Rico, Folk Healer

Here's the Spheres of Power version of my dwarf ranger (after the regular Pathfinder version published on Sunday).
This one has magical abilities, but thanks to the Medicinal drawback of the Life sphere, only in the form of potions. Later, he will acquire powers over animals and metal.
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Rico Vulfsson Skadein, the Generous

Male dwarf ranger (Folk Healer) 1

NG Medium humanoid (dwarf)

Init +3; Senses Perception +5/+7

Defense

AC 18, touch 13, flat-footed 15 (+5 armor, +3 Dex). +4 dodge against monsters of the giant subtype.

hp 14 (1d10+4)

Fort +5, Ref +5, Will +5. +2 racial bonus vs. poison, spells, and spell-like abilities.

Defensive Abilities defensive training

Offense

Speed 20 ft.

Melee throwing axe +4 (1d6+3)

Ranged throwing axe +4 (1d6+3)

Special Attacks favored enemy (monstrous humanoids +2)

Magic

Caster Level 1; MSB +1; MSD 12; Concentration +6

Tradition Apothecaries (Material Casting, Skillful Casting [Craft: Alchemy]; +1 spell point, +1 for every 3 levels in a spellcasting class); CAM Wis

Spell Points 7

Life Sphere - DC 15; Duration None; Range Touch; Talents Diagnose, Restore Health, Water of Life; Drawbacks Medicinal

- Cure (2d8+1)

- Diagnose

- Invigorate

- Restore

- Restore Health

- Water of Life

Statistics

Str 16, Dex 17, Con 16, Int 13, Wis 20, Cha 12

Base Atk +1, CMB +4, CMD 17 (21 vs. bull rush or trip while standing on the ground)

Traits Artisan, Caretaker

Feats Eschew Materials, Studied Healing*

Skills Craft (alchemy) +7, Craft (smith) +7, Heal +10, Knowledge (nature) +5, Profession (herbalist) +9/+13, Profession (smith) +11/+15, Survival +9

Languages Common, Dwarven, Undercommon

SQ craftsman, folk remedy, industrious urbanite, surface survivalist, skilled healer, stonecunning, weapon familiarity

Gear healer’s kit, lamellar armor (horn), ranger’s kit, throwing axe, 8 gp.

Special Abilities

Favored Enemy (Ex) At 1st level, a ranger selects a creature type from the ranger favored enemies table. He gains a +2 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against creatures of his selected type. Likewise, he gets a +2 bonus on weapon attack and damage rolls against them. A ranger may make Knowledge skill checks untrained when attempting to identify these creatures.

At 5th level and every five levels thereafter (10th, 15th, and 20th level), the ranger may select an additional favored enemy. In addition, at each such interval, the bonus against any one favored enemy (including the one just selected, if so desired) increases by +2.

If the ranger chooses humanoids or outsiders as a favored enemy, he must also choose an associated subtype, as indicated on the table below. (Note that there are other types of humanoid to choose from—those called out specifically on the table below are merely the most common.) If a specific creature falls into more than one category of favored enemy, the ranger’s bonuses do not stack; he simply uses whichever bonus is higher.

Folk Remedy By drawing on her training in medicine, the folk healer can prepare special herbal remedies to aid in the healing process. The folk healer can brew potions that use the Life sphere, even if she does not have the Brew Potion feat. Furthermore, when she creates them, she may increase the DC of her crafting check by +5 to include a Life talent she does not possess. She may also use her Heal skill to make the crafting check.

At 8th level, the folk healer becomes especially skilled at making her remedies, and can prepare them at amazing speed. When she creates a Life potion, she may reduce the crafting time to a single standard action, and may brew the potion even in distracting and dangerous conditions (such as combat). Such potions tend to deteriorate quickly, however, and lose their potency after 1 hour.

This replaces tracker and swift tracker.

Life Sphere You wield the powers of life.

Medicinal Your Life sphere abilities cannot be used directly on a creature. Instead, you have the ability to imbue a liquid with your Life sphere abilities. You must select the Water of Life talent with the bonus talent granted by this drawback, and you can only use your Life sphere abilities to imbue fluids, and not directly on creatures. You cannot gain the Ranged Healing talent. You can not take this drawback if you have the Glorious or Sympathetic drawback.

Life: Cure As a standard action, you may spend a spell point to touch a target and heal it an amount of damage equal to 1d8 + your caster level. This is a positive energy effect, and as such may be used to harm undead (Will half).

Life: Invigorate As a standard action, you may invigorate a touched creature, granting them temporary hit points equal to your caster level (minimum: 1). Unlike normal temporary hit points, this ability can only be used on an injured target and cannot raise a target’s current hit points plus their temporary hit points to be higher than their total hit points. This benefit lasts for 1 hour. Temporary hit points, even from different sources, do not stack; only the highest bonus applies.

Life: Restore As a standard action, you may touch a target and spend a spell point to restore their physical and mental health.

This accomplishes all of the following:

• Heals 1d4 points of ability damage to one ability score of your choice.
• Removes the fatigued condition or lessens exhaustion to fatigued.
• Removes the sickened condition or lessens nauseated to sickened.
• Removes the shaken condition or lessens frightened to shaken, or panicked to frightened.
• Removes the staggered condition.
• Removes the dazzled condition.
• Removes the battered condition. (When using Spheres of Might.)

If the condition targeted is part of an on-going effect, this suppresses the effect for a number of round equal to your caster level. This cannot be used to remove curses or instantaneous effects.

Life: Diagnose As a swift action, you can learn any conditions that are affecting a living creature (unconscious, dying, nauseated, panicked, stunned, poisoned, diseased, confused, etc) within range of your Life sphere abilities.

By increasing the casting time of this ability to a standard action or by spending a spell point, you can learn the details of any condition they are under, such as whether they have been affected by a spell or the nature of any disease or poison they are afflicted with. You may use this on a deceased creature to determine how they died, so long as the target has been dead for no more than one day per caster level.

You may also use this ability on any ally that is currently under the effect of one of your Life sphere abilities regardless of range or line of effect (such as allies who currently possess temporary hit points from your invigorate ability), as long as they are on the same plane of existence. You always know the direction and distance to your ally.

Life: Restore Health Your cure ability heals an additional 1d8 hit points. When restoring a target, you may make a magic skill check against the DC of any poison or disease the target is suffering from. On a success, this removes that poison or disease from the target. This does not reverse damage the target may have suffered from the poison or disease (such as ability damage), but it does stop the poison or disease from causing any more.

Material Casting Your magic requires the expenditure of specific materials: precious metals, rare components, etc. The exact nature of this material should be worked out with the GM, but as a rule of thumb, this should cost a silver piece worth of materials per caster level per ability used.

Skilled Healer (Ex) The folk healer gains the Studied Healing feat as a bonus feat. At 3rd level, the folk healer gains a +2 insight bonus to her Heal checks. This bonus increases by +1 for every odd level after the 3rd, and she does not suffer a penalty to her Heal skill for not having a healer’s kit. She can also provide long term care to herself.

In addition, she gains the skill unlocks for the Heal skill as appropriate for her number of ranks in that skill.

This replaces favored terrain.

Skillful Casting You must create your magic through singing, drawing, or some other activity. Your magic is tied to a particular Perform, Profession, or Craft skill (although with GM permission another skill may be substituted). You must succeed at a skill check to use any sphere ability. The DC of this skill check is 15 + the ability’s caster level. For every 2 points by which this skill check falls short of this DC, the ability manifests at -1 caster level. If this reduces the ability to a caster level below 0, the manifested ability fails and any spell points used are lost.

A caster with Skillful Casting must be able to perform their skill to use their magic, which is similar to but not the same as possessing other drawbacks. For example, a caster who must draw to create magic must have at least one hand free, although unless he also possesses Somatic Casting he may do so while wearing heavy armor without a chance of arcane spell failure. Likewise, a caster who uses music to create magic must be able to speak, but unless he also possesses Verbal Casting he can do so quietly and not break stealth.

Build

Rico is built with a 4d6 roll, discard lower system and 175 gp starting wealth. Favored Class Bonus is +1 hit point. If using a lower point buy, you can lower Intelligence and Charisma. If using a higher point buy (or rolling really well), your most important attribute is Wisdom. Wisdom is your casting statistic and affects the save DCs of all your magic and martial talents and your spell pool, increases your Will saving throws, and bolsters your survival, profession, and healing skills. Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution are important too, to have a better attack and damage roll and more hit points.

Playing Rico
Rico is gentle, wise, and peaceful. Dedicated to his arts, he keeps to himself in the forest’s heart, cures ill animals, creates tools for the villagers and helps wounded travelers. As a surface dwarf, he lacks the rudeness and greed of his subterranean kin, and often offers his advice and work for free.

Future Abilities

Magic Talents Altered Edge, Animal Friend, Arsenal, Expanded Ore, Greater Healing, Greater Invigorate, Greater Restore, Metallord, Nature sphere (Limited Nature drawback; Metal package), Rejuvenation.

Feats Close–Quarters Thrower*, Distance Thrower*, Precise Shot*, Endurance, First Response, Herbal Components, Master Alchemist, Nature Soul, Pinpoint Targeting*, Quick Draw, Toxic Recovery, Two–Weapon Fighting*, Weapon Focus (light hammer), Weapon Focus (throwing axe)

Skills Craft, Heal, Profession, and Survival are the most useful skills for you. Put some ranks in Appraise, Diplomacy, Perception, and Sense Motive too.

Choose the Throwing combat style and select allies as your Nature Bond. Aberrations, humanoids, evil outsiders, and undead are good favored enemies.