Healer (from MHB): Is this a good class?

[Fishbone]

Make it solely Charisma dependant as a caster. Ranged healing at 3rd level, say 30 feet and 5 feet for every level of Healer. Cast healing spells as a move action at 13th level. And instead of a ray ability howzabout this at 5th level
Destructive Healing: You may cast Cure spells at the undead to deal damage. Treat these spells as Empowered at 5th level, Empowered and Maximized at 10th level, Empowered, Maximized and Enervated at 15th level and Empowered, Maximized, Enervated, and the damage for each hit dice is upped 1 level at level 20. So Cure Critical Wounds in the hand of a healer would do 48+20+50 percent roll of 8d6+Charisma Modifier X 2.5 at a range of 130 feet. That is some serious whupass against the undead. Mass Cure Critical Wounds with a Charisma of 30 would deal 230 damage on average, 115 if saved. Booyah.

 

[Lord Rasputin]

Well, I made one for a GM to use as an NPC, to keep him from playing NPCs who steal the PC's thunder. Against undead, she can cast mass cure light wounds to give them hell, and she has the Augment Healing feat, which is practically made for this class, making her very good at her one skill.

If the healer had mass cure light wounds earlier in his spell list, he would be much more effective against undead, ridding himself of the need to turn undead.

A bit about this class: like the marshall, it appears in the Miniatures Handbook, which everyone knows but sheds light onto the purpose of both classes. Both are designed for the battlefield and the miniatures game. Making them to be PC classes was not the only consideration for the designers, and it shows. Cohorts, folks, cohorts.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

Well, I made one for a GM to use as an NPC, to keep him from playing NPCs who steal the PC's thunder. Against undead, she can cast mass cure light wounds to give them hell, and she has the Augment Healing feat, which is practically made for this class, making her very good at her one skill.

I always see this, but frankly, cure spells blow against undead. Blowing a 5th level slot to deal a whopping d8+20 at 20th level with a will save for half (undead's good save) doesnt seem like it would do much. Unless you just HAVE to kill those dozens of tiny animal skeletons, I dont see a purpose.

Which pretty well sums up my thoughts on the healer. Its overspecialized. It gives up too much, for too little. Given the choice between a healer cohort and a cleric, I'd choose the cleric every time.

 

[Jedi_Solo]

If the healer had mass cure light wounds earlier in his spell list, he would be much more effective against undead, ridding himself of the need to turn undead.

The Healer already does get the spell ealier in thier spell list. While Clerics get their first Mass spell at 5th level the Healer starts getting them at 4th. Assuming a Cohort two levels below the party means they get ot at the same time as a PC Cleric.

 

[Jedi_Solo]

Blowing a 5th level slot to deal a whopping d8+20 at 20th level with a will save for half (undead's good save) doesnt seem like it would do much.

Minor correction - 4th level slot for Healer, not 5th - but that is really beside the point.

If the Healer is reduced to using Mass Cure Lights at 20th level, the group has other problems. However, a Mass Cure Crit (7th level for the Healer) that heals your party and attacks the undead is a different story.

Especially since the Healer isn't core we assume that the Healer's feats are from outside Core as well.

4d8 (Cure Crit) + 20 (level) + 14 (Augment Healing [Complete Divine]) + 14 (Magic of the Land [Races of the Wild]) + CHA bonus (Healing Hands ability). Assuming a very weak CHA bonus of 2 that gives us a nice round number of 4d8 + 50 which heals your party and attacks the surrounding undead...at range.

Can a Cleric do that? Assuming the same feats then yes they can. But they would be blowing an 8th level slot (which would up the bonus of Augment Healing and Magic of the Land and lose the CHA bonus - but then we can assume the Healer has higher CHA to balance it out and will have more 7th level slots (as opposed to 8th level slots) open to be able to do this more often).

 

[Tetsubo]

How about adapting the Dragon Shamans Aura abilities? They also get to do a unique form of healing at higher levels that would fit a Healer perfectly...

 

[Drowbane]

Y'know, it occurs to me that I've often seen druids be perfectly content to relegate themselves to the role of "healer cohort". They have their pet do all of their fighting for them while they sit on their keester and give cures and buffs, pretty much doing what the cohort would. What's the distinction between the organ-grinder and the monkey here?

I've yet to see a Druid who took more healing spells than he needed to heal himself and his "pet"...