Xanathar's Guide to Everything brought us new class options for arcane spellcasters. And now, wizard is the only class that has no class options with access to consistent healing and restorative magic. Bards have been putting the supposed masters of the arcane to shame for a long time now, being able to cast curative spells and even raise the dead, despite being arcane casters. Today, even sorcerers and warlocks can compete with clerics and druids, thanks to the Divine Soul and Celestial patron class options. While wizards still have to resort to tricks like feats or wait until the higher levels (and we all know that most campaigns never go that far) to get at least *some* healing capabilities, all of which are suboptimal and extremely limited.
So why do we still cling to this outdated tradition? Is it balance? Doubtful. Clerics and druids have always had access to crowd control, utility and damaging spells, albeit not to the same degree as wizards. But wizards have no access to healing spells, even to a limited degree. As far as lore goes, healing was supposed to be a province of divine magic only, but here we have bards, sorcerers and warlocks, arcane casters all, laughing at this rule. All the while wizards, the so-called best arcane casters out there, can only helplessly shrug their shoulders and turn to servants of the gods every time they need a scrape patched.
Edit: I admit that the title of this thread is a bit clickbaity. At the time, I was too flustered by what I'd read in Xanathar's Guide. I do not consider wizards to be "the worst" or "the weakest" arcane class, nor do I believe they should be able to heal just as well as clerics or druids.
So why do we still cling to this outdated tradition?
It's tradition not balance. It's the same reason Druids "don't wear metal". There is a certain amount of flavor and feel they have wanted to keep.
To a certain extent it hasn't really been out of possible since 2nd edition. firebolt conjures fire from the elemental plane of fire. It wouldn't be impossible for a wizard to conjure energy from the elemental plane of positive (radiant) energy as she can drain life by conjuring energy from the negative energy (necrotic) plane.
Personally, I solved the problem with a Wisdom of 14. 1st level in Knowledge or Arcana Domain... Wizard the rest of the way.
As I've said, wizards do have *some* options. But so does every other class, if we're talking about multiclassing. However, I am referring to consistent, diverse healing, not just some limited tricks gained through feats or multiclassing.
As for "tradition": it went out of the window as soon as bards were allowed to heal. Bards are arcane casters, so they should not be able to do it. Now, even sorcerers and warlocks, who are as steeped in arcane tradition as a class can possibly be, have access to a whole range of healing and resurrection spells.
So why not give wizards the same leeway? If sorcs and locks can do it, a wizard should be able to do it, from any perspective imaginable - lorewise, balance-wise, flavor-wise. What about white mages? Or necromancer, who, supposedly, have power over death *and* life?
Sorcerers didn't have healing, the Favored Soul was a Cleric with Sorcerer style casting. The Divine Soul is an evolution of that concept.
There only Wizard with healing had been the Theurge which was a multiclass prestige class.
I wish there were more class that cared about Int to m.class into is my bigger complaint. The Wizard stands alone in having Int be the primary ability score and very few races give benefits to it. Those that do are almost always Charisma primary.
There is no history of arcane healing inside Wizard. And it hasn't been "out the window" since Bard as Bard was a special case. The Divine Soul is an new thing in XgtE, Because it's originally a Cleric class that just had arcane style casting.
Maybe it's a taboo they can void in the future too, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
There is a Mystic Theurge in UA... So I could be wrong.
Because it bothers me that spellcasters who are able to bend reality to their will cannot do what any village priest, a hedge witch or a schmuck with a mandoline can do. Because for other classes the "acrane magic can't heal" tradition seems to be forgotten by this point - but not for wizards, which seems unfair. Because there has never been a convincing argument on why wizards should not be able to heal, neither in fiction nor from a game mechanics perspective.
All in all, It breaks my suspension of disbelief and gets in the way of me enjoying the game I otherwise love. One might also say that it has been a pet peeve of mine since the day I got into D&D.
That is exactly my point. As time goes on, all other arcane spellcasters are getting modified and freed from the "acrane magic can't heal" tradition. And yet wizards stay the same in this regard.
As for bards - why is it a special case? They are arcane spellcasters. Wizards are arcane spellcasters. Sure, they needed a boost. But they could have been boosted without giving them healing.
A Celestial warlock or Divine Soul sorcerer has more or less the same power source as a cleric (a deity, a servant of a deity, or a divine realm). Paladins pretty much (and this is probably distinctly less than exact) get their power from their belief that they have that power. Druids and rangers get their power directly from nature (it's all-natural! (sorry (okay, mainly the sorry just draws your attention to the pun (and if it doesn't, this sure does (and I'm not even sorry, really (good grief, that's a lot of parentheses (I think I'll just shut up now (and maybe get back on track)))))))). Wizards and bards both get their power from study, but wizards focus on arcane magic while bards dabble in everything.
I think my point is that all the arcane spellcasters who get access to healing do so by dabbling in non-arcane magic. Which means that your complaint is that wizards don't have a built-in way to dabble in non-arcane magic.
Did I manage to answer any of your questions at any point in that monstrosity?
As for bards - why is it a special case? They are arcane spellcasters. Wizards are arcane spellcasters. Sure, they needed a boost. But they could have been boosted without giving them healing.
It's an arguable point, but I think 5th is the first edition when Bards aren't totally awful. 4th they were "OK". 5th they are actually a very good class.
Bards had no "place" in the party in 3rd. They weren't a "fighter",a "wizard", a "cleric", or a "rogue". They were the jack of all of these trades and the master of none. They were a support class whose primary ability was being a party cheerleader. "Ra Ra Ree, kick em in the knee! Ra Ra Rass, have plus +2 to hit and damage!" In the movie "Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising" they have a joke running through the entire movie about how useless and awful a Bard is.
They had lots of skills like a Rogue, but couldn't Trap Find, they had arcane magic based off of CHA and memorization like a Sorcerer. These two things pushed them to talking roles with the skills and high CHA. They had a "average Base Attack Bonus" and light armor that didn't cause spell failure so they weren't awful in combat but were never strong. They were given buff spells on their list (like some minor healing) from the Cleric list, but they were never as good as a Cleric.
They broke the mold and had arcane healing because everything about them broke the mold. They had no strong place in the party, they were a new class that truely was the red-headed step child of 3rd.
Note about my previous comment about Planescape and how the Plane of Positive Energy. I double checked and they did cover it. Pure Positive Energy from the plane burns the target (like Radiant damage does). So, without some kind of divine channel it's just too much power. (like a transformer stepping down the voltage so you don't fry the circuit).
Red Head Stepchild? Hm? Hardly. On the one hand, Wizards can heal. There's a small handful of spells, they're limited, but its possible.
But, on the other hand, its just not their thing. Wizards are like black mages of Final Fantasy - they have a lot of attack spells and utility effects. They're primarily offensive magics. Part of the balance between classes are these kinds of thematic restrictions. Its much like the same reason that wizards can't just replace a rogue when it comes to infiltration now - invisibility doesn't replace Stealth skills, Knock doesn't replace being able to open doors quietly.
Clerics are the white mages; they get mostly healing and buffing spells, as well as a number of divination spells. Those few Holy spells they get are nice, but hardly on the same level as even a Fireball or Lightning bolt. Druids and bards can heal, but not as well as a cleric ever will. Sorcerers and warlocks? Its only specific subclasses, and even then? The Divine Soul sorcerer's few spells known and lack of resonance with Metamagic make them very lackluster healers; there's too much competition for those very few spells, and you're better off focusing on spells you actually can make the most out of. Celestial Warlocks, meanwhile, can heal hp and use Restoration spells... just hope you have the spell slots for it, and that high level play doesn't require more exotic healing abilities as a healer, like Mass Healing Word that can hit multiple people at once, or the Heal spell. Interesting idea, but you just can't keep up with an actual cleric - you'll be wasting high level slots when a lower one would do.
Wizards have unparalleled spell selection and ritual casting, plus the benefit of spell preparation. Between the Player's Handbook and Elemental Evil, wizards have access to 257 spells, while sorcerers get 166. Bards only get 125, while warlocks get 88 due to the unique nature of Pact Magic.
While bards naturally have access to healing, their spell list is very restricted in the damaging evocation department. Sorcerers don't get ritual casting at all, and Warlocks only get it if they pick Pact of the Tome and the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation. Plus, Warlocks only get a few high-powered spells each day, unlike other classes which get more spell slots of varying levels. All three classes are heavily restricted by their spells known; wizards who can both keep a higher number of spells in their spellbook and change which spells they'll use on a daily basis.
Lore-wise, bardic magic is inherently different from a wizard's; bards tap into the echoes of the "Words of Creation" that shaped the multiverse. Divine Soul sorcerers and Celestial warlocks both have ties to beings from the upper planes, just like Aasimar do.
Xanathar's Guide to Everything gave wizards the Life Transference spell to give them a limited way to heal others. Any more than that and you're really asking to have your cake and eat it too.
I did not argue that bards needed a boost. And you are absolutely correct in saying that bards in 5e are finally not awful. But they are able to heal without any kind of divine channel! So that contradicts your point about Positive Energy Plane. And if so, then wizards, who are always being praised, in-fiction and in IRL, as "the pinnacle of arcane magic", should be able to do it, also.
Next: False Life is not healing, it's temporary hitpoints. As for Life Transference and Vampiric Touch, it's also not healing in the strictest sense, it's vampirism. But even if we put that aside, I've already mentioned that I'm talking about *consistent* healing. What I mean by this is healing comparable with divine classes like clerics and druids. Bards have it. Sorcerers and warlocks have it. Why not wizards? At the moment, they are the ONLY full-caster class without consistent healing capabilities, despite there being no reasons for this, aside from tradition for the sake of tradition.
I'm not advocating turning wizards into omnipotent generalists. All I'm saying is - if sorcerers and warlocks can break lore and have healing subclasses despite being arcane casters, why can't wizards? Give them a subclass option focused on healing, too. After all, aren't they supposed to be the best arcane casters out there?
And if we're comparing D&D to Final Fantasy now, I belive sorcerers are more suited to be Black Mages. Sorcs have always been about dishing out destruction. So if they get to play healer, then wizards should, too.
And damn, they almost did it. They had the Theurge subclass in UA. But instead of polishing it and including it into Xanathar's Guide, they chose to go with the War Mage, an option which does not bring anything particularly new to the table - we already have Abjuration and Evocation wizards, after all.
Wizards have *potential* to access 257 spells. In reality, at least in the games I've played during the past 10 years, wizards get only the spells they learn when leveling up, plus a handful of spells from scrolls, which are either random or dependent on GM's decisions. So, in actuality, wizards are much more limited in their spell selection.
Other arcane casters get benefits that outweigh their limitations. Bards get Bardic Inspiration, Magical Secrets and better armor and weapon proficiencies, sorcerers get sorcery points and metamagic, warlocks get Eldritch Invocations, better armor proficiency and the ability to restore spellslots every short rest. Every class have unique class features. Yet, for some reason, the fact that wizards have unique class features makes it okay for everyone else to have a class feature that they don't have? I can't see a connection here.
They could put Theurge in the Xanathar's Guide - a wizard who dabbles in divine magic. That would be a legit way for wizards to have healing. But they didn't, while giving other arcane classes a divine subclass option. I see not reason for it, except for keeping a tradition for the sake of tradition.
Wizards have *potential* to access 257 spells. In reality, at least in the games I've played during the past 10 years, wizards get only the spells they learn when leveling up, plus a handful of spells from scrolls, which are either random or dependent on GM's decisions. So, in actuality, wizards are much more limited in their spell selection.
That's still way more spells than any other class can choose from, more spells in their spellbook than other classes permanently know, they still get to change their spells daily, and they're still the best at ritual casting by far.
Other arcane casters get benefits that outweigh their limitations. Bards get Bardic Inspiration, Magical Secrets and better armor and weapon proficiencies, sorcerers get sorcery points and metamagic, warlocks get Eldritch Invocations, better armor proficiency and the ability to restore spellslots every short rest. Every class have unique class features. Yet, for some reason, the fact that wizards have unique class features makes it okay for everyone else to have a class feature that they don't have? I can't see a connection here.
By that logic wizards should be entitled to every other arcane class's features, since they're the supposed to be the best arcane casters.
I'm going to take a stab in the dark and say the Theurge concept didn't resonate very strongly with most players. That's what's important to the design team, not maintaining mechanical symmetries across classes. The Divine Soul and Celestial patron make a lot of sense within the context of the Sorcerer and Warlock classes. If a Warlock can make pacts with fiends, why wouldn't they also be able to make pacts with celestials?
I do not deny that wizards have great class features. And I'm not trying to say that wizards should have other classes' options, what gave you that idea? My point was this: you said (at least, as far as I get it) that, given the existence of great wizard class options, they should not have healing, because sorcs and warlocks needed some boost to make them keep up with wizards. To which I responded, that sorcs and warlocks have great class options of their own, and now they have even more. And in-fiction, wizards are called "the pinnacle of the craft", or somesuch, but they cannot do what every other arcane class can do now - i. e. heal. This does not compute. Again, I'm not saying that wizards should get metamagic, invocations or bardic inspiration. I'm saying that they should be able to have access to spells that are now common to other arcane classes' spell lists - i. e. healing spells. Otherwise, it contradicts the narrative all D&D settings push, the narrative about wizards being masters of the arcane.
All that being said, I have to concede this point: it does seem that Theurge was not accepted as well as War Mage by the community, so there's really nothing to be done.
It frustrates me, though. For years, all I hear is "wizards are OP, wizards are the best spellcasters out there, wizards should be nerfed because they make other classes unnecessary". And yet, I've never seen any evidence of that during my games. Wizards are powerful, sure, but so are many other classes. CODzilla, anyone?.. It's especially true in 5e: all classes are good at what they do, and wizards do not overshadow anyone. So I don't think that giving them more consistent healing options (like a subclass, so that not every wizard would be able to learn healing spells willy-nilly) would break the game.
And it's possible for it to make sense in-fiction: as the Theurge description says, there are gods of magic in the Multiverse. Why wouldn't they help their wizardly followers channel Positive Energy for heling spells?
Its not breaking lore. Divine Soul was always a cleric version of the spontaneous caster, back when it was the Favored Soul, just as the dragon soul was the wizard spontaneous caster. We just have subclasses of the same uber-chasis instead of distinct classes, keeping within how 5e does things.
Bard is also not a strict arcane caster like implied. They're a jack of all trades class, mixing arcane, divine and druidic magic. Hells. I'm going to flat out say it. "Arcane caster" is completely meaningless dribble in 5e. There is no arcane/divine divide of magic - everyone has their own spell list. At best, you can argue that rangers and pallys use a variation of druidic and clerical magic. Even if you want to argue that divide is still meaningfull, then I'm going to point out that Divine Soul is very specifically a divine channel, rendering your entire argument moot.
And, no, wizards are the black mage as well. FF classes, the original classes, were based on the Fighting Man, Cleric, Thief, and Wizard/magic-user. Its literally the history of the game. Sorcerers, the original 3e version, started off as a variation of wizard (so kinda has elements of blackmage-ish that way), and the basic dragon sorcerer is a direct reflection of that, sharing that origin. The 5e sorcerer, however, is now attempting to branch out more, and absorb all the spontaneous casters into different sub-classes. The class, as a whole, is trying to become more than "alternate wizard" but still struggling for its own identity.
And its not like the class as a whole is getting these magics - only a single subclass each, specifically created to be cleric-like. Unlike the Jack-of-All-Trades bard, the nature-oriented Druid, the priestly Cleric, and the scholasitc wizard, Sorcerers and Warlocks are not defined by magical styles, or themes. They're defined by their mechanics and "alternative ways of casting magic." That's it. These two classes have only been defined by having different mechanics than the other caster classes, and so operate as a kind of odd area of not having solid themes behind them to define them.
And why are you even bringing up CoDzilla? That's a 3e thing that was the direct result of quadratic growth of magic compared to the linear growth of warrior classes; it didn't exist in other editions. Even then, you're misidentifying the role wizards played in those games - wizards didn't serve as front line warriors like the clerics could, but as replacement rogues. That said, this is 5e we're talking about, and only what's in 5e matters. There is a rather strong divide between casters and warrior classes now - its very difficult for caster classes to operate on the front lines, and warriors, even those that dabble, can't operate as a caster very well.
And gods of magic don't grant wizards ANY power. Its kind of their whole schtick that wizards get their power from study. So, gods of magic really wouldn't interfere in that. That said, gods of magic do grant their CLERICS wizard style magic. Just see the Arcane Domain. Hells, even the Theurge isn't really a wizard class. Its meant to represent a wizard that also worships gods. You do both.
I get that you seem to have a horse in this race, but the simple fact of the matter is that the wizard has definite themes to it, and adding on healing goes against those themes. Wizards are not "reshaping reality to their whim." They aren't actually pseudo-gods reshaping reality at whim; this isn't Mage the Ascension. That's something players like to say about them, but its actually not anything but fandom enthusiasm and over exaggerations. Wizards are scholars that learned how to shape natural energy, nothing more.
And in-fiction, wizards are called "the pinnacle of the craft", or somesuch, but they cannot do what every other arcane class can do now - i. e. heal. This does not compute.
Again, you're comparing apples and oranges. Bardic magic is fundamentally different from a wizard's and sorcerers and warlocks aren't healing by virtue of their arcane magic; that ability is coming from their link to a celestial.
It frustrates me, though. For years, all I hear is "wizards are OP, wizards are the best spellcasters out there, wizards should be nerfed because they make other classes unnecessary". And yet, I've never seen any evidence of that during my games. Wizards are powerful, sure, but so are many other classes. CODzilla, anyone?.. It's especially true in 5e: all classes are good at what they do, and wizards do not overshadow anyone. So I don't think that giving them more consistent healing options (like a subclass, so that not every wizard would be able to learn healing spells willy-nilly) would break the game.
Like I said, this isn't a balance issue, it's about designing subclasses that resonate with people. The Theurge can be rationalized, but it doesn't feel distinct enough from a multiclassed wizard with 1 level in arcana cleric. Getting magic from a god that favors you is exactly what being a cleric means. And a huge part of the wizard's appeal is that their power is purely a result of practice and study, so having a link to a deity doesn't rank high in the interests of players that find that sort of scholarly character appealing.
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Xanathar's Guide to Everything brought us new class options for arcane spellcasters. And now, wizard is the only class that has no class options with access to consistent healing and restorative magic. Bards have been putting the supposed masters of the arcane to shame for a long time now, being able to cast curative spells and even raise the dead, despite being arcane casters. Today, even sorcerers and warlocks can compete with clerics and druids, thanks to the Divine Soul and Celestial patron class options. While wizards still have to resort to tricks like feats or wait until the higher levels (and we all know that most campaigns never go that far) to get at least *some* healing capabilities, all of which are suboptimal and extremely limited.
So why do we still cling to this outdated tradition? Is it balance? Doubtful. Clerics and druids have always had access to crowd control, utility and damaging spells, albeit not to the same degree as wizards. But wizards have no access to healing spells, even to a limited degree. As far as lore goes, healing was supposed to be a province of divine magic only, but here we have bards, sorcerers and warlocks, arcane casters all, laughing at this rule. All the while wizards, the so-called best arcane casters out there, can only helplessly shrug their shoulders and turn to servants of the gods every time they need a scrape patched.
Edit: I admit that the title of this thread is a bit clickbaity. At the time, I was too flustered by what I'd read in Xanathar's Guide. I do not consider wizards to be "the worst" or "the weakest" arcane class, nor do I believe they should be able to heal just as well as clerics or druids.
As I've said, wizards do have *some* options. But so does every other class, if we're talking about multiclassing. However, I am referring to consistent, diverse healing, not just some limited tricks gained through feats or multiclassing.
As for "tradition": it went out of the window as soon as bards were allowed to heal. Bards are arcane casters, so they should not be able to do it. Now, even sorcerers and warlocks, who are as steeped in arcane tradition as a class can possibly be, have access to a whole range of healing and resurrection spells.
So why not give wizards the same leeway? If sorcs and locks can do it, a wizard should be able to do it, from any perspective imaginable - lorewise, balance-wise, flavor-wise. What about white mages? Or necromancer, who, supposedly, have power over death *and* life?
Bards got the first arcane healing in 3rd.
They deserved it, Bard was terrible back then.
Sorcerers didn't have healing, the Favored Soul was a Cleric with Sorcerer style casting. The Divine Soul is an evolution of that concept.
There only Wizard with healing had been the Theurge which was a multiclass prestige class.
I wish there were more class that cared about Int to m.class into is my bigger complaint. The Wizard stands alone in having Int be the primary ability score and very few races give benefits to it. Those that do are almost always Charisma primary.
There is no history of arcane healing inside Wizard. And it hasn't been "out the window" since Bard as Bard was a special case. The Divine Soul is an new thing in XgtE, Because it's originally a Cleric class that just had arcane style casting.
Maybe it's a taboo they can void in the future too, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
There is a Mystic Theurge in UA... So I could be wrong.
Why do you care so much about healing?
Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile.
Because it bothers me that spellcasters who are able to bend reality to their will cannot do what any village priest, a hedge witch or a schmuck with a mandoline can do. Because for other classes the "acrane magic can't heal" tradition seems to be forgotten by this point - but not for wizards, which seems unfair. Because there has never been a convincing argument on why wizards should not be able to heal, neither in fiction nor from a game mechanics perspective.
All in all, It breaks my suspension of disbelief and gets in the way of me enjoying the game I otherwise love. One might also say that it has been a pet peeve of mine since the day I got into D&D.
That is exactly my point. As time goes on, all other arcane spellcasters are getting modified and freed from the "acrane magic can't heal" tradition. And yet wizards stay the same in this regard.
As for bards - why is it a special case? They are arcane spellcasters. Wizards are arcane spellcasters. Sure, they needed a boost. But they could have been boosted without giving them healing.
A Celestial warlock or Divine Soul sorcerer has more or less the same power source as a cleric (a deity, a servant of a deity, or a divine realm). Paladins pretty much (and this is probably distinctly less than exact) get their power from their belief that they have that power. Druids and rangers get their power directly from nature (it's all-natural! (sorry (okay, mainly the sorry just draws your attention to the pun (and if it doesn't, this sure does (and I'm not even sorry, really (good grief, that's a lot of parentheses (I think I'll just shut up now (and maybe get back on track)))))))). Wizards and bards both get their power from study, but wizards focus on arcane magic while bards dabble in everything.
I think my point is that all the arcane spellcasters who get access to healing do so by dabbling in non-arcane magic. Which means that your complaint is that wizards don't have a built-in way to dabble in non-arcane magic.
Did I manage to answer any of your questions at any point in that monstrosity?
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They had lots of skills like a Rogue, but couldn't Trap Find, they had arcane magic based off of CHA and memorization like a Sorcerer. These two things pushed them to talking roles with the skills and high CHA. They had a "average Base Attack Bonus" and light armor that didn't cause spell failure so they weren't awful in combat but were never strong. They were given buff spells on their list (like some minor healing) from the Cleric list, but they were never as good as a Cleric.
Note about my previous comment about Planescape and how the Plane of Positive Energy. I double checked and they did cover it. Pure Positive Energy from the plane burns the target (like Radiant damage does). So, without some kind of divine channel it's just too much power. (like a transformer stepping down the voltage so you don't fry the circuit).
I also agree with ratwhowouldbeking. I understand why healing is so important. Wizards can heal themselves and others, with Necromatic magic. Life Transference, False Life, and Vampiric Touch.
Red Head Stepchild? Hm? Hardly. On the one hand, Wizards can heal. There's a small handful of spells, they're limited, but its possible.
But, on the other hand, its just not their thing. Wizards are like black mages of Final Fantasy - they have a lot of attack spells and utility effects. They're primarily offensive magics. Part of the balance between classes are these kinds of thematic restrictions. Its much like the same reason that wizards can't just replace a rogue when it comes to infiltration now - invisibility doesn't replace Stealth skills, Knock doesn't replace being able to open doors quietly.
Clerics are the white mages; they get mostly healing and buffing spells, as well as a number of divination spells. Those few Holy spells they get are nice, but hardly on the same level as even a Fireball or Lightning bolt. Druids and bards can heal, but not as well as a cleric ever will. Sorcerers and warlocks? Its only specific subclasses, and even then? The Divine Soul sorcerer's few spells known and lack of resonance with Metamagic make them very lackluster healers; there's too much competition for those very few spells, and you're better off focusing on spells you actually can make the most out of. Celestial Warlocks, meanwhile, can heal hp and use Restoration spells... just hope you have the spell slots for it, and that high level play doesn't require more exotic healing abilities as a healer, like Mass Healing Word that can hit multiple people at once, or the Heal spell. Interesting idea, but you just can't keep up with an actual cleric - you'll be wasting high level slots when a lower one would do.
Wizards have unparalleled spell selection and ritual casting, plus the benefit of spell preparation. Between the Player's Handbook and Elemental Evil, wizards have access to 257 spells, while sorcerers get 166. Bards only get 125, while warlocks get 88 due to the unique nature of Pact Magic.
While bards naturally have access to healing, their spell list is very restricted in the damaging evocation department. Sorcerers don't get ritual casting at all, and Warlocks only get it if they pick Pact of the Tome and the Book of Ancient Secrets invocation. Plus, Warlocks only get a few high-powered spells each day, unlike other classes which get more spell slots of varying levels. All three classes are heavily restricted by their spells known; wizards who can both keep a higher number of spells in their spellbook and change which spells they'll use on a daily basis.
Lore-wise, bardic magic is inherently different from a wizard's; bards tap into the echoes of the "Words of Creation" that shaped the multiverse. Divine Soul sorcerers and Celestial warlocks both have ties to beings from the upper planes, just like Aasimar do.
Xanathar's Guide to Everything gave wizards the Life Transference spell to give them a limited way to heal others. Any more than that and you're really asking to have your cake and eat it too.
I did not argue that bards needed a boost. And you are absolutely correct in saying that bards in 5e are finally not awful. But they are able to heal without any kind of divine channel! So that contradicts your point about Positive Energy Plane. And if so, then wizards, who are always being praised, in-fiction and in IRL, as "the pinnacle of arcane magic", should be able to do it, also.
Next: False Life is not healing, it's temporary hitpoints. As for Life Transference and Vampiric Touch, it's also not healing in the strictest sense, it's vampirism. But even if we put that aside, I've already mentioned that I'm talking about *consistent* healing. What I mean by this is healing comparable with divine classes like clerics and druids. Bards have it. Sorcerers and warlocks have it. Why not wizards? At the moment, they are the ONLY full-caster class without consistent healing capabilities, despite there being no reasons for this, aside from tradition for the sake of tradition.
I'm not advocating turning wizards into omnipotent generalists. All I'm saying is - if sorcerers and warlocks can break lore and have healing subclasses despite being arcane casters, why can't wizards? Give them a subclass option focused on healing, too. After all, aren't they supposed to be the best arcane casters out there?
And if we're comparing D&D to Final Fantasy now, I belive sorcerers are more suited to be Black Mages. Sorcs have always been about dishing out destruction. So if they get to play healer, then wizards should, too.
And damn, they almost did it. They had the Theurge subclass in UA. But instead of polishing it and including it into Xanathar's Guide, they chose to go with the War Mage, an option which does not bring anything particularly new to the table - we already have Abjuration and Evocation wizards, after all.
Wizards have *potential* to access 257 spells. In reality, at least in the games I've played during the past 10 years, wizards get only the spells they learn when leveling up, plus a handful of spells from scrolls, which are either random or dependent on GM's decisions. So, in actuality, wizards are much more limited in their spell selection.
Other arcane casters get benefits that outweigh their limitations. Bards get Bardic Inspiration, Magical Secrets and better armor and weapon proficiencies, sorcerers get sorcery points and metamagic, warlocks get Eldritch Invocations, better armor proficiency and the ability to restore spellslots every short rest. Every class have unique class features. Yet, for some reason, the fact that wizards have unique class features makes it okay for everyone else to have a class feature that they don't have? I can't see a connection here.
They could put Theurge in the Xanathar's Guide - a wizard who dabbles in divine magic. That would be a legit way for wizards to have healing. But they didn't, while giving other arcane classes a divine subclass option. I see not reason for it, except for keeping a tradition for the sake of tradition.
That's still way more spells than any other class can choose from, more spells in their spellbook than other classes permanently know, they still get to change their spells daily, and they're still the best at ritual casting by far.
I do not deny that wizards have great class features. And I'm not trying to say that wizards should have other classes' options, what gave you that idea? My point was this: you said (at least, as far as I get it) that, given the existence of great wizard class options, they should not have healing, because sorcs and warlocks needed some boost to make them keep up with wizards. To which I responded, that sorcs and warlocks have great class options of their own, and now they have even more. And in-fiction, wizards are called "the pinnacle of the craft", or somesuch, but they cannot do what every other arcane class can do now - i. e. heal. This does not compute. Again, I'm not saying that wizards should get metamagic, invocations or bardic inspiration. I'm saying that they should be able to have access to spells that are now common to other arcane classes' spell lists - i. e. healing spells. Otherwise, it contradicts the narrative all D&D settings push, the narrative about wizards being masters of the arcane.
All that being said, I have to concede this point: it does seem that Theurge was not accepted as well as War Mage by the community, so there's really nothing to be done.
It frustrates me, though. For years, all I hear is "wizards are OP, wizards are the best spellcasters out there, wizards should be nerfed because they make other classes unnecessary". And yet, I've never seen any evidence of that during my games. Wizards are powerful, sure, but so are many other classes. CODzilla, anyone?.. It's especially true in 5e: all classes are good at what they do, and wizards do not overshadow anyone. So I don't think that giving them more consistent healing options (like a subclass, so that not every wizard would be able to learn healing spells willy-nilly) would break the game.
And it's possible for it to make sense in-fiction: as the Theurge description says, there are gods of magic in the Multiverse. Why wouldn't they help their wizardly followers channel Positive Energy for heling spells?
Its not breaking lore. Divine Soul was always a cleric version of the spontaneous caster, back when it was the Favored Soul, just as the dragon soul was the wizard spontaneous caster. We just have subclasses of the same uber-chasis instead of distinct classes, keeping within how 5e does things.
Bard is also not a strict arcane caster like implied. They're a jack of all trades class, mixing arcane, divine and druidic magic. Hells. I'm going to flat out say it. "Arcane caster" is completely meaningless dribble in 5e. There is no arcane/divine divide of magic - everyone has their own spell list. At best, you can argue that rangers and pallys use a variation of druidic and clerical magic. Even if you want to argue that divide is still meaningfull, then I'm going to point out that Divine Soul is very specifically a divine channel, rendering your entire argument moot.
And, no, wizards are the black mage as well. FF classes, the original classes, were based on the Fighting Man, Cleric, Thief, and Wizard/magic-user. Its literally the history of the game. Sorcerers, the original 3e version, started off as a variation of wizard (so kinda has elements of blackmage-ish that way), and the basic dragon sorcerer is a direct reflection of that, sharing that origin. The 5e sorcerer, however, is now attempting to branch out more, and absorb all the spontaneous casters into different sub-classes. The class, as a whole, is trying to become more than "alternate wizard" but still struggling for its own identity.
And its not like the class as a whole is getting these magics - only a single subclass each, specifically created to be cleric-like. Unlike the Jack-of-All-Trades bard, the nature-oriented Druid, the priestly Cleric, and the scholasitc wizard, Sorcerers and Warlocks are not defined by magical styles, or themes. They're defined by their mechanics and "alternative ways of casting magic." That's it. These two classes have only been defined by having different mechanics than the other caster classes, and so operate as a kind of odd area of not having solid themes behind them to define them.
And why are you even bringing up CoDzilla? That's a 3e thing that was the direct result of quadratic growth of magic compared to the linear growth of warrior classes; it didn't exist in other editions. Even then, you're misidentifying the role wizards played in those games - wizards didn't serve as front line warriors like the clerics could, but as replacement rogues. That said, this is 5e we're talking about, and only what's in 5e matters. There is a rather strong divide between casters and warrior classes now - its very difficult for caster classes to operate on the front lines, and warriors, even those that dabble, can't operate as a caster very well.
And gods of magic don't grant wizards ANY power. Its kind of their whole schtick that wizards get their power from study. So, gods of magic really wouldn't interfere in that. That said, gods of magic do grant their CLERICS wizard style magic. Just see the Arcane Domain. Hells, even the Theurge isn't really a wizard class. Its meant to represent a wizard that also worships gods. You do both.
I get that you seem to have a horse in this race, but the simple fact of the matter is that the wizard has definite themes to it, and adding on healing goes against those themes. Wizards are not "reshaping reality to their whim." They aren't actually pseudo-gods reshaping reality at whim; this isn't Mage the Ascension. That's something players like to say about them, but its actually not anything but fandom enthusiasm and over exaggerations. Wizards are scholars that learned how to shape natural energy, nothing more.
Again, you're comparing apples and oranges. Bardic magic is fundamentally different from a wizard's and sorcerers and warlocks aren't healing by virtue of their arcane magic; that ability is coming from their link to a celestial.