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<blockquote data-quote="Gargoyle" data-source="post: 6040143" data-attributes="member: 529">I agree with the &quot;Don't play a healer if you don't want to heal&quot; in theory, but in practice, this doesn't work.&nbsp; D&amp;D is a social game, with social pressures.&nbsp; In many groups, there is pressure to play a particular role or class.&nbsp; Players often have a teamwork mindset, which is why you rarely see parties composed of all fighters or all wizards.&nbsp; &quot;Somebody has to play the cleric&quot; is only somewhat more common than &quot;Somebody has to play the fighter (or wizard, or even rogue)&quot;.&nbsp; You can be disdainful of players for giving in and playing a class or role they aren't thrilled with, but it's a fine line between being a sheep and being a team player. It's not the player's fault when they agree to play something the party needs, and then discovers it is boring for them yet can't change to something else because they are relied upon.&nbsp; It's the game design.&nbsp; D&amp;D Next seems to have gone in the direction that healing is going to be a key part of the game.&nbsp; I wouldn't go so far as to say it's mandatory to have a healing cleric in your group, but it certainly is optimal and therefore will feel mandatory for many.Some ideas for making this fun, all IMO of course:1) Make healing spells into the equivalent of &quot;minor actions&quot; so that clerics can do more in a round than heal.&nbsp; Adding the text &quot;You can cast this spell as a free action after casting any other divine spell&quot; to all their healing spells could work.2) Add some healing to other spells. What if pillar of fire healed allies in its area of effect?&nbsp; 3) Make being a heal bot more fun.&nbsp; Make the healing spells more powerful and more interesting by making them do more than heal.&nbsp; What if cure light wounds also gave an AC buff and cure serious wounds gave advantage on the target's next saving throw?&nbsp; You might find yourself using a weaker heal to get a particular side effect, creating some interesting decision making.&nbsp; Hard choices = fun, and too often healing doesn't involve hard choices.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Gargoyle, post: 6040143, member: 529"] I agree with the "Don't play a healer if you don't want to heal" in theory, but in practice, this doesn't work. D&D is a social game, with social pressures. In many groups, there is pressure to play a particular role or class. Players often have a teamwork mindset, which is why you rarely see parties composed of all fighters or all wizards. "Somebody has to play the cleric" is only somewhat more common than "Somebody has to play the fighter (or wizard, or even rogue)". You can be disdainful of players for giving in and playing a class or role they aren't thrilled with, but it's a fine line between being a sheep and being a team player. It's not the player's fault when they agree to play something the party needs, and then discovers it is boring for them yet can't change to something else because they are relied upon. It's the game design. D&D Next seems to have gone in the direction that healing is going to be a key part of the game. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's mandatory to have a healing cleric in your group, but it certainly is optimal and therefore will feel mandatory for many. Some ideas for making this fun, all IMO of course: 1) Make healing spells into the equivalent of "minor actions" so that clerics can do more in a round than heal. Adding the text "You can cast this spell as a free action after casting any other divine spell" to all their healing spells could work. 2) Add some healing to other spells. What if [I]pillar of fire [/I]healed allies in its area of effect? 3) Make being a heal bot more fun. Make the healing spells more powerful and more interesting by making them do more than heal. What if [I]cure light wounds[/I] also gave an AC buff and [I]cure serious wounds[/I] gave advantage on the target's next saving throw? You might find yourself using a weaker heal to get a particular side effect, creating some interesting decision making. Hard choices = fun, and too often healing doesn't involve hard choices. [/QUOTE]

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