Question with Heal

[Lamoni]

I just noticed this today. The spell Heal as written in the SRD says...

Heal enables you to channel positive energy into a creature to wipe away injury and afflictions. It immediately ends any and all of the following adverse conditions affecting the Target: ability damage, blinded, confused, dazed, dazzled, deafened, diseased, exhausted, fatigued, feebleminded, insanity, nauseated, sickened, stunned, and poisoned. It also cures 10 hit points of damage per level of the caster, to a maximum of 150 points at 15th level.

Most other spells say per caster level. Does this mean that you could have a Cleric 9/Fighter 6 and still heal 150 points of damage? I was just surprised when I read this because I always thought it was per caster level. Is it the same in the PHB?

This is good news for my Paladin. If it was per caster level, being level 12, heal mount would only heal 60 HP's on my mount... which is pretty good, but still wouldn't bring the mount to full health if it was injured badly. Since it is now written as per level of the caster, my Paladin can heal his mount 120 damage or in other words, always restore it to full health.

Am I reading it right?

 

[DanMcS]

No. They mean caster level. Can you think of any reason they wouldn't mean caster level, when every other spell which has level-dependant effects, bases those on caster level?

 

[James McMurray]

A literal reading will give that rendition. But I think the intent is still to refer to caster level. Run it past your DM and see what he says (and email WotC for clarification ). Just be sure to remember that whatever Customer Service tells you has a 75% chance of beign wrong, and if you ask the Sage himself, large numbers of people will disagree with him on principal.

 

[Lamoni]

No. They mean caster level. Can you think of any reason they wouldn't mean caster level, when every other spell which has level-dependant effects, bases those on caster level?

The reason why I can see that they didn't mean caster level is that they did not say caster level. They are very good at saying caster level for every other spell that is based on caster level. That leads me to believe that the different wording on this one spell was intentional.

I am actually glad if this is the case (but there still could be Errata or another source that I haven't checked that says it isn't true). Heal isn't overpowering if you base it on the level of the caster. You aren't going to be killing any big bad creatures with it. And if they are undead, it functions like harm and so you don't get to count your non-caster levels. The biggest reason why I see that they might have intentionally made the change is what I posted above. The Heal Mount spell says that it functions like the Heal spell. It becomes a much better spell if you can heal 10xPaladin level rather than 10 x .5 x Paladin Level.

I appreciate the Intent arguments... but I would appreciate some evidence that brings you to the understanding of the writer's intent. I am not good at reading people's minds and I don't trust anyone else that claims to have that ability. Point me to a FAQ, an email, Errata, or something that gives indication that the intent wasn't to change the spell.

 

[jgsugden]

I'll agree that this is unclear. The statement was probably supposed to reflect 'level of caster in his spellcasting class', but there is wiggle room.

For balance reasons, I'd assume the more restrictive interpretation, but I wouldn't worry about it too much either way. The difference is between 110 and 150 hit points at the most.

 

[Hypersmurf]

The reason why I can see that they didn't mean caster level is that they did not say caster level. They are very good at saying caster level for every other spell that is based on caster level. That leads me to believe that the different wording on this one spell was intentional.

So if a 1st level Cleric makes his caster level check and successfully reads the scroll of Heal (scribed at caster level 11), he cures... 10 points of damage?

But if the 6th level Rogue uses Use Magic Device, emulates a Caster Level of 15, and successfully activates the scroll, he cures 60 points?

-Hyp.

 

[Artoomis]

In general, and only in general, "level" means class or caster level unless specified to be "character level."

 

[Geoff Watson]

Just 'Level' means different things when talking about different stuff.
For spells, the default is caster level. They would have to specifically say 'character level' for your interpretation to be correct.

Geoff.

 

[Tatsukun]

So if a 1st level Cleric makes his caster level check and successfully reads the scroll of Heal (scribed at caster level 11), he cures... 10 points of damage?

But if the 6th level Rogue uses Use Magic Device, emulates a Caster Level of 15, and successfully activates the scroll, he cures 60 points?

-Hyp.

Wouldn't the 'caster' in this case be the guy who made the scroll? let's hope he was a Cleric 11 / Fighter 9 ! Whoo hoo 200 points of healing ar bargin rates ! !

Yeah, it's caster level. Sometimes you shouldn't think too hard about WHY the authors wrote what they did, just fix it and move on. Trying to understand the authors' minds will lead to 'pokemount' level insanity!

-Tatsu

 

[Will]

As someone who writes at times, it's a lot simpler than that.

If you use the same wording over and over and over and over again, the stuff reads like crap. Writer's instincts is to find new ways to say things, to make the text more accessible.

The danger is, of course, implying stuff that you didn't mean.

For example, I had some text where I talked about 'incurring a penalty,' and then later used the wording 'gain a penalty of X.' One reader said 'gain a penalty? But that sounds positive!'

Sigh.