One of my players is presenting an interesting character idea for my next campaign. The trouble is finding a way to balance out the RP value of the proposal with in game mechanics to ensure that everyone is treated fairly.
The proposal is to have a squeamish cleric who will not touch open wounds and uses, instead a 10' pole to deliver these healing spells. She would also have a 1' screw-on attachment for things she "wouldn't touch with a 10' pole." The idea is that it would be limited solely to healing spells. All other touch spells would need to be delivered normally.
Now, the ability to deliver healing spells at 10' range is fairly powerful. The trick here is to find some means of ensuring that this delivery mechanism is not unbalancing to other clerics (PC or NPC/Villain). One thought is to counter this "ability" with a flaw that causes the cleric to suffer from a sickened condition whenever she sees blood (of humanoids).
Nauseated makes more sense in terms of being disgusted by the sight of blood but the literal D&D term would make spell casting (and most other actions) impossible. This is such a huge detriment that the ability to heal at 10' range becomes a liability rather than a benefit.
What would be an appropriate balancing factor to enable this to come into play as an RP tool without tossing balanced in-game mechanics to the wind? Comments and suggestions would be appreciated.
"The Pompous Bastard"
The proposal is to have a squeamish cleric who will not touch open wounds and uses, instead a 10' pole to deliver these healing spells. She would also have a 1' screw-on attachment for things she "wouldn't touch with a 10' pole." The idea is that it would be limited solely to healing spells. All other touch spells would need to be delivered normally.
Now, the ability to deliver healing spells at 10' range is fairly powerful. The trick here is to find some means of ensuring that this delivery mechanism is not unbalancing to other clerics (PC or NPC/Villain). One thought is to counter this "ability" with a flaw that causes the cleric to suffer from a sickened condition whenever she sees blood (of humanoids).
Quote:
Sickened: The character takes a 2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.
Nauseated makes more sense in terms of being disgusted by the sight of blood but the literal D&D term would make spell casting (and most other actions) impossible. This is such a huge detriment that the ability to heal at 10' range becomes a liability rather than a benefit.
What would be an appropriate balancing factor to enable this to come into play as an RP tool without tossing balanced in-game mechanics to the wind? Comments and suggestions would be appreciated.
"The Pompous Bastard"
