Why Does The Term "Healbot" Ride Alone?

[Bawylie]

We use that too, but I don't think it carries a negative connotation. In fact, I enjoy rolling for diplomancy or being the face sometimes. Especially with some of the terrible decisions my group has made in the past with other faces, that will remain unnamed...

We have used Rogue in a negative light as a generalization and sometimes the term Deeps is used, both for good and ill.

Yeah we got Deeps, too.

 

[zztong]

Why is there a derisive name for a character whose main contribution is keeping the party alive but not for other characters with one dimensional characters?

I wouldn't have said it was derisive.

A healbot to me is a character (Perhaps NPC) who travels with the primary PCs to provide healing. Its chosen abilities are a mix of providing a robust healing support and being easy and fast to play since its either being run by the DM or by a player as a secondary character.

As a DM that likes to run adventures with large parties, healbots certainly not the only kinds of bots. Warriors to fill out the line are often bots. I've seen parties with an hireling Expert, such as a trap specialist or a Sage. Those could just as easily have been a Rogue or Wizard character. Heck, we had one game where the players wanted to have a whole bunch of camp followers, including a chef and a masseuse.

There are certainly times when no player wants to play a healer. Then a DM has a choice to make. They either provide an NPC or they structure the adventures to allow for longer-term recovery after significant combat.

 

[cmad1977]

It’s derisive?

 

[Garthanos]

FWIW I don’t see “meatshield” as implied disdain. Well, no more so than “jarhead,” “grunt,” or “squid.”

How about dude that is inferior to the Druids pet Bear? Not much ring to it though

 

[Bawylie]

How about dude that is inferior to the Druids pet Bear? Not much ring to it though

In fairness, i like the bear more than any of the other party members, so....

 

[Garthanos]

In fairness, i like the bear more than any of the other party members, so....

There is also obligatory side-kick to those who win the adventure... and mopping boy.

 

[FrogReaver]

Why is there a derisive name for a character whose main contribution is keeping the party alive but not for other characters with one dimensional characters? Okay, I suppose "meatshield" exists too but I get the sense that it does not quite have the same tone to it. Why is there no "killdrone" or "stealbot" though? Why he implied disdain of the one who keeps you from having to roll a new character?

Because people give derisive names to things they dislike.

 

[Aldarc]

It’s derisive?

Yes, as in a braindead function that could be done by an automated bot. This again comes from MMOs where being a "healbot" often involved some degree of heal spamming people playing more dynamic dungeon/raiding roles.

 

[aramis erak]

Why is there a derisive name for a character whose main contribution is keeping the party alive but not for other characters with one dimensional characters? Okay, I suppose "meatshield" exists too but I get the sense that it does not quite have the same tone to it. Why is there no "killdrone" or "stealbot" though? Why he implied disdain of the one who keeps you from having to roll a new character?

There are ...
Tank
Artillery
Treehugger
Trap Detector

 

[Richards]

My current campaign has a literal "healbot" in it: a construct of female humanoid build named MARCI (those letters are stenciled on her chest) who the PCs discovered chained up in a hag's cottage in the woods (the hag was trying to determine what exactly MARCI was). The PCs still haven't figured out her origin, but she's learned the local language and hangs around the sole human member of the party, as she was built to tend specifically to humans (although she'll obey the human's commands to heal the elf, half-elf, and gnome members of the party). Her healing consists of injections from retractable needles that extend from her fingertips as needed. The current theory is that she's from somewhere out in wildspace, as they recently took a several-adventure detour in the greater Spelljammer universe. (They're wrong, but it's an interesting theory.)

Johnathan