Middle Earth style healing

[J. S.]

I'm playing in a homebrew campaign set in 4th age Middle Earth (based on old MERP material but using the Pathfinder ruleset.)

I'm looking for feedback about the following homebrew feat (or maybe it should be a replacement for cleric type channeling or a domain power?) before discussing it with my GM. Purposes of this feat are to:
(1)Fluff healing spells into something more consistent with Middle-Earth, and
(2)Allow additional healing without wands of cure light wounds.

"Brew Healing Potion"

Pre-req: Able to "heal" including any of channelling, lay on hands, or casting healing, condition removal, or restoration spells.

Description: Given access to a sufficient quantity of athelas or other medicinal herbs, a character may brew a potion or ointment of any healing, condition removal, or restoration spell on his spell list. Brewing the potion does not require casting the spell. The spell casting character must be the one to administer the treatment. Treatment must take place outside of combat.

Questions:
*Stockpiling the potions seems wrong. How perishable should they be?
*Should the potions be subject to the same spellcraft check and crafting time requirements as typical Pathfinder potions?

[Eltacolibre]

If you were the DM would be so much easier...but well by pathfinder rules, the closest you are going to get to the healing techniques of Middle earth would be with the restorer (druid archetype from Healer handbook), it basically does what you want and it includes herbs and the likes.

Athelas, hagweed and whatever else you want to use...you can just roleplay it, no need for a feat.

[J. S.]

The character I'm running is a low level dwarf cleric (forgemaster) 1/fighter 1/forgemaster X. My "magic use" is low key--I'm self-buffing with spells and wading into combat with a dwarven long hammer and buckler. The archetype eliminates channeling. If I hoard my buffing spells, I can burn them to spontaneously cast cure spells. Then the herbs are just roleplaying like you said.

What I would do to heal with that character in a typical campaign is to use a wand of cure light wounds (either buying it or taking create wands as a feat) and preserve my spell slots for buffing.

I don't want a big rule change. My feat idea is intended as a straightforward replacement for taking create wands and using that to make a cure light wounds wand.

[Eltacolibre]

Alright, probably easier to just refluff craft wands instead of making a new feat for it.

Simply talk with your GM about it, I don't think that your GM will mind that your wand look like a waterskin of healing or something. Usually most GMs don't care too much about the aesthetic of an effect/spell as long as the mechanics aren't heavily changed.

[Yuri Sarreth]

So other than the fact you would like them to expire and go bad why is this different than the regular brew potion feat?
I mean there is a 'fluff' change and all but I'm not seeing why the existing feat doesnt meet your needs here.

[J. S.]

I'm currently running a 2nd level character. Regular brew potion can't be taken until 3rd level. Potions are more expensive per spell. Any character can drink a potion.
I don't visualize passing out potions for other characters to chug mid combat.

Regular craft wands can be taken at 1st level. Wands have multiple charges, so they are cheaper per spell. Wands either require the user to have the spell on their spell list or can be used by any character with a use-magic-device check. (Correct me on that last point if I'm wrong.)

A refluff of either feat would do it. Just want to hand my DM a more polished version before we discuss it. "Hey, wouldn't this be neat?" instead of "Do the work for me."

[J. S.]

Brew potion or craft wand can also be used with any spell. I visualize gimping this feat to only healing-type spells.

[Foeclan]

It seems like making Alchemists the only real 'healing' class would meet most of your needs. They can't stockpile their extracts, they need the Infusion discovery to use them on other people, they already get Brew Potion as a bonus feat and are limited to brewing one potion per day so unless you have extensive downtime they won't be stockpiling much.

[J. S.]

Clarifications--I visualize that the character doing the healing is administering the potion to the character being healed (cured/restored/condition removed.) I also visualize this happening after combat is over instead of during combat.

Alchemist self buffs and heals but it seems more about mutagens, tentacles, and bombs (depending on archetype.)

[Eltacolibre]

There is an aclhemist archetype more focused on healing in the healer's handbook player companion.

[J. S.]

Correction to one of my previous postings--craft wands can't be taken until 5th level.

Thanks for the input, folks.

I'll look harder at the chirugeon and restorer.

I am intrigued by druidic herbalism. It looks like the equivalent of a cleric domain so could probably swap for one of those with GM permission without changing power level of the character.

Unfortunately, it looks like all crafting requires expending a spell slot.

[J. S.]

Here's another shot at a re-fluffed creation feat or domain power (borrowing heavily from druidic herbalism):

A character who chooses to learn "medicinal herbalism" can create herbal concoctions for the treatment of wounds, diseases, and other medical conditions.

Only medicinal herbal concoctions may be created with this ability. Specific medicinal concoctions may only be created by a character who has that spell on his spell list.

A character can create a number of free "cure light/moderate/serious wounds" herbal concoctions per day equal to 3 + his wisdom modifier. These may be brewed without expending spell slots or rolling a spell craft check and only require the small amount of herbs that the character normally carries or scrounges. The act of creating and applying these herbal concoctions requires 15 minutes each. These herbal concoctions are highly perishable so the spell casting character must apply them to the injured party promptly.

Notes:
*3 + wisdom modifier per day may be too much, it's just a starting place.
*I'm aiming for this to replace the creation and use of standard "cure" consumables.
*Does this feel more like a feat or a domain power? It's cure only and not area of effect, so feels weaker than channeling.

Thoughts from the community?

[bitter lily]

The only thing I know about "Middle Earth" style healing is the Rolemaster supplement, where the herbs are outrageously expensive! Easily as expensive as a Cure x Wounds potion would require. I'm not saying that that is true to the books, mind you. Just something to consider before creating Cure potions that cost no gp nor spell slots.

{You could make this a feat or archetype that depends on having a Channeling ability. If an archetype, it would completely replace uses of channeling. At that point, I'd be willing to let the character create them during an hour of prayer at the beginning of the day and keep them for 24 hours. If a feat, creating a potion would consume a use of the Channeling ability that was the prereq for taking it. But is this worth it?}

[J. S.]

Healing in the books involved herbs and being a "special character." Aragorn does a lot of the healing--performing first aid on Frodo after the skirmish at weathertop, and treating injuries after most of the big battles. I think there was even a bit about "the hands of the king are the hands of the healer." There were also injuries that could only be treated by some of the elves in Rivendell. Consumables were either scrounged (gathering herbs on the spot) or the expense wasn't mentioned.

MERP did something similar--A hobbit or common man could use herbs to treat a headache. A Dunedain or high elf could use the same herbs to heal injuries. Animists (kind of like non-armored druids) may have also been able to treat injuries or conditions. MERP was also way higher magic than the books. I'm not sure how much the herbs cost.

Decision becomes how to reconcile this with playing in the Pathfinder system which assumes access to something like cure light wounds wands.

I like the one hour idea, especially if I could divide that time further based on the number of potions needed.

If it's going to replace channeling, should it also include an option for a negative effect vs. undead?

[bitter lily]

I forgot about variant channeling (here). This might also give you a way to get what you want in exchange for your channeling. As for affecting undead, it would depend on how you worded it. But... are you going to hand the undead in question a potion to drink? Or will this herbal concoction work if you dribble it on for a standard action, say by slapping yon beastie with a touch attack?

{I overlooked that you want an archetype that replaces channeling. Back to square one.}

[J. S.]

An attempt at a more balanced write up....

The following abilities replace channeling (or equivalently replace rune forger.)

**Replacement for healing via channeling.**

A character who knows "medicinal herbalism" can create herbal concoctions for the treatment of wounds, diseases, and other medical conditions.

This character may create a number of medicinal herbal concoctions per day equal to 3 + (pick an ability modifier--which to use?) These concoctions act on one character and heal a number of hit points equivalent to the channel energy ability of a cleric of the crafter's level.

Time to create each concoction is equal to 1 hour / uses of this ability day. Once created, the concoctions may be applied by any character. Applying these concoctions is a full round action. Herbal concoctions keep for 24 hours.

Herbs may be scrounged or purchased at DM discretion.

**Replacement for damaging undead via channeling.**

In lieu of traditional channeling, this character has the special ability to cause extra damage to undead when attacking them with his melee weapon.

This works as the channel energy ability of a cleric but the "Channel Smite" feat is required to be applied.

The melee weapon glows blue when this ability is in use.

[Debnor]

I don't see a way to do it short of Craft Wand, although you could fluff that (as said above) as 50 charges of herbal concoctions you have made up. Note that in LoTR, dwarves do not have an extensive knowledge of herbalism! So I'm not sure how you're justifying this for a dwarven character.

Your original idea called for extreme rules abuse, in allowing for free usage of spells far beyond what the system permits for potions or wands. I'm glad you're looking for ways to constrain it. Restricting it to "spells you can cast" rather than "spells on your list" is one crucial detail.

[J. S.]

I like my "replacement for healing via channeling" in the above post. I don't really like the "replacement for damaging undead via channeling." Guess I could just voluntarily scrub that part of it.

[J. S.]

Game system vs. world we're campaigning in vs. my expectations vs. party expectations.

I wanted to play a dwarf and remembered that dwarves have always made good battle clerics. Then I saw the cool sounding archetype--Tolkien dwarves craft stuff. Party hears "cleric" and thinks healbot (not in a bad way just what they know.) We've lucked out so far--my cure light wounds spells have been enough. Not buffing to hoard my spells is a rough dynamic.

The dwarves we met weren't herbalists. Maybe other dwarves could have been. Does that break immersion?--I don't know.

MERP also expanded on the setting a lot. For instance, in MERP's version of Middle Earth the dwarves worshipped Aule. The question then becomes what Aule would want his clerics to do. My answer to that is--craft stuff, preserve knowledge, and protect their own. Protecting their own would involve hitting things hard and some type of healing.

[bitter lily]

OK: you are considering converting an AoE ability (channeling) into a single-target ability (concocting). You should be able to do the cleric's channel in d6 of magical healing for a given concoction, and get something else as change. Maybe the ability to create concoctions for other spells you can cast isn't so out of line, for sufficient uses of your channeling ability. How about this?

Herbal Concoctions
While a cleric with Herbal Concoctions prays or meditates on her spells in the morning, she puts together herbal concoctions using herbs that she has scrounged or purchased for less than 1 gp. She may create as many simple concoctions as 3 + her Charisma modifier. Her concoctions will become inert 24 hours later. Others may apply one of her concoctions as well, with a successful Use Magic Device check.

When she applies a simple concoction externally as a standard action, the recipient is healed of 1d6 points of damage plus 1d6 points of damage for every two cleric levels beyond 1st (the same as a cleric of her level would heal in a 30-ft burst of healing energy). Alternatively, while creating her concoctions for the day, she may choose to make complex ones that duplicate the effects of any Conjuration (healing) or Abjuration spell that she can cast. Creating a complex concoction expends a use of her Herbal Concoctions ability for every level of the spell being duplicated. For instance, provided she is at least of 3rd level, she could create a Remove Paralysis concoction, expending 2 uses of Herbal Concoctions. Any concoction that duplicates a spell with expensive material components requires the same components to create.

This ability replaces Channel Energy, and is only available to clerics who would otherwise channel positive energy.

My husband Debnor warns that you may sorely miss your AoE damage via Channel Energy the first time you meet Barrow wights. But you knew that.

[J. S.]

"My husband Debnor warns that you may sorely miss your AoE damage via Channel Energy the first time you meet Barrow wights. But you knew that."

Yeah, there's always something...

My other party members may push me to be a team player by playing a more traditional cleric for precisely that reason. Kind of like we shouldn't tangle with a barrow wight until I can cast death ward and restoration.

[J. S.]

By the way, thank you. I like your version a lot.

I'll talk it over with my DM and the rest of the group next time we get together. We'll be doing a level up, so the timings perfect for a redesign.

[Lazlo.Arcadia]

Personally I'd start by looking over the Dwarven racial options already in print, then doing the same with the Cleric options. Next expand your circle a little and look at the WarPriest as they may also have something close to what you have in mind.

Sometimes there is no need to reinvent the wheel if there is something close already on the table. Even if it is not an exact fit it can save you a lot of time and offer a much stronger starting position.

[bitter lily]

You're welcome. I didn't restrict the spells sufficiently, btw -- "any Conjuration (healing) or Abjuration spell that she can cast, provided it has a casting time of less than 1 minute and targets one or more creatures or objects" would be better. (You can't apply a concoction to an area, obviously, and you can't make one for a spell with a range of "personal," per the rules for Magic Potions.)

I was wondering -- after I'd put the computer to bed last night -- if you'd taken a good look at Warpriest (as Lazlo suggests). It could be just what you're looking for in a class, and might set off fewer false vibes with the party. If, however, they want the healing capability...

[J. S.]

I was visualizing the additional restrictions you mentioned and didn't even realize it.

Yeah, I looked at the warpriest. The forgepriest archetype seemed similar to my orginal forgemaster/fighter concept. Decision points were which HeroLab modules we had access to and a faster spell progression towards the higher level condition removal spells (my attempt to be a team player.)

Warpriest would play differently--buff and attack first round vs buff first round and stand back for attacks of opportunity. I'm not sure how to make the scaling weapon damage work for me when I'm wielding a 2d6 weapon to start with.

[bitter lily]

I've wondered about the scaling weapon thing. It seems like it's a "feature" you ignore until you're mid to high level.

[Lazlo.Arcadia]

Here is how we "scaled" weapons:

Lets say you have a level 10 Fighter, he has a + 10 BAB. If he attacks a foe and passes its AC by up to 5 (1/2 his BAB) that additional margin translates into damage. This additional damage is similar to power attack and thus will multiply on a critical hit. This works both melee and ranged attacks. ALTERNATIVE: if you feel the ranged attackers got too good of a deal due to the current action economy feel free to restrict this rule to only melee combat.

This rule addresses the idea that experienced combatants should not only be hitting more often, but those hits should be dangerous ones (especially against lower level targets). This also helps to off set the fact that later attacks are significantly less likely to even make contact, and thus flattening out the bell curve between them.

[bitter lily]

Lazlo, is this specifically for the Warpriest? A custom replacement for the scaling weapon feature of Sacred Weapon?

[J. S.]

Although wandering away from the original topic, I was thinking about the Warpriest scaling weapon feature a little more...

A Warpriest wielding a large reach weapon (like the Dwarven long hammer), could take weapon focus gauntlet or weapon focus Dwarven boulder helmet. This would eventually let him attack an adjacent square with more/larger damage dice.

Drawback is that Warpriest doesn't get lead blades on their spell list like Forge Master does, so they couldn't buff their Dwarven long hammer as much at early levels. (Lead blades is a first level spell that makes 2d6 turn into 3d6.)

Which is better? I don't know. Probably depends on how you play.

[J. S.]

And another thought on the original topic--returning to the feat idea for a moment.

"Create Herbal Salve"--Works as Create Wand (i.e. crafting a device with multiple charges to be used over time) with the following exceptions.
**Only allows crafting of cure spells.
**Said cure spells are to be cast outside of combat.
**Herbal salves may be crafted in increments up to 50 charges. Cost per charge and time to craft per charge is set by the GM. (Using standard Pathfinder time and cost it would be 15 GP and 9.6 minutes per 1st level cure light wounds spell.)

This would be a weaker (only cure spells) but more flexible (crafting quicker and cheaper) feat than Create Wand. Would earlier access (say level 1) be appropriate?

If limited to cure spells, spells like restoration would still require using spell slots.

Another way to use this feat would be to craft *after* hit points were lost. By crafting afterwards, I would only have to save one spell for the end of the day instead of hoarding all my buffing spells.

[bitter lily]

Sorry, I just got my head back. I've been obsessing over a homebrew rule doc for replacing the ABP in Unchained with a point-buy Selected Bonus Progression.

Have you noticed that when you craft while out adventuring, you only get 2 hours of progress per day? But it's assumed that you can come up with that much. Honestly, if your party retreats to lick its wounds and let the casters recoup spells as early as they should, you should always have a lot more than 4 hours of time to craft in, but... whatever. You can get 2 hours of progress RAW, so let's work with that.

Also, all-natural or chemically prepared items like your "herbal salve" are normally alchemical in nature. So I'm actually thinking of an alchemy feat. Problem is, the obvious prereq is Master Alchemist, which requires 5 ranks in Craft (alchemy). I can hear your grinding teeth from here, you know! :) So let's try a different set of prereqs on for size. (I'm not claiming this draft is a finished product!)

Salve Crafting
You can create healing Herbal Salves that spread the effects of your Cure spells out over multiple doses, although they have significant drawbacks over a Cure potion.

Prereqs: Craft (alchemy) 1 rank, ability to cast a Cure spell.

Benefit: You can cast a single Cure spell and distill it into a batch of alchemical herbal salve that you are crafting. Each batch can consist of at most a number of doses equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum 1). These additional doses do not increase the time required, but they do increase the raw material cost. The herbs and other ingredients cost only 5 gp x spell level x caster level. Unfortunately, if the salve is not used within 24 hours, it becomes inert and the ingredients are lost, meaning that its market value is double the ingredient cost only if the customer trusts that the batch is freshly made. Nonetheless, you must succeed at a Craft (alchemy) check based on twice the ingredient cost of one dose to craft a batch of Herbal Salve. If you botch the crafting, your spell is lost.

While you can apply a dose of salve as a standard action, it takes a full minute for the recipient to gain the effects of the Cure spell.

~~~~

I'm afraid I'm too tired to calculate how many doses you could make in 2 hours. And I don't know whether you nerfed your Int or not... What do you think?

[J. S.]

No worries. We're brainstorming for fun not pay.

For anyone following along--here's the master alchemist feat http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/master-alchemist/

We did a dice roll. My int is currently 10, but I can ask to change it around.

At 5 gp x spell level x caster level that's 5 gp = 50 sp with a level 10 craft check for first level cure light wounds. 50 sp of progress is needed to finish.

Assume take 10 for automatic success, divide by 7 for daily progress, and then divide by 4 to represent 2 hours of crafting. That would be (10+((skill ranks = 1)+ability modifier)) x (DC=10) / 28 ~ 3.93 < 50. So 2 hours isn't anywhere near enough.

This wouldn't work for end of adventure day healing unless we include another part of the master alchemist feat "...use the item’s gp value as its sp value when determining your progress (do not multiply the item’s gp cost by 10 to determine its sp cost)."

That plus a combined ability bonus and skill rank of 4 would give (10+ 4) x (DC=10) / 28 = 5 . So, automatic success in 2 hours.

As I side note, I found it interesting to learn that alchemical crafting gets way nerfed on time vs. potion crafting or wand crafting.
"Brewing a potion takes 2 hours if its base price is 250 gp or less, otherwise brewing a potion takes 1 day for each 1,000 gp in its base price .... The DC to create a magic item is 5 + the caster level for the item."
vs.
[For other magical items] "Creating an item requires 8 hours of work per 1,000 gp in the item’s base price (or fraction thereof), with a minimum of at least 8 hours."
vs.
[For alchemical creations] "Make an appropriate Craft check representing one week’s worth of work."

[J. S.]

Here's another shot... Requiring more skill ranks as compensation for including the reduced time portion of master alchemist. I'm not terribly attached to heal vs. alchemy vs. spellcraft for the skill check or wisdom vs. intelligence for the number of doses. Heal just seemed like better fluff.

Salve Crafting
You can create healing Herbal Salves that spread the effects of your Cure spells out over multiple doses, although they have significant drawbacks over a Cure potion.

Prereqs: Healing (wis) 5 ranks, ability to cast a Cure spell.

Benefit: You can cast a single Cure spell and distill it into a batch of herbal salve that you are crafting. Each batch can consist of at most a number of doses equal to your wisdom modifier (minimum 1). These additional doses do not increase the time required, but they do increase the raw material cost. The herbs and other ingredients cost only 5 gp x spell level x caster level.

You must succeed at a Heal check based on twice the ingredient cost of one dose to craft a batch of Herbal Salve. If you botch the crafting, your spell is lost.

Assess progress as in a craft alchemy check (skill check+(skill ranks+ability modifier) x (DC) / (56/hours crafted). Compare this to the item’s sp value (not gp value) when determining your progress.

While you can apply a dose of salve as a standard action, it takes a full minute for the recipient to gain the effects of the Cure spell.

Unfortunately, if the salve is not used within 24 hours, it becomes inert and the ingredients are lost. Its market value is double the ingredient cost only if the customer trusts that the batch is freshly made.

[J. S.]

Instead of,
"Compare this to the item’s sp value (not gp value) when determining your progress." my previous post should have said,
"Use the item’s gp value as its sp value when determining your progress."

[bitter lily]

I'm glad you clarified; I was astounded when reading your first post.

That said, why divide by 56?

Actual crafting in general is horrible. If your GM is willing to consider alternate rules, they're out there. Starting in Unchained, although I don't know that that subsystem fixes anything. And ooops, I keep forgetting that with alchemy, you only have to pay 1/3 the material cost. Maybe that's why they think you should accept the near-realistic time frames? Anyway, I'm willing to throw the time bonus into our feat, too, given how limited the benefit for a whole feat is.

Alchemy math:

The thing is, I don't think you can get away with a DC of 10. 15 looks like the minimum for alchemy, and 25 more likely for something this magical. That's good news for time, bad news for actual success.

If we step through it with a DC of 15 (having rolled a nat-20 on the Diplomacy check with your GM)...

<a> You have to succeed at a DC 15 Heal check. Taking 10 requires a combined Ability + Rank of 5. I'm going to assume that you can pull this off.

<b> You have to determine the time it takes. Remembering (this time) that the price is triple the ingredient cost, with a DC of 15, I believe the actual formula is
[(10+5) x (DC=15)] = 225. This is 15 x the price of (3x5).

<c> You have to convert that to hours. This is where my head hurts. You are out adventuring, so we have to cut that multiple in half. You get it done in
40/7.5 = 6 hours.
No good; you only have 4 hours/day on a routine basis.

So in a way it's an advantage if your GM looks at you sternly and sets a more realistic DC. Now you're whipping through them -- but only IF you succeed at all.
20 x 20 / 15 = 26, or a batch a day.
25 x 25 / 15 = 41, or two batches a day.

One solution is to make these babies cheaper. At 1 gp x spell level x CL, you can make a batch in 1/225th of a full-time week, or (we'll round up) every 12 minutes. Since you're adventuring, that's 10 batches a day! And they're so affordable, too. Too affordable, of course. Although... I now see that the market price I first created ends up recreating the price of a charge from a wand, while I wanted this to cost less.

225 is 25 x a price of (3x3). This amounts to one Cure Light batch per 2-hour adventuring day! ding ding ding

Maybe your GM will allow a price of 3 gp x spell level x CL...
And DC 15...
And using Heal instead of Craft (alchemy)...
And a custom feat with all the bennies we've got...

I dunno.

~~~

Meanwhile, some nits...

I'm recommending dodging the word "craft" when it comes to making these things. "Distill" is good, or "mix;" do you have any others?

The skill is Heal; I cut the prereq to Heal 3 ranks, since I thought you were only second. (Did you level up in a hurry when I wasn't looking? OTOH, you won't be able to get this feat till you level up to 3rd.)

You don't have to spell out what "skill check" means. A skill check is the d20 + all that, by definition.

And while I'm being nit-picky, I can pick my own nits, too! Your spell is lost if you fail the check, never mind if it is botched.

Plus, we do need to set the DC. (Beat the GM to the punch, that's my motto!) I'm thinking we could say that it's DC 10 + (spell level x5). Given limited ranks, you won't be able to use your newest & best Cure spell in a healing salve on a Take-10. But, that kind of trade-off is okay.

So I have...

Salve Distilling
You can create healing Herbal Salves that spread the effects of your Cure spells out over multiple doses, although they have significant drawbacks compared to a Cure potion.

Prerequisites: Heal 3 ranks, ability to cast a Cure spell.

Benefit: You can cast a single Cure spell and distill it into a batch of herbal salve that you are mixing. Each batch can consist of at most a number of doses equal to your wisdom modifier (minimum 1). These additional doses do not increase the time required, but they do increase the raw material cost. The herbs and other ingredients for each dose cost 3 gp x spell level x caster level. You must succeed at a Heal check to mix your salve properly; if it fails, your spell is lost. Assess progress as in a Craft (alchemy) check with a DC equal to 10 + 5x the spell level (maximum, DC 25 for Cure Serious). Use triple the cost of one dose's ingredients in gp as its sp value when determining your progress. (Do not multiply the item's gp value by 10 to determine its sp value when determining your progress.) It takes a minimum of one hour to distill a single batch.

While you can apply a dose of salve as a standard action, it takes a full minute for the recipient to gain the effects of the Cure spell.

Unfortunately, if the salve is not used within 24 hours, it becomes inert and the ingredients are lost. Its market value is three times the ingredient cost only if the customer trusts that the batch is freshly made.

[J. S.]

Thanks, I'm learning a lot as we talk through this.

I missed the impact of the "can't take more ranks in a skill than you have total hit dice" rule when I was planning.

Craft checks show one week worth of progress so I was I dividing by 7 days x 8 hour days to convert weekly progress into progress per hour up front.

Does Pathfinder assume a 5 day or 7 day work week?

I also missed that adventuring cut the multiple in half.

Double-checking our math for first level cure light wounds...

3 gp ingredient price = 9 gp market price = 9 sp for checking progress.

15 X 15 = 225 sp of progress per week.

That's 225/ 9 = 25 times the required result ---> 12.5 times the required result when adventuring.

For a 5 day week that's 12.5/5 = 2.5 batches per day or ~ 3.2 hours per batch.

For a 7 day week that's 12.5/7 = 1.79 batches per day or ~ 4.47 hours per batch.

Heal gets a +3 for being a trained class skill and wisdom bonus, excess skill ranks, or a healers kit would make this faster. For instance, a 17 result would turn this into....

17 X 15 = 255 sp of progress per week.

That's 255/ 9 = 28.33 times the required result ---> 14.17 times the required result when adventuring.

For a 5 day week that's 14.17/5 = 2.83 batches per day or ~ 2.83 hours per batch.

For a 7 day week that's 14.17/7 = 2.02 batches per day or ~ 3.96 hours per batch.

Holing up in an inn or something that would count as "not adventuring" would cut each of those times in half.

I think we've hit on a feat that works.

[bitter lily]

I think you should pub the feat text again in a new thread, since other commenters seem to have wandered off. I'd change "a minimum" in "It takes a minimum of one hour to distill a single batch." to "increments." And I think you should specify that healer's kits don't apply. (They're the herbs you're using!)

Be careful to explain the situation. If I have it right...
<> You're a second level battle cleric. (What archetype again?)
<> You want to use your spell slots for buffing.
<> The party wants you to be a "team player" and healbot. You don't mind healing to an extent, but not to the point of reserving all of your slots.
<> It's a Middle-Earth themed game, so using a standard wand of CLW distresses you for flavor reasons.

This is a solution that provides charges at essentially half the cost of a wand's, but batches are limited in size to your Wis modifier (min. 1); it takes a minute for the effects to occur; the charges last unused for only 24 hours; and the feat (an entire feat) only applies to Cure spells through CSW.

And I'd present the example math something like this...

10 (take-10) + 5 (skill bonus) = 15 skill check result.
15 (skill check result) x 15 (DC for CLW) = 225.
225 (above) / 9 (sp = gp of value for CMW) = 25 (progress).
40 (hrs/wk) / 25 (progress above) = 1.6 hrs/batch, rounded up to 2.

You should get at least 1 batch/day of CLW while adventuring (2 hrs max progress allowed), or up to 4 batches/day if somewhere "not distracting," provided you can cast enough Cure spells, with this feat. It will take a check result of 24 to get you down to 1 hr/batch for CLW.

10 (take-10) + 10 (skill bonus) = 20 skill check result.
20 (skill check result) x 20 (DC for CMW) = 400.
400 (above) / 54 (sp = gp of value) = 8 (progress).
40 (hrs/wk) / 8 (progress above) = 5 hrs/batch.

You should get at least 1 batch/day of CMW if spending the whole day somewhere "not distracting." It will take a check result of 26 to get you down to 4 hrs/batch or 2 batches/day of CMW.

So a cleric with a skill bonus of +10 or so can distill one CMW and then one CLW in one day.