D&D 5E Playing non-healer clerics

[ECMO3]

I have seen a lot of posts that talk about Clerics being healers and I have played at a few tables (not many) where players expected Clerics to be healers.

Personally, my PCs are never really healers per se. I will pick up healing word and aid for bringing back downed party members during combat in a pinch, and I will keep revify on hand as long as the party pitches in for the diamond. But I am not going to top you up between combats because that is generally not the character I like to play and I am generally not spending my spell slots on your healing. That is what your gold is for - to spend on potions for this.

It is totally cool if that is the cleric you want to play, but I really don't like the trope/stereotype that seems to exist saying that is the only way to play a Cleric or that you are not a team player if you don't play a Cleric as a healer. I am just wondering how common or uncommon it is, how Clerics are played at your tables and what other players expect.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

I refuse.

I play battling clerics. I will heal if it is dire. I would rather remove a curse and beat enemies to a pulp. That said, killing stuff quicker is as good as a lot of healing.

I have a cleric of wee Jas with heavy armor and I lay the smack down with blade cantrips and spiritual weapon/guardians.

I have no taboo against healing; but I don’t just do it as a matter of course. It would have to be really necessary—-

 

[aco175]

I find that clerics still have a role in play and one is healing. It is the same as a rogue that does not open locks or a fighter that does not melee. Some of the problems are avoided in a session 0 where you tell the players my cleric does not heal, so maybe someone else can also play a cleric. I view it as a bit selfish. Not like a rogue who steals from the party or playing an evil PC, but similar.

 

[Bill Zebub]

The game is not designed like World of Warcraft, where healing output is supposed to keep up with damage intake. In D&D the monsters will win that race.

Certainly anybody with some healing ability should know when to toss out a heal, but generally there are more useful things to do with actions and spell slots.

 

[DND_Reborn]

IME about half of the Clerics are "healer-based" and the other half aren't.

I've ran groups without a single healer at all except maybe the Healer feat.

If someone is playing a wizard or sorcerer, are they not a team player if they don't play big-bang casters with fireballs and such? Of course not, they can contribute in many ways, and Clerics can do the same via buffs and some utility spells, etc.

 

[Aurel Guthrie]

My first character was a war cleric. Only really healed when needed. I had a ton of fun dominating the battlefield with spiritual weapon and spirit guardians. He oneshot a werewolf with a crit third level inflict wounds on the very first turn of combat. I miss him dearly.

 

[James Gasik]

The optics of the situation have long been an issue. Most characters have limited ways to heal. At low levels, a healing potion is a significant resource, so if you get injured, your choices are A) take a nap, which may or may not be allowed, or B)....well there really isn't a B until you can get a Feat, then you could slow your progression to get Healer and invest in medkits.

Or wait until money is trivial and stock up on healing potions.

Since each class has it's "thing" that it's sort of expected to do, like fight monsters or bypass traps, it's natural for players to go "ah! you can heal us, that's your thing! do that!".

But healing is a thankless job. Most of your spells are woefully inefficient compared to anything else you could be doing. Much of the time, you're expected to save other players from their own lapses in judgement. Be it the Barbarian using Reckless Attack too much, or a dual-wielding Rogue bellying up to a powerful melee enemy.

"Oh it's fine, the Cleric will heal us!"

Except the Cleric will run out of spell slots fast that way, while many other classes can keep doing their thing all day long as long as they have hit points. And it's not very fun, either- even just using Healing Word every turn to pop up characters relegates you to nothing more interesting than cantrip spam.

Cure Wounds isn't even twice as good as Healing Word, and requires you to run up and touch a guy to heal him. It's just not a battle you can win.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

I find that clerics still have a role in play and one is healing. It is the same as a rogue that does not open locks or a fighter that does not melee. Some of the problems are avoided in a session 0 where you tell the players my cleric does not heal, so maybe someone else can also play a cleric. I view it as a bit selfish. Not like a rogue who steals from the party or playing an evil PC, but similar.

What I would say is it’s situation dependent.

I would dump every spell I have into healing if it was party life or death. And in 1e, that was all the time.

In 5e I find it’s not often that is required. And that people go into some fights less than full is ok with me.

I just don’t want to play the role of gas pump for hit points where people are brash and expect me to do that all the time. Hit die are often sufficient.

If I took life cleric I dunno. It sort of signals intent. But I just would not take a war cleric or tempest cleric (or my creepy arcana cleric) with the expectation of always doing that.

With arcana and spell breaker….well it’s like this: I will heal but not be a healbot. I will healnto save lives but not to just make careless play more comfortable. I would prefer to blight a creature before it hurts the party vs. let it run rampant and heal up after.

 

[Seramus]

We should abandon the expectation that Clerics MUST heal, but we're not there yet.

Until then, just tell people you're a sorcerer or warlock.

 

[Oofta]

I rarely do a healer cleric, the best defense is a good offense after all. My clerics tend to have strength as their primary ability, slap on the heaviest armor possible and wade into combat.

I'll use healing word to get someone up in combat, but I'd rather use my spell slots for other things. One aspect of 4E that I did like was that it let me do a decent amount of healing and attacks in the same round, but I still have fun with it in 5E.