#blessed one

Kate Kennedy (Kai), Charlie Murphy (Makee), and Natasha Culzac (Riz).

Credit: @katekenners

 There are plenty of ways to be touched by the gods in Pathfinder, be they clerics, champions, or even oracles and more. Among the gods of healing, however, there is a rare group of individuals who are blessed with some power over healing others.

These “Blessed Ones” bear thematic ties to tales of the pious being able to heal with a touch, or at least having preternatural skill with their hands when it came to medical skill.

In PF2, these healers might also have levels in a divine class, but they are just as likely to be blessed with this power regardless of profession before or after, perhaps because the deity who blessed them simply knows they must be the one to use it at the right time and place. Gods are cryptic like that.

The only requirement for gods to grant this power is they must be capable of granting a positive energy font to their worshippers, which is a bit more flexible than it used to be, no longer quite fully divided by alignment lines. With that in mind, it is possible for an evil god with a propensity for foul, sinister healing to grant this power, to the unease of all who see the signs of the power’s origins.

Regardless, because anyone could end up being a blessed one, some may accept this power graciously, or reject it depending on who they are and what deity grants it.

 At the most basic, this archetype allows the bearer to heal with a touch.

Regardless of the source of their abilities, many also learn how to ward others from harm, sacrificing some of their own vitality to reduce incoming harm to an ally.

Those blessed ones that are involved in combat often also learn to instill vigor in those they heal, the better to get them back in the fight as they rush back in.

Much like the mercies of champions, their healing hands can also cure harmful conditions, starting with fear and paralysis.

Of course, those that master other magic can use their mercies can cure the debilitations on single allies they cast upon.

They can begin to expand upon their mercies starting with conditions that weaken the body or shatter coordination.

This continues as they learn to heal blindness, deafness, as well as nausea and sluggishness.

Their very presence can dull the edge of debilitations, for blessed ones can reflexively reduce the effect of such harm on someone nearby as it happens.

They can also learn how to heal mental debilitations as well, though more permanent afflictions remain beyond their reach.

Mirroring champions once again, these healers can learn to surround those they heal with a brief aura of protection as well.

Curses, disease, and poison are next on the things they learn to remove, diversifying them further.

Not just defensive in their blessings, they can also bolster the attacks of those they heal, another champion staple.

Finally, the most powerful among them can leave a lingering aura of healing on those they heal, giving them continuous healing vitality for a short while, though this does not protect them from more grievous injury if the healing is overtaxed.

A fun archetype for those who want to provide a healing edge regardless of class with a bit of fun deity-based flavor as well. Having plenty of ways to buff allies and remove harmful conditions is very useful for any class in addition to the ability to provide some healing. Be sure to balance how much healing you wish to do with other abilities your class or combination of classes offer, though.

 While I recognize that not all Blessed Ones are necessarily grateful for the gifts, unlike other powers granted by cosmic sources, this gift can only be used to heal. So, therefore, the reasons to reject or be indifferent to these powers lies in the nature of the deity and the individual’s relationship with them. Healing power granted by an evil god, for example, or healing granted by a goodlier god that the blessed one is estranged from for one reason or another.

  By the general consensus of the world of Milak, the gods are only interested in living mortals, a definition that conveniently does not include the second-class citizen population of androids. However, this world is in for a shocking revelation when an android woman with the ability to heal with a touch appears.

 Though she has been blessed by the goddess of healing and nurturing, Belinda curses her gift, for everyone she has ever healed has met their end by plagues of bees and wasps. Unknown to her, the source of this torment is a wihsaak sakhil using the honeybee motif of the goddess against her to make her hate and fear his powers, and the goddess who granted them.