Do you have to make a touch attack to heal an ally?

Question

Question

The cure wounds spells, and most healing spells, have a range of touch and a target of creature touched. Do you have to actually succeed on a touch attack roll to heal an ally?

Reason for Concern

We have come across this issue and have no idea what the solution is. We lost our healer and now the bard is our primary healer. The original healer was a wererat with a high Str and made even higher when he went into rat form thus making it easy to make a touch attack, so it was never an issue before.

But the bard is based primarily in Dex and has a Str mod of −2, so it has now become a real issue to heal party members. The bard had healing spells the whole time but only needed to heal outside of battle (because to heal in battle bard must stop their songs and lose a point from their songs a day).

Answer 1

No, you do not have to make an attack roll for healing your allies.

If the target is willing to accept the healing spell, there is no attack roll required.

Touch Spells in Combat

You can automatically touch one friend or use the spell on yourself, but to touch an opponent, you must succeed on an attack roll.

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If the bard is really worried about burning through his Bardic Music uses per day, then consider the feats Extra Music, Melodic Casting, and/or Lingering Song.

• Extra Music gives him extra Bardic Music uses per day.
• Melodic Casting allows him to cast spells while maintaining a bard song
• Lingering Song allows his songs to stay in effect for an additional 5 rounds after he quits playing.

Another combination I have always loved...

1. Get the feat Obtain Familiar, and get yourself a raven familiar. Raven familiars can speak one language¹.
2. Since familiars are able to use the skills you have, and Bards have Use Magic Device as a class skill, your familiar could use that skill as well.
3. The familiar could carry a Wand of Cure Light Wounds, activate the trigger since it can speak, and touch all of your allies (healing them) without ever having the bard stop singing.

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¹A raven familiar can speak one language of its master’s choice as a supernatural ability.