Heal

Description

Ability Score Used:	Wisdom
Armor Check Penalty Applies?	No

You are skilled at the practice of medicine, and have detailed knowledge of humanoid anatomy, allowing you to expertly evaluate someone's health, treat injuries, provide long-term care, or identify drugs, medicines, and poisons. You can even use your knowledge of the humanoid body to inflict terrible agony, if you are so inclined.

As with all skills, the uses below are merely suggestions, and by no means the full gamut of possible ways a skill can be used. Players and GM's are encouraged to find additional ways to use each skill.

Evaluate Target Health

You can examine one target within 30 feet of you to determine the exact extent of its injuries. Normally, you can only determine the general health of any creature, among the following statuses: Unharmed, Injured, Bloodied, Staggered, Unconscious, or Dead. This does not require a skill check, and anyone can do it. However, with a successful Heal check, you can learn precisely how close a particular creature is to death. This skill use may be applied to any creature, whether ally, enemy, or bystander. Performing this action is noticeable by anyone observing you, and intelligent creatures will generally know you are evaluating the health of the target you are inspecting.
Action Required:	Standard action
DC of Check:	Easy DC versus the level or CR of the target
Modifiers to Check	Hurried Assessment: You can reduce the action required to evaluate target health to a move action by changing the DC to an Challenging DC versus the level/CR of the target. You can reduce it to a swift action by changing the DC to an Hard DC versus the level/CR of the target. You must declare this before you roll.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies). Assisting allies must be within 30 feet of both you and the target.
Results of Success	You know exactly how many hit points the target has lost, and/or how many hit points the target has remaining. In addition, if the character is Dying or Stabilized, you learn this information as well.
Consequences of Failure	You only know the general "at a glance" status of the target's health: Unharmed, Injured, Bloodied, Staggered, Unconscious, or Dead.
Retry Allowed?	Yes. However, the same target cannot be evaluated more than once per round.
Provokes AOO?	No

Stabilize the Dying

If a character has negative hit points, you can make him stable, restoring him to 0 hit points and consciousness. Character with negative hit points are usually in the Dying state, but you can also use the Stabilize the Dying skill use on characters which have stabilized themselves through a successful Death Check.
Action Required:	Standard action
DC of Check:	Easy DC versus the level/CR of the creature being stabilized
Modifiers to Check	Hurried Stabilization: You can reduce the action required to stabilize the dying to a move action by changing the DC to an Challenging DC versus the level/CR of the target. You can reduce it to a swift action by changing the DC to an Hard DC versus the level/CR of the target. You must declare this before you roll. Cautious Stabilization: You can attempt to stabilize a target without provoking attacks of opportunity by adding +10 to the DC of the target. Additional Patients: (Epic Use – you must have at least 21 ranks in this skill to include this modifier) You may attempt to use stabilize the dying on more than one ally by adding +10 to the DC per additional ally. Targets must be adjacent to you when the check is performed.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies). Assisting allies must be adjacent to the patient being treated. If there is not enough room, they cannot assist. If you are treating more than one patient at the same time, any assisting allies must also have at least 21 ranks in the heal skill to assist.
Results of Success	The ally stops losing hit points, is restored to exactly 0 hit points, and regains consciousness, but gains the Staggered condition. Any ongoing conditions such as poison or diseases, which haven't already been treated, continue to ravage the target, and could cause him to slip back into unconsciousness or even death.
Consequences of Failure	The ally remains in the Dying state, forced to make Death Checks each round to stabilize or bleed out. If they fail three Death Checks to stabilize in a row (over the course of 3 rounds), or they suffer damage sufficient to bring them to a negative hit point total greater than or equal to their CON score (not modifier) + their character level, they die.
Retry Allowed?	Yes, assuming your target remains alive.
Provokes AOO?	Yes

Long-Term Care

Providing long-term care means treating a wounded person for a day or more. Doing so doubles the recovery they would normally receive from a full night's rest or complete bed rest. You can tend as many as six patients at a time. You need a few items and supplies (bandages, salves, and so on) that are easy to come by in settled lands. Giving long-term care counts as light activity for the healer. You cannot give long-term care to yourself.
Action Required:	1 full day.
DC of Check:	Easy DC versus the level/CR of the creature being stabilized.
Modifiers to Check	Shelter: If you have any shelter and are generally out of the weather and dry (a cave or a tent), you gain a +1 circumstance bonus on Heal checks. If you have a non-drafty shelter (a room in an inn, an extradimensional resting space, a sturdy cabin) you gain a +3 bonus on Heal checks. If you have a genuinely comfortable space with an actual bed and proper blankets (a hospital, a very nice inn, a private residence of at least comfortable lifestyle), you gain a +5 circumstance bonus on Heal checks.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies). Anyone receiving long-term care during this 8 hour period may not assist, not even to help with the long-term care of someone else.
Results of Success	The patient recovers hit points or ability score points (lost to ability damage) at twice the normal rate: 2 hit points per level for a full 8 hours of rest in a day, or 4 hit points per level for each full day of complete rest; 2 ability score points for a full 8 hours of rest in a day, or 4 ability score points for each full day of complete rest.
Consequences of Failure	The patient recovers hit points and ability score points (lost to ability damage) at the normal rate: 1 hit point per level for a full 8 hours of rest in a day, or 2 hit points per level for each full day of complete rest; 1 ability score point for a full 8 hours of rest in a day, or 2 ability score points for each full day of complete rest.
Retry Allowed?	Long-term care may only be attempted once per 24 hours.
Provokes AOO?	Yes

Treat Injuries

When treating injuries, you can restore hit points to a damaged creature. This action requires the full attention of both you and the patient you are attempting to heal for the entire time you are treating injuries. If you are interrupted during your treatment, the treatment automatically fails.
Action Required:	1 hour
DC of Check:	Average DC versus the target's level
Modifiers to Check	Healer's Kit: You take a -4 penalty on this check if you don't have a Healers Kit in your possession. If you are wielding a healer's kit when you perform this skill check, you may one 'charge' from the Healer's Kit to grant yourself a +2 circumstance bonus on the check. Shelter: If you have any shelter and are generally out of the weather and dry (a cave or a tent), you gain a +1 circumstance bonus on Heal checks. If you have a non-drafty shelter (a room in an inn, an extradimensional resting space, a sturdy cabin) you gain a +3 bonus on Heal checks. If you have a genuinely comfortable space with an actual bed and proper blankets (a hospital, a very nice inn, a private residence of at least comfortable lifestyle), you gain a +5 circumstance bonus on Heal checks. Additional Patients: (Epic Use – you must have at least 21 ranks in this skill to include this modifier) You may attempt to use treat injuries on more than one ally by adding +10 to the DC per additional ally. Targets must be adjacent to you when the check is performed.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies). Assisting allies must be adjacent to the patient being treated. If there is not enough room, they cannot assist. If you are treating more than one patient at the same time, any assisting allies must also have at least 21 ranks in the heal skill to assist.
Results of Success	Your target heals 1 hit point of damage per rank you have in the Heal skill. If you exceed the DC by 5 or more, add your Wisdom modifier (if positive) to this amount.
Consequences of Failure	Your target is not healed. Your healer's kit charge (if you used one) is expended, and the hour is wasted.
Retry Allowed?	No. A creature can only benefit from its injuries being treated within 24 hours of being injured and never more than once per day.
Provokes AOO?	Yes

Treat Poison / Disease

To treat a disease means to tend to a single diseased character. If you spend the appropriate time treating the diseased creature and succeed on the heal check, that creature receives a +4 competence bonus on his next saving throw to resist the effects of the disease. Note that, unlike Remove Disease (Cleric Spell), this is not a bonus saving throw, so failing the save results in the creature suffering the effects of the disease (and possibly the fruition, if this is the third interval of the disease's frequency). To treat poison means to tend to a single creature who has been poisoned. If you spend the appropriate time treating the poisoned creature and succeed on the heal check, that creature receives a +4 competence bonus on his next saving throw to resist the effects of the poison. Note that, unlike Neutralize Poison (Cleric Spell), this is not a bonus saving throw, so failing the save results in the creature suffering the effects of the poison (and possibly the fruition, if this is the third interval of the poison's frequency). If the poison has a frequency of "1/round for 3 rounds", this use of the heal skill is not sufficient to provide any assistance, since it takes too long. However, poisons with a frequency of "1/hour for 3 hours" or "1/day for 3 days" can be treated with this skill use. See Afflictions for details on how diseases and poisons work.
Action Required:	Poison: Standard action Disease: 1 hour
DC of Check:	a Challenging DC for the CR of poison or disease, or the CR of the creature which inflicted it, whichever is lower.
Modifiers to Check	Shelter: If you have any shelter and are generally out of the weather and dry (a cave or a tent), you gain a +1 circumstance bonus on Heal checks. If you have a non-drafty shelter (a room in an inn, an extradimensional resting space, a sturdy cabin) you gain a +3 bonus on Heal checks. If you have a genuinely comfortable space with an actual bed and proper blankets (a hospital, a very nice inn, a private residence of at least comfortable lifestyle), you gain a +5 circumstance bonus on Heal checks.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies). Assisting allies must be adjacent to the patient being treated. If there is not enough room, they cannot assist.
Results of Success	The afflicted character's next saving throw to resist the poison or disease gains a +4 competence bonus due to your assistance. If the target succeeds on their saving throw, the poison or disease is cured. Note that any effects the target has already suffered from the poison or disease persist even if after poison or disease is cured.
Consequences of Failure	The target gains no benefit to their next saving throw.
Retry Allowed?	Yes
Provokes AOO?	Yes

Halt Bleeding

You can attempt to remove the Bruised or Bleed conditions from a target.
Action Required:	Standard action
DC of Check:	Average DC versus the CR of the creature or effect which inflicted the condition
Modifiers to Check	Cautious Bandaging: You may attempt to stop an ally's Bruised or Bleed condition without provoking an attack of opportunity, by adding +5 to the DC of the check. Hasty Bandaging: You can attempt to clear a target's Bruised or Bleed condition as a move action, instead of a standard action, but the DC increases to Challenging. You can attempt to remove the condition as a swift action, but the DC increases to Hard.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies). Assisting allies must be adjacent to the patient being treated. If there is not enough room, they cannot assist.
Results of Success	You clear the Bruised or Bleed status condition from your target.
Consequences of Failure	The Bruised or Bleed conditions are not removed, and continue to affect your target.
Retry Allowed?	Yes, assuming your target is still alive. You may not attempt to halt bleeding on the same subject more than once per round.
Provokes AOO?	Yes

Deny Poison/Disease Saving Throw

You can use the heal skill to deny a creature a saving throw against poison or disease. You must be adjacent to the target and make a successful melee touch attack. If the attack hits, the target may not make a saving throw against any poison or disease that they might otherwise make until the start of your next turn. Note that, if the target isn't required to make a saving throw against the poison or disease during the round you use this skill use, the skill use has no effect — it does not trigger (and then deny) a saving throw. However, this skill use can be very useful when you are working with a helpless target, to allow a poison or drug to run its course in the victim, without allowing them an opportunity to resist it. This is frequently used, for example, with poisons which compel the truth from the target, once the poison has reached fruition. Creatures which are immune to poisons and diseases cannot be made susceptible to poisons or diseases with this skill use. This skill use is considered a condition to which roles, such as Heavies and Threats, are partially (or totally) immune.
Action Required:	Standard action
DC of Check:	the targets Maneuver Defense
Modifiers to Check	Helpless victim: if your target is Helpless, the DC is decreased by -5.
Take 10? / Take 20?	You can take 10 outside of combat. You cannot take 20.
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies).
Results of Success	The target may not make its next saving throw against poison or disease until the start of your next turn. If the target is required by a poison or disease's frequency to make a saving throw during this round, it is considered to have failed. If your target is required to make multiple saving throws against poison or disease at the same time, the target may choose which of the saving throws is affected by this skill use and which it can still roll. Under normal circumstances, however, this skill use affects the very first saving throw against poison or disease the target is forced to make during the round in which the skill use is in effect.
Consequences of Failure	The target may make a saving throw as normal, if required to do so.
Retry Allowed?	Yes
Provokes AOO?	Yes

Remove Caltrops / Spike Growth / Spike Stones

A creature wounded by stepping on a caltrop moves at one-half normal speed. A successful Heal check removes this movement penalty. A creature wounded by a spike growth or spike stones spell must succeed on a Reflex save or take injuries that reduce his speed by one-third. Another character can remove this penalty by taking 10 minutes to dress the victim's injuries and succeeding on a Heal check against the spell's save DC.
Action Required:	Caltrops: standard action Spike Growth / Spike Stones: 10 minutes
DC of Check:	The save DC listed in the monster ability or effect which caused the caltrops, spike growth or spike stones. If no such save DC is listed, the default DC is 15.
Modifiers to Check	-
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies). Assisting allies must be adjacent to the patient being treated. If there is not enough room, they cannot assist.
Results of Success	The character's speed is restored to normal.
Consequences of Failure	The character's speed remains reduced.
Retry Allowed?	Yes
Provokes AOO?	Yes

Identify Drug or Poison

The Heal skill can be used to identify and understand drugs, poisons and other pharmaceuticals. This applies to drugs or poisons you can handle, examine, and inspect, not drugs or poisons which have already been applied to a target. The GM should generally make this check in secret, due to the fact that failure may result in misinformation.
Action Required:	Standard Action
DC of Check:	Save DC of the drug or poison
Modifiers to Check	Contaminated: If the drug or poison has been mixed with anything (like food or drink), the DC increases by +5. The Right Tools: If you are in a workspace with lab-type equipment (such as alchemy equipment) allowing closer inspection of the drug or poison, the DC is decreased by -5.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies)
Results of Success	A successful result reveals the drug's qualities, effects, dosage information, risk of addiction and side-effects of use or withdrawal. If the check succeeds by 5 or more, the character also intuits an effective means of treating addiction (if applicable), though such treatment often takes a week or longer to perform.
Consequences of Failure	Failing the check by less than 5 will generally provide a rough idea of the type of drug (stimulant, depressant, placebo, poison, palliative). Failing by more than 5 gives a false result.
Retry Allowed?	Only if you are aware your original check failed.
Provokes AOO?	Yes

Torture

You can use the Heal skill to torture a victim, either to attempt to force them to reveal information, or simply to cause suffering. Creatures subjected to torture are not compelled to tell the truth, but they are compelled, eventually, to say something the torturer believes to be the truth. The victim of torture must always be Helpless (usually tied up, but any other means of rendering them helpless are acceptable) before torture can be performed. This is nearly always an evil act, even if the torture is being done to avert an even greater evil. Good-aligned characters are cautioned that torture will affect their alignment. Note: These rules try to keep this distasteful subject as abstract as possible, but some players (or GM's) may be very sensitive about it. GM's and players are encouraged to talk to each other before including torture in a campaign, to avoid damaging their real-life friendships. It's a game — keep it fun.
Action Required:	1 hour
DC of Check:	Average DC versus the CR/lvl of your victim
Modifiers to Check	Proper Tools: If you have an appropriate set of tools, implements, and devices for this grisly work, you gain a +5 circumstance bonus. Rush Job: You can attempt to torture a victim more quickly, increasing the DC by +1 per 5 minutes you wish to shave off from the base time (Get it? Shave off? Huh?), to a minimum of 5 minutes per attempt.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 sociopathic allies)
Results of Success	The target suffers a -2 penalty to all Bluff checks, and loses 1 point of CON (see Ability Damage). In addition, the target's Will save is reduced by -1, and he must succeed on a Will save, with a DC equal to 10 + half your character level + WIS modifier. If he fails the check, he feels compelled to tell you information he thinks you want to hear. He can attempt a Bluff check to lie (opposed by your Sense Motive check, and will always do so if he doesn't actually know the information you are attempting to extract. He may also tell the truth, which also requires a Bluff check (opposed by your Sense Motive check). You can repeat the torture action as many times as you wish, and the penalties to the victim's Will save, CON score, and Bluff skill are cumulative. CON will recover at the rate of 1 point per full-night's rest (8 hours), if you allow the victim to rest. The penalties to the victim's Bluff skill and Will saves remain until the victim is freed or dies. If the victim's CON score is reduced to 0 via torture, he dies.
Consequences of Failure	If you fail the check by 4 or less, the victim resists your efforts to extract information, and may refuse to tell you anything. If you fail the check by 5 or more, or roll a natural 1, the victim dies from your attempt.
Retry Allowed?	Yes, as often as you like, you butcher.
Provokes AOO?	Yes

Deny Saving Throw (Epic)

If you have at least 21 ranks in the heal skill to deny a creature a saving throw against any effect at all. You must be adjacent to the target and make a successful melee touch attack. If the attack hits, the next saving throw that the target is required to make, before the start of your next turn, is considered to have automatically failed. If the target isn't required to make any saving throws before the start of your next turn, this skill use has no effect — it does not trigger (and then deny) a saving throw. However, used in conjunction with your allies, this skill use can be highly effective at ensuring your sorcerer's next spell has full effectiveness against your target, as well as many other uses. You may also find it useful to hold or ready your action to perform this skill use right before one of your allies forces a saving throw to be made by your target, to guarantee that the target doesn't make a different saving throw in the meantime. This skill use is considered a condition to which roles, such as Heavies and Threats, are partially (or totally) immune.
Action Required:	Standard action
DC of Check:	the targets Maneuver Defense
Modifiers to Check	Helpless victim: if your target is Helpless, the DC is decreased by -5.
Take 10? / Take 20?	You can take 10 outside of combat. You cannot take 20.
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies).
Results of Success	If the target is required to make a saving throw before the start of your next turn, the first such saving throw they are required to make is considered to have failed. If your target is required to make multiple saving throws at the same time, the target may choose which of the saving throws is affected by this skill use and which it can still roll. Under normal circumstances, however, this skill use affects the very first saving throw the target is forced to make during the round in which the skill use is in effect.
Consequences of Failure	The target may make the saving throw as normal, if required to do so.
Retry Allowed?	Yes
Provokes AOO?	Yes

Advanced Triage (Epic)

You can attempt to treat injuries a second time in the same 24-hour period on the same subject. This is an epic skill use, and requires at least 21 ranks in the skill before it may be attempted.
Action Required:	1 hour (in addition to the 1 hour for treat injuries).
DC of Check:	Hard DC versus the level of the ally you are treating.
Modifiers to Check	Healer's Kit: You take a -4 penalty on this check if you don't have a Healers Kit in your possession. If you are wielding a healer's kit when you perform this skill check, you may one 'charge' from the Healer's Kit to grant yourself a +2 circumstance bonus on the check. Shelter: If you have any shelter and are generally out of the weather and dry (a cave or a tent), you gain a +1 circumstance bonus on Heal checks. If you have a non-drafty shelter (a room in an inn, an extradimensional resting space, a sturdy cabin) you gain a +3 bonus on Heal checks. If you have a genuinely comfortable space with an actual bed and proper blankets (a hospital, a very nice inn, a private residence of at least comfortable lifestyle), you gain a +5 circumstance bonus on Heal checks.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies). Any assisting ally must also have at least 21 ranks in heal to assist. Assisting allies must be adjacent to the patient being treated. If there is not enough room, they cannot assist.
Results of Success	Your target heals 1 hit point of damage per rank you have in the Heal skill. If you exceed the DC by 5 or more, add your Wisdom modifier (if positive) to this amount.
Consequences of Failure	Your target is not healed. Your healer's kit charge (if you used one) is expended, and the hour is wasted.
Retry Allowed?	No. A creature can only benefit from treat injuries and advanced triage once each, and only if performed within 24 hours of being injured.
Provokes AOO?	Yes

Resuscitate Slain Ally (Epic)

You may attempt to resuscitate a slain ally, as long as you make the check within 10 rounds of the character being slain. This is an epic skill use, and requires at least 21 ranks in the skill before it may be attempted.
Action Required:	Full-round action
DC of Check:	Challenging DC versus the level of the slain ally you are attempting to resuscitate.
Modifiers to Check	Hurry: You can attempt to resuscitate a slain ally as a standard action, instead of a full-round action, by increasing the DC to Hard. You can attempt it as a move action by increasing the DC to Impossible. You must declare you are doing this before you roll. Cautious Stabilization: You can attempt to resuscitate a slain ally without provoking attacks of opportunity by adding +5 to the DC of the target.
Take 10? / Take 20?	No
Allows Assists?	Yes (up to 5 allies). Any assisting ally must also have at least 21 ranks in heal to assist. Assisting allies must be adjacent to the patient being treated. If there is not enough room, they cannot assist.
Results of Success	The slain ally loses the Dead status, and is instead Stabilized at 0 hit points.
Consequences of Failure	The slain ally remains dead.
Retry Allowed?	Yes, but never more than once per round.
Provokes AOO?	Yes