D&D 3.5 Rules Lawyer Question

Hello Fellow Roleplayers, Can a spellcaster cast the Faith Healing spell (Spell Compendium,pg 87) on himself? Factors in favor of a 'yes' answer: 1. Its Range is Touch and its Target is Living Creature Touched. 2. Cure Light Wounds (PHB pg 215) has the same Range and Target and almost the same Descriptive Text. 3. Many Touch spells would be useless to the caster if they can only be cast on others. Factors in support of "no" answer: 1. The Descriptive Text for Faith Healing says that "The spell works only on a creature that worships the same deity as you." That strongly implies it can only be cast on another. 2. The Wind Walk (PHB pg 302) spell and others have Range Personal or Touch and Target You or...(other target). If a Touch spell can be used by the spellcaster on him/herself then what need is there for having this "double designation?" 3. The definition of the Descriptive Text of spells (PHB pg 177) says that it explains how a spell works. This would work together with the definition of the Range descriptor (PHB pg 175) that does not state whether or not Touch range can apply to the caster. This strongly implies that the DM must make a ruling based on the Descriptive Text. Thank you in advance for your insights! Laz

Touch spells can be cast upon yourself. There is nothing in the rules that state you cannot use a touch spell upon yourself. Otherwise, you couldn't cast Bull's Strength upon yourself. Regarding Faith Healing: Can you touch yourself? Yes Do you worship the same deity as you? Yes There is no reason I can think of for Personal and Touch designation but, it exists in a couple spells. Just because an ability is written a certain way does not mean that it means anything regarding other abilities. - Gauss

I'm sure that spells that have Personal and Touch at the same time mean you cannot cast them if you are restrained to where you can't physically touch yourself.

Not familiar with the system but I would chime in with a yes on Faith healing that you can cast it on yourself. With nothing indicated that it is castable on others only, you should be able to cast it on yourself.

Yes, same way any cleric can cast Cure Light Wounds on themselves. In fact a cleric can cast Faith Healing on anyone they can touch, but it only has any real affect on worshipers of their god.

Resident K., that might be one thought yes. :) - Gauss

Hope this helps... The rule from PHB 140-141: Touch Spells in Combat: Many spells have a range of touch. To use these spells, you cast the spell and then touch the subject, either in the same round or any time later. In the same round that you cast the spell, you may also touch (or attempt to touch) the target. You may take your move before casting the spell, after touching the target, or between casting the spell and touching the target. You can automatically touch one friend or use the spell on yourself , but to touch an opponent, you must succeed on an attack roll. Along the lines of what Gauss said: "Target: Living creature touched" The caster qualifies to be a target as long as they are a living creature. From the further requirements in the spell's descriptive text... "The spell works only on a creature that worships the same deity as you." The caster obviously worships the same deity as himself/herself. The only ways I could fathom the caster not able to cast it upon himself/herself would be if they were undead (or some other non-living creature), or if they cast the spell from a scroll created by a cleric of another faith. Regarding the range descriptor of "personal" vs. "touch": The "personal" designation says the spell affects only you, while "touch" can affect any creature or object that meets the requirements specified in the target descriptor, plus any further requirements in the spell's descriptive text.

Thank you all! Sadly, the DM of our game says the Descriptive Text is what determines it for him and the implication is too strong that the spell is for healing others only. I really appreciate the answers - especially since I now know I'm not the only one that sees it my way. :) Thanks, Laz

Interesting, fluff is not rules and often conflicts with the rules. Fluff is usually written by an author while rules are written by committee. The fluff is hand-waived while the rules are often voted on, changed, and voted on again. While 3.5 is a few years behind me there are quite a few examples in 3.X (in general) where fluff and rules are nowhere near the same thing. But, he is your GM. :) - Gauss