In almost any game I've played and can remember, healing doesn't pay off, in general. Time and resources spent healing tend to be greater than if you'd just dealt damage. I've played bosses where healing was substantial - it wasn't fun because I spent most of my time just trying to break even. I imagine being on the reverse end of that is also unfun - it's more fun to be hammering foes than healing, never mind the lack of challenge.
Healing needs to remain in the niche of "Do I heal or go for the kill and hope for the best?" as well as being useful for keeping things speedy - casting Healing Word instead of a short rest. I'm reluctant to turn healing into a viable combat tactic of choice.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Want to play D&D? Try the following resources first (each section withing vertical bars is a clickable link to find the resource).
I play a mercy monk in one game, where I punch people back to life during fights and am the primary healer (rogue, ranger, wizard, monk, fighter). Think of the resuscitation scene in Abyss (1989). It is perfectly satisfying and I don't need to out-heal the incoming damage. If someone drops, I have the mobility to reach them without trouble and I am the only one who can't always attack from my position, so damage is consistent every round. We don't need to out-heal the damage if we out-damage the damage.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form| Doctor/Published Scholar/Science and Healthcare Advocate/Critter/Trekkie/Gandalf with a Glock | He/Him/They/Them
Don't forget that some folks, part of the reason healing is a big deal is that they want healing to be a big deal for their settings, or their playstyle.
Personally, I am noting I need to put in more area of effect healing stuff. I always forget to do so, then get yelled at, lol.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Only a DM since 1980 (2000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA
There are decent healing classess like the Life Domain cleric that can combat heal.
One of my player was playing and would use his channel divinity to heal those who were badly wounded for 5 times his level and as a bonus action he would smack on a mass healing word for 1d4+10 HP to the whole party. So at level 7 he was healing for up to 35HP +6d4+60 HP in one round if everyone was wounded.
Paladins also can do a decent healing with their 5 times per level on lay on hands at the cost of one action.
Peace Cleric has a decent heal that sadly doesn't scale though I've house ruled it for Proficiency in D6 instead of 2d6+Wis modifier. That means it will max out at 6d6+wis mod. But at level 2 when he gets the feature...running around healing everybody for 2d6+wis mod. is pretty decent.
The Twilight Cleric is godly even though he only grants temp HP
Shepheard Druid has the Bear Totem that can do the same but to a lesser degree, but a group boost in temp hp for 5+level on the whole group is still pretty decent. For a 6 player group this is tens of HP as a bonus action
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
In almost any game I've played and can remember, healing doesn't pay off, in general. Time and resources spent healing tend to be greater than if you'd just dealt damage. I've played bosses where healing was substantial - it wasn't fun because I spent most of my time just trying to break even. I imagine being on the reverse end of that is also unfun - it's more fun to be hammering foes than healing, never mind the lack of challenge.
Healing needs to remain in the niche of "Do I heal or go for the kill and hope for the best?" as well as being useful for keeping things speedy - casting Healing Word instead of a short rest. I'm reluctant to turn healing into a viable combat tactic of choice.
Want to play D&D? Try the following resources first (each section withing vertical bars is a clickable link to find the resource).
|The free Basic Rules.|
|Some free short adventures| and |some more here too.| |Here is a series of encounters, some of which link together form a mini-adventure|.
You've played a few games and now want to buy materials? |Here's my guide on what to buy next|.
I play a mercy monk in one game, where I punch people back to life during fights and am the primary healer (rogue, ranger, wizard, monk, fighter). Think of the resuscitation scene in Abyss (1989). It is perfectly satisfying and I don't need to out-heal the incoming damage. If someone drops, I have the mobility to reach them without trouble and I am the only one who can't always attack from my position, so damage is consistent every round. We don't need to out-heal the damage if we out-damage the damage.
DM mostly, Player occasionally | Session 0 form | Doctor/Published Scholar/Science and Healthcare Advocate/Critter/Trekkie/Gandalf with a Glock | He/Him/They/Them
You can try DDB for free using the Basic Rules, free adventures, MCV1:SC, and homebrew. Answers about physical books, purchases, and subbing.
What is it like to be on the forums.
Don't forget that some folks, part of the reason healing is a big deal is that they want healing to be a big deal for their settings, or their playstyle.
Personally, I am noting I need to put in more area of effect healing stuff. I always forget to do so, then get yelled at, lol.
Only a DM since 1980 (2000+ Sessions) / PhD, MS, MA
Wyrlde.com
Free PDFs
Not Talking About It / Dubbed The Oracle in the Cult of Mythology Nerds
There are decent healing classess like the Life Domain cleric that can combat heal.
One of my player was playing and would use his channel divinity to heal those who were badly wounded for 5 times his level and as a bonus action he would smack on a mass healing word for 1d4+10 HP to the whole party. So at level 7 he was healing for up to 35HP +6d4+60 HP in one round if everyone was wounded.
Paladins also can do a decent healing with their 5 times per level on lay on hands at the cost of one action.
Peace Cleric has a decent heal that sadly doesn't scale though I've house ruled it for Proficiency in D6 instead of 2d6+Wis modifier. That means it will max out at 6d6+wis mod.
But at level 2 when he gets the feature...running around healing everybody for 2d6+wis mod. is pretty decent.
The Twilight Cleric is godly even though he only grants temp HP
Shepheard Druid has the Bear Totem that can do the same but to a lesser degree, but a group boost in temp hp for 5+level on the whole group is still pretty decent. For a 6 player group this is tens of HP as a bonus action