Healing Cantrip

[scholz]

Another consequence is that this spell boosts minion HP by effectively 75%, including undead minions whom you weren't planning on healing anyway, and summoned creatures. You can already heal them of course using the Healer feat, but at least that costs a feat and some medical supplies and not just a cantrip.
..the potential for minionmancy does twig my powergamer instincts: squad leader, summoners and necromancers would always want to learn this cantrip, which says to me that it might be too strong and maybe violates implicit 5E design constraints. I think there may be a reason why there is no healing cantrip: bounded accuracy already makes minions super strong, and Stitch makes them even more durable.
So that's my opinion.

I hadn't thought of that. My gamers haven't really gone that direction.

One solution would be to limit it to humanoids and beasts, another might be to require a moment of concentration, thus breaking concentration on other spells.

 

[Tony Vargas]

It's a tad complex to track for a cantrip, but it does have a creepy, nasty-trade-off, necromantic vibe, and the reduction in temp hps heads off the main problem with unlimited-use healing.

Another option would be tie a hypothetical healing cantrip to some other limited resource, HD being the obvious candidate. You could have an 'Accelerate Healing' cantrip that took an action and let the subject spend a HD to recover hps, for instance. Unlimited casting wouldn't be an issue, since HD aren't unlimited.

Or, you could head off the repeated-casting-out-of-combat problem by having the cantrip grant temp hps, but only to wounded characters, and not in excess of max hps. They'd be strictly inferior to real temp hps, but, like them, don't stack, so repeated casting is moot.

Or, you could have a cantrip that restored hps, but each time it's cast forces a CON save, when the save is failed, either the target can no longer benefit from the cantrip that day, and/or loses all hps received from it that day...

 

[Ahrimon]

grant 1d8 temp HP to any target at less than half HP? These temp HP fade after an hour. Usable after combat but you can't fire up the temps and then take a short rest on top of it. A little something to help you keep going.

another idea: Rapid Healing - The target may spend HD as if they had completed a short rest however this healing is very strenuous and the target gains one level of exhaustion for every 2 HD spent this way. This exhaustion is cumulative with previous castings of the spell. A short or long rest resets the count.

 

[evil homer]

If were creating a healing cantrip I would probably try to tie it in to the hit die/short rest mechanic. something along the lines of you may immediatly expend up to 1 hit die. It accomplishes what I would be trying to, namely, keeping low level characters alive longer (albeit at the expense of a short rest) and it could offset the need for parties to take a short rest to heal (which I'm fine with).

 

[Mercule]

If were creating a healing cantrip I would probably try to tie it in to the hit die/short rest mechanic. something along the lines of you may immediatly expend up to 1 hit die. It accomplishes what I would be trying to, namely, keeping low level characters alive longer (albeit at the expense of a short rest) and it could offset the need for parties to take a short rest to heal (which I'm fine with).

This would be my inclination, as well. For a cantrip, I'd probably even say 1/2 HD or HD -1, just because it's so easy. I could see a 2nd level spell that mimics a short rest.

Still, I'm OK with the spell mechanics, as posted. I might rename it to give a darker feel, as befits the trade-off. Maybe Darkening Essence or Healing Consumption. I can certainly see where the bookkeeping might be a bit high for some, but I'd be glad to include both versions, in my game. Imagine the Warlock who knows Healing Consumption talking shop with the Bard who knows Restful Shout.

 

[jrowland]

Count me in favor of the "Use a HD" Healing Cantrip with the added point that it could add the Casters Ability Mod instead of targets Con to the HD roll. This bypasses the "one hour short rest" mechanic, so keep that in mind if that mechanic is important in your games. Personally, I like this as it allows for quick healing using HD without changing the short rest and leaves short rest an hour for class features and such. Letting the Light clerics heal bonus (whatever its called) stack helps as well.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Or, you could head off the repeated-casting-out-of-combat problem by having the cantrip grant temp hps, but only to wounded characters, and not in excess of max hps. They'd be strictly inferior to real temp hps, but, like them, don't stack, so repeated casting is moot.

Can be exploited by Stitching first and then Aura of Vitality afterward.

 

[EditorBFG]

I think a cantrip that heals should grant temporary hit points instead. That way, the HP it provides don't stack. Otherwise, in combat healing stops being the limited resource it is designed to be. It seems like using HD would undermine this as well, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

another idea: Rapid Healing - The target may spend HD as if they had completed a short rest however this healing is very strenuous and the target gains one level of exhaustion for every 2 HD spent this way. This exhaustion is cumulative with previous castings of the spell. A short or long rest resets the count.

Zombies are immune to exhaustion though.

 

[EditorBFG]

FYI, here's a cantrip I allowed in my home game, which does this a little bit (but obviously has a very different thrust and flavor):

Draining Touch
Necromancy cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Components: V, S
Duration: Instantaneous
The touch of your hand drains a target’s life energy. Make a melee spell attack against the target. You have advantage on the attack if your target is the same race as you are, or if the target is a beast. On a hit, the target takes 1d6 necrotic damage, and you gain temporary hit points equal to half the damage inflicted (round up). The spell’s damage increases by 1d6 when you reach 5th level (2d6), 11th level (3d6), and 17th level (4d6).