Healing {NWP}

A character proficient in healing knows how to use natural medicines and basic principles of first aid and doctoring. If the character tends another within one round of wounding (and makes a successful proficiency check), his ministrations restore 1d3 hit points (but no more hit points can be restored than were lost in the previous round). Only one healing attempt can be made on a character per day.

If a wounded character remains under the care of someone with healing proficiency, that character can recover lost hit points at the rate of 1 per day even when traveling or engaging in nonstrenuous activity. If the wounded character gets complete rest, he can recover 2 hit points per day while under such care. Only characters with both healing and Herbalism proficiencies can help others recover at the rate of 3 hit points per day of rest. This care does not require a proficiency check, only the regular attention of the proficient character. Up to six patients can be cared for at any time.

Healing and Poison

A character with healing proficiency can also attempt to aid a poisoned individual, provided the poison entered through a wound. If the poisoned character can be tended to immediately (the round after the character is poisoned) and the care continues for the next five rounds, the victim gains a +2 bonus to his saving throw (delay his saving throw until the last round of tending). No proficiency check is required, but the poisoned character must be tended to immediately (normally by sacrificing any other action by the proficient character) and cannot do anything himself. If the care and rest are interrupted, the poisoned character must immediately roll a normal saving throw for the poison. This result is unalterable by normal means (i.e., more healing doesn't help). Only characters with both healing and herbalism proficiencies can attempt the same treatment for poisons the victim has swallowed or touched (the character uses his healing to diagnose the poison and his herbalist knowledge to prepare a purgative).

Antidote Effects

Antidotes can be manufactured for most poisons. To use an antidote you must match it with its poison (see the Assassin kit), or just administer an antidote and hope that by chance it is the right one. (The DM may permit the existence of some antidotes that counter more than one poison, e.g., both types A and B injected.) An antidote will take effect if administered immediately or at least before the toxin's onset time. It then either negates the poison entirely (if the poisoned character made his saving throw in the first place) or reduces its effect to saving throw level.

Producing Antidotes

Most of the time an antidote has not been prepared in advance, and a character with herbalism proficiency will attempt to produce an antidote from scratch.

Doing this presupposes an assortment of herbs, mosses, and such necessary materials, already selected and close at hand (e.g., gathered, dried and stored in a pouch). If the herbalist needs to gather the materials as well (and there are materials around to be gathered—not the case in most dungeons), at least half an hour is required to do so. When materials are available, putting together and administering an antidote takes 1d6+4 (5-10) minutes.

If time for gathering materials and making the antidote turns out to be greater than the poison's onset time, the efforts are in vain. If not, a proficiency check must be made to determine the antidote's success or failure. The check suffers a -10 penalty if the poison has not been identified. If the check is successful, the antidote takes effect.

For example, the assassin Therius is adventuring with his companion, Orlene, when she is struck by a poisoned blade. The opponent is swiftly dispatched and Therius turns his attention to her wound. Orlene, meanwhile, has failed her saving throw. The DM knows that the poison is Type O, injected, with an onset time of 20 minutes; he notes this information secretly. One minute has already gone to finishing combat. If the poison is not successfully treated, Orlene will be left paralyzed for nine hours.

Therius is a 7th level thief (assassin kit) with herbalism proficiency and Intelligence 14; he does have a kit of useful herbs with him just for such emergencies as this.

He first sets out to identify the poison. His base chance is 35% (7th level) + 5% (Int 14) = 40%. This is his chance of learning from Orlene's symptoms. He rolls a 48 on percentile dice and fails. His next attempt is by sight, examining the slain opponent's blade, with a 20% chance of success. This also fails. Concerned about time (three minutes have already ticked by), Therius puts a dab on his tongue. He needs to roll 35 or lower . . . and gets a 26! He spits out the poison, recognizing it as type O. The DM doesn't bother to see if the poison affects Therius, since a paralytic poison at half strength would have no effect.

Therius works to produce an antidote with the materials in his pouch. This takes him six minutes. He then makes a proficiency check, needing a 12 or lower (because herbalism has a -2 modifier) for success. He rolls a 13—failure! Nine minutes have ticked by. He hurriedly attempts again to concoct the antidote. This time it takes a full 10 minutes . . . Therius rolls a 9 this time, however, so he succeeds just in the nick of time.

The antidote totally halts the paralytic poison, since that is what the result of a successful saving throw would have been.

Healing and Disease

A character with healing proficiency can also attempt to diagnose and treat diseases. When dealing with normal diseases, a successful proficiency check automatically reduces the disease to its mildest form and shortest duration. Those who also have herb knowledge gain an additional +2 bonus to this check. A proficient character can also attempt to deal with magical diseases, whether caused by spells or creatures. In this case, a successful proficiency check diagnoses the cause of the disease. However, since the disease is magical in nature, it can be treated only by magical means.

Paladins

A paladin's ability to heal by laying on hands operates independently of this proficiency. A paladin with the healing proficiency may use it instead of or in addition to laying hands on a damaged character. For example, a 2nd-level paladin with the healing proficiency could lay on hands to heal 4 points of damage, then use his healing proficiency to heal an additional 1d3 points.

[Player's Handbook]
[Complete Paladin's Handbook]