Sans clerics, no arcane healing?

[Octal40]

Imagine a world without clerics. Imagine arcane casters have figured out how to cast cure, heal, and resurection type spells.

Is there a balance issue here? I've tried to look at different arcane spells and then try to think how casting a healing spell on yourself would make it overpowering and I've come up blank. I doubt one exists since cleric/wiz or cleric/sorcerer builds should be balanced.

I'm asking this because the DMG says (I can't remember the page and don't have the book handy) not to give healing spells to arcane casters. Unfortunately they don't say why. I'm assuming it's not not steal any thunder from clerics. But in a world I'm currently working on, there are no clerics.

Thoughts?

 

[Stalker0]

You could could it a couple of ways:

1) Just give arcane casters healing spells.
2) Allow ways to speed up innate healing
3) Allow alchemical items or something to really heal.
4) Allowing healing, but weaker than normal (example, when you heal it converts real damage to subdual damage...which must heal normally).

 

[Nerax]

Will your homebrewed world have druids, Paladins and/or Bards? They could take up the slack for not having clerics. Also the Shaman class (not sure which book it was from Savage specicies maybe) I remember having some healing spells. Those would be a couple of classes that provide healing other than the Cleric. The Bard would be the closest to your question about if arcane spell csters us spells. See what it says about Bards and there casting. If you are not going to have Clerics you shouldn't have a problem having Wizards and or Sorcerers pick up the spells. It would mean one (or more) less combat spells they have access to so that they can keep the party living.

Nerax

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Is there no divine magic in homebrew? If there is then you can allow for the Favored Soul. The Favored Soul is to divine magic what the Sorcerer is to arcane magic.

 

[Octal40]

There is divine magic in that there are druids and their spells are divine. However, there are no gods, so no clerics, paladins, or favored souls.

Thanks for the info on Shamans. Spirits still exist so that class would fit my setting.

Thanks for the feedback. I feel much safer about giving cure spells to arcane casters now.

 

[Jdvn1]

In WoT d20, we had a healer that sung as part of healing. I don't remember if that was a requirement or what, but Bard can cure too. Maybe this is a great way for them to shine.

 

[Hodgie]

My group tried making all divine spells accessable at +1 caster level to arcane (when we pulled divine casters) and it seemed pretty manageable. Cure spells were still taken and were actually regarded in a better light than in regular D&D.

 

[glass]

My group tried making all divine spells accessable at +1 caster level to arcane (when we pulled divine casters) and it seemed pretty manageable. Cure spells were still taken and were actually regarded in a better light than in regular D&D.

I assume you mean +1 spell level!


glass.

 

[ARandomGod]

There's nothing innately unbalanced about allowing arcane casters to heal.