Paladin's Laying on Hands Class Ability Enhancement

[Angel Tarragon]

I have been contemplating some feats to enhance a Paladins Lay On Hands ability. Thes are just the rough draft. Please comment on the mechanics, the feat name (changes) and any praise or gripe you may have.

Great Healer
Prereq - Hands of a Healer
Benefit - Your charisma score is treated as if it is four points higher for the purpose of determining how many hit points you can heal per day.

Faith Healing
Benefit - When healing an individual that matches your alignmen and/or shares your same patron deity every point spent on healing them is doubled. (spending 6 hp of healing to cure 12).

Vow of Humility
Prereq - Sacred Vow
Benefit - You can heal 1.5 times your maximum amount of healing per day.

 

[Rawhide]

I don't know about exact game balance, but conceptually those are very cool.

There's a Pyramid article called Class Feats, or something like that, that does class-specific feats for all the core D&D classes. Since subscribing gets you access to every article Pyramid or d20 Weekly has ever done, I found it to be worht the price of a ne year subscription just for the archives. I doubt I'll renew, but I have lots and lots of articles to draw from for the cost of a single sourcebook.

 

[Ferret]

They look vey nice, and useful; well done. Have you got any ideas for something more creative? Chanelling them into spells, as power ups for example? Every five LoH points, you gain one die to a heal spell?

 

[Dimwhit]

Considering how few feats Paladins get, I can't see any argument that they're too powerful. I think they're a cool idea.

 

[Random Hero]

Nice Job!

These feats certainly expand upon the Paladin's limited healing ability to make them an effective 2nd string healer. Isn't "faith healing" an ability of the hierophant or something???
--I'm not sure...

Anyway, I think that if a group needs a more effective 2nd string healer, a paladin with these feats could certainly do the trick... Nice Job!

 

[Hodgie]

Question on the third feat, Vow of Humility-- does that effectively increase your max Lay on Hands by 1.5? If so that may become too powerful ad mid to higher levels. A single feat to gain 50+ points of healing...


Otherwise they look very cool and I'd allow them.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

As per Vow of Humility, the paladin first needs to gain the feat Sacred Vow to qualify for empowered (as per the metamagic feat name) healing. Vow of Humility is like adding empowered to a clerics spell of cure light wounds. I think the Sacred Vow if a good trade off for gaining extra points of healing.

 

[Adjudicator Tempest]

hmm, I'm at odds with the idea that it is equal to, as all empowered spells are one slot level higher. However, i am in no way against the idea of increasing the healing power of a paladin's lay on hands with the humility feat. I'm a level 10 cleric with 122 health, and half of that is d6's due to radiant servant (complete divine). So being able to give an extra +50 health spread over a party (mine is 7-9 strong party), I'd be grateful he chose a healing feat.

For those interested in health, dwarf cleric with amulet of heath (+4), and improved toughness will certainly beef up a characters health.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Great Healer
Prereq - Hands of a Healer
Benefit - Your charisma score is treated as if it is four points higher for the purpose of determining how many hit points you can heal per day.

Lay on Hands does damage to undead too, doesn't it? I could imagine a 10th level paladin with 18 Cha, cloak of charisma +4 and this feat hitting a vampire with his touch attack and doing 120 damage - would you be OK with that in your campaign?

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Lay on Hands does damage to undead too, doesn't it? I could imagine a 10th level paladin with 18 Cha, cloak of charisma +4 and this feat hitting a vampire with his touch attack and doing 120 damage - would you be OK with that in your campaign?

No, I would not. Maybe the wording isn't accurate enough, but the feat is only meant to affect a Paladin's ability to heal wouds, not to damage undead.

 

[The Forsaken One]

No, I would not. Maybe the wording isn't accurate enough, but the feat is only meant to affect a Paladin's ability to heal wouds, not to damage undead.

Which sadly for you in this case, is 100% the same thing .

I'd aim more for things like lay on hands can remove diseases, poison, curses or something as well. No idea how to implement that then but thats the kind of thing I was expecting when I read the thread title .

Or perhaps have LoH remove fear effects, shaken conditions etc. Kinda as in youre mind and body are soothed by a small touch of god as bliss flows into you.

Increasing healing done is dangerous. More healing per day = no problem but more healing at once is. Here comes the problem though since the LOH mechanic lets you choose how much to apply each time and you have the option to use it all.

If I have some time today or get bored I'll give it some thought. I always liked the ability, gw .


(Faith healing is cool though and np imho. Or maybe have your LOH be treated as hallowed healing so you can cure Vile Damage with it or something of the likes if you get my drift. The possibilities are legion.)

 

[guardianfallenangel]

you could get loh to remove poison and stuff by useing the mechanics for the dragon shaman from ph2. they get an ability just like loh and at later levels get to use it to remove certain conditions.

 

[Notmousse]

Given that the paliden's supposedly a natural leader due to their shining example of righteousness (and high Cha) I could see having feats such as (pulling outta m'anus here) these.

Calming Hand
Your healing dissolves the hatred of others.
Benefit: When using your Lay on Hands ability and expending at least 4 points of healing you may produce a Calm Emotions effect upon the subject.
Special: This effect is in addition to the amount of healing provided by the Paladin's Lay on Hands ability.

Heartening Hand
Your healing gives hope that not all is lost.
Benefit: When using your Lay on Hands ability to expend any amount of healing you may add that number as a Sacred bonus to the subject's saves against fear effects for 10 minutes. If the subject is already under any fear effects they immediately gain a second saving throw against the original DC with the amount healed as a Sacred bonus.
Special: This effect is in addition to the amount of healing provided by the Paladin's Lay on Hands ability.

Resolved Hand
Your healing strengthens the mind as well as the body.
Benefit: When using your Lay on Hands ability to expend any amount of healing you may add that number as a Sacred bonus to the subject's saves against mind-affecting effects for 10 minutes. If the subject is already under any mind-affecting effects they immediately gain a second saving throw against the original DC with the amount healed as a Sacred bonus.
Special: This effect is in addition to the amount of healing provided by the Paladin's Lay on Hands ability.

Refreshing Hand
Your healing revitalizes weary bodies.
Benefit: When using your Lay on Hands ability to expend at least 10 points of healing you may remove fatigue, or reduce exhaustion to fatigue.
Special: This effect is in addition to the amount of healing provided by the Paladin's Lay on Hands ability.

Additionally I'd rule a few things. First since paladins can touch someone and *poof* they've suddenly made a miraculous recovery (over 100HP in a shot is possible fairly early in game, and all but assured high level) that a maximum of 10 points of healing may be applied through the LoH ability per round. Alternatly, it may be dispensed as a move (well MEA) action healing up to 3 HP, or a standard action to heal 5. This allows a Paladin to cure normally outside of combat, but limits their 'instant recharge' ability to more reasonable levels.

 

[Hawken]

I think they are interesting as they are. To prevent misuse (using the power to damage undead), you could change the wording around a little. Maybe like:

Great Healer
Benefit: You are able use Lay on Hands to heal an additional amount of HP damage per day equal to 2Xlevel. This extra amount can only be used to heal injuries and has no effect on undead beings.

The Faith Healing would be a fine feat, but it seems like it could just as easily be a house rule that it is the normal way a Paladin's healing works out without having the Paladin spend a feat.

As for the Vow of Humility, how about this:
Vow of Humility
Prereq: Sacred Vow
Benefit: When using Lay on Hands to heal wounds, the amount of hit points healed is 50% greater than the points of Lay on Hands used by the Paladin. This effect only occurs when LoH is used for healing and not to inflict damage upon Undead.

This solves most of the arguments against the feats as they were originally writteny that have been made so far while not causing a problem should the Paladin decide to use LoH for damage. I also think they keep in line with the original intention of the feats.

I like Notmousse's ideas, but I dislike having to spend a feat on them. Instead, LoH could be redesigned so that instead of hit points healed, the Paladin can sacrifice a number of LoH hp to reproduce a spell-like effect. 3hp of LoH per spell level. So, a Paladin could spend 3 LoH hp, and instead of curing 3hp, it has the effect of a Remove Fear spell. Or spend 12hp of the LoH total to Neutralize Poison. And you could limit it so that the Paladin can only produce the effect if he were a cleric of equal level trying to cast the same spell. This would prevent a 3rd level Paladin with a 20 Cha and a +2 Cloak of Charisma from spending 12 of his 18 points to Neutralize Poison (something the party cleric wouldn't be able to do anyway). To prevent abuse and also keep the Paladin from overshadowing any cleric in the group, I would allow him to do this for a limited number of spells that the Paladin chooses. Maybe 1 spell per even or odd Paladin level.

This does have the effect of making the Paladin's ability to Cure Disease even more useless, but that could instead be worked in to the LoH, so that at 6th level, instead of getting it 1/week automatically, the Paladin now has the option of choosing it as one of the optional effects in addition to any other spells the Paladin chooses to reproduce by spending LoH points.