Henry said:
That's the aesthetic that leaves me cold. A smite that gives out healing power is just too "out there" for me, even in a world where dragons fly and men cast fireballs. It's like a spell that casts a fireball, makes you fly, and trims your toenails all at the same time.
Now, a spell that made you invisible and cast Dimension door I could see - an "Evasion" spell so to speak. But damaging and healing in one spell just doesn't fit thematically to me.
If I were a cleric I'd be doing it every freaking round, kitted out in plate mail and shield, with a mace and an attitude. I'd have the whole party at full hit points all the time, with no loss of action or resources.
Don't worry, tho' I brought this thread back from the brink of death, it was while smiting a foe. Clearly.
Anyway -- Chalk me up for "bothered by smiting + bandaids, in one go", too. Henry said it best.
One fix that occurred to me was the bard's ability to use bardsong while taking other actions, so long as they weren't spellcasting and didn't involve speech.
A clerical healing power that used this mechanic might do the same thing as a heal + smite, filling whatever niche the designers were after, while removing the distasteful "I hit him so hard, my friends feel better!" aspects.
Similarly, a healing gaze 'attack' -- everyone who can see me and is my friend gets back 1 hp/round! I can focus on someone to give them more, as an action! -- might be fun, and fit the genre.
So might supplicatory healing -- the cleric invokes the healing aura, and the people who wish to be healed can spend actions to touch the cleric's cloak and heal; all the cleric has to do is look serene. And maybe hold still, a little; then again, maybe not.
A spell that brings down the heal
and the harm can work, of course -- it's the specific image of the priest whaling on someone while wealing his team mates that bugs me. Divine radiance that heals friends and hurts foes is a natural.
Finally, there's always the concept of turning Spiritual Weapon sideways -- introduce a second level spell* that heals a friend once per round, freeing up the cleric to run around the battlefield with a holy weapon in one hand, a holy symbol in the other, and a rampant thirst for blood in the third.
* No actual second level spells need be used; generic, brand-X level spells may be substituted.