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This is kinda an offshoot about my post on curing, which featured an idea to buff the curing spells a bit (to bring them up to speed with the increased HPs and damage PF brings to the table). A lot of people didn't like the idea, pointing out that they felt the clerics main role isn't to heal.
While I certainly have my opinion on it, I believe that we all agree that the Cleric is a support class with a number of tools at his/her disposal. One thing that the cleric is also well known for is buffing. Many divine spells bring some very interesting buffs to the table.
However, I also noticed that the variant channeling rules give clerics another way to buff other players. Best of all, the bonuses are "Channeling" bonuses, and unlike most spells, provide their bonuses on top of other existing armor/enhancement/etc bonuses another PC may already have.
Using a variant channel means the channel heals for 1/2 of its normal amount. It's a fair trade. However, in later levels of the game, channeling becomes more of a novalty. A 3rd level character can completely heal an entire 3rd level party in about 2-3 channels. A 15th level character would need around 5 or so. So, I had an idea to keep channeling something that's not only useful at higher levels, but focuses on the cleric's buffing role in combat. What if at higher levels, the cleric could add variants to his channels? Healing 28 hps in a channel in battle at level 15 is a novelty, but being able to heal 28 hps AND give everyone a +3 to hit or +3 AC, etc, could be very useful. My feat ideas are below.
Enhanced Channeling I
Req: Permanent ability to Channel 5d6 or more (Exclusive of items)
Benefit: Choose a variant channeling benefit. Your channels now have that benefit without the normally assoicated 50% penalty to the healing.
Enhanced Channeling II
Req: Permanent ability to Channel 9d6 or more (Exclusive of items), Enhanced Channeling I
Benefit: Choose a second variant channeling benefit. Your channels now have that benefit as well without the normally assoicated 50% penalty to the healing.
What do you think?
There's a ton of feats that support melee, ranged and spell offensive combat. A few feats such as reach and quicken certain can help benefit clerics who focus on buffing/healing. However, I feel that overall there's a lack of feats to support PC's with that playstyle and enjoy finding little things to help support that.
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I hate Chaneling, and I fully agree that healing isn't the Clerics main job. But, if you like it, that's perfectly fine.
Your Feats look nice and fine, but I will point out, in my limited experience with them and having looked at them a lot, they honestly do not seem near worth it. They often give a bonus that lasts a single round or less, and at the same time either encourage you to waste a Channel for the bonus, or to heal in combat or not even get that bonus.
Might I suggest a Feat or two instead that lets the targets hold the bonus in reserve for a few rounds (like the Clerics Wis or Cha Mod) and use it when they want to.
I might also suggest, as a Cleric Class Feature at say 10th, that they add their Wis to heals, or something like that?
I like the feats. I will also note that certain archetypes (e.g. theologian) only have one domain, and the variant channeling abilities are linked to the domains, so Enhanced Channeling II might cause a slight problem as it doesn't require a second domain/access to an appropriate ability.
Personally, I'd probably let clerics automatically at a certain level gain the benefits of your first feat just to add something to the class, probably as early as level 5 and no later than level 10. Then I'd make a feat to give that second channel ability.
I hate Chaneling, and I fully agree that healing isn't the Clerics main job. But, if you like it, that's perfectly fine.
Your Feats look nice and fine, but I will point out, in my limited experience with them and having looked at them a lot, they honestly do not seem near worth it. They often give a bonus that lasts a single round or less, and at the same time either encourage you to waste a Channel for the bonus, or to heal in combat or not even get that bonus.
Might I suggest a Feat or two instead that lets the targets hold the bonus in reserve for a few rounds (like the Clerics Wis or Cha Mod) and use it when they want to.
I might also suggest, as a Cleric Class Feature at say 10th, that they add their Wis to heals, or something like that?
I whole heartedly disagree, channeling helps clerics do things other than healing.
In 3.5 our cleric, in combat, was a fighter for the most-part, because even though his main job wasn't healing he'd try to conserve his spells for healing.
Channeling gives the cleric another source of healing so they CAN use their spells for other things, even at early levels.
and FYI i love in the group i'm playing in now i play BOTH the party's dedicated healers (Lv 7 Oath of Charity Paladin and Lv 5 Merciful Healer Cleric) and love it, i still participate in combat as one of the groups meatsheilds (cleric having a 31 ac and paladin having a 28) and against demons and undead and the like, i'm also one of the best damage dealers. and after combat they stii need my help to patch them up.
Clerics already seem very powerful compared to the other classes (T1 if I recall). It should be ok for some of their abilities to take a back seat at the later levels as their spell levels increase. Once they get to level 7 spells, they start to out-class all but the Druid and Wizard.
I do like the changes to Channeling though, and would suggest it as a trade off, or even a feature of a homebrew class Archetype.
--PC
These feats would be GREAT with priests which have more than a domain- like Rite Publishing's Divine Channeler, Open Design's Theosophist, Adamant's Priest and my Friar archetype. I'd like to add it to the Book of Pacifist Priests I'm working on.
The variant channeling abilities are not directly linked to domains, rather they are linked to the deities portfolio.
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I hate Chaneling, and I fully agree that healing isn't the Clerics main job. But, if you like it, that's perfectly fine.
Your Feats look nice and fine, but I will point out, in my limited experience with them and having looked at them a lot, they honestly do not seem near worth it. They often give a bonus that lasts a single round or less, and at the same time either encourage you to waste a Channel for the bonus, or to heal in combat or not even get that bonus.
Might I suggest a Feat or two instead that lets the targets hold the bonus in reserve for a few rounds (like the Clerics Wis or Cha Mod) and use it when they want to.
If channeling worked like bardic performance, and took less of an action as one increased in level (perhaps at a reduced effectiveness), it might be better suited to something one uses during a combat (since it isn't eating up the cleric's actual action), and not afterwards to patch up.
Similarly, and, again, like bardic performance, if channeling energy didn't risk healing your foes (or harming your allies, for negative energy channelers, who are even more cruelly hosed by that), and didn't require Selective Channeling and a through-the-roof Cha modifier to get around that, that would also be awesome.
A variant channel that requires a move action to activate, and gives allies (not everyone, just allies) in the area fast healing equal to the number of dice you'd normally heal, for a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom modifier, could be funky. (So, a 3rd level cleric with Wis 17 would give fast healing 2 for 3 rounds to his allies, as a move-equivalent action.) It wouldn't eat up his actions, it wouldn't require a feat tax or high Cha to use safely, and it wouldn't heal quite as much as the core channeling (and wouldn't need to be used more than once every X rounds).
I might also suggest, as a Cleric Class Feature at say 10th, that they add their Wis to heals, or something like that?
Certainly a thought. Indeed, given how some Domains (such as Travel with it's 10 ft. move bonus or Rune with its free Scribe Scroll) give little extra perks outside of the spell-like abilities, adding that as a perk of the Healing Domain would be logical (and the same bonus to Inflict spells for the Death domain?).
I have to agree with Set, as one who has played a cleric through 9 now.
At lower levels, channeling is good for healing both in and out of combat. As I gained levels, though, HPs were going down much faster than my channels. From an action economy standpoint, it became less and less useful to channel. At ninth level, I can channel for 5d6=17 (which is still better than a standard Mass Cure Light Wounds) or I can cast something like Toppling Spiritual Ally (Seriously, this is a fun meta combo!) or Blessing of Fervor or Bouncing Hold Person, etc.
So, channeling feels more like something to do out of combat to help conserve my spells. At 17*5/day (I took extra channel, 16 CHA), I can fill up the party about once if they are really hurt. So, it is useful for that.
However, as a GM, I'd like for Channeling to remain a viable action in combat into higher levels, specifically if people are willing to feat into it. (And clearly, with existing Paizo feats like Selective Channeling, someone thought it might be useful in combat!) "Set" is right that at, higher levels, using channeling in battle just isn't a great idea from an action economy standpoint. "Beckett" is also right in that some of these benefits only last for one turn. Therefore, the cleric would be tied up for round of just channeling to really feel the benefit, and that might be tough. Of course, that's what Quick Channel is for. http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/quick-channel
So, let's say I change the channeling feats as follows, working Quick Channel into the mix. Keep in mind, that while this may seem a bit OP to some, that a cleric really has to invest heavily in CHA and/or other feats like selective channeling to really make this work well. Quick channeling is now a requirement, and most will need to take selective channeling and/or extra channeling just to make this useful. They are sacrificing other great alternatives to get this.
Enhanced Channeling I
Req: Permanent ability to Channel 4d6 or more (Exclusive of items). Quick channel
Benefit: Choose a variant channeling benefit. Your channels now have that benefit without the normally assoicated 50% penalty to the healing. You may now use Quick Channel without consuming two uses of the channeling ability.
Enhanced Channeling II
Req: Permanent ability to Channel 6d6 or more (Exclusive of items), Enhanced Channeling I, Quick Channel
Benefit: Choose a second variant channeling benefit. Your channels now have that benefit as well without the normally assoicated 50% penalty to the healing. You may choose to channel as a swift action, but doing so uses two channels.
And here's another thought I just had....
Enhanced Channeling III
Req: Permanent ability to Channel 8d6 or more (Exclusive of items), Enhanced Channeling II
Benefit: You may sacrifice a memorized spell to further empower your channeling Add the sacrificed spell level to the number of D6 you roll. For example, a 15th level cerlic can normally channel 8d6. If she sacrifices a 4th level spell, she channels 12d6 on that turn only.
These are good ideas, but instead of changing the Enhanced Channeling feats, create a new feat tree called Empowered Channeling or Channeling Mastery. Enhanced Channeling feats are good as they are.
These are good ideas, but instead of changing the Enhanced Channeling feats, create a new feat tree called Empowered Channeling or Channeling Mastery. Enhanced Channeling feats are good as they are.
So it would look like this...
Enhanced Channeling I
Req: Permanent ability to Channel 5d6 or more (Exclusive of items)
Benefit: Choose a variant channeling benefit. Your channels now have that benefit without the normally assoicated 50% penalty to the healing.
Enhanced Channeling II
Req: Permanent ability to Channel 9d6 or more (Exclusive of items), Enhanced Channeling I
Benefit: Choose a second variant channeling benefit. Your channels now have that benefit as well without the normally assoicated 50% penalty to the healing.
Quick Channeling (Per SRD)
Improved Quick Channeling
Req: Quick Channeling
Benefit: When you channel as a move action using Quick channeling you only consume one use of the channeling ability. Alternatively, you may use channeling as a quick action, but doing so consumes two daily uses of that ability.
What do you think?
I like the other one...but not sure where it goes...see below...
Enhanced Channeling III ???
Req: Permanent ability to Channel 8d6 or more (Exclusive of items), Enhanced Channeling II ???
Benefit: You may sacrifice a memorized spell to further empower your channeling Add the sacrificed spell level to the number of D6 you roll. For example, a 15th level cerlic can normally channel 8d6. If she sacrifices a 4th level spell, she channels 12d6 on that turn only.
The sky is the limit!
True. I appreciate the suggestions; I'll ponder them! I have the Phylactyl (The party bought it for my cleric). It is pretty cool aside from taking up my +WIS item slot.
I think it's cool to have channeling as an early AoE heal (which I believe it is designed to be given the RAW Feats which improve that functionality). Later, when clerics get access to Mass heals (which are pretty weak, admittedly...that's another thread), I think it's a neat idea to have them do something more...such as buffing ... so they fill a niche that isn't covered by existing spells.
So that's why I am leaning towards using the variants... as n ability that lets you do minor healing and buffing at the same time. Channel buffs are especially cool since they tend to stack. From an action economy standpoint, given the weak healing and very short term buffs (1 round in most cases), it makes sense to have that as a move action or faster. A high level cleric heavily invested in channeling would be able to provide, short term (about 3-7 rounds/day depending on CHA and Extra channeling feats) AoE Minor Healing+Buffing when its needed the most, on top of their normal spell casting. A cleric who doesn't go that route can focus on other feat types of defensive, spellcasting, etc.
An ability that lets you do minor healing and buffing at the same time.A RAW strategy here may be to think about this in reverse.
Leave Channel as the "minor healing" part that it is now. By RAW, you don't have much other choice (assuming your GM nixes all the Channel feats you will be suggesting).
Utilize the Quicken Spell feat (starting at level 9) to buff (self buff Divine Favor if you are a weapon using cleric). Also, use a Rod of Quicken to pop off three extra buffing spells per day (up to 3rd level spells to start). Alternatively to buffing, you can pop off three Quickened Toppling Spiritual Weapons, which might be fun for you.
This increases the potential you can muster on those rounds that you do end up channeling, which is the same net effect that you described.
Quicke spell feat adds +4 to the level, which means I'd only be able to quicken lv 1 spells, and that would take up my 5th level spell. A Rod of Lesser Quicken (Lv 1-3 spells only), costs 35k. I'd have to sell everything and then I *might* be able to afford it. (Avg Character wealth level for a level 8 is 33k, 46k for Lv 9 by RAW )
Quicken toppled Spiritual weapons WOULD be fun...but you're talking level 7 slot without the pricy rod. If only money weren't an obsticle! hahahaah.