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Message: <blockquote data-quote="DEFCON 1" data-source="post: 6107980" data-attributes="member: 7006">I suppose the question is answered as this:  if you want to play a "healer" that only does so via touch attack, why do you need the rules to force you to do it (as well as force every other player of D&D to do so as well?)  You could just as easily choose to voluntarily (because of how you flavor your character and his story) only cast at touch range.  Why don't you do it?I believe it's because we all have egos, and we're afraid of looking stupid in front of our fellow players by taking "unoptimal" choices.It's the same mistaken idea that had "forced" so many players of 4E to do nothing but spend their initial feats on Weapon Expertise.  That feat was "so much better" than all the others, so players felt like they had to take it, otherwise they were stupid.  Their egos would not let them NOT optimize.Having Cure spells be Range 25 feet and thus asking those Cleric players who want to heal only via touch attack to subsume their ego to make a character choice to only cast that way... is something most players I suspect will be unwilling to do.  Their egos can't handle it (even under the umbrella of "character choice")  As a result... they want the game to FORCE everyone to cast just like they do and make the spell Range: Touch.  That way, they can play the way THEY want, without needing to take the ego hit that comes with "playing unoptimally".  But when you do that... you exclude hundreds of thousands of players who don't want to play like you do.  Hell... it's already hard enough to get players to play the Cleric as is... forcing them now to do so with even a smaller amount of options is not solving the problem.I do think the spells should be Range: 25 feet because both sides can "play within the rules".  Those who want to cast at range are allowed to.  Those who want to cast via Touch also are allowed to (because Range: Touch is an allowable distance under Range" 25 feet).  Whereas Range: Touch doesn't allow both sides to "play within the rules" and instead you are asking DMs to houserule the spells in order to give players who want ranged Cures to have them.  Range: 25 feet is inclusive of playstyles without asking them to houserule-- Range: Touch is exclusive.But now here's the rub:  I actually have no problems with the spells actually giving a bonus to those who voluntarily choose to cast via Touch.  And unlike some other ideas that have come up... I wouldn't put a cost onto this bonus.  No needing to spend a feat to get it... no needing to use a higher level spell, or any of that stuff.  Instead, something as simple in the description as "If the Cleric chooses to cast this spell via Touch rather than at range, they gain a +1 bonus to AC until the end of their next turn and their movement in this round does not provoke Opportunity Attacks."  Voila!  The player can voluntarily "nerf" themselves by only casting via Touch (if that's how they see their Cleric PC behaving) and getting something a little extra for doing so.  And you still have the ranged option for all the other players out there at no cost either.That to me is the best of both worlds, and is the most inclusive option available.</blockquote>

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