Pathfinder 1E Options for party with no cleric

[d12]

My group has an NPC cleric but they want to ditch him because he hogs a turn. I am sympathetic to this. What are their options for getting by with no cleric? There's plenty of undead in the campaign. There are also two rogues in the party. Don't assume we've thought of any solution. I have already introduced a modified healing surge rule but I want to hear from the hivemind on any other rule changes, magic items, skills, feats, etc... that might work here. Thanks in advance.

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

Why is the cleric NPC hogging a turn? If they're a henchman, quite frankly they should just sit back and "waste" a turn unless someone needs to be healed. There's no need for a henchman to steal any part of the limelight.

Most healing is probably done with a Wand of Cure Light Wounds, but you still want a cleric for emergency healing. (A charge of CLW in combat isn't worth the turn spent on it.)

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Is there anyone in the party beside the NPCleric with the ability to Turn Undead? If so, importing the 3.5Ed feat Sacred Healing from CompDiv* might help. That feat allows the PC to burn a TU attempt to heal everyone- yes, everyone- in a 60' radius by giving them the equivalent of Fast Healing for a few rounds. It doesn't sound like much, but in a party of 6, that's like casting 6 CLWs in a round...that also stops bleeding/wounding injuries.

In the last 3.5Ed game i played, I kept a 10+ level party going with that feat- the PC that had it was powerful enough that each time he did it, it healed 15HP. Burn 3 TUs, and that's 45HP of healing for everyone in the radius. That's 270HP of healing in a party of 6. And when the party found and freed a bunch of slaves, that let them walk out on their own 2 feet.

Can't use it in combat, though...but you can use it before & after.










* there is another feat by the identical name; WotC claims it was a mistake, not a revision of the original feat.

 

[BlackSeed_Vash]

If you ignore 3.x classes converted into Pathfinder and only look at core and APG; you have 7 classes that can cast healing spells (Bard, Cleric, Druid, Inquisitor, Paladin, Oracle & Witch), 5 classes can use Use Magic Device to cast such spells from wands and scrolls (Rogue, Sorcerer, Alchemist, Magus & Summoner). That just leaves 7 who have to rely upon potions, magic items and other for healing.

My group regularly plays without a dedicated healer and our DM loves undead. We have all learned how to play carefully and equip ourselves with wands/scrolls/potions to compensate for this. Generally those of us who can cast cure spells will take 1 or 2 for emergencies/after combat, but that's it.

Since your the DM I would suggest taking the NPC out just before a fight (kidnapping, death, etc) and let them combat whatever you fancy that's a little less than their usual CR. See how they deal without their heals. From there you can dial the CR up or down to create the type of gameplay that you both can enjoy. One way to help alleviate the stress of no true healer is to provide potions and wands in place of part of the loot. You can either fudge the loot to add a 2-3 charge cure light wand or straight up convert gold into potion of "x".
Last but not least, talk to your players. Discuss your concerns about their mortality rate should they lose the NPC. After that, if you find yourself with a TPK on your hands, just remember it was their choice (and possibly some very bad/good rolls) that lead up to said event.
Best of Luck

Edit: Healing Belt (MIC 110) for 750gp. 3 charges(c) per day; 1c = 2d8, 2c = 3d8, 3c =4d8 | channel positive energy to heal/dmg touched target.

 

[Crothian]

It really depends on what the other PCs are. I've ran three campaigns with no clerics but had Paladin, Druid, or Inquisitor. The easiest thing to do is plenty of healing magic. The group might also need to change tactics and use the rogue to sneak around to do battle on the group's terms and take less damage.

 

[GMMichael]

My group has an NPC cleric but they want to ditch him because he hogs a turn. I am sympathetic to this. What are their options for getting by with no cleric? There's plenty of undead in the campaign. There are also two rogues in the party. Don't assume we've thought of any solution. I have already introduced a modified healing surge rule but I want to hear from the hivemind on any other rule changes, magic items, skills, feats, etc... that might work here. Thanks in advance.

An NPC ally shouldn't take any more time in the fight than another enemy. Are your PCs actually complaining about splitting XP with that NPC?

Heroes who don't have magical healing to back them up should either expect to lose more fights, or fight easier fights. Remember that an easier day of fighting can mean fighting either weaker or fewer enemies.

If you've already suggested healing potions, healing surges, and wands of CLW, you have two options left:

1 - Healing environments, like a pool of rejuvenation or edible dryad moss.
2 - Faeries with CLW as a supernatural power. If you catch one, they offer a CLW in exchange for release.

 

[Kinak]

Very similar to healing surges, the reserve pool from Iron Heroes works pretty well (basically you have a second pool of HP that you can pull from between combats to heal yourself).

Storywise, I've had friendly casters provide the party with goodberries or potions. That wasn't really to balance not having a cleric, it was more to remind them the town loved them.

There's also the old "you're healed to full after a rest" which... some people really, really hate, but is in effect what having a cleric in the party does.

You could give people divine favor. Think a free action single-use heal or removing a status effect, activated by a prayer. You get them by keeping the gods happy and you don't need to drag along a cleric. Heck, you could even give them to the group, with anyone able to trigger them on any target.

I actually kind of like the divine favor one but, at the end of the day, I'd suggest you just set them loose and see what they do. You may need to adjust challenges up or down, but you'll never know what your players are capable of unless you jump in.

So, my honest suggestion would be to say "you don't want healing, okay," off the NPC cleric, and jump in. It can actually work pretty well, just creates a different sort of campaign.

Cheers!
Kinak

 

[brvheart]

Lol, I have one party that might have to go without one soon. The player that is playing the cleric is totally incapable of playing a caster class. It is not that he is new, he just doesn't want to or won't spent the time needed to learn it. After playing the class for almost 8 months on Saturday I finally told him that's it, no more caster classes for you. He is trying to play a paladin in another game that I am actually a player in and managed to get himself needing a quest for atonement for making a deal with the temple of Vecna of all places. We warned him! Well, the party has a bard and an inquisitor so they at least have some healing.

 

[MichaelSomething]

You can play without a Cleric. Being 3.5, you can optimize your way out of any problem.

As a DM, you can simply alter the campaign to not require a cleric. Less battles per day, cheaper healing potions, etc.

 

[Starfox]

Lol, I have one party that might have to go without one soon. The player that is playing the cleric is totally incapable of playing a caster class. It is not that he is new, he just doesn't want to or won't spent the time needed to learn it.

Try to let him play an oracle? Lots fewer spells to learn that way. You could even offer him a "short list" of spells as he levels up, so he doesn't have to read so many spells.