Mistwell
Crusty Old Meatwad
I am curious what people think on this topic. Some people say that healing is commonly available to most people in the world in the implied setting of 5e D&D (like say a farmer in a small village). Others think it's relatively rare (mostly just from a bigger town or city). I am going to try and fairly present both views with support from the rules, without mentioning what side I fall on, because I am looking for what others think on the topic without my bias interfering (as best I can at least).
Argument For Healing Being Common
Many low-level classes can cast Cure Wounds. A first level cleric, druid, or bard can cast it.
Many fairly-low-level classes can cure poison and disease through the Lesser Restoration spell, which is also available to clerics, druids, and bards.
Neither spell has any costly spell components.
It's reasonable to expect that, if a village or town has one of the people able to cast these spells around, it's unlikely they would follow the suggested cost of 10-50gp per casting. That is the cost for adventurers who are strangers to ask someone to prepare and cast a random spell on your behalf, but the local priest, druid, and bard is likely to cast it for free or a very low cost to the local peasants in their own village or town. They want to keep the locals happy, as it's their community, and various backgrounds in the rules suggest you can get things for free when you have a connection to them - the kinds of connections you'd have if you were a farmer living in a village who would know the local acolyte.
Low-level NPCs are modelled on PC classes in 5e. For example, the "Acolyte" is a first level cleric and is described thus: "Acolytes are junior members of a clergy, usually answerable to a priest. They perform a variety of functions in a temple and are granted minor spellcasting power by their deities."
And the "Priest" is a fifth level cleric and is described thus: "Priests are the spiritual leaders of temples and shrines."
Other NPCs also mirror PC classes, showing it's a common mechanic in the game. For example, a "Thug" has hit points and attacks like a 4th-5th level character (but doesn't have the class abilities of an actual fighter or rogue). "Bandits" are like 2nd level characters without the class abilities, as are "Guards". These sorts of people are distinct from "Commoners", who are like a 1st level character without any class abilities.
So the implied setting assumes low-level NPCs like the acolyte and priest, and the descriptions imply they're relatively common. Most villages would have someone who is an low-level acolyte, or low-level nature-protector, or travelling bard of at least meager talent around. So, healing should be easily obtained for the common man.
Argument for Healing Being Relatively Rare
People with PC classes are much more rare in the world. The local village and town might have an acolyte or priest, but they won't necessarily have cleric levels, and those NPCs in the book are there as challenges for PCs to provide a range of encounters for various levels of PCs, not to show they are common to society.
For example, from the Cleric class in the Basic edition:
"Not every acolyte or officiant at a temple or shrine is a cleric. Some priests are called to a simple life of temple service, carrying out their gods’ will through prayer and sacrifice, not by magic and strength of arms. In some cities, priesthood amounts to a political office, viewed as a stepping stone to higher positions of authority and involving no communion with a god at all. True clerics are rare in most hierarchies."
And other PC classes have similar rarity descriptions, showing it's a common mechanic for the implied setting of the world. For instance, from the Fighter description:
"Not every member of the city watch, the village militia, or the queen’s army is a fighter. Most of these troops are relatively untrained soldiers with only the most basic combat knowledge. Veteran soldiers, military officers, trained bodyguards, dedicated knights, and similar figures are fighters."
So from this we can tell the intent is that PC classes are the exception and not the rule, they are rare in society. Therefore, healing will not be very common. You might have to travel to a larger city to find an actual cleric to heal you if you are a peasant, and that might not be possible depending on the severity of your injury and the availability of resources to pay for healing (because now you ARE asking a stranger for healing, not someone you know in your own village). You might be able to arrange for healing because of the word of your local non-cleric acolyte, but it's a lot more complicated than just running down the block to your local cleric/druid/bard, as it's much more likely none of those are available on average in the world.
So, what do you think? Healing is, on-average for the regular Joe farmer, Common or Rare? Or something else?
Argument For Healing Being Common
Many low-level classes can cast Cure Wounds. A first level cleric, druid, or bard can cast it.
Many fairly-low-level classes can cure poison and disease through the Lesser Restoration spell, which is also available to clerics, druids, and bards.
Neither spell has any costly spell components.
It's reasonable to expect that, if a village or town has one of the people able to cast these spells around, it's unlikely they would follow the suggested cost of 10-50gp per casting. That is the cost for adventurers who are strangers to ask someone to prepare and cast a random spell on your behalf, but the local priest, druid, and bard is likely to cast it for free or a very low cost to the local peasants in their own village or town. They want to keep the locals happy, as it's their community, and various backgrounds in the rules suggest you can get things for free when you have a connection to them - the kinds of connections you'd have if you were a farmer living in a village who would know the local acolyte.
Low-level NPCs are modelled on PC classes in 5e. For example, the "Acolyte" is a first level cleric and is described thus: "Acolytes are junior members of a clergy, usually answerable to a priest. They perform a variety of functions in a temple and are granted minor spellcasting power by their deities."
And the "Priest" is a fifth level cleric and is described thus: "Priests are the spiritual leaders of temples and shrines."
Other NPCs also mirror PC classes, showing it's a common mechanic in the game. For example, a "Thug" has hit points and attacks like a 4th-5th level character (but doesn't have the class abilities of an actual fighter or rogue). "Bandits" are like 2nd level characters without the class abilities, as are "Guards". These sorts of people are distinct from "Commoners", who are like a 1st level character without any class abilities.
So the implied setting assumes low-level NPCs like the acolyte and priest, and the descriptions imply they're relatively common. Most villages would have someone who is an low-level acolyte, or low-level nature-protector, or travelling bard of at least meager talent around. So, healing should be easily obtained for the common man.
Argument for Healing Being Relatively Rare
People with PC classes are much more rare in the world. The local village and town might have an acolyte or priest, but they won't necessarily have cleric levels, and those NPCs in the book are there as challenges for PCs to provide a range of encounters for various levels of PCs, not to show they are common to society.
For example, from the Cleric class in the Basic edition:
"Not every acolyte or officiant at a temple or shrine is a cleric. Some priests are called to a simple life of temple service, carrying out their gods’ will through prayer and sacrifice, not by magic and strength of arms. In some cities, priesthood amounts to a political office, viewed as a stepping stone to higher positions of authority and involving no communion with a god at all. True clerics are rare in most hierarchies."
And other PC classes have similar rarity descriptions, showing it's a common mechanic for the implied setting of the world. For instance, from the Fighter description:
"Not every member of the city watch, the village militia, or the queen’s army is a fighter. Most of these troops are relatively untrained soldiers with only the most basic combat knowledge. Veteran soldiers, military officers, trained bodyguards, dedicated knights, and similar figures are fighters."
So from this we can tell the intent is that PC classes are the exception and not the rule, they are rare in society. Therefore, healing will not be very common. You might have to travel to a larger city to find an actual cleric to heal you if you are a peasant, and that might not be possible depending on the severity of your injury and the availability of resources to pay for healing (because now you ARE asking a stranger for healing, not someone you know in your own village). You might be able to arrange for healing because of the word of your local non-cleric acolyte, but it's a lot more complicated than just running down the block to your local cleric/druid/bard, as it's much more likely none of those are available on average in the world.
So, what do you think? Healing is, on-average for the regular Joe farmer, Common or Rare? Or something else?
