Cleric Won't Heal?

[Zubatcarteira]

I've found that just letting allies drop to 0 is pretty damn dangerous if the DM isn't being super nice. Any attack within 5 feet while you're unconscious is an auto-crit, and a crit at 0 is two failed death saves. A single hit from close, and they will die if they fail a death save, or if they just get attacked twice. Way too dangerous to risk, imo, so having someone to keep allies at higher health is pretty important to me.

 

[Zardnaar]

I've found that just letting allies drop to 0 is pretty damn dangerous if the DM isn't being super nice. Any attack within 5 feet while you're unconscious is an auto-crit, and a crit at 0 is two failed death saves. A single hit from close, and they will die if they fail a death save, or if they just get attacked twice. Way too dangerous to risk, imo, so having someone to keep allies at higher health is pretty important to me.

Blame the designers then. They cut spell slots and cheap magical healing.

They did spread the burden out a bit but what happens if no one picks them either?

Throw in the 6-8 expected encounters, hit point and damage inflation on the monsters.

 

[Zubatcarteira]

I wouldn't say I dislike it, at 0 hp you're so hurt that you're seconds away from death if you're unlucky, that should come with danger, imo. If you're facing a lot of hard encounters where just short rests aren't enough for healing, the players should definitely invest in it.

 

[Ashrym]

The issue with 0hp pop up healing is letting players drop to 0hp also comes with status effects. Unconscious and prone have negative effects, and the risk of instant death still exists.

People look to clerics for healing because it's traditionally the primary healing class. It's currently designed with healing in mind, which is clear with even a casual glance at the spell lists.

5e does allow for other classes to replace clerics as healers and does give every class healing with hit dice at the very least. That doesn't mean clerics shouldn't heal when it's appropriate. All classes make appropriate choices with their actions and sometimes that's healing, sometimes it's buffing, and sometimes it's attacking or other damage.

Some comments gave me the impression of extremism instead of playing for fun and to the strengths of the classes.

To me, a cleric who blatantly refuses to heal should have been another class. A cleric who heals when it's important and takes other actions as well (because other actions are usually better in combat) is playing the class the way that makes sense to me.

 

[jgsugden]

But also not surprising. Anyone coming from an online gaming background would easily pick up on the cleric being the main healer of the party, the life domain especially makes it seem like that is the goal of the cleric. Also consider that early on in DnDs life cycle, they were the main healers means a lot of people will bring that baggage with them into the current edition. Not saying these views are right, but I can understand them.

My AD&D clerics packed 1 or 2 healing spells per day, period. We'd adventure, then retreat, rest for a day, heal, then rest for another day and return to our adventuring (or at least that was the plan). Lokrius, Magni's Chosen, was not there to let others take the glory that belonged to him and his God. Healing, in every edition, is a loser's game, unless you were playing with 0 hp = death. However, we always used the -10 = death rules in AD&D until we hit 4E.

 

[Redwizard007]

To me, a cleric who blatantly refuses to heal should have been another class. A cleric who heals when it's important and takes other actions as well (because other actions are usually better in combat) is playing the class the way that makes sense to me.

This strikes me as odd. Why is the cleric pigeon holed into one role when no other class is? Would it make you feel better if a player ran a "divine warrior" instead of a "cleric?" Same class but played as a striker?

 

[Ashrym]

This strikes me as odd. Why is the cleric pigeon holed into one role when no other class is? Would it make you feel better if a player ran a "divine warrior" instead of a "cleric?" Same class but played as a striker?

The game designed clerics to heal, but what makes you think no other class is pigeon holed? It's not like every rogue isn't expected to find traps even though anyone can learn to do it.

 

[DnD Warlord]

So last night before I ran game I asked my group (witch has no healer right now except an artificer with a wand that has 3 charges)

they all agreed that if you prep healing spells it is not selfish for someone who is hurt to ask you to use the spell you preped.

so then I asked about the vetoing we do of characters and only 1 player said they MIGHT veto this one and it depended on talking to the person... if they were trying to make a fish that was better front line then a fighter and they already had a fighter they would consider it... that then side tracked us to telling horror stories of CODzilla for almost an hour to a young woman who started in 5e...

2 of the players also play in the saterday game I play and they both said “Matt would veto that real quick”. But I won’t talk to him till saterday.

 

[DnD Warlord]

This strikes me as odd. Why is the cleric pigeon holed into one role when no other class is? Would it make you feel better if a player ran a "divine warrior" instead of a "cleric?" Same class but played as a striker?

All the classes are designed with a role in mind. (Some more then one) but every class can be manipulated to fill others (with various results... fighters are going to be crappy leaders) especially with subclass choice.
This is what I miss from 4e. They just laid the cards on the table and said “This class is best at X”

my preference would have been for 5e (and still hopping someday 6e) expands the idea of roles and lists all 3 pillars and keys what the class is best at, so roles would be more like a mix and match alignment (striker/scout/face) and label them... however I find for some reason D&D player prefer hidden information.

 

[Campbell]

I have a strong preference for designs where at least some classes can fill multiple roles depending on how you design your character. The more flexible classes is one of the things I really appreciate about 5e and PF2.