The Merc Healer

Merc Healer are healers and support characters, not a front line fighter.

Abilities: Wisdom is the most important attribute for a Merc Healer.

Races: Any

Alignment: Any

Starting Gold: 4d4×10 gp (100 gp).

Starting Age: Moderate

Table: The Merc Healer

Hit Die: d8

Level Base
Attack Bonus
Saving Throws Special AC Bonus Fast Movement Damage Reduction
Fort Ref Will Cur
1st +0 +2 +2 +2 0 Surgical Precision (+1, +1d4) Tend Wounds (hit points) +1 +0 ft. -
2nd +1 +3 +3 +3 +1 Bonus Feat, Prevention and Cure (2) +1 +10 ft. -
3rd +2 +3 +3 +3 +1 Battlefield Inspiration I, Surgical Precision (+2, +2d4) +1 +10 ft. 1/-
4th +3 +4 +4 +4 +1 Frantic Medic I, Prevention and Cure (4) +2 +10 ft. 1/-
5th +3 +4 +4 +4 +2 Surgical Precision (+3, +3d4), Tend Wounds (ability damage) +2 +20 ft. 1/-
6th +4 +5 +5 +5 +2 Prevention and Cure (6), Share Expertise +2 +20 ft. 2/-
7th +5 +5 +5 +5 +3 Battlefield Inspiration II, Surgical Precision (+4, +4d4) +3 +20 ft. 2/-
8th +6/+1 +6 +6 +6 +3 Evasion, Prevention and Cure (8) +3 +30 ft. 2/-
9th +6/+1 +6 +6 +6 +4 Surgical Precision (+5, +5d4), Tend Wounds (ability drain) +3 +30 ft. 3/-
10th +7/+2 +7 +7 +7 +4 Prevention and Cure (10), Bonus Feat +4 +30 ft. 3/-
11th +8/+3 +7 +7 +7 +4 Battlefield Inspiration III, Surgical Precision (+6, +6d4) +4 +40 ft. 3/-
12th +9/+4 +8 +8 +8 +5 Frantic Medic II, Prevention and Cure (12) +4 +40 ft. 4/-
13th +9/+4 +8 +8 +8 +5 Surgical Precision (+7, +7d4), Tend Wounds (energy drain) +5 +40 ft. 4/-
14th +10/+5 +9 +9 +9 +6 Prevention and Cure (14), Share Expertise +5 +50 ft. 4/-
15th +11/+6/+1 +9 +9 +9 +6 Battlefield Inspiration IV, Surgical Precision (+8, +8d4) +5 +50 ft. 5/-
16th +12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +10 +7 Improved Evasion, Prevention and Cure (16) +6 +50 ft. 5/-
17th +12/+7/+2 +10 +10 +10 +7 Surgical Precision (+9, +9d4), Tend Wounds (death) +6 +60 ft. 5/-
18th +13/+8/+3 +11 +11 +11 +8 Prevention and Cure, Bonus Feat (18) +6 +60 ft. 6/-
19th +14/+9/+4 +11 +11 +11 +8 Battlefield Inspiration V, Medical Precision (+10, +10d4) +7 +60 ft. 6/-
20th +15/+10/+5 +12 +12 +12 +9 Frantic Medic III, Prevention and Cure (20) +7 +70 ft. 6/-

Class Skills (6 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level)
Balance
 (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Int) (History), Knowledge (Int) (Local), Knowledge (Int) (Nature), Listen (Wis), Martial Lore, Move Silently (Str), Profession (Wis), Sense Motive (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Magic Device (Cha).

Class Features[edit]

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Merc Healer possesses proficiency with all simple weapons and one martial weapon of their choice, along with light armor and shields (but not tower shields).

AC Bonus (Ex): A Merc Healer is forced to cross busy battlefields regularly while avoiding the very same fates they hope to save others from. While wearing light armor or no armor, you add the indicated bonus to your AC, doubling it against attacks of opportunity provoked by your movement.

Tend Wounds (Ex): A Merc Healer is best known for their ability to cure the wounds of others on the battlefield without the use of magic. With enough bandages, medicine, and know-how, even otherwise fatal injuries mean little to them. At the start of each day, you gain a pool of points equal to your class level x your ranks in heal x your Wisdom modifier that you can use to tend wounds. You may only tend the wounds of creatures within your reach (not counting reach granted through weaponry) and must possess your medic’s kit in order to use this class feature. At 1st level, you may only heal hit points, spending one point per hit point you restore. Alternately, you can stabilize an unconscious creature without spending any points at all. This ability does not harm undead creatures and in fact heals them, albeit for only half the normal amount. Constructs, however, are utterly unaffected.

  • Starting at 5th level, you may heal ability damage, spending 25 points per point of ability damage you restore.
  • Starting at 9th level, you may heal ability drain, spending 50 points per point of ability drain that you restore.
  • Starting at 13th level, you may heal negative levels, spending 100 points per negative level that you restore.
  • Starting at 17th level, you may restore a creature to life if they have died within 1 minute/class level, spending 200 points. The target is returned to life at 1 hit point and all ability scores reduced to 0 are restored to 1. The target loses no spells, levels, or constitution when revived in this way. The target’s body must be mostly intact when targeted by this ability.
  • Regardless of how this ability is used, it requires a standard action and can only target corporeal creatures. Any number of different uses for this ability can be used within a single application (such as healing one point of strength damage and 10 hit points for 35 points). Using this ability requires concentration and provokes attacks of opportunity.


Surgical Precision: Well-aware of the inner workings of the living body, a Combat Medic knows best how to take it apart. Starting at 1st level, you may make a Heal check against a target’s AC whenever you make a melee attack against or ranged attack from within 30 feet of the intended target. If the check succeeds, the attack roll gains a +1 bonus and the attack deals an extra 1d4 points of damage. At each odd level after 1st, the attack bonus increases by +1 and the damage increases by 1d4. The bonus to attack rolls applies against all creatures but the extra damage only functions against creatures vulnerable to critical hits and does not function against creatures with cover or concealment from you. This damage may be applied to lethal and nonlethal attacks equally well. Though the attack bonus is added to critical confirmation rolls, the extra damage is not multiplied with a critical hit. This ability counts as possessing the same number of dice of sneak attack for the purposes of meeting prerequisites and you may sacrifice a number of dice (and corresponding attack bonus) to use ambush feats.


Medic’s Kit: Much as a wizard uses a spellbook, some of a merc healer’s abilities relies on their possession of a medic’s kit, a healer’s kit of professional grade holding all of the curative supplies that the Merc Healer trades for, finds, scavenges, steals, or otherwise acquires (always at a neglible cost to the medic). Much as it is assumed that a wizard works on their spellbook when not actively adventuring, it is generally assumed that field medics are always on the lookout for new potential materials and, barring extreme circumstances, is never at risk of running out. For a Merc Healer and only for a Merc Healer, a medic’s kit acts as a healer’s kit with unlimited uses and allows for the use of the medic’s tend wounds and prevention AND cure class features. Despite its name, a medic’s kit is not a specific container and may be maintained or started again without cost even if the kit is stolen or ruined.


Fast Movement (Ex): As merc healer can’t extend their medicines across battlefields like a cleric’s spells, it is of vital importance for them to build up their speed for incredible sprints across the battlefield. At 2nd level, you gain an enhancement bonus to your speed, as shown on the table above. You lose this extra speed while wearing medium or heavy armor or while carrying a medium or heavy load.


Bonus Feats: As a Merc Healer adventures, they pick up a few tricks on the battlefield. At 2nd level and again at 10th level and 18th level, you gain a bonus fighter feat of your choice. You must meet the prerequisites of any feat selected in this way.


Prevention and Cure (Ex): Starting as soon as 2nd level, a Merc Healer learns of a number of remedies, cure-alls, and preventative measures, letting them treat most negative conditions. Though many of these medicines use similar ingredients, it’s not possible (at least early on) to keep every possible form of medicine at the ready at a given time. Each day, with one hour of work, you may make a number of doses of medicine up to the number given on the table above, selecting from the recipes below. You may create multiple doses of a single recipe in a given day. Leftover doses from one day do not carry over into the next as components are distilled and recycled to make new medicines. Applying a recipe to a creature requires that you be able to touch them (requiring a touch attack if uncooperative) and a standard action. Each recipe possesses an instantaneous curative effect and a preventative effect that lasts for 1 hour.

If a condition possesses a duration and is reduced in severity, the less serious condition persists for the remainder of the duration. If a condition is gained continually through certain circumstances (such as being dazzled due to light sensitivity), curing a target only removes the condition for 1 round. You must possess access to your medic’s kit to use this class feature.


Fear Relief :

Curative A frightened or panicked creature is simply shaken. A shaken creature is healed of their condition.

Preventative: The creature adds your class level as a bonus to saving throws against Fear effects and to opposed checks made against Intimidate checks for the medicine’s duration.


Stomach Soother :

Curative A nauseated creature is simply sickened. A sickened creature is healed of their condition.

Preventative: The creature adds your class level as a bonus to saving throws against effects that would nauseate or sicken them and to Constitution checks made to go on without food for the medicine’s duration.


Rejuvenizer :

Curative An exhausted creature is simply fatigued. A fatigued creature is healed of their condition.

Preventative: The creature adds your class level as a bonus to saving throws and Constitution checks made to avoid becoming exhausted or fatigued for the medicine’s duration.


Muscle Relaxant :

Curative A stunned or paralyzed creature is simply staggered. A staggered creature is healed of their condition.

Preventative: The creature adds your class level as a bonus to saving throws against effects that would paralyze, stun, or stagger them and to grapple checks and escape artist checks made to escape a grapple for the medicine’s duration.


Sensory Restoration :

Curative A creature who has lost one or more of their senses regains one such sense of your choice.

Preventative: The target adds your class level as a bonus to saving throws against any effects that would rob them of one or more of their senses and to saves against glamer and figment effects for the medicine’s duration.


Antipsychotic :

Curative A creature who is currently affected by a confusion or insanity effect or suffering from some other means of insanity is instantly cured and restored to sanity. Forms of insanity requiring a wish or miracle to cure (such as a Derro’s racial insanity) can’t be healed in this way.

Preventative: The target adds your class levels to saving throws against effects that create temporary or permanent insanity and against compulsion effects for the medicine’s duration.


Cure-All :

Curative A creature affected by one or more diseases with a save DC of 10 + your class level or less is healed of one such disease.

Preventative: The target adds your class level as a bonus to saving throws against disease for the medicine’s duration.


Anti-Venom :

Curative A creature affected by one or more poisons with a save DC of 10 + your class level or less is healed of one such poison.

Preventative: The target adds your class level as a bonus to saving throws against poison for the medicine’s duration.


Curse-Be-Gone :

Curative A creature affected by one or more effects that a remove curse effect could remove is healed of one such affect.

Preventative: The target adds your class level as a bonus to saving throws made against effects that a remove curse effect could remove and against death effects for the medicine’s duration.


Damage Reduction: Although a Merc Healer can heal wounds quite easily, most of these resources are reserved for allies by any means necessary. Starting at 3rd level, a Merc Healer gains damage reduction as noted on the table above.


Battlefield Inspiration: Out in the heat of battle, a Merc Healer may find themselves unable to reach an allies who needs help. Even in such situations, however, a good speech, taunt, or shouted piece of advice can help their allies stay in one piece for a little bit longer. Starting at 3rd level, as a standard action, you can grant a number of allies (other than yourself) up to your class level + your Wisdom modifier a number of temporary hit points equal to your class level and one of the listed bonuses below (selected each time you use this ability) for a single round. All creatures to be affected must be able to see, hear, and understand you to gain the bonuses. Alternately, you may grant yourself the indicated bonuses as a standard action, targeting only you but requiring a purely mental action to activate.

At 7th level and every 4 levels afterwards, the number of temporary hit points granted increase by your class level and you may select an additional bonus to grant all affected allies. This ability can be used once per encounter at 3rd level and you gain one additional use per encounter every 4 levels afterwards. This effect does not stack with itself.


Move! Move! Move! :Each affected target may immediately move up to their speed in any direction that they could normally travel.


Watch for the Weak Point : You may immediately make a heal check against a single creature within your line of sight as if through your surgical precision class feature. If successful, the next affected target this round to make a successful attack against the target benefits from your surgical precision class feature as a Merc Healer of your level (if the next person to hit the creature is you, you gain no additional benefit).


I Know You’re Better Than That : : All targets currently affected by a non-instantaneous magical effect due to a failed saving throw may roll a new saving throw against the same DC to end the effect prematurely.


One Big Push : All targets may add half of your class level (rounded down) to a single d20 roll made within the duration.


Coordination is Key : All targets automatically succeed on aid another checks, no target is considered flanked unless they all are, and any creature adjacent to two or more targets is considered flanked by them.


Pace Yourself : All targets gain additional temporary hit points equal to your class level. Unlike other bonuses, this may be selected multiple times.


Frantic Medic The job of a Merc Healer is never dull, dodging death with disturbing regularity as they run across the battlefield to mend fallen friends. With enough time and practice, the medic seems almost supernaturally fast. Starting at 4th level, you gain an extra move action or standard action each round that can only be used to move up to your speed or to activate your Tend Wounds class feature. You gain a second such action at 12th level and a third at 20th level.


Share Expertise: Starting at 6th level, you gain the ability to share some of your experience on the battlefield with others, giving them tactical advice and keeping them ready. You may select any fighter feat that you possess. All allies within 30 feet of you who can see, hear, and understand you gain the benefit of that feat (so long as they meet its prerequisites). All decisions that you made when selecting the feat (such as what weapon the weapon focus feat applies to) apply to allies gaining the feat as well. You may change which feat is granted as a swift action.

At 14th level, the range of this ability increases to 60 feet and you may grant two fighter feats instead of one (one of which may be used as a prerequisite for the other). You may reselect one or both feats as a swift action.


Evasion: Starting at 8th level, you can avoid even magical and unusual attacks with great agility. If you make a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, you instead take no damage. Evasion can only be used if you are wearing light armor or no armor. While helpless, you do not gain the benefit of evasion.


Improved Evasion: At 16th level, your ability to evade harm greatly improves. This ability works like evasion, except that while you still take no damage on a successful Reflex saving throw against attacks such as a dragon’s breath weapon or a fireball, henceforth you only take half damage on a failed save. You do not gain the benefits of improved evasion while helpless.



Merc Healer Lore

Characters with ranks in Heal can research Merc Healers, to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

Heal
DC Result
5 Merc Healers tend to the wounded on a battlefield.
10 Merc Healers have the ability to cure any ailment .
15 Merc Healers can bring someone back from death if they get there in time.
20 Notable Information about a certain Merc Healer.

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