TheSword
Legend
I think lots of groups in 5e don’t run with a healer now. D&D beyond has 8% clerics at 8% which is probably enough for 1 per 2-3 parties.One thing to keep in mind is that in D&D, spending hit points really means spending the healer’s spell slots. The Dark Souls RPG gets around this by giving you a bunch of free temp “HP” at the beginning of each combat; healing spells can’t restore that temp HP, nor do you save on healing spells by not using them.
If they have a healer it’s likely a secondary healer, who has a lot of competition for those spell slots. The primary mechanic for healing in 5e is the short rest which is delivering the bulk of healing. So HD do matter when the option of long resting doesn’t makes them pointless.