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In the Lord of Madness pg. 168 the shadow template states you can pick an ability from their list every 4HD.

The template comes with a +2 la but dosen't that mean you can have Fast healing 2 by CL4 ECL 6?

What are some other sources of fast healing? I was under the impression it was a fairly scarce ability that was next to impossible to get aside from over 10 levels in some a few classes or being a creature or monster humanoid or something?

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  • \$\begingroup\$ I believe you are answering part of your own question about fast healing and the shadow template. \$\endgroup\$
    – Ruut
    Commented Apr 5, 2015 at 3:01

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The Many Ways of Fast Healing

Some Fast Healing Feats:

  • Fast Healing (Epic Level Handbook)
  • Healing Devotion (Complete Champion)
  • Combat Vigor (Player's Handbook II)

Some Fast Healing Spells:

  • Incarnum Vigor (Magic of Incarnum)
  • Vigor (Spell Compendium)
  • Vigorous Circle (Spell Compendium)

Some Fast Healing Classes:

  • Wildrunner (Races of the Wild)
  • Incandescent Champion (Magic of Incarnum)
  • Warshaper (Complete Warrior)

Some Fast Healing Magic Items:

  • Wand(s) of Lesser Vigor (Magic Item Compendium)
  • Scroll(s) of Lesser Vigor (Magic Item Compendium)
  • Ring of Rapid Healing (Epic Level Handbook)

Some Fast Healing Templates:

  • Feral (Savage Species)
  • Half-Vampire (Libris Mortis)
  • Saint (Book of Exalted Deeds)

A Fast Healing Graft:

  • Healing Blood (Lords of Madness)

Summary

As KRyan has pointed out in his answer, Fast Healing is expensive - whether that cost be heavy level adjustments, heavy gold, heavy feat investment, or heavy experience investment in the way of class levels or level adjustment buy off.

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    \$\begingroup\$ I think perhaps the least expensive everyman constant fast healing mechanism is millennial chainmail (Complete Divine 98-9) (18,800 gp; 20 lbs.), granting fast healing 3 if the wearer A) succeeds on a pair Use Magic Device skill checks (first if the wearer doesn't worship Corellon Larethian (DC 21) then the second if the wearer doesn't have the feat True Believer and must emulate having cast the 4th-level spell (DC 27)) and B) is in brighter than shadowy illumination. \$\endgroup\$
    – Hey I Can Chan
    Commented Jun 19, 2015 at 8:10
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Fast Healing is rare and expensive... because Wizards grossly overestimated it

In combat, Fast Healing is a very weak variant of Damage Reduction1 or Resistance; instead of reducing every attack, you heal a set amount of HP afterwards. So, assuming the attack doesn’t kill you, FH is effectively equivalent to DR that only works on one attack. Except you could die before you get healed.

Out of combat, Fast Healing is an extremely expensive way to top off between combats. A wand of cure light wounds or wand of lesser vigor accomplishes the same for massively less money. By the time you burn through one, the 750 gp to replace it is chump change. By the time you could afford significant Fast Healing, in most cases, 750 gp could easily be a rounding error.

Even without items, you can get far more reliable healing than that offered by Shadow Creature for less investment. Draconic aura: vigor gives Fast Healing to everyone in your party; it won’t heal them past 50% of their health, but you also get a real class level (read: BAB, HP, Saves, Skills) and it’s only one level (dragon shaman or dragonfire adept) and it affects everyone, not just you.

But nevertheless, most sources of Fast Healing are extremely expensive. The healing blood silthilar graft from Lords of Madness is an utterly obscene 180,000 gp for a mere Fast Healing 3. So from that perspective, LA +2 might look like a good deal. It’s not. LA +2 is a huge cost; it very, very badly hurts you, reducing your most critical numbers (HP, BAB, saving throws, skill ranks) across the board. Fast Healing 2 is close to pointless; it is not even remotely worth LA +2.

  1. Unless it’s /magic; that’s worthless. Thus, I don’t recommend you take the DR option on Shadow Creature. Any other sort of DR, though, is much much better than FH.
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    \$\begingroup\$ So yes, if you don't have wands of CLW in every pocket, fast healing is quite a better ability than this answer would indicate. \$\endgroup\$
    – mxyzplk
    Commented Apr 5, 2015 at 0:34
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    \$\begingroup\$ @mxyzplk Better, but still not good enough for LA +2. You could always take a level of cleric or dragon shaman or dragonfire adept, and get much the same benefit; that’s one level (with other benefits) instead two otherwise-completely-dead levels. (And, in addition, making that change to 3.5 without making significant systemic changes overall to account for it is, in my opinion and experience, a terrible idea.) \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Commented Apr 5, 2015 at 1:23
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    \$\begingroup\$ True as it may be, that wasn't the question. \$\endgroup\$
    – SangoProductions
    Commented Apr 5, 2015 at 1:30
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    \$\begingroup\$ @SangoProductions In what sense was it not? The question was whether or not the LA +2 (and minimum 4 HD) cost on Shadow was a good deal for Fast Healing 2, considering the way Fast Healing seems to be treated as a premium ability. The answer is, no, it’s not a good deal, because that premium treatment is undeserved. \$\endgroup\$
    – KRyan
    Commented Apr 5, 2015 at 2:13
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    \$\begingroup\$ "Shadow Template ECL 6 can obtain Fast Healing 2? Ways to Obtain Fast Healing?" - Title. "What are some other sources of fast healing?" - the body. No where did it ask how good if Fast Healing, though it did imply it wanted FH before level 10. \$\endgroup\$
    – SangoProductions
    Commented Apr 5, 2015 at 2:14
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Honestly... Fast healing isn't worth it, as pointed out by KRyan and Ruut.

Let's compare the easiest/best ways to get Fast Healing and Regeneration for a PC at low Wealth.

Fast Healing

For 2 LA (And the possession of 2 [Exalted] feats and maintaining Exalted Good Alignment, you can get the Saint template, and pick up fast healing equal to 1/2 your HD. Not bad, but it cuts out when you go into the negative hit points, it's easily out paced by damage at every level, and it doesn't make you more resilient to taking damage.

Regeneration

For the cost of 2 first level feats, you can grab Toughness* and Troll Blooded (From Dragon Magazine 319). This is easily doable if you're Human or there are flaws allowed in the game. This grants you Regeneration 1. In short, everything but Fire and Acid does non-lethal damage to you, you heal 1 non-lethal damage every round, even while unconscious or with your hit points negative. You can also regrow lost body parts after 3d6 days.

These costs are comperable in a game with LA buy off, and the Regeneration is massively stronger. And in games without LA buyoff, troll blooded wins by a landslide.

*Or Improved Toughness if your DM is generous with the transparancy of the two, which allows entry through fighter

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  • \$\begingroup\$ It's worth noting that as written the feat Troll Blooded A) is a regional feat requiring the creature to be from a specific part of the Greyhawk campaign setting and B) that the feat can only be taken at level 1. I know those kinds of things are often waived when theorycrafting or by a generous DM, but for some they're a thing. \$\endgroup\$
    – Hey I Can Chan
    Commented Apr 5, 2015 at 4:20
  • \$\begingroup\$ Oh I know... there is a reason why I noted you needed to spend 2 first level feats to acquire it. As for the Region, that's about matching backstory to the fluff of your feats and class features, like being trained by elves to have Exotic Weapon Prof. (Elven Court Blade). But then again, that's less of a hoop to jump through then Saint's requirements of Two Exalted Feats, 6th Character Level, and Exalted Good Alignment. \$\endgroup\$
    – The Amused Muse
    Commented Apr 5, 2015 at 4:31
  • \$\begingroup\$ I missed your note about level 1 feats in the first read. My apologies. But the region thing is a for-real, mechanical requirement with rules and everything that the DM must waive to allow the feat in other settings. For some, that's serious business. \$\endgroup\$
    – Hey I Can Chan
    Commented Apr 5, 2015 at 4:52
  • \$\begingroup\$ Your DM may vary... \$\endgroup\$
    – The Amused Muse
    Commented Apr 5, 2015 at 4:56
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    \$\begingroup\$ @TheAmusedMuse Discounting the concept of page, that's a nightmarish house rule. (Perspective: Some players under such a rule would compete to see who could use more sources just to make the most convoluted 20-page character background. Players would then, of course, expect the DM to read, remember, and incorporate those backgrounds into the campaign.) \$\endgroup\$
    – Hey I Can Chan
    Commented Apr 5, 2015 at 14:25

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