New Cleric Feat, Feedback?

[krbrunn]

A cleric in my campaign world wanted the ability to heal in combat without invoking an attack of opportunity, and I whipped these two up. I think they are pretty good as they are, but I'm probably missing something obviously wrong with them, so I was hoping to get some opinions on them.

They are for a more combat orientated cleric who likes to get involved in all the battles.

Salvation Casting
You can cast healing spells on yourself without invoking an attack of opportunity.
Prerequisite: Cleric Level 3, Wis 13+, Combat Casting
Benefit: You may cast Cure Minor Wounds, Cure Light Wounds, Cure Moderate Wounds, or Cure Heavy Wounds on yourself during battle without invoking an attack of opportunity. All spells using this feat use up a spell slot one level higher than the spell's actual level. This feat does not apply to the reverse form of these spells, so Cause Minor wounds still invokes an attack of opportunity.

Combat Healing
You can cast healing spells on others without invoking an attack of opportunity.
Prerequisite: Cleric Level 6, Wis 15+, Salvation Casting
Benefit: You may cast Cure Minor Wounds, Cure Light Wounds, Cure Moderate Wounds, or Cure Heavy Wounds on others during battle without invoking an attack of opportunity. All spells using this feat use up a spell slot two level higher than the spell's actual level. This feat does not apply to the reverse form of these spells, so Cause Minor wounds still invokes an attack of opportunity.

 

[Frostmarrow]

The prereq should be "ability to cast any cure spell" rather than cleric because bards and druids (among others) have access to that spell too. Since you have Combat Casting as a prereq I don't see the need for further requirements such as Wis 13+ or what ever. Moreover you might want to combine the two into one feat. It's not all that powerful and by making it two feats the power is diluted further.

 

[Geoff Watson]

Casting on the Defensive is usually very easy, especially if you have Combat Casting.

I would have the feat be General rather than Metamagic, as spontaneous metamagic (like a good cleric converting a prepared spell to healing) takes a full round action.
I would also have it not increase the spell's level, and apply to all cure spells, including cure serious wounds and cure critical wounds, regardless of the target.

The prerequisite should be just Combat Casting and 'ability to cast any cure spell'. Maybe drop the Combat Casting prerequisite, as it is still a rather weak feat.

Geoff.

 

[krbrunn]

Thanks for the feedback, muchly appreciated.

 

[Mistwell]

I'm strealing these feats for my game by the way. It's a good idea!

 

[krbrunn]

I feel I should explain my choices for the prerequesites for these feats.

I said Cleric of level 3 because I intended the feat to be more of a holy feat rather than a healing feat, so it would be available only to clerics.

I included Combat Casting, because then a Cleric would have a better sense of the battle field, and be better equipped to prevent the AOO.

As for the increased spell slots, this was to balance it out for spontaneously cast healing spells. As an example:

In the heat of Battle, the cleric, lets call him Michael, is injured, and down to just 5 hit points. Now he could either cast a prepared spell on himself, cure light wounds, as a level 2 spell, or he could wait until the battle was over, and cast cure moderate wounds instead. It's sort of a trade off for casting it without the AOO.

I intended that these feats as a choice when casting the spell, not when preparing it. Or should I just drop the spell slot requirements altogether?

Many thanks for the replies so far.

 

[Geoff Watson]

I feel I should explain my choices for the prerequesites for these feats.

I said Cleric of level 3 because I intended the feat to be more of a holy feat rather than a healing feat, so it would be available only to clerics.

I included Combat Casting, because then a Cleric would have a better sense of the battle field, and be better equipped to prevent the AOO.

As for the increased spell slots, this was to balance it out for spontaneously cast healing spells. As an example:

In the heat of Battle, the cleric, lets call him Michael, is injured, and down to just 5 hit points. Now he could either cast a prepared spell on himself, cure light wounds, as a level 2 spell, or he could wait until the battle was over, and cast cure moderate wounds instead. It's sort of a trade off for casting it without the AOO.

I intended that these feats as a choice when casting the spell, not when preparing it. Or should I just drop the spell slot requirements altogether?

Many thanks for the replies so far.

Drop the spell slot requirements altogether, as it being Metamagic may increase the casting time. Casting healing in the middle of combat is usually iffy as you give the enemy another round to attack you, when you could attack the enemy instead to try to finish the fight.

You might let it apply to all spells, not just cures, if you keep all the requirements.

Geoff.

 

[Mistwell]

I am with the folks that say drop the spell slot, and combine these feats into one feat. The benefit really is not all that fantastic. It's nice, and my cleric Pc would take the feat, but it isn't unbalanced.

Also, drop the requirement that the PC be a cleric. I know you want it to be "holy", but that should not stop a divine-using druid, paladin, or ranger from obtaining the feat. All three of those have spell-casting abilities that come from a divine source. Just make the requirement "must be able to cast 3rd level divine spells".

 

[the Jester]

I'd definitely drop the required combat casting and the level increase both. And I'd combine the two into one feat. But I really like the idea!

Rationale: why spend three feats to do what one feat (combat casting) and one maxed out skill can do? Assuming a single-classed non-human cleric, you'd be sixth level before you could have all three feats; by then you'd have +13 to concentration with just combat casting and no con bonus. On the other hand it would probably be worth it if it was just one feat.

Humans get the concentration even more easily due to their abundance of skill points.

 

[LightPhoenix]

I feel I should explain my choices for the prerequesites for these feats.

I said Cleric of level 3 because I intended the feat to be more of a holy feat rather than a healing feat, so it would be available only to clerics.

The DMG suggests somewhat strongly that class levels not be used as a prerequisite. If you want it primarily for Clerics, perhaps you should make the prerequisites "Able to cast 2nd-level divine spells" and "Able to cast 3rd-level divine spells" respectively.