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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aenghus" data-source="post: 6531302" data-attributes="member: 2656">If I'm meeting to set up a typical game of D&D as a player I might ask "Is anyone playing a healer?". By which I mean, as I go on to say, "Is someone planning to play a PC both willing and able to provide a useful amount of healing to the party". This being a meaningful question over say, "Is anyone playing a cleric", because PCs from classes who could potentially heal might not chose those options,  or the player of that PC may not choose to make that healing available. This being a useful question because the presence or absence of a healer can change the desirability of various class combos in the party. A party with no dedicated healer may suggest more self-contained, defensive PCs, maybe with some minor healing ability on the side. A party with a dedicated healer may be able to support more glass cannons and/or more PCs with vulnerabilities. And it's not just the hp. Healer classes often can solve the other maladies such as poisoning and curses that adventurers are prone to. In this context "healer" is a role. There are consequences for the party if the role is filled, and consequences that need to be planned for if the role isn't filled.(I would prefer to table any discussion on the availability of of NPC healing as that varies so much from game group to game group)</blockquote>