Healbot? No. Better at Healing? Yes. [3.5 Alternate Class Feature]

[Temotei]

Great Mender
Clerics have never been restricted in their choices. An average cleric can heal, go on the front lines with their trusty mace, hold enemies so their mace breaks skulls even more reliably, and even bring back the dead. Some clerics choose to focus on their healing abilities more than others, though, fueling those abilities with the same positive energy used in their undead turning powers.
The great mender class feature allows the cleric to heal more efficiently in exchange for some of their undead turning power. This sometimes gives the cleric more freedom in spell choice, because they won't have to use up as many spell slots healing their allies. Alternatively, the cleric could use their great mender feature to damage undead more, focusing those now-dead turn attempts into positive energy that's sure to hurt the abominations.
Level: Cleric 1st.
Replaces: If you select this class feature, you only gain 1 + Cha modifier turn undead attempts per day instead of 3 + Cha modifier.
Benefit: You gain the Healing domain as a bonus domain (even if the Healing domain is not normally available to clerics of that deity), and you may select your bonus domain spell from the Healing domain or from one of your two regular domains. You do not gain the Healing domain granted power, however. Instead, your healing power is augmented in a different way, allowing you to apply the Empower Spell feat's effect (whether you possess the feat or not) to any spell in the Healing subschool without using up a higher spell slot or taking a longer time to cast (for spontaneous cure spells). You can do this a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Charisma modifier.

[Zhalath]

At low levels, this certainly would be useful, and maybe even a little overpowered. Like, cure light wounds at first level maximized is 9 damage healed, not including any other bonuses you somehow add. Then again, it's kind of an emergency thing anyway, being limited.

Though after 6th level spells, what is there that heals, besides heal? Heal's a set amount too, so doesn't it become less good at that point. Meanwhile, turn undead just gets better at repelling all those weak zombies your barbarian's too lazy to Cleave.

[Temotei]

At low levels, this certainly would be useful, and maybe even a little overpowered. Like, cure light wounds at first level maximized is 9 damage healed, not including any other bonuses you somehow add. Then again, it's kind of an emergency thing anyway, being limited.

Faith healing does the same thing, but it's restricted to followers of your deity.


Though after 6th level spells, what is there that heals, besides heal? Heal's a set amount too, so doesn't it become less good at that point. Meanwhile, turn undead just gets better at repelling all those weak zombies your barbarian's too lazy to Cleave.

Yeah, I know. There's really not much to do about that, though. Spontaneous cure spells will still help (so you don't have to waste those high-level slots on healing spells) at higher levels, but you're right that it's a lot more valuable for the first ten or so levels than it is after that.

[Zaydos]

My advice Empower Spell not Maximize. At low levels it is worse (1d8+1 empowered is 7.75 on average compared to 9), but it equals at 6th level (3d8+6 is 30.75 empowered on average and 30 maximized) and again at 9th level, and becomes the superior choice starting at 10th and onwards.

[Temotei]

My advice Empower Spell not Maximize. At low levels it is worse (1d8+1 empowered is 7.75 on average compared to 9), but it equals at 6th level (3d8+6 is 30.75 empowered on average and 30 maximized) and again at 9th level, and becomes the superior choice starting at 10th and onwards.

Huh. That makes sense, I suppose.

[Zaydos]

It makes it a little weaker at the levels where its a really good choice since you can't really do nice things with Divine feats and Devotion feats yet and 2 uses of Turn Undead are worth trading for 4+ free Empower Healing spells (since even +2 hp matters), and a little stronger when you're really having to judge if getting extra healing out of Cure Critical Wounds is worth 2 uses of Turning that could be used to fuel Travel Devotion or Divine Metamagic (to name the strongest contenders). It also makes it much stronger with the Mass Cure X Wounds spells (8+CL, 16+CL, 24+CL, and 32+CL versus on average 6.75+1.5 CL, 13.5+1.5 CL, 19.75+1.5 CL, 27+1.5 CL) or Close Wounds. I found this out when I statted out a heal-bot and compared his Empower Spell bonuses to his Maximize Spell bonuses and realized he was always better Empowering one than Maximizing them (although without free metamagic neither is worth it).

[NineThePuma]

How does this intract with cloistered cleric?

[Temotei]

How does this intract with cloistered cleric?

They still have turn undead attempts to give up, and there's nothing in there against taking the Healing domain, so...the same as it works for the original cleric.

[NineThePuma]

Yay! 4 domains =P

[Dead_Jester]

Yay! 4 domains =P

Well, it's not that anyone really took the healing domain...

As for the ACF, it looks balanced. Out of combat healing is a non-issue for everyone after level 3 (hello at-will item of cure minor wound), and the only useful in combat heal spell is Heal. The rest are less efficient at damage control than just killing the other guys.

[Mulletmanalive]

It works i suppose.

I'd be more inclined to just change the Healing domain power to allowing you to Maximise your Cure spells as a Divine feat type thing. It would make it worth actually taking, for one thing.

I was actually toying with just making healing spells good a while back for a Pathfinder game i was going to run, but that fell by the wayside.

[Morph Bark]

Could the Healing domain gained this way, as per the rules in Complete Champion, also be exchanged for the Healing Devotion feat for free? Or would that equal giving up this ACF for it (so basically paying 2 turn attempts for a feat)?

[Temotei]

Could the Healing domain gained this way, as per the rules in Complete Champion, also be exchanged for the Healing Devotion feat for free? Or would that equal giving up this ACF for it (so basically paying 2 turn attempts for a feat)?

It works just like how the Knowledge domain you get from the cloistered cleric alternate class feature works. So, yeah, you can exchange it, I suppose.