My support for healer classes

[Giltonio_Santos]

In various threads I've seen people demand that healer classes in D&D Next are allowed to do more than just heal. They argue that, pre-4E, a cleric was confined to the role of healing while his party was having the real fun, dealing damage to opponents. I strongly believe that there's room for the pre-4E cleric in the game, and I hope that he gets enough support.

My point is, some of us (yes, I'm including myself) don't see healing as the thing you do while others are having fun. I really love to heal. My main character in WoW is a healer, and I always gravitate toward roles that offer healing and support instead of direct offense in whatever cooperative game I play. If anything, I'd gladly trade my attack actions in a 4E character for more options to buff and heal my party. That's what I like to play, and I know many players with similar preferences.

That said, what I want is a game where healer is an option you can opt in or out of, not mechanics to make the role of healer less painful for people who would prefer to be playing a rogue, wizard or even a fighting priest. Make the parties equally viable with or without healers and give us a class that can walk through an encounter without making attack rolls.

Cheers,

 

[Astrosicebear]

I concur. I think that the themes will bring this alive. We know there will be a Melee oriented 'Cleric' and a more caster oriented 'Priest'. Possibly the themes of D&D next will allow someone to play the class they want the way they want mechanically not just thematically.

 

[Ahnehnois]

As someone who's pursuing medicine and spent some time with military doctors, I wholeheartedly reject the notion that healing is not "fun" or that characters should use their actions for other things.

From experience, I also reject the notion that a healer was ever a required party component. Frankly I think from a straight tactical perspective, in-combat healing is less important than straght-up damage, area damage, damage soaking capacity, or disabling/debuffing. Out-of-combat healing is very style dependent; it only matters if you regularly fight more than one battle in a single day, which I find is moderately unusual.

 

[gyor]

Clerics should be build able either way, aka a pacifist cleric or a fighting and healing cleric. Some people like healing, but don't want it to be the only thing they do in a fight.

Still I could see a class or fules modual that makes healing more interseting.

Like healing implements that grant bonuses to healing, adding a critical hit like mechanic to healing, where rolling a natural 20 is a major benifit.

 

[gyor]

Clerics should be build able either way, aka a pacifist cleric or a fighting and healing cleric. Some people like healing, but don't want it to be the only thing they do in a fight.

Still I could see a class or fules modual that makes healing more interseting.

Like healing implements that grant bonuses to healing, adding a critical hit like mechanic to healing, where rolling a natural 20 is a major benifit.

 

[hanez]

Healers were always "optional". I had many campaigns where there was no cleric, or someone picked a paladin, or they bought healing poitions. I have no idea where this "you need a healer" idea came from, but I never experienced it.

 

[Number48]

Have you played older editions? A healer was absolutely vital. You couldn't make or buy potions, so the only healing potions were ones you found. Healing through rest recovered a single hit point a day. Without a healer, you might have to go rest a week or more. Then, in every edition, there's the problem of what to do with your unconscious friend if you have no healer to get him back up on his feet.

I'm all for a D&D where nobody has to feel obligated to play something, but it will be something new.

 

[Yora]

Unless you can heal damage faster than the enemy can deal it, healing is almost always a bad choice. Your characters actions are much better spend getting the enemy to no longer deal damage, which means helping to kill or otherwise disable it. Healing spells in combat are best used to patch up a badly beaten ally so he has time to disengage from the most dangerous enemy and get back to the rear. But usually healing should only be used to prevent immediate death. Keeping your allies at high high points is much more work than helping them to get the enemy down. Once the fight is over, then is the time to really get everyone back to high hit points.

While you could have played a dedicated healer at any time, it was always a sub-optimal way in helping your allies. And we're primarily talking about clerics here, which I think always were very effective at killing things dead.

 

[GM Dave]

I think the trouble that people are discussing is based in something Monte discussed in his Legends & Lore column.

He discussed the idea that (at that time not announced 5e) it would make for faster play if they got rid of the Minor/Move/Standard action of 4e and Move/Standard action of 3e.

On your turn, you could move or take an action in the (then) future game.

This is a big break from some of the latest thinking where healing was combined in other actions and classes other than cleric could do some healing.

In 4e it is often possible for a character to use an action that hits the monster and provides Temporary HP or allows the usage of a Healing Surge. There are also many utility powers that allow healing as a minor action or move action. All players have the option of a Second Wind as an action to give themselves some healing.

This does a few things.

1> Every player having access to some healing powers means the cleric is not the only class that is solely responsible for healing (ie someone has to be a cleric or the group and play suffers from running out of hp too quickly)

2> Every player having access to some healing means players can choose to build their characters more self sufficiently if they wish or more aggressively by not choosing those healing powers.

3> By making healing often a by product of another action then the cleric gets to do something 'interesting' and still provide the healing. They can even switch between some healing (using a minor or move action with a healing component) to a full onslaught of healing using each of their different types of actions to provide a different style of healing to a different person.

4> Locked into a move or action turn order means that often if you are not standing right beside the cleric when you are hurt then it will be a minimum of two rounds usually before you get back in the game. One round for the cleric to get next to you and one round to heal you (it could be three rounds of turns you miss as a result of the initiative order). Even if the cleric was not needed to 'heal' on a turn they are spending their turn running to the next player that needs healing. Instead of 'adventuring' you are playing 'bandage tag'.

5> If you are going to end up playing 'bandage tag' many clerics end up just swinging because the player that went down will only lose a few hp usually before the battle is over and then they will have the time to do healing without having the combat rounds get in the way. The result is that if you get hurt then you have to spend the rest of the combat sitting around waiting for the combat to end rather then getting the opportunity to get up and back in the game to help with last minute finishing blow.

 

[Blastin]

Gotta agree with Number48 here. Having played 1&2e for many years, not having a cleric was doable. Just like scrubbing the barracks showers with a toothbrush was doable.
I can't tell you how many times, when starting a new game, I heard "So...who's gonna be the cleric?"
And I LIKE clerics. I like buffing and healing the party. But I also like my cleric to be able to bust skulls with his warhammer as well.
In the playtest there was no indication, either way, if there was going to be another healer class available. If there isn't than the only people that are gonna play the cleric will be folks like me and giltonio who don't mind the role. Or the guy that gets "stuck with it" by the rest of his group.