5e healing cantrip

[Sezarious]

It will also become superior to healing word from proficiency bonus +3 onwards compared to the average that healing word heals (2.5). Too potent I fear...

What about something like this:

As a reaction you can prevent a comrade who has dropped to 0hp, but who hasn't been killed outright to instead regain 1 temp hp as they struggle to stay alive, however they instantly suffer a point of exhaustion. For as long as you maintain concentration, they can retain the temp hitpoint and can act as normal, but if they suffer any damage, it must be treated as if they suffered damage as if they were still at 0hp.

If they are struck down again whilst under the effects of this spell and survive and you or someone else has the reaction to spare, it can again be re-cast on them to gain another 1 temp hp, but they will suffer another point of exhaustion and are still bleeding out. Therefore, this time they must either still make their death saves or have their wounds tended to appropriately to avoid bleeding out.

If concentration is maintained without the party member dying or bleeding out for up to a minute, the 1 temp hp becomes 1hp.

 

[Sezarious]

OR maybe, given it costs both concentration and a point of exhaustion it could be 1d4 temp hp...

 

[Yavathol]

The way I see it, there are two factors at play here. First, you're creating a means to bypass the existing resource economy on healing (which you bypassed by having it be a reaction). Secondly, you're attempting to make it as a way to prevent someone going down, or be used as a bonus spell slot. Your original posted example is basically a healing word variation. If I may propose an alternative which I believe is more elegant, make the cantrip have the exact stats of healing word except for two key differences: All healing done is not treated as healing, and does not benefit or synergize with healing based bonuses. And you take damage equal to the amount healed, which cannot be mitigated, reduced, or blocked by any means. Once the damage is done, it may be healed normally, but it can't be blocked. This is the only way to really balance a healing cantrip imho.

Healing not being treated as healing seems a little complicated, and most of the healing bonus rules I could find already specify a spell of first level or higher, and hence wouldn't apply.

If the cleric took half the damage, that makes the spell more like Warding Bond, which is fine, but I'd prefer the cleric to just be the enabler (since he has the divine spells) and the ally to be the one benefitted and appropriately penalized. .

 

[Yavathol]

It will also become superior to healing word from proficiency bonus +3 onwards compared to the average that healing word heals (2.5). Too potent I fear...

Healing word does 1d4+ability modifier. Ability modifier and proficiency bonus are generally roughly equal, so healing word would always heal more damage.

Constraining the reaction to when the ally would drop is an interesting idea.. So the magic temporarily wakes them but exhausts them. Treating additional damage as if they were on zero, is that added complexity really needed? I see that as the injured PC having to focus to apply pressure and avoid bleeding out ( ie death saves) so it's the injured pc who has to maintain concentration, not the caster!

 

[Sezarious]

I think it's important that any cantrip that competes with the 'spare the dying' cantrip be balanced with it. Maybe a level of exhaustion is enough in exchange for 1 hp, but that still makes it more useful than 'spare the dying' by far, especially considering that if you are close to the end of a combat where one of your party nearly died, you'll probably all want a short rest at LEAST. A short rest removes a level of exhaustion.

Furthermore, in out of combat terms, if your party is run down and fleeing from some terrifying foe, YES, your 'spare the dying' cantrip may have kept your companion alive, but he's then unconcious for 1d4 hours, which is something significant that this new cantrip would negate. Instead of having to carry your companion, they can carry themselves.

This means there really needs to be another mechanic in my mind. The reason I suggested utilising concentration is because, lets face it, a cantrip that can revive an ally as a reaction once per round at 1hp would still be OP, even if they sufferred a point of exhaustion each time. More importantly, there are plenty of characters who would prefer being able to stand up after dropping to zero and move behind the line, then swap to a ranged weapon. There needs to be a risk factor to such a cantrip.

Maybe this: Forget the concentration mechanic, and as you said make it something the injured ally has to deal with. Your ally still has to make deaths saves at the appropriate times. If he/she continues to fight, then they do so at disadvantage, but if they spend their action trying to stabilise themselves, they do so at advantage. On 3 successes the 1temp hp becomes 1hp.

See, this way, the cantrip isn't better than 'spare the dying'. It's a balanced, kind of desperate last resort cantrip that can't be abused.