D&D (2024) How should Healing Blossoms and Wild Companion be improved, if they were alternatives to Wildshape?

[Kobold Avenger]

So much of the focus on the Druid in the class design and the discussion about it is currently on Wildshape. But what if Wild Companion and Healing Blossoms and Wildshape, were instead more like a path for Channel Nature, much like how there's now a choice of Holy Order for Clerics or the Warlocks Pact type. How would those those things go if they got certain improvements as a Druid leveled up?

 

[mellored]

Wild shape and companion: more HP, gain more effects (fly by attack, giant frog swallow, snakes reach, fire form, ect...)

Blossom: more HP, cure more effects (see lay on hands)

 

[Vael]

Now that Find Familiar scales by level (not particularly, well, but whatever) ... You just need to also have the spell scale up.

As for Healing Blossoms ... just increase the dice size to d6s around 10th-12th level, d8s around 15th level. Certain subclasses can maybe do more. Alternatively ... leave it the same, but also grant an equal number of temp hp?

 

[Chaosmancer]

So much of the focus on the Druid in the class design and the discussion about it is currently on Wildshape. But what if Wild Companion and Healing Blossoms and Wildshape, were instead more like a path for Channel Nature, much like how there's now a choice of Holy Order for Clerics or the Warlocks Pact type. How would those those things go if they got certain improvements as a Druid leveled up?

Heh, I was just about to make a thread asking about ways to improve Healing Blossoms.

The Wild Companion is trickier for me, because it is already fairy powerful. If the Druid wanted to focus on that use of Channel Nature, I would allow it increase the level of the spell cast (as that is currently unclear) but it is a decent use to get a scout who can make some very weak attacks as a reaction.

Improving the Companion could get complex, but it would have to be looked at carefully, since it is already designed to be fairly mutable and scale with spell level. And focusing on the Familiar spell is a thing they've specifically called out for warlocks.


Healing Blossoms... I just don't know. It really, really sucks.

Currently it is an action to heal between 3d4 and 5d4 health, or 7 to 12 health on average. This is short range, and it isn't really an AOE heal either. I mean, take a look at Aid. Aid gives up to six creatures 5 temp hp, and that is gained at level 3. That is 30 effective healing. The level 20 Druid who rolls max on Healing blossoms can only hand out 20 healing to the party, which if you have 6 people is 3 hp for most of them. Does anyone think an action to heal 3 hp is worth anything even as low as 7th level?

Mass Healing Word? 3rd level spell, is a bonus action, average 7 hp to 6 targets, or 42 effective hp.

The closest equivalent to Healing Blossoms is actually Preserve Life, which is 5 times cleric level, so starts at a pool of 30 and maxes at a pool of 100, but it also hits ALL targets within 30 ft, not just a group in a 10 ft radius within 30 ft.

@Vael 's suggestion... I don't think it really makes a big enough difference. 3d6 to 5d6 is still low, only 10 to 17, and the d8s bring us to 13 to 22. We are still maxing out far below equivalent options. Because, let us say you rolled those d8's and you got a nice round 21 hp. That is 7 hp to three targets. That isn't going to do anything when you are dealing with enemies that hit for 15 to 20 damage a turn.

For a baseline, I could see something like wid mod + level, that takes us from 4d4 to 25d4, or 10 to 62. Assume three targets, that is 3 to 20 healing for an action. That could actually be useful, though it still starts out too weak.

As for improving it for a subclass, allow the healing to remove status conditions, allow them to grant buffs to ac or speed, there is a lot of room to make a support druid who can buff their allies with this ability.

 

[Vael]

The problem doesn't feel as dire as you're phrasing it. Healing Blossoms is very flexible in that you can either distribute or stack the healing. I've seen many a Mass Healing Word be underwhelming because 2 PCs are critically injured and everyone else is fine. Two, the resource is on top of currently existing spells. If you want to save that last 3rd level spell slot for a Call Lightning, Healing Blossoms is there. Three, if you are combat shifting, you eventually can do both with the same action.

 

[bedir than]

Healing Blossoms changes;

• call out that it can also be mushrooms, fire, pools of water, etc
• d4 per level
• you can spend one die to extend the radius by 5'
• you can expend two dice to cure the things Lay on Hands cures

 

[Chaosmancer]

The problem doesn't feel as dire as you're phrasing it. Healing Blossoms is very flexible in that you can either distribute or stack the healing. I've seen many a Mass Healing Word be underwhelming because 2 PCs are critically injured and everyone else is fine. Two, the resource is on top of currently existing spells. If you want to save that last 3rd level spell slot for a Call Lightning, Healing Blossoms is there. Three, if you are combat shifting, you eventually can do both with the same action.

3) But if you aren't combat shifting, which most druids won't, then you won't be doing both with the same action. I want to make shifting less of a combat focus anyways, as I feel these pushes to make it a combat choice for most druids are missing the very obvious action economy problems.

2) Yes? I don't see how being on top of existing spells... really matters. You could have a use that let you deal 2d8 poison melee damage and just because you get that in addition to spells doesn't make it a good ability. My point was to compare it to similar options. And it is worse than all of them, by a significant margin. If you immediately bump your wisdom to 18 at level 4, you are spending most of your time with 4d4 or 10 hp for X party members. Even a Cure Wounds cast as a level 1 spell can be equivalent to that for single target, and the more targets you grant the hp to, the less impactful it is. And remember, I'm talking the average, it is entirely possible to roll and heal 6 to the party, which is simply minuscule.

Yes, you also get spells. But bards also get spells and can as a reaction heal 1d12 up to 5 times per rest (which is less, but as a reaction can be huge), and clerics get 6d8 healing as an action to a single target, likely getting the same number of uses, and the Paladin has a pool of 100 hp they can distribute throughout the day. All on top of spells

1) I agree that it being a pool can be incredibly powerful. I like the idea of Druids doing pool based healing while Clerics do more powerful, targeted healing. That is a good difference. The problem is that if you have four level 5 characters, and two of them are critically injured, they are only going to get back 5 hp from this ability. A 5th level fighter likely has about 50 hp, for them to be critically injured they are likely at 10 hp or so. And you can essentially use your entire action to heal them 5 pts? That doesn't actually make them NOT critically injured, they are still in a very dire situation. Heck, giving them the full 10 hp would be better, but leave the other ally worse off.

Now, your version is "better" but if you spent all your feats on reaching 20 wisdom by level 11, and you take you change to d6's, you are still only using your action to heal 17, which split between two allies is about 8 health each. At 11th level the Fighter likely has 110 hp. You aren't even healing them a tenth of their health, which isn't going to help if they have an enemy who can dish out the expected 50 to 70 damage a round of a CR 11 monster.

I agree, being able to choose how you heal is great, but it still needs to be enough health to make a difference to be worth your action, instead of doing something else to end the fight sooner.

 

[cbwjm]

Via a subclass, have a healing subclass that makes healing blossoms amazeballs at healing and and another subclass that makes your familiar a full on animal companion (which is also amazeballs, but a different kind of amazeballs).

 

[James Gasik]

I'm guessing, but I feel the original Healing Blossoms scaled with proficiency bonus, then they changed it to Wisdom when everyone pointed out how that affects multiclassing.

 

[Clint_L]

Hmmm…I don’t want to step too much on Rangers toes with the companion and trying to stay ahead of damage by healing is a sucker’s game in 5e.

So I’d probably take the companion in an elemental direction. And maybe take healing blossoms in a shamanistic direction by doing a Druid subclass that could channel various group effects through it. Like maybe the flowers release scents that offer additional enhancements, like haste for one round.