How does Life Link interact with nonlethal damage?

[Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan]

So how does the Oracle's Life Link work with nonlethal damage? Or a mix of lethal and nonlethal?

Does it heal both, or just one? If it heals both, if I have 5 lethal and 4 nonlethal presumably it heals it all? What about if you have 4 lethal and 5 nonlethal?

So many questions, but really only a couple reasonable ways it can realistically work.

Thanks for the help folks.

[bbangerter]

The rules don't specify, though a very narrow technical reading could be used to say it only applies to lethal damage as the triggering element.

Quote:

...if the bonded creature is wounded for 5 or more hit points below its maximum hit points...

Non-lethal damage doesn't count down from max hp, it counts up from zero till it matches or exceeds your current HP total and which point you go unconscious.

However, as it is healing, the triggering of 5 HP lethal should also cure an equal amount of non-lethal per standard magical healing rules.

Outside of the actual rules text, personally I'd have it trigger on either 5 hp of lethal or non-lethal, but it would only transfer the same type. i.e, if it triggers on 5 non-lethal, it only heals 5 non-lethal from the target and applies 5 non-lethal to you. And if it triggered on both at the same time I'd have it transfer both over rather than transferring only the lethal and simply removing the non-lethal. Reason: the ability isn't intended to remove the need for healing to someone, it just changes who actually needs the healing (generally making AoE healing more effective).

[Paladin of Baha-who?]

I think your analysis is exactly spot-on, bbangerter. Nonlethal damage doesn't deduct from your maximum HP, so it wouldn't trigger Lifelink, just like ability damage for instance. When Lifelink heals you, it would heal NL damage just like spells. Your houserule seems reasonable, though.