Okay, so "non-magical" is not QUITE accurate in that some of the best versions will utilize magical items.
That being said, I meant a character that doesn't use spells or channeling to do their healing. I only came across this while tinkering with a rogue companion:
Phantom Thief, 10th level:
1. Select Heal as one of their Signature Skills
2. Max out Heal and Knowledge: Plains
3. Feat: Healing Hands (Conduit)
4. Item: Healer's Satchel (Specialized for Long-Term Care)
5. Item: Vest of Surgery
Up to 10 times per day, can heal 6 points of ability damage and 6xlevel in HP (presuming 12th level characters for a 10th level cohort, 72 hp) with a full round action. Can also, for 5 of those, cure a point of ability drain (using the Healer's Satchel).
Any other non-spellcaster methods of healing (basically utilizing the heal skill or alternates, like a profession skill) out there?
There's using alchemical remedies; nothing in the build is actually required to make that work, but the brilliant planner feat saves a chunk of time figuring out what to bring with you. I suppose making alchemical remedies via craft (alchemy) is an option but it requires a bit of downtime.
Funnily enough the options to use profession (herbalist) or similar to heal want you to be a spellcaster.
A vishkanya can use their poison to dispel magic or even break enchantments without needing to be a spellcaster.
I listed some means of nonmagical healing here about a month ago.
Yeah, there's a couple of Conduit Feats that look fun. The two VoodistMonk mentions have definitely caught my eye.
Right now this is for a cohort, so traits are going to be through a feat (we don't give out traits for cohorts at character creation), but I figure with Phantom Thief they can be useful for healing, disabling traps (we have no truly dedicated disabler - my hybrid character with the trap finder trait is as close as we get, which was fine at low levels but is getting rougher and rougher as we level up).
The Phantom Thief is looking a fun class if you're okay with little damage in combat (which, honestly, I've found cohorts to not be super great at anyway, plus with the worse gear and 2 fewer levels - and worse stats - not someone I typically want to toss into combat anyway). In other words, I almost always end up keeping my cohorts away from the fight (to either buff, heal, or some other task that has them in town) because I'm paranoid they'll die in two rounds.
I was thinking of tacking on Ranged Disarm with Weapon Snatcher as well, give them a crossbow, and see if they can knock weapons out of enemy hands. I won't have the feat chain to send the weapon off, but I figure any round they have to pick it up is a round without a full round attack, plus it gives them something to do in combat.
I think it's fun to theory craft things that aren't combat related. Like building a medic, or building someone who can use profession for more than just lunch money. I mean, it will never come close to good ol' fashioned dungeon delving, but using the same class (Phantom Thief)
Vigilante Talent: Social Grace
Vigilante Talent: In Vogue
Skill Unlock: Profession
Of course, Wisdom is hardly a primary stat for rogues, but with those two talents, you could make double the amount of your check each day in gold. If you know the team will have some down time (retraining, etc), it might be worth it. Especially with rolling twice.
Gold earnings in a week:
[10 (ranks) + 3 (class skill) + 5 (Phantom Thief Signature Skill) + 4 (Social Grace Vigilante Talent) + 10 (average roll) ] x2 (In Vogue) x7 (a week worth's of checks, Skill Unlock 15) = 448 gp per week.
That also doesn't presume going hard in on the Profession skill, with Skill Focus, Prodigy, Breadth of Experience, Master Craftsman, etc as well as a Headband of Wisdom, and any other class-based Profession boosts I'm not aware of (in case of double dipping after 10th level Phantom Thief).
There's using alchemical remedies; nothing in the build is actually required to make that work, but the brilliant planner feat saves a chunk of time figuring out what to bring with you. I suppose making alchemical remedies via craft (alchemy) is an option but it requires a bit of downtime.
Solution to downtime would be Spontaneous Alchemy optional ruleset (bottom of page after class ability descriptions) from the Alchemy Manual.
Also can take the Educated Druggist regional trait for minor healing with remedies.
Educated Druggist:
Source Healer's Handbook pg. 10
Requirement(s) Alchemist healers who hail from Osibu, Thuvia, Tian Xia, or Utstalav, or who have lived there for at least 1 year
Any alchemical remedies you administer that provide an alchemical bonus have that bonus increased by 1. These remedies also restore 1 hit point to the target in addition to their usual effects.
So anything that provides an alchemical bonus will heal slightly (which might be a nice boost for TDW).
Also while Healer's Hands is good for combat scenarios, taking the hour for TDW will make benefit of the Heal skill unlock with items like Boline and Surgeon's Tools.
If you don't have access to a Healer's Kit (or just don't want to spend the gold on one) there is the feat Improvisational Healer. Also the Aesocar religion trait gives you a renewable Healer's Kit with an added benefit. Or the Zon-Kuthon religion trait that lets you TDW 2/day/creature.
Improvisational Healer:
Source Adventurer's Armory 2 pg. 22
In any urban or natural setting, you can scavenge for useful medical supplies.
Prerequisites: Heal 1 rank.
Benefit: When attempting a Heal check that normally requires a healer’s kit, you don’t take a penalty on the check for not having a healer’s kit. When you use a healer’s kit, you can augment it with improvised supplies, gaining an additional +2 circumstance bonus on your check. Finally, you can treat any potion of cure light wounds, potion of cure moderate wounds, or potion of cure serious wounds you drink yourself or administer to another character as though its caster level were equal to the number of ranks you have in the Heal skill. The spell’s normal limitations apply; for example, a potion of cure light wounds can cure a maximum of 1d8+5 points of damage, even if you have more than 5 ranks in the Heal skill.
Clockwork Surgeon:
Source Blood of the Ancients pg. 11
Requirement(s) Aesocar
Thanks to your medical innovations, you can perform especially comprehensive or speedy surgeries. You begin play with a special healer’s kit at no cost and can fully restock your kit by expending materials worth 10 gp and spending 8 hours assembling medical devices. When using this healer’s kit to treat deadly wounds, you can either halve the time required to perform the action or add your Intelligence modifier to the number of hit points healed.
Battlefield Surgeon:
Source Inner Sea Gods pg. 218, Faiths of Corruption pg. 15
Requirement(s) Zon-Kuthon
You’re skilled at both dealing and repairing wounds. Heal is a class skill for you, and you can use the treat deadly wounds aspect of Heal 1 additional time per creature per day.
Please note the restrictions on religion traits though, as you do need to worship the deity providing the trait.
Vigilante Talent: In Vogue
Skill Unlock: Profession
?
Are you dipping into Vigilante? Because the Phantom Thief vigilante social talents they can select specifically call out not being able to take Social Grace or any talent requiring them to be a craftsman or a professional.
Broad Education:
A phantom thief ’s broad studies with expensive tutors keep her up to speed in both martial and magical knowledge, as well as in her skills. She can select the combat trick, minor magic, and major magic rogue talents as many times as she likes, and she can select the Skill Focus feat as a rogue talent, also as many times as she likes. Finally, she can select a vigilante social talent instead of a rogue talent, except for social grace and vigilante social talents that would require her to be a craftsman or professional. For the purpose of vigilante social talents, a phantom thief does not have a vigilante identity and is always considered to be in her social identity.
Spontaneous alchemy costs more than just buying the remedies. It's an alternative to brilliant planner (a poor one) not an alternative to making alchemical items in downtime.
Vigilante Talent: In Vogue
Skill Unlock: Profession
?
Are you dipping into Vigilante? Because the Phantom Thief vigilante social talents they can select specifically call out not being able to take Social Grace or any talent requiring them to be a craftsman or a professional.
** spoiler omitted **
Sorry, that was just a brain storm of a completely unrelated build. Just one of those "hey, and also..."
I really love that Improvisational Healer one. Trying to find it a way to work it in while giving the character something to do in combat (though that's not absolutely necessary, just something I would like).
So far this is what I have:
Human Phantom Thief
Racial Traits: Dimdweller, Focused Study
Favored class: Taking 1/6 of a rogue talent each time
Feats:
Additional Traits (to take Trap Finder so they can still disable traps, along with Alchemical Adept at the moment - not sold on the second trait yet, not sure if I'll make alchemy or just buy it)
Healing hands
Shadow's Shroud
*Deadly Aim (from Rogue Talent)
*Rapid Reload (from Rogue Talent)
*Ranged Disarm
Deft Hands
Skill Focus: Disable Device
Skill Focus: Sleight of Hand
Skill Focus: Heal
Brilliant Planner (from Always Prepared)
Skill Unlocks:
Heal
Stealth
Perception
Disable Device (pretty much just for the +1/2 Phantom Thief level in the skill)
(Still debating the last one)
Those with asterisks are just for something to do in combat, but I have seriously considered going other routes.
There's the "something to do in combat routes" (feats in place of those with *):
Weapon Focus + Dazzling Display + Skill Unlock: Intimidate - though I need to work on boosting the Intimidate skill something fierce even with a skill unlock, but if able to pull it off would be brutal.
Firearms Training + Grit (Rogue Talent) + Rapid Reload - figure shooting at touch AC is way more likely to work, so if not going for disarms then this might work.
There's the "purely non-combat" (feats in place of those with *):
Toughness, Improvisational Healer, Clockwork Surgeon (focus on Int more than I did Wis), swap Alchemical Adept for Precise Treatment, Twist Away (toughness and twist away for survivability)
I'm kinda leaning towards the non-combat role. Might stock up on wands to give them a means to buff others using UMD. Just need to ensure a 20.
If using Healing Hands, you don't need Battlefield Surgeon. Also huge thanks for pointing out the Boline. :)
And then, after typing all that out, I realize those feats won't work (the non-combat build) because the combat feats all came from rogue talents, and not able to get both Clockwork Surgeon and Precise Treatment :/
I could swap out Rapid Reload for Improvisational Healer, then either Twist Away using the Feat talent at 10th or go with Improved Evasion. To add to survivability, I could go with minor magic, then major magic twice for Mage Armor and Shield (or at least Shield). Would probably swap the skill focus (sleight of hand) and go with the regular feat bonus for humans (was only taking the skill focus option due to selecting so many skill focuses)
Might go with Improvisational Healer over Rapid Reload anyway, just attempt the ranged disarm every other round. Would also give the option of deciding to spend a round hiding. Would also change my skill unlocks.
And then, after typing all that out, I realize those feats won't work (the non-combat build) because the combat feats all came from rogue talents, and not able to get both Clockwork Surgeon and Precise Treatment
Clockwork Surgeon and Precise Treatment are both traits. Clockwork Surgeon is a Religion trait and Precise Treatment is a Magic trait. Did you run out of trait slots?
And then, after typing all that out, I realize those feats won't work (the non-combat build) because the combat feats all came from rogue talents, and not able to get both Clockwork Surgeon and Precise Treatment
Clockwork Surgeon and Precise Treatment are both traits. Clockwork Surgeon is a Religion trait and Precise Treatment is a Magic trait. Did you run out of trait slots?
Yeah, because the primary role for the character is going to be disarming traps (right now our trap disarmer is an inspired blade/virtuous bravo with Trap Finder trait). In order to do Phantom Thief, I either needed to dip into something with trapfinding, or take the trait. I went with the trait because 10th level is a particularly nice sweet spot for Phantom Thief because at 10th they treat skill unlocks like they have 15 ranks.
The alternative is to simply deal with traps for this remaining level with the current setup, then let this character take a level in something with trapfinding at 11th (cohort) level, like Investigator.
The alchemy from the class would fit in well too, so I might just do that and take both those traits. It would mean that I could go back to focusing on INT as the highest or second highest stat.
Alchemical items so far:
antitoxin, antivenom, bodybalm
The first satchel doubles the effectiveness of long-term care, meaning the second unlock is now worth 8 hp per HD and 8 ability damage. Coupled with the assurance of making the DC, an additional 18 (double Wisdom modifier from satchel, plus ranks in Knowledge: Planes) - characters are 12th level, so that would be 114 hp of healing. With psychic healer, I can boost at least one person with as many temp HP as I heal them for.
The second satchel allows my heal check in place of a poison save.
Faith Healing (Occult Skill unlock) means I can remove curses and diseases with an 8 hour ritual by hitting double the DC. Heal for the 10th level cohort with no headband is +39.
UMD unlock really just to get enough bonus to ensure making the DC to use scrolls of Aram Zey's focus.
Took Tiefling Racial Heritage so I could take the Friendless trait, allowing the cohort to heal themselves. Also took Battlefield Surgeon (so will be taking that deity).
