Can the heal spell (and other positive energy effects) work on constructs?

Question

Now I'm fairly sure that you can't heal constructs (along with pretty much every other player and DM), but when I went looking for the actual rules I couldn't find them. Nor could I find anything classifying constructs as objects. So this isn't about RAI, this question is about RAW.

Positive and Negative Energy

Positive and Negative Energy: Negative energy attacks a creatures life force and is typically dealt by undead or necromantic effects. Positive energy instills a surge of life energy which typically heals living creatures but damages undead creatures. While it is referred to as "energy" energy resistance typically isn't effective against either of these types of energy.

This is an editors note and therefore non binding.

Construct Traits doesn't say explicit that they are objects, as there is a secondary definition that says they are creatures. Nor does the bit about healing say that healing spells do not work (and healing spells do not say that they speed up the targets own healing). On a second check, I'm only just convinced that an animated object is not a creature.

• A construct is an animated object or artificially created creature.
• Cannot heal damage on its own, but often can be repaired via exposure to a certain kind of effect (see the creature's description for details) or through the use of the Craft Construct feat. Constructs can also be healed through spells such as make whole. A construct with the fast healing special quality still benefits from that quality.

The best that we get from here is a vague implication that they have to be healed by special spells, but its not implicit, which is what I'm looking for.

Heal Spell

Heal enables you to channel positive energy into a creature to wipe away injury and afflictions.

Heal lacks the "living creature" exclusion that Cure Light Wounds has:

When laying your hand upon a living creature, you channel positive energy that cures

I know that various positive energy effects state "living creature", but I can't actually find the explicit rule the positive energy does not heal constructs (nor can I find the description of positive energy (damage or otherwise)). Does such a rule exist?

Note: The intent is not to lawyer this into a game. I really am trying to find the actual rule because the lack of explicit rule bugs me.

Edit: I will accept 3.5 answers if you cannot find pathfinder ones, though preference will be given to PF answers. Please indicate clearly if your answer is 3.5

Answer 1

Funnily enough, works by RAW.

There is no prohibition of magical healing in construct traits, though some constructs are explicitly immune to magic except select few effects.

There is also no prohibition in the heal spell.

Technically, you can do it, but expect a heavy book thrown by your DM. He will also probably houserule it away, at least I personally would.

Note:

Can't remember anything on that in 3.5 either, though the description of Warforged contrasts the possibility of both special and positive-energy healing (emphasis mine):

As living constructs, warforged can be affected by spells that target living creatures as well as by those that target constructs. Damage dealt to a warforged can be healed by a cure light wounds spell or a repair light damage spell, for example, and a warforged is vulnerable to disable construct and harm. However, spells from the healing subschool and supernatural abilities that cure hit point damage or ability damage provide only half their normal effect to a warforged.

That leads one to the implication of impossibility of positive-energy based healing for a regular construct, even if it is not stated anywhere.

Answer 2

In older editions of D&D it was simple: These effects was necromantic, like:

Cure Serious Wounds (Necromantic) Reversible

And constructs always possessed traits making them immune to necromancy. And then someone thought about making healing something other. In Pathfinder, it's conjuration. And "fun" starts.

From "Repair Construct" rules

The most consistent part about it is Repairing Constructs section. It lists ways to repair constructs, and at the end says:

Additionally, some constructs have special means of repair, usually involving spells related to the golem’s nature (such as the use of acid damage to heal a clay golem.)

The list does not include healing spells in any way, so it seems they was meant to be excluded.

What is life?

Pathfinder does not include a definition of living creatures. Funny enough, if you read official list of creature types, you will find this:

Living:

• Animal
• Outsider

Not living:

• Undead

Unspecified:

• All the rest, including constructs and humanoids.

So if you want to use this part as RAW to decide if you can use Cure Light Wounds, allowing it's use on fellow human is a houserule.

Assuming that human is alive is just as much outside RAW as assuming construct is not.

Answer 3

Constructs are typically not subject to magical healing.

If you look under the building and modifying constructs page, there is a section about modifying constructs with Bioconstruct Modifications. One of these is a heart. Under its description it states -

"This upgrade permits a golem to receive half the benefits of magical healing and..." "Negative energy spells cast upon the golem can affect the heart, causing it to cease functioning for the duration of the effect (or 1 round for instantaneous effects). If the spell has a save, the heart uses the golem’s saving throws."

That and the snippit under construct description (Emphasis Mine)

Cannot heal damage on its own, but often can be repaired via exposure to a certain kind of effect (see the creature’s description for details) or through the use of the Craft Construct feat. Constructs can also be healed through spells such as make whole.

Make whole specifically states, it heals construct creatures. Furthermore, constructs are not living creatures. They have no constitution. Even with the heart, they still have no constitution are are not considered alive, and are immune to necromancy effect - which covers most sources of negative energy damage, while many of the cure spells state the creature must be living.

Heal is an outlier as it states none of the previous, and is conjuration magic. RAW... may work... RAI, Probably not. (golems are in general immune to magic, and this spell would definitely fail on them.)

Answer 4

Constructs are not Alive, and so can not be healed with Heal.

Note: my sources are pathfinder specific.

Heal says:

Heal enables you to channel positive energy into a creature to wipe away injury and afflictions.

Positive energy affects living creatures to heal them. So it comes down to if constructs are alive.

A RAW definition of Living Types

One source of living creatures is in the spell anti-life shell:

You bring into being a mobile, hemispherical energy field that prevents the entrance of most types of living creatures.

The effect hedges out animals, aberrations, dragons, fey, giants, humanoids, magical beasts, monstrous humanoids, oozes, plants, and vermin, but not constructs, elementals, outsiders, or undead.

This spell may be used only defensively, not aggressively. Forcing an abjuration barrier against creatures that the spell keeps at bay collapses the barrier.

That means at the very least all types except constructs, elementals, outsiders, and undead can be healed with positive energy.

The outsider type includes:

Unlike most living creatures,

So outsiders are in, which includes elementals.

Constructs: creations

Constructs, on the other hand, are constructed. Craft Construct They aren't healed, they are repaired. The ways to repair constructs in the Craft Construct section.

Repairing Constructs

Even with the best of care, most constructs will eventually become damaged. Unless a construct suffers some sort of structural damage that radically alters its physical form, the construct continues to function at its full efficiency, and only falls apart once reduced to 0 hit points. Ideally, however, a construct should see some repair before it reaches that point. The make whole or rapid repair spells provide the easiest way to keep a construct in good condition. Both spells repair damaged constructs, even magic-immune ones like golems.

Failing that, a crafter can repair a construct with the Craft Construct feat. When repairing a construct, its master spends 100 gp per Hit Die of the construct, and then makes a skill check as if he were crafting the construct with a DC of 5 less than the DC for crafting that construct. With a success, the construct regains 1d6 hit points per Hit Die of the construct. Completing a repair takes 1 day per 1,000 gp spent on the repair (minimum of 1 day). Repair in this way can only be performed while the construct is inanimate or nonfunctioning. At any time, a construct's creator can deactivate a construct under his control with a touch and a standard action.

A construct that has been completely destroyed cannot be repaired, though at the GM's option some of the materials may be usable in the construction of a new construct.

Additionally, some constructs have special means of repair, usually involving spells related to the golem's nature (such as the use of acid damage to heal a clay golem.)

RAW these are the only ways to fix constructs.