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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Fanaelialae" data-source="post: 7017398" data-attributes="member: 53980">That was my experience with earlier editions, but not with 5e, so I wonder how much of that is a mentality based on outdated experience. Even without using optional rules, I've found that Hit Dice and healing potions can pull the party through most scenarios. Admittedly, there are going to be times you wish you had a cleric if you don't have one, but the same could be said of most of the classes.IME, prior to 11th level you really don't need a healer (although they are nice to have for the occasional status effect, like diseases, as well as for effortlessly recovering from getting knocked to zero hp). From 11th onward there will definitely be scenarios when having Heal available could make the difference between success and defeat, but the same can be said for many spells (ie, Forcecage). I say this having run a campaign to 19th level for a party which consisted of a fighter (battlemaster), a monk (shadow), a rogue (assassin?), and a pair of NPC warrior-types. Neither the Leadership or the Healer feat was used. I created encounters by the book (leaning a bit more towards fewer but deadlier difficulty encounters, which should not have favored this party makeup). Somewhere around 16th or 17th level they started really red-lining on some of the tougher fights so I offered them an NPC cleric, who they accepted into the party. She did make the fights somewhat easier, but IMO they would have been winnable without her, just riskier. They simply had good teamwork. If someone was getting hammered on, they didn't hesitate to have that character fall back and have someone step in to cover him. They also made good use of Dodge, and divide-and-conquer tactics. The fighter had excellent lock down thanks to the Sentinal feat and maneuvers, and the monk's Stunning Blow frequently played a pivotal role in their victories. I'm certainly not saying that having a healer is pointless, but IME "healers" spend the majority of their time in 5e doing something other than healing. I've never seen a healer in 5e who does nothing but spam healing spells every round. Even when there's been a cleric in the party, they've typically buffed the party (Bless) and/or pushed the fight to completion using spells like spiritual weapon and spirit guardians.</blockquote>

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