My grading’s are purely my own personal feelings for target scores but it should be noted these are very helpful during development to spot problems in your writing, especially passivity.
Passive Sentences 30% (-1 pt., you must get this lower)
There are whole threads on this and it is possible to get 0%, which is wicked, but I would expect scores of less than 20% to be around the ideal mark for item descriptions (sometimes, you need the passive, but only rarely).
Flesch Reading Ease 67.2 (very nice)
(0-30 best understood by university graduates, 60-70 easily understood by 13-15 year olds, 90-100 easily understood by 11 year olds)
Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level 8.1 (yup, also good)
(This equates to the grades found in the US schooling system, e,g. 8.2 means it should be understandable by the average 8th grade student)
Me as a Designer Review: 4/5
Ok, passiveness was flagged, there are plenty of examples and articles in the forums about passive writing. I will leave you to work on that aspect.
Looking to your opening description, in just 2 sentences, both have embroidery derived words – you brain should be triggering here and saying do you need both. I propose, you might be able to merge the two sentences to one and remove the repetition.
Any item saying, here is x something’s spend and collect them, introduces something bad, that something is “more book-keeping”. Your item falls into this trap – it is especially bad between sessions if they are weekly or less frequent and you have to stop right in the middle of something in game. GM and player will have to track the current healing charge.
Now for this item, and the way it is designed, that is required, but it is something to be wary of going forwards – keep that book-keeping as low as possible.
Casting a heal is a standard action, activating an item is a standard action, so you don’t need to say it is a standard action to heal someone. Now in the activation, you mention that you get 1s6 per 6 point stored. What happens to excess points when used, e.g, I have 9 stored, I use 6 to grant 1d6 healing what happens to the other 3 – are they retained or lost? That question will arise in game play, I guarantee it.
At negative hit points, you can’t take any actions as you are unconscious and dying, you can’t even take an immediate action when in that state, so you need to be looking for the phrase “when reduced to zero” – this triggers even if the damage you take would take you into negative, you hit zero first and are able to take an immediate action – because you are not yet unconscious or dying.
All the feedback above is quite general with the exception of the last two paragraphs. So I am going to dock you a point for not telling me about excess stored energy use or not and the slightly incorrect phrase to trigger the immediate action. I almost went 2 points, but decided that was too much.
Overall Impression: 4/5
There is an in game situation that is very likely to rise at some point that raises questions on the items use. That is what is costing you a point from this category.
Barring those comments, the entry is well presented, can be scanned in game reasonably well.
I look forward to your archetype with great expectations!
Final Score: 21/25
I won’t give a final score comment as I haven’t for anyone else as I work through the items.
If this interests for personal reasons, please feel free to check out everyone else’s scores and at the same time check out your competition and their feedback too!
Closing, as I started…
Congratulations on being selected!
What happens to excess points when used, e.g, I have 9 stored, I use 6 to grant 1d6 healing what happens to the other 3 – are they retained or lost? That question will arise in game play, I guarantee it.
I'll post this here as well to avoid any confusion. "Both of these actions drain the gloves of all stored energy.", the issue above was taken care of with that sentence.
I like the concept since I play a lot of healers. All of them would own a pair of these. This is a good way to handle excesss healing and that is what gives this item mojo.
Once more thanks to everyone for the comments and critiques. I'll be going into a bit of a silent mode for a while due to the next round. See you on the other side.