Healing in a Low Cleric World

[sgtrocknroll]

Starting a new campaign that has a hatred of magic and low cleric availability. (Pitchforks and burning stakes anyone?)

Wanting to play a half-orc sorcerer for the concept value, but I hate memorizing spells as I tend to memorize the wrong once.

Looking for a way to get healing as a sorcerer outside of Infernal Healing, and yes I know I can play a Witch, but those memorize so it's not in concept.

Any ideas?

[Mark Hoover]

Play an Oracle instead? You'll get some healing, some offensive/utility spells, and won't have to memorize (I think). Also since it's a low-magic setting, see if your GM will let you do something homebrewed with Craft: Alchemy, Knowledge: Nature, and Profession: Herbalist. Maybe you can make up some "rapid healing" type alchemical components.

[Samasboy1]

Bards get healing spells. And there is a archetypes to make them better at healing

[Vod Canockers]

Bard. No memorization and some Cure spells on the lists.

Ninja'd.

[Douglas Muir 406]

Use the darn Heal skill. If nobody in the party has it, burn a trait and take it yourself.

The Heal skill tends to be hugely underestimated. If you have a healer's kit you can use it to Treat Deadly Wounds, which is almost like a free CLW per character per day. And if you can rest for a day, the Long-Term Care use is incredible -- it will let you bring people from 0 hp back to full health in a couple of days.

Mind, you can't use Long Term Care on yourself, so that's a thing. But if you're part of a party, get someone else to take Heal as a skill and drop a rank into it so they can aid you. Between the two of you, you'll be able to do a surprising amount of healing.

Doug M.

[nate lange]

+1 for oracle, if that's an option... you never really explained how/why its low magic and even lower "cleric". life mystery is the most healing, but if you want to heal but not have that be your whole portfolio- the flame oracle with the blackened curse has a lot of blasting options on top of healing and the standard buffs.

bard is also a nice choice, if its available- great skills, some diverse magic (without memorization) including the cure spells, a natural fit for UMD, and solid party buffs (especially since most will, presumably, be fighty-types).

don't overlook alchemists either... they prepare extracts ahead of time (which is an awful lot like memorizing) but once you take the infusions discovery (at 2nd level) you can pass out cure extracts (that use the recipients' turn instead of yours). another plus here is that if the campaign world is in an 'enlightenment period' (where some kind of science/philosophy is eclipsing magic) alchemy may actually be embraced by society instead of being lumped with the villanious magic users.

there would actually be some potential for a sorcerer too... the celestial bloodline gets a minor heal as its 1st level power, and heal as a class skill (which doug pointed out the usefullness of); if you go wildblooded (switching celestial to empyreal), your casting would be wisdom based (good for your will save, and your heal checks) and at 9th level you gain a limited channel ability (which you could augment with feats, like extra channel for example). the only downside to empyreal is that it hurts UMD a little (since you're no longer Cha focused), which could be a valuable skill for cure wands. either way, there's also a trait that lets you stabilize dying creatures with a touch- that would be a nice addition (to any of these ideas).

edit: i know you don't want to memorize spells (which means you don't want a cleric regardless of the campaign setting) but that sounds like the kind of campaign that the Hidden Priest archetype was designed for...