Darren Williams's page

King_Of_The_Crossroads wrote:

Totally Not Gorbacz wrote:

What are you supposed to use for fighting with STR 14 DEX 14, harsh words and soft pornography?

Lol

The point being, it sucks to have to optimize just to be average. It sucks that having a 14 dex-- which is what my character, the party bard, has-- is considered bad.

I'm not saying my bard is in melee a lot, but just as an example. If you don't have an 18 in a stat, that stat is garbage.

What does "bad" mean? It's fine, and I've played a light-armor wearing Ranger with 14 DEX. But you're less evasive than someone with 18 DEX. That should be pretty.. obvious..? And for what it's worth, at 5th level you can increase your DEX to 16 with the ability score boost and you will be on par for the rest of the campaign assuming you use a chain shirt.

Despite what you're saying, PF2E is not really about stat stacking. As other people keep saying and you keep ignoring, just standing there and imagining your character avoiding blows because he has high stats is not how the game works.

Yeah, not ignoring the importance of tactics. In a previous post, I outlined how the monk was doing things like moving, flurry, attempting trips, and still was consistently knocked on his but because enemies can easily surpass pc armor class.

Again, my issue isn't with *getting* hit, it is with the ratio at which high ac character seem to get hit-- and crit-- by every mob in the game.

And by "bad," I mean, not maximum. Yes, obviously 14 Dex isn't going to be as agile as 18 Dex. But, as people keep pointing out to me, ever number is important, since all the enemies are crit happy. A 14 Dex is "bad" in that it means you are two points behind on dodging attacks or reflex saves, which can get you killed.

Since the game seems to be designed around a player having *at best* a 50% chance of not getting hit or avoiding an effect, being two points behind is not just suboptimal, but suicidal. Or at least, that's how I assume it is, since I keep seeing praise for providing a measly +1 to attacks.

What are you supposed to use for fighting with STR 14 DEX 14, harsh words and soft pornography?

Lol

The point being, it sucks to have to optimize just to be average. It sucks that having a 14 dex-- which is what my character, the party bard, has-- is considered bad.

I'm not saying my bard is in melee a lot, but just as an example. If you don't have an 18 in a stat, that stat is garbage.

The optimum for starting stats is 18 in your attack stat, max DEX to you heaviest armor cap, then max saves stats with WIS being the prime target because of Perception/Initiative.

Can you provide us with examples of the encounters?

Veteran PF1 players are prone to using tactics that were excellent in PF1 and will end up in TPK in PF2 (example : putting all your actions into attacks).

And veteran PF1 GMs might not realize that tactics that made encounters challenging in PF1 (play the monsters as smart and ruthless as possible, merge encounters because it makes sense) will turn them into TPK in PF2.

We are currently playing Extinction Curse, and we encountered a couple of weird bug demons. Our monk-- who is dex based and uses crane stance-- was fighting one of them. He was using hit and run tactics-- move in, flurry, move away. But it didn't matter because every time the worm guys attacked, they still managed to hit him. And 4 of those attacks were crits; our DM rolls in full view of us, so we could see the rolls and the modifiers.

Poor monk went down twice, while our ranger only stayed up because his animal companion went down.

Stuff like this has happened a couple of times thus far.

Then maybe this isn't the game for you, because 50-60% odds of success is par for the course in P2e.

Ugh. Maybe you're right.

But it feels as if you still have to heavily optimize in this version-- but rather than being god-tier, optimization makes you decent. If you, say, play a fighter with only a 14 in Str and Dex, then you are pretty bad.

Say what you will about 5e-- believe me, I have issues with that system as well-- but at least I can play a character that doesn't require constant work just so that I can maybe have 50% odds of not getting hit.

I think I just don't like that this system seems to be based around avoiding getting crit, rather than avoiding getting hit.

My fighter fantasy of playing the dashing lightly armored fencer who dances between his foes seems pretty unobtainable when every enemy can casually eviscerate you.

Again, I'm not complaining about getting hit, I just don't like how much effort you have to put into being halfway good at avoiding hits.

I don't have an issue with getting hit; it comes with playing a game like this. My issue is with how often you get hit, and how hard. I guess I don't agree with a game design that is based around having *maybe* a 50% chance of getting hit if you optimize that way.

As it stands, if almost feels like if you don't have max points put in Dex or Con, you are dead meat most of the time.

King_Of_The_Crossroads wrote:

That's... disappointing.

Heh, I guess I won't be playing a melee focused character in this edition. Constantly getting pounded into paste with no ways of avoiding sound unfun and definitely not how I would want to play a swordsman.

There are plenty of ways to mitigate or even avoid the damage.

Not ending your turn within melee reach is a good start.

Please enlighten me!

I'm trying to get a feel for the game, but so far my experience is watching players get brutalized by everything, and magic just being crappy one round debuffs-- because I also notice most bad guys seem to make their saves the majority of the time.

Are pc's supposed to be pathetic in this system?

That's... disappointing.

Heh, I guess I won't be playing a melee focused character in this edition. Constantly getting pounded into paste with no ways of avoiding sound unfun and definitely not how I would want to play a swordsman.

I'm new to the system, and my group has only been playing for a few months, but I've noticed that our characters are getting hit-- and crit-- waaaay more often than in other editions.

It has gotten to the point where we have had players opt out of playing melee characters because no matter what they do, the enemies seem to be able to knock our teeth in with casual ease.

Am I imagining things? Or is this system designed in such a way that the odds of getting missed are lower than average?

Granted, we are only 3rd level, but even characters optimized for high AC are routinely getting crit by random mooks, let alone boss level enemies. Are we supposed to be that fragile?

A crusty juggler

The greater good.

Plus, though I'd likely not take the two feats, sometimes you can throw an evil overlord's dagger back in his head, even if it was your dagger to begin with.
Cheers.

"It's all in the reflexes."

Gotta love Big Trouble in Little China. :)

Tels wrote:

3 day ban and 900 posts later...

I know that feel brother. May I never utter the phrase "that sucks" on Paizo's boards again.

Well except for that time.

Well, when something sucks, it has to be said. Otherwise we get stuck in situations like this, where a rather vocal minority get to dictate game policy due to constant whining.

I recommend Burst of Radiance as a 2nd level spell if you can spare it; it's been a crucial control option for my lore oracle.

Another option is Sound Burst; the 1d8 sonic damage is incidental, it's the stun effect that's important. Even if it's only for one round, stunned is a nasty condition. The only down side is the fact that it's a fortitude save.

It would never be allowed in my group (we're restricted to good alignments) but I'd love to have an imp familiar. Not because it has cool powers, but simply because I could name it Tyrion.

For a while now, I've been tempted to make an priest of Razmir who happens to be an oracle; he would pray as is normal for a cleric, and truly believe that his power came from Razmir. Since an oracle isn't beholden to a specific god like a cleric is, it would be doable.

As time went by, I could see him becoming the face of the church, and the next logical successor once the Living God "ascends."

Desna, because she's the best goddess.

An elf. Of any class.

I've never bought a cloak of resistance. Plenty of things give resistance bonuses to saves.

You need a +1 weapon or armor to get any other bonus, but there's lots of weapon and armor bonuses to choose from; I don't think there's any to be particularly attached to like a cloak of resistance usually makes you.

My issue isn't receiving magic weapons. It's the fact that as I level, I can't function without them.

The game is designed with the expectation that the character will receive AC boosting, stat boosting, and saving throw boosting items. So much so that that's usually all anyone has. It's dull.

Being required to use these items means my character can't use the actually cool items; that cloak of thee arachnae is awesome, but I can't afford to lose my cloak of resistance +3.

I hate the Christmas tree effect. I really do.

I don't like the fact that I'm basically forced to pick the same generic magical equipment over and over again as I level just to stay viable; cloaks of resistance, +blah weapon, +meh armor, and all the rest.

I want actual *magical* items. It's gotten to the point that I will actually refuse to use the standard Big Six items in games I play in; when the inevitable cloak of resistance turns up, I'm always the last one to claim it, if I ever do. I'll usually end up saving the items and than selling them once we get to a big city.

Naturally, this produces the risk of a short shelf life, but I like doing it. I like to actually *like* my magical gear. To that end I do end up doing one of two things, or both:

1. Depending on the build, I'll spend a feat or two to get a Saving Throw boost (Iron Will et al).

2. Spend extra money to have a party member (if I can't craft myself) add secondary Christmas Tree enchantments to my cooler, more interesting gear.

Naturally, number two is expensive and results in less gear over all, but meh.

EldonG wrote:

Ravingdork wrote:

Love.

That's right. Love. My powers are fueled by love.

Or at least, that's what I've observed anyways; every time I cast a spell, the divorce rates in the world go up.

*ROTFLMAO*!

I have no clue what the reference is, here...but that's hilarious!

It's an 8-Bit Theater reference.

I love Black Mage.

Fah sorcer and AC. You will lose the AC race. It would be much better to work on your saves with gear. Invisibility, mirror image and spells are what keep you safe. If you can get items to replicate these abilities that is worth doing as well. Play smart use cover.

my 8th level PFS sorcerer has a 12 AC that he retained from level 1.

Agreed. Everyone loses the AC arms race sooner or later; the ability to hit far outpaces methods of increasing AC.

The key to staying alive is concealment and miss chances; mirror image, invisibility, and so forth. IMO, a Lesser Cloak of Displacement is the best investment *any* character can put gold into; a constant 20% miss chance is incredible. The Greater version sucks because it only lasts a few rounds a day.

Bloodlines. Probably the best thing paizo did for sorcerers was add bloodlines to the class. They add a much needed boost to a class that was (and sometimes, still is) considered the wizard's weaker sibling.

That being said, I often has a hard time dealing with the fluff associated with the bloodlines; it seems every sorcerer gets their power from some supernatural creature fornicating with an ancestor. And that's fine, I guess, but it gets kind of boring.

So if you've ever played a sorcerer, what was the background fluff for his power? Did you go with the supernatural ancestor, or was there something more unique about how you got your mojo?

So I've read through the guide, and went back and took a closer look at Words of Power. My initial impression of the system was that it had a lot of potential, but suffered the same lack of support for new options that 3.5 was notorious for; I doubt Words of Power will see much of any additional content. That and the fact that you lose out on a lot of options when you give up normal casting made me brush it aside.

Now that I've given it a second look and thought about it, I like it. In fact, I feel that this is what should have been the basis of the spontaneous casters from the beginning. I like the raw feel to it, the way you can build and combine magic on the fly; the careful, structured spell formula of the vancian system definitely feels better suited for wizards and clerics.

Even with its shortcomings, or should I say especially because of its shortcomings, it has a nice, vibrant, colorful way about it. The only real downside to it is, as I mentioned earlier, the sad realization that Words of Power will more than likely see no support, no new words, no new feats or prestige classes that work with the system.

Is it possible for a non-caster (say a fighter) who has a spell-like ability to pick up the Item Creation feats?

Looking them over, most only require a certain caster level. Do spell-like abilities count as caster levels?

Name it... Pustulio! That was the name of the freakish hypnotic zit that the character Zim had in Invader Zim.

http://nicktoons.nick.com/videos/clip/invader-zim-rise-of-the-zit-boy-clip- 1.html

My current character is a Tiefling sorcerer of Rakshasa descent who specializes in destruction magics. Based off of the character J'zargo from The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim.

One of my favorite characters was set in the Eberron setting. A young female artificer who was naturally gifted in all things mechanical. She worked on an airship as the mechanic. Based off of Kaylee Frye from firefly.

Another is a cantankerous, brilliant Oracle of Life who walked with a limp (lame curse), used a cane in combat, and made the lives of his adventuring party miserable. Based off of Dr. Gregory House from House.

you don't have to nerf the spellcasters much, you just have to nerf the spells.

Remember, PF is an evolution of 3E, which was an evolution from 1 and 2E.

Casters received HUGE buff-ups from those additions, and Fighters received MAJOR nerfage.

If you want to equalize things, you have to hit both ends, and ignore the whining of the no longer uber casters.

It's noteworthy that wizard-lovers clamp up when the subject of 2e->3E buffing comes up. Casters didn't suffer in the earlier editions, but man, did they do well in 3E.

==Aelryinth

All fighters really need are two or three things, IMO, and then they're golden.

1. Give them the ability to use all of their attacks and move (or even just pounce).

2. Some of the feat chains they get should be automatically built into the class; Vital Strike should be a basic part of the class design, along with armor training, weapon training, and the rest. Or, failing that, it should at least become a single feat that scales as the fighter levels.

3. An extension of 2, many of the feat chains are pricy, mostly in part to the fact that fighters have so many feats that they can afford to pay them. But just because they *can* pay for them, doesn't mean they *should* pay, especially when most of the feats are junk.

4. Parrying. I like the duelist ability to parry by using one of the attacks for the round. If fighters could do that, it would add an awesome, fighter specific ability that fits virtually every fighter concept.

As for nerfing spells and casters, I'd rather not. I'm one of those wizard-lovers, and I feel that the great majority of spells work fine; some could be toned down, a few should be beefed up, but most are fine. Don't make other classes suck just so plain Jane fighters can feel special; I'd rather not play 4E.

Oh I agree, important magical/scientific research should be above petty copyright bs!

Lol, indeed.

Even when 3E came about, and the names got ditched, I remained a traditionalist when it comes to spell titles. It's just how I roll.

The problem with many of the mythical beasts is the fact that they became too generalized; the minotaur was a fearsome creature because there was only one, and he was cursed by Zeus (not that that is uncommon, mind you; half of Greece was cursed by Zeus, and the other half by Hera). Similarly, Medusa is badass when its just her. Once you have an entire race of Medusa, they become lame.

Once a particular creature becomes an entire race, its power and majesty must become watered down, otherwise the civilized world will drown in legendary killing machines. Thus Ogres are now relatively low level bruisers, scary when first encountered but soon just sword fodder.

I love magic users. It's no secret that I prefer them to the "mundane" classes; I've played the occasional fighter or rogue, but I always seem to fall back to magic-users.

The only thing I like as much as playing magic-users is hearing about magic-users. So let's talk magic, shall we? I'll go first.

Name: Z'jargo aka Mr. IcyHot
Race: Tiefling (Rakshasa)
Level/Class: Sorcerer 6 (Orc/Water Elemental Crossblooded) (Seeker archetype)/Sand Shaper 1

Z'jargo, the Sorcerer Supreme, the Mage Most Magnificent, the Tiger that Sleeps, is a thief, scoundrel, and all together nice guy. He boasts a magical pedigree that includes his obvious Rakshasa ancestry, as well as direct bloodlines connected to a mighty Orc Warlord and a member of Marid Nobility. Most recently, he has discovered that he is the next incarnation of a lost order of desert tyrants who had power over the very wastelands they ruled.
Despite all this, he's a pretty nice guy.

Your turn. :)

Edit: I'd also like for folks to mention the "style" of magic their characters use. For instance, Z'jargo is of mixed blood, so his spells tend toward cold effects and desert themes (sand, heat, wind, etc) this makes an interesting mix of effects, and is one reason why is called Mr. Icy Hot in our group.

...and a monk will always beat a fighter in a sword fight.

I never thought I'd see such a sentence.

We all know how easy it is for magic-users to control the battlefield; conjuring foul clouds of deadly vapor, producing walls of solid rock or fire or force to separate you from your allies, and twisting vines to entangle are just a few methods casters make life difficult on the battle field.

Obviously, a purely melee character will not have those options available to him. But is it possible, in their own way, for melee combatants to control the battlefield?

Has anyone had any experience with this archetype? After giving it and the style feats a once over, I've come to realize that monks can actually be *cool* and effective.

Still, I'm kind of having trouble seeing which style synergies are best. Has anyone actually played the MoMS? And if so, what styles did you use? And would you say that it was an effective build for what it was designed to do?

Those who haven't actually played it are of course welcome to add any thoughts as well. :)

Heaven personally seems like the strongest.

However my favourite will always be ancestor, I love everything about it. Plus I have a idea to make a viable rage prophet out of it...

Go on...

I'm just happy that, regardless of what the nay sayers desire, we *will* get the epic rules.

Give us Epic Level Rules, please. Thank you. :)

Gorbacz wrote:

Gambit wrote:

Yup, damn that Ed Greenwood for creating a living breathing world full of detail, flavor, and wonder instead of just a backdrop for PC's to play around in. ;)

Some folks prefer worlds where the PCs feel like heroes, instead of being pale shadows of a bunch of Mary Sue level 40 NPCs that hang around in taverns and do nothing. Just sayin'.

It is good thing that the FR was NOT like that at all.

Indeed. For the vast majority of my 17 years of gaming, the Realms was our world of choice, and we never once ran into Elminster or Drizzt, nor were we overshadowed by high level npc's. The Realms are a big place, after all.

I hate the death of Aroden.

Specifically, I hate it because he was, essentially, the God of Humanity, and in pretty much every setting, humnas never have an offical patron god. Then comes along a setting that has one, and he dies. It makes me mad everytime I think about it.

If any other god had bit it, I would be fine.

First off, I want to say that this thread isn't meant to debate the usefulness of the monk; I'm not interested in reading an endless stream of "monks are underpowered," or the like. If you only want to comment on how much monks suck, please move along.

That being said, I will say that I've never played the class. I never really understood what the class was for? What is their role? How exactly do they contribute to a group of adventurers?

Having just picked up the Ultimate Combat book, I've seen a lot of neat things there for monks, and unarmed combat in general, but I'm still having trouble grasping just *what* it is the monk is supposed to be doing in the grand scheme of things. In a way, this feeling extends to the other hybrid classes, but for me the monk is the most elusive.

A little background for this character: He's not an 'oracle,' so much as one of those creepy teen psychics; tremendous psionic potential, relatively limited control, and an assortment of metal issues (phobias, obsessive-compulsive tics, etc). I'm picking lore oracle because it seems to best capture the precognitive angle. That being said, I'd like some advice on how to build this character.

Game starts at 1st level, using a 25 point buy. In addition PC's can bump up one 'odd' ability to an even provided it does not increase said ability score higher than 16. This is before racial modifications. I'm uncertain about race; human, of course, offers the bonus feat, extra skills, and their favored class option, but I'm not married to that race either. If someone can come up with a compelling reason to pick a different race, I'd love to hear it.

In addition, I'm not too experienced with clerical magic, so I'm at a lose as to which spells I should pick as I level up.

Pretty much any pathfinder book is available. In advice for a lore oracle for carrion crown (without spoilers, of course) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Ugh. Terrible.

I start to dread these threads; every new errata seems to be a bunch of nerfs, most of which aren't necessary; nine out of ten seem to be the results of whiny chumps who interpret anything that's actually useful to be broken. HW was too good, and needed to be toned down, but it was taken too far in this case; the restriction to non-exotic weapons is especially lame.

It seems the trend we saw with the spiked chain continues: it went from being too powerful to being not powerful enough to warrent spending a feat to use it. It would be nice if the wonderful folks at paizo find a middle ground with all this tedious nerfing. Please and thank you.

There was a bit of a verbal dispute between two characters in a game I'm in which escalated to some name-calling. During the fight, the rogue said something about the cleric that got me thinking. He called the cleric: "an arrogant fool who stupidly sold his soul and enslaved himself to an overgrown celestial taskmaster for the sake of power." The cleric in question was a follower of the Sun deity in a homebrew game.

Now, I've never really thought of it that way, but from a certain point of view, the rogue was right. A cleric (and indeed, any other divine caster) relies solely on a patron or divine concept to power some or all of their abilities. In a way, a cleric is willfully binding themselves to a god in order to receive the benefit of that gods favor (spells). In exchange for this, the cleric is all tied to the gods agenda; he must, broadly, work towards his gods ends. From a certain perspective, the clerics sovereignty is forever curtailed by his master, whom ultimately decides what the cleric does.

Now I think the rogues view point is extreme, but can't help but acknowledge a few grains of truth in it. What is the real deal with clerics and gods? Just how much freedom does the cleric enjoy, and how much control does the god exert? Is the cleric really just a dope who sold his soul for the ability to work magic? And in the end, what makes a cleric so special compared to the vast majority of mortals? What is it that allows him to receive divine favor when others do not?

Thoughts?

Sayer_of_Nay wrote:

bartgroks wrote:

Jiraiya22 wrote:

Druid is also nice as a 2 level dip for a melee class if you take the Shaping Focus feat from UM. You now have the ability to be a Dire Tiger for 6 hours out of the day, and you have pounce.

I was thinking about this myself but i don't think it would actually work. Wild Shape class feature is a prerequisite for the feat and you don't actually get wild shape until 4th level.

This makes me sad. :(

I want to play a character that focuses exclusively on shape-shifting, with minimal casting ability. Now it looks like I'll have to take four levels of druid for my shifter instead of just two.

True, but you're not losing much. 2->4 is full BAB progression for the Druid, gives you 2nd level spells (hello, Bulls Strength!), and if you go Reincarnated you get those nice +4s against death, energy drain, etc.

Yeah, I guess I shouldn't complain; with Shaping Focus, at least you have the option of keeping wildshape useful for higher level characters.

I always assumed the called creature has to obey if a deal is struck due to the magic of the ritual itself. Just as it can only try to escape once in a 24 hour period, if a reasonable deal is struck, it must perform the agreed upon task. Otherwise, there is nothing stopping that balor you called to do your laundry from killing you instead.

Personally, I vastly prefer archetypes to Prestige Classes. The emphasis on Prestige Classes in 3.5, along with the multiclassing system in general, often made it impossible to play certain character concepts until very high levels.

I like both, to be honest. Each has a place in the game; archetypes allow the base classes to be modified to better fit a concept. Prestige classes to the same thing, except they offer this customization after the game has started. This allows characters to be (potentially) more fluid; perhaps some event happened in game to make the wizard start to appreciate the usefulness of sword training, and so he eventually becomes an Eldritch Knight. The only downside to many of the prestige classes was the amount of pre-planning that was required; characters had to be planned out from the get go, rather than allowed to grow organically into a prestige class.

Prestige classes entry requirements should be revamped so that getting into is special, but at the same time not specific; For dragon disciple, perhaps the requirement should be bathing in the hearts blood of a dragon you killed in combat, or some such. Rather than a narrow and specific line of feat requirements, a prestige class might require specific side quests.

It's a lousy option, and an insult to boot. It's funny how the company is so careful about "balance." They don't wish to make any option too powerful, which is great, but they have no problem making something so weak as to make it laughable. And Mr. Reynolds argument that it's "roleplaying" is faulty as well. It harkens back to the common misconception that only by making a flawed, "weak" character can you "roleplay."

If they feel the need to create such a vow, it should provide a fair trade, not weaken a character and disguise it as "roleplaying."

I agree that an animal companion that is not physically able would not be able to speak.

Casting an Awaken spell on an animal enables it to speak, even though it is physically incapable of it. Like the spell, the Belt of Dwarvenkind is magical; realism has its place in a game like this, but it only goes so far. Magic frequently breaks the rules concerning realism.

I've put together a halfling witch with the halfling jinx racial trait and Malicious Eye feat, both from Halflings of Golarion. Since people around him tend to have seriously bad luck, he has earned gainful employment as a cooler in a gambling den. When not on duty he spends his time playing cards with his familiar, an unruly monkey with a taste for mead. Be careful, the little bugger cheats.

I just picked up Halflings of Galorian. Those jinx features fit well with the witch. Kudos to you for blending the two. I may have to try that whenever I get around to playing a witch.

Let me say up front that I'm not too fond of this class; I want to like it, I really do, but I can't. I believe I mentioned a few reason in my Mad Scientist/Evil Genius thread, but I'll go over it again:

A) The class is just another flavor of magic. When the playtests first began, I had hopes that it would be focused on the craft (alchemy) skill. Instead, it's just a mage who casts through potions. All of its infusions are spells. Its bombs are just weak fireballs.

B) The class is selfish. While it is possible to "share the wealth," so to speak, it eats up resources to do so. You have to waste one of your discoveries in order for anyone else to benefit from your infusions. Your bombs, strangely, don't function unless you throw them.

C) There don't seem to be too many ways to play it; you throw bombs and turn into a hulking monster. That's it. Every alchemist does just these things. So in effect, every alchemist is the same.

The last complaint is more than likely due to my own lack of imagination. I can't seem to find much in the way of individuality in the class; an alchemist from one town is pretty much the same as one from a different town. Or country.
What I'm really looking for is another perspective of this class. Are my opinions unfounded? Has anyone played the class? And if so, what was it like? Too strong or weak? How would you go about making your alchemist unique?

Mr. Fishy has a dwarven earth wizard and He Rules Ass. Team Dwarf!

Mr. Fishy is half Dwarf that's why he's so bad ass. If Fishys could grow beards Mr. Fishy's would provide concealment.

Elves cause cancer, people should hate them. Tordek wouldn't lie to us.

That's right! Tordek's grandmother died from elven cancer bestowed upon her by an elf witch! Don't trust them!

Let's see, a druid as a healer?

Perhaps to take care of those pesky adventuring conditions and diseases and poisons, but a druid as a healbot is just asking for it. With your group, there's a character who an use UMD to wield a wand of cures and both you and the paladin can muster enough healing AND zap people with wands to not bog down your spellcasting.

You see, I don't think anyone should play a healbot. I can see that if somebody really wants to play one, then there's no problem, but as such, healbots are often reactionary one trick ponies and playing one isn't necessarily fun. Not to mention, mid-combat healing goes out of fashion about when 3d8+8 won't cut it anymore. Sure, you'll get Heal sometime later which ups your effectiveness to eleven, but that's so far away. That said though, there has to be characters in the party who can remedy conditions and do have the divine utility spells, like Speak with the Dead. The game is just geared that way. Shoring up the party's weaknesses is what the divine characters do.

Just ask me, I played a cleric/radiant servant of Sarenrae(healing, heroism, fire) through RotRL. Having the ability to zap people with a wand of cures is important for levels through 1-7, then the othere folk need to kip up and start to pull their weight, otherwise the game becomes one of frustration since everyone relies on and expects that cure spells are always available mid-combat. Take an example from my campaign: The party were in the troll-infested damworks. This was about the time our effectiveness(or power level, if you may) had become even with what the difficulty expected us to face. Meaning that regular opponents dropped in two rounds usually. So, everyone was pretty hyped. Of course that meant that the valiant melee characters of the group became c%~!@ure as hell. Soon you had both the paladin and the barbarian not giving a crap about advice and instead taking their own initiative to study the complex. Naturally that means the scenario took them down a notch when a couple of...

Oh, trust me, I will not be playing a healbot. I did that once (in RotRL actually) and it didn't end well. From level one my halfling cleric was the life line, always ready with a quick cure spell or positive energy burst. It was fine for a while. But at some point certain members of the party started taking my character for granted. Apparently, according to some, my only role was that of the healer; excelling in combat or using my god given powers to solve problems was considered stepping on somebody elses toes.

So trust me, I'm not playing a healbot.