Statement: A 2nd level Cleric with the Communal Healing feat casts Healer’s Blessing upon themself. During the duration of this focus spell they cast a 1st level HEAL spell on anyone else. I believe the cleric would then get 1 point of healing from siphoning positive energy from the healing spell the casted thanks to the Communal Healing and 1 point from being healed by any healing spell thanks to the Healer’s Blessing focus spell. Thus our 2nd level Cleric would get 2 hit points.
Do we think this combination works within the rules??
“Healer’s Blessing
Source Core Rulebook pg. 393
Domain Healing
Cast Single Action verbal
Range 30 feet; Targets 1 willing living creature
Duration 1 minute
Your words bless a creature with an enhanced connection to positive energy. When the target regains Hit Points from a healing spell, it regains 1 additional Hit Point.
The target regains additional Hit Points from healer's blessing only the first time it regains HP from a given healing spell, so a spell that heals the creature repeatedly over a duration would restore additional Hit Points only once.
Heightened (+1) The additional healing increases by 2 HP.”
“Communal Healing
Cleric Healing Positive
Source Core Rulebook pg. 122
You’re a conduit for positive energy, and as you channel it through you, it heals some of your minor injuries. When you cast the heal spell to heal a single creature other than yourself, you regain Hit Points equal to the spell level of the heal spell.”
Hmm... I was going to say yes, but on closer reading I believe by RAW, no. The rub is that Blessing enhances the benefit of a healing spell, but the 1hp isn't coming directly from the Heal spell, it's coming from the Communal feat. If Blessing buffed any healing effect, it would include any feat with the healing trait (as Communal Healing has), but I speculate not.
At this level for the benefit of +1hp I wouldn't say allowing this combination would be broken. Eventually the Blessing bonus would allow the cleric to pop themselves a cool 6 or 8 hp even for using a 1st level Heal spell on someone else (further increasing for higher level casts), which may be more benefit than intended by the Communal feat. Probably not overwhelmingly powerful though, since it means burning your focus spell on yourself instead of your tank.
I agree with Sibelius.
Also, with Improved Communal Healing, you could redirect it to your tank. The combination of both effects would heal three times as much as Communal Healing, so in my opinion it's too strong to be allowed.
Hmm... I was going to say yes, but on closer reading I believe by RAW, no. The rub is that Blessing enhances the benefit of a healing spell, but the 1hp isn't coming directly from the Heal spell, it's coming from the Communal feat. If Blessing buffed any healing effect, it would include any feat with the healing trait (as Communal Healing has), but I speculate not.
At this level for the benefit of +1hp I wouldn't say allowing this combination would be broken. Eventually the Blessing bonus would allow the cleric to pop themselves a cool 6 or 8 hp even for using a 1st level Heal spell on someone else (further increasing for higher level casts), which may be more benefit than intended by the Communal feat. Probably not overwhelmingly powerful though, since it means burning your focus spell on yourself instead of your tank.
I appreciate your feedback, to play the devil's advocate: Communal Healing alters how the Heal spell works. Communal healing is inert until the Heal spell is cast, which is now altered to also heal the caster. Hearer's Blessing does not care if the spell is Heal, Soothe, Lay on Hands, etc., just as long as it's a healing spell. Heal and healing are two different things, which has been discussed in other posts, and further backed up by the second paragraph of Healer's Blessing, where they talk about other spells. In this scenario it is the Heal spell...
So we know that Healer's Blessing works with any healing spell. The question I believe we need to uncover is whether or not the healing is received by the Healing spell thanks to the Communal Healing or if the healing is coming from the Communal Healing thanks to the Heal spell. In other words, is the spell healing the cleric or is it the feat healing the caster.
Side Note: If the cleric cast a 3-action Heal spell the would get the Healer's Blessing benefit but not the Communal Healers benefit given the explicit descriptor of the feat.
Thanks again for everyones participation in this discussion.
Communal Blessing is doing the Healing, not the Heal Spell. That's why the Feat has the Healing and Positive Traits.
Communal Blessing is doing the Healing, not the Heal Spell. That's why the Feat has the Healing and Positive Traits.
Thanks, Aratorin, solid catch.