Viable Non-Divine Healer?


Advice


If you had a world that was blocked from receiving divine gifts (and faith-based spellcasters didn't exist), is there a healer type class that would fill the void left by those classes?


Alchemists (w/infusion) &/or witches (w/healer patron) can cover it, yes. Though for ordinary people anyone with a decent heal skill will be more affordable in the absence of clerics who might provide healing services for free.


A Hedge Witch + Hex Channeler with the healing patron is the closest you'll get.

Silver Crusade

And of course, bards!

Humour fixes most of the worlds ills.

And can make you forget about the rest. So can drink.


Alchemist + Signature Skill(Heal) for a grim and gritty campaign.


There's a bard archetype that gives you Channel Energy, and I think one(or more)of the psychic classes can heal too.


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The Kinetic Chirurgeon is a very potent healer, especially with all the new powers added in the Healer's Handbook. You can get a very nice AoE heal at 8th level that really balances things out with clerics/oracles. You can also still dish out a very good amount of damage and provide some assistance with other options depending on which element you choose (I would highly suggest Aether at 1st level and then pick up Wood at 7th).


Vitalist (Psionics)


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It is pretty nice until you you remember someone has to take that Burn damage. Then it's just nice.


Herb Witch is pretty cool as well.


Isn't there a series of godless healing feats?


Dastis wrote:
Isn't there a series of godless healing feats?

yeah but they're pretty meh


BadBird wrote:
Herb Witch is pretty cool as well.

This would be my vote as well.


Shaman might do. Since their spells come from the 'spirits'.


Shaman is a divine healer, (as in arcane/divine/psychic)


Infernal Healing (and its greater version) can restore some HP. They should work better with spontaneous arcane casters (more spells per day, cast only on demand) than with prepared ones.

Ryan Freire wrote:
Dastis wrote:
Isn't there a series of godless healing feats?
yeah but they're pretty meh

It gets boosted to 4d8+level if you are a level 9 purity legion enforcer. While the prestige class already adds another use per day, you can get more by taking the feat multiple times. Take the feat four times and you can heal 190 HP per day, in average. That's roughly the full HP of a level 20 PC with d10 as HD and Con 18 (or Con 16 and Toughness). And it's supernatural, so it doesn't trigger any AOO. Depending on the GM it might even work while paralyzed.

Now the prestige class is quite specialized, but I figured I add it for completeness.


Daw wrote:

Shaman is a divine healer, (as in arcane/divine/psychic)

The first post was about no "faith-based spellcasters". Depending on your views, a shaman might be included/excluded.

While the title said non-divine healer, the actual post wasn't clear about what were counted "faith-based spellcasters". It's possible divine was meant in the 'non-god' way instead of the category, "arcane/divine/psychic", way. We aren't going to be sure until the OP says one way or the other. ;)


^-^
Big Gods, Little Gods, it's a matter of degree not fundamental nature.

Neither the gods nor the spirits have stat blocks don'cha know.


Just included shamans since they kind of fall into a loophole. Now, if that loophole is open or closed is up to the gm.


Unlettered Savant Arcanist could work, since witches have cure spells, though I don't remember if they stay arcane.


Matt2VK wrote:
Just included shamans since they kind of fall into a loophole. Now, if that loophole is open or closed is up to the gm.

If that is the case would not Oracles fall into the same loop hole? Mysteries are not faith based and an Oracle does not need to worship anyone or anything.


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"If they are blocked from recieving divine gifts" would indicate even Oracles don't exist.


My assumption was that Clerics, Oracles, Warpriests, Paladins, and Inquisitors are off-limits.

Shamans, Druids, and Witches are an interesting loophole since they all receive their powers from forces that are beyond the material plane. It can be argued that Druids and Shamans might not fit that description.

The variety of classes does confuse the matter. Do Shamans and Druids draw power from extra-planar sources that are just filtered through nature?

Is the Witch's healing patron a divine entity?

Alchemists are the closest to what I was thinking about. Looking for a more physically-based healer rather than healing offered by positive energy filtered through divine entities.

Basically Surgeon versus Magical Healer.


JosMartigan wrote:

My assumption was that Clerics, Oracles, Warpriests, Paladins, and Inquisitors are off-limits.

Shamans, Druids, and Witches are an interesting loophole since they all receive their powers from forces that are beyond the material plane. It can be argued that Druids and Shamans might not fit that description.

The variety of classes does confuse the matter. Do Shamans and Druids draw power from extra-planar sources that are just filtered through nature?

Is the Witch's healing patron a divine entity?

Alchemists are the closest to what I was thinking about. Looking for a more physically-based healer rather than healing offered by positive energy filtered through divine entities.

Basically Surgeon versus Magical Healer.

Just off the top of my head, Druids, Shamans, Hunters and Rangers seem to cast divine spells. (per www.d20pfsrd.com)

So I'm going to amend my original statement and say "divine spellcasters" are off limits.
So suppose arcane and psychic spells are on the table as options So psionic and occult classes would be viable along with arcane spellcasters.


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All the witch patrons are Scroedingers, rules wise. They act like entities, but aren't.
They are class abilities, period, ruleswise.
They are what you want them to be.
This annoyed me with Mr. Jacobs on first read, but I have grown rather fond of the idea.
Patrons are indeterminancies, which is certainly going to piss off all the other casters who have things nailed down. Why do you really think we hunt down witches?

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