I would guess good-aligned churches would do it for free, but I know at least some neutral gods (such as Abadar) do charge, so how much is reasonable?
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
The CRB answers that question: 10 X spell level X caster level gp.
Some healing for the less fortunate, or offering services for free during time of disasters would be generally accepted. But there are are plenty of reasons for them to still charge otherwise.
Spell slots are also a limited resource per day, and each temple would only have so many qualified casters. So they would likely want to normally keep the healing in reserve in case of a major emergency (Such as a large carriage accident, or a bandit raid)- and the cleric would want fair compensation for using up those reserves.
Also, even good aligned churches also need 'donations' to run. And the Church of Abadar would send strongly worded letters if their "competitors" were "undercutting prices".
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The rates are very reasonable, just your soul.
Well, I would imagine there are circumstances where people got into accidents or animal attacks, and then got stabilized from negative HP. They would then be brought to the local priest because the spell slot seems safer for bringing a person back to the positives than a (potentially untrained) skill check.
Of course, most good and neutral clerics would just leave that to spontaneous casting. Only clerics to asmodeus and the like have to worry about planning out how to ration for events like that.
Still, you are right- the local cleric is more likely going to see stomach aches and snake bites than sword wounds in most places.
Some healing for the less fortunate, or offering services for free during time of disasters would be generally accepted. But there are are plenty of reasons for them to still charge otherwise.
Spell slots are also a limited resource per day, and each temple would only have so many qualified casters. So they would likely want to normally keep the healing in reserve in case of a major emergency (Such as a large carriage accident, or a bandit raid)- and the cleric would want fair compensation for using up those reserves.
Also, even good aligned churches also need 'donations' to run. And the Church of Abadar would send strongly worded letters if their "competitors" were "undercutting prices".
Well I do think even good churches would charge for things that require a component (such as restoration and the resurrection type spells), as the component has to be paid for somehow. It would probably be non-profit though.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
An important distinction for me is how things work for PCs vs how they are for most of the world. In most games the PCs are not "needy," so would not receive charity from temples. Those with means, like wealthy adventurers, are asked to shoulder the financial burden so that the good work the church does for the poor can continue.
yep. churches might spare a healing for the very unfortunate, but for the most part, charge because its what funds the rest of their work. thats why the costs in the crb are as they are
I've always figured that the really big wealthy churches (that are good aligned anyway) should have a permanent symbol of healing stuffed away in a backroom that they could use to heal those that can't afford the normal prices. I mean its a one time cost for the church, but after that it would let them heal people on a daily basis without "dipping into the reserves" of healing that might be needed for an emergency. I mean, heck even during an emergency the symbol would be useful unless the injured already benefited from the circle that day for some reason.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Well I do think even good churches would charge for things that require a component (such as restoration and the resurrection type spells), as the component has to be paid for somehow. It would probably be non-profit though.
However, churches are organizations that can train spell casters- a relatively rare type of human resource that requires very particular training and mental abilities. Raising and teaching enough acolytes to find potential clerics (people with 12+ wis) means that they need money.
While they would do plenty of charity work, I can't help but think that they would still charge those that are able to pay.
The CRB answers that question: 10 X spell level X caster level gp.
That is true for a cure spell or the like. But what about an ability like channel energy? Does that follow the same formula?
There is the default for class granted SLAs that do not copy spells, half the class level granting it. So channel would be 10 x cl x 1/2cl in gp.
Well I do think even good churches would charge for things that require a component (such as restoration and the resurrection type spells), as the component has to be paid for somehow. It would probably be non-profit though.
Do good-aligned doctors in our world work for free? Generally speaking, no. They'd starve to death.
If there's free healthcare, someone is paying for it.
While this might happen in an RPG, you shouldn't assume it as the default, even when good people are involved. Maybe the local church accepts donations from worshippers, and gives these worshippers free healing in exchange. Maybe the good-aligned cleric will heal the adventurers for free because she knows they're doing important work to protect the town. Or maybe not.
Well I do think even good churches would charge for things that require a component (such as restoration and the resurrection type spells), as the component has to be paid for somehow. It would probably be non-profit though.Do good-aligned doctors in our world work for free? Generally speaking, no. They'd starve to death.
I would argue that most doctors (like most people) are neutral and not actually good.
Good doctors would be the ones who join programs like Doctors without Borders. Which, while they are paid the amount is pretty small and mostly just to enable them to continue living without starving to death.
Being good aligned means you do good things, and charity is one of the most common ways of committing good acts. A doctor who is not otherwise engaged in doing good activities is probably neutral and not good.
I would argue that most doctors (like most people) are neutral and not actually good.
I would argue that an average doctor has different characteristics than an average person, much like how the average adventurer is different from an average peasant.
Despite disagreeing with what you wrote, I agree with what (I think) you mean: I think people play paladins and clerics too 1-dimensionally. I think it's fine for healing to have a negotiable price. Clerics may charge less to heal people who share their faith, alignment, or goals. They may refuse to heal people who actively work against them, or only do it for a high price. I would support bringing a character's CHA modifier into play for non-trivial negotiations.
Ultimately, though, unless it advances the story, I think healing is just an automatic transaction, like buying a longsword from a blacksmith.
Well I do think even good churches would charge for things that require a component (such as restoration and the resurrection type spells), as the component has to be paid for somehow. It would probably be non-profit though.Do good-aligned doctors in our world work for free? Generally speaking, no. They'd starve to death.
Yes, but real life doctors can't just use magic to summon food for themselves
Given that good churches would probably use the money to do good things, it's perfectly reasonable for them to demand money from those who can pay - that way, the church has more resources to do good.
They'd probably also offer charity for those who need it, but adventurers generally don't fall in that category, unless they're just starting out. In which case they might end up getting recruited to help someone else in lieu of payment.
I would argue that most doctors (like most people) are neutral and not actually good.I would argue that an average doctor has different characteristics than an average person, much like how the average adventurer is different from an average peasant.
Despite disagreeing with what you wrote, I agree with what (I think) you mean: I think people play paladins and clerics too 1-dimensionally. I think it's fine for healing to have a negotiable price. Clerics may charge less to heal people who share their faith, alignment, or goals. They may refuse to heal people who actively work against them, or only do it for a high price. I would support bringing a character's CHA modifier into play for non-trivial negotiations.
Ultimately, though, unless it advances the story, I think healing is just an automatic transaction, like buying a longsword from a blacksmith.
I agree that there are important differences between doctors and average people, like going to school for 10 years and becoming masters at understanding the human body. Also potentially crippling debt, and probably some neurosis from the psychological stress.
But as far as their alignment is concerned? I doubt it. While people might talk about "helping others" very few doctors are doing so for free. Because they're not "good" as Pathfinder/D&D defines good. Not doing evil things doesn't make you good. You have to actively improve the world.
That said, being good doesn't mean a cleric or paladin will do things for free. They have demands on their time and abilities, and there is potential that helping you might mean they can't help someone else. I would think more often in the case of adventurers, clerics and paladins of good aligned churches would ask for actions from the party and not simple gold.The church of Abadar can provide you with healing for a fee and no other strings attached. Sarenrae wants you to further her goals.
Do good-aligned doctors in our world work for free? Generally speaking, no. They'd starve to death.Yes, but real life doctors can't just use magic to summon food for themselves
While high level magic users can eventually take care of food, water, shelter, clothing, and various tools of daily life... very few people get to that level. For everyone else, they accept cash for their services.
And even the high level ones usually look for some kind of compensation, such as increased influence of their order, political power, etc. Even if you are dealing with a purely good an altruistic cleric, they might view these resources as assets they can invest into raising more clerics, which would allow them to have more healers in every village, thereby raising the quality of life for more people.
On another note- the people getting healed might not be charged, but this could be due to an agreement with the local lords where the tithe is meant to fund all basic services (essentially, the lord is paying for the healing because it means the citizens can work more efficiently).
Speaking of channel, it has a 30 foot radius. You can fit a lot of people in a 30 foot radius. I assume the more generous temples with a channeler would just have a daily channel, for those in deep need.
Speaking of channel, it has a 30 foot radius. You can fit a lot of people in a 30 foot radius. I assume the more generous temples with a channeler would just have a daily channel, for those in deep need.
About 130 or so, I guess? Just a rough estimate when you include 1/2 of the caster's square in the radius(they are in the middle) and then subtract the caster's square from the circle.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Healing is free. Donations are mandatory."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Speaking of channel, it has a 30 foot radius. You can fit a lot of people in a 30 foot radius. I assume the more generous temples with a channeler would just have a daily channel, for those in deep need.About 130 or so, I guess? Just a rough estimate when you include 1/2 of the caster's square in the radius(they are in the middle) and then subtract the caster's square from the circle.
So, 5 p.m. is "Dogpile the High Priest O'Clock"? 30-foot radius includes up, of course.
...I'm starting to see why there's a long line of folks with cut fingers heading into the Temple of Calistria every evening around the same time....
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
3 dimensional?
Do we have a god of jungle gyms? That seems like a fantastic addition to any vanara setting.
I like the channel idea. On this one mmo I play there is a similar thing sometimes where someone will cast a bunch of buff spells (which affect everyone in a certain radius) and use the chat to announce when and where.