Can you heal the original target of Trade Death for Life(TDfL)? In other words, could the witch cast TDfL on an ally, and then supposing that ally took damage, also apply the healing form the spell to that same ally?
I think this a very low-stakes answer, but somewhat relevant to me and my party right now as our Paradox of Opposites witch is probably our best resource-less healer out of combat, especially in situations where there's no guarantee of enough rest time to do Treat Wounds.
The relevant text from TDfL:
Your patron steals life from one of your enemies to grant it to another. The target takes 1d4 void damage (basic Fortitude save). If the target takes damage, a willing creature within the hex’s range gains fast healing 1 for as long as you Sustain the hex. The target takes damage only once from this spell, whether or not you Sustain it.
My understanding is that the first sentence is mostly flavor, and not defining rules text. The only caveat I can see on the healing is that the creature must be willing and within range of the hex. It does not specify that the healed creature has to be different from the original target of the spell.
So I guess it depends on how much weight that first sentence has. Is "to another" enough to rule out trading death for life to the same target? And then, does the sub-line "steals life from one of your enemies" mean you can only target an enemy with the hex?
I think as intended, I would rule you can cast the hex on anyone (including allies), but the healing should go to a different target. But I'd love to hear your thoughts.
Yeah, the targeting rules don't prohibit targeting the same ally for both the initial damage and the healing. So as long as you sustain the Hex for at least 4 rounds you are going to come out ahead that way.
It probably isn't useful to do that in combat. The initial damage is going to do more harm than the healing over time helps.
it definitely allows you to hook the entire party up in one big circle of life energy being passed around to heal everyone anyways.
You do still have to account for the Sustained duration. In a party of 4 you would need to use a free sustain option to keep it going. Cackle probably wouldn't work. Not only does that cost Focus Points, but is also a Hex and will prevent casting another Hex cantrip. So I think you would have to wait for Effortless Concentration in order to get a 4-person daisy chain going. And you couldn't add a 5th person.
You could do a 3-person chain from level 1 though. It may not be the fastest out-of-combat healing, but it works.
Yeah, the targeting rules don't prohibit targeting the same ally for both the initial damage and the healing. So as long as you sustain the Hex for at least 4 rounds you are going to come out ahead that way.
It probably isn't useful to do that in combat. The initial damage is going to do more harm than the healing over time helps.
it definitely allows you to hook the entire party up in one big circle of life energy being passed around to heal everyone anyways.You do still have to account for the Sustained duration. In a party of 4 you would need to use a free sustain option to keep it going. Cackle probably wouldn't work. Not only does that cost Focus Points, but is also a Hex and will prevent casting another Hex cantrip. So I think you would have to wait for Effortless Concentration in order to get a 4-person daisy chain going. And you couldn't add a 5th person.
You could do a 3-person chain from level 1 though. It may not be the fastest out-of-combat healing, but it works.
TBF "fastest out of combat healing" is relative depending on the party.
Like I said, this is a very low-stakes ruling, but I think I agree with both statements here that nothing prohibits it, but there are very few situations where it would lead to an actual advantage.
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TBF "fastest out of combat healing" is relative depending on the party.
TBH "fastest out of combat healing" is not an optimization goal worth pursuing.
After a certain point, faster party heal times aren't of any additional value.
TBF "fastest out of combat healing" is relative depending on the party.TBH "fastest out of combat healing" is not an optimization goal worth pursuing.
After a certain point, faster party heal times aren't of any additional value.
Which can honestly be level 1, if someone in your party has a focus spell they like using frequently and they want to refocus in between combats.
Typically by levels 5 or 6 you're going to have reasons why someone wants at least 10 minutes between fights.